In the world of PPC marketing there are numerous platforms available that your business can choose to setup on and invest in including Facebook Ads, and LinkedIn Ads. These are social media based PPC platforms where you are interrupting people as they browse, if you want to concentrate on search engines, where people are actively searching for what you have to offer then Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising are the two most popular options.
I completely understand that most businesses would immediately swing towards Google Ads – It’s Google, right? Everyone uses it so surely their PPC platform must be the best? Not necessarily! In this article, I want to make a fair comparison of Google Ads vs Microsoft Advertising so you can see the pros and cons of each and look at which is the most suitable choice for your marketing efforts.
Understanding Google Ads
Google Ads is often the front runner in the PPC world and if you create ads on this platform, they can be displayed across the Google Network. This encompasses Google Search, Google Display and YouTube together with a range of other websites and services.
It allows you to create multiple different ad iterations including shopping ads, responsive ads, and text ads. Everything can be managed from a central dashboard, and you can integrate other Google services such as Google Analytics to gain more insight from your campaigns.
Pros
- Much wider audience: Over the entire Google Display Network (where your ads can be displayed), Google has an estimated 9 billion active users per day (yes, more than the world’s population!). Compare this to Microsoft’s 100 million active users and you can see a stark difference. This means that Google Ads offers more potential in terms of reach and exposure.
- Better insight and analytics: Google is known for its analytical power with platforms like Google Analytics and Ads is no different. Indeed, you can integrate Analytics to gain more insight from your ads. This allows you to tailor your campaigns more and optimise your ad copy for better end results.
- Options for local and niche targeting: Compared to Microsoft Ads, Google offers more in terms of customisation and targeting niche customers. This is especially beneficial for local businesses who want to target customers in their immediate vicinity, for example. With this improved targeting, you can make sure that your ads are reaching the right people, and no revenue is being wasted on false leads.
Cons
- Higher cost-per-click: Compared to Microsoft Advertising, Google Ads can often be more expensive in terms of your CPC, this will depend on your industry sector and the level of competition amongst advertisers.
- More competition: Due to the huge popularity of Google search and the impact it can have on your business, Google Ads is more competitive and it can be more difficult to compete for bids and keywords. Trying to keep up with the competition and give your ads the edge can sometimes then result in an increased spend.
- Lack of Google Support: Even advertisers with the extremely high advertising budgets are reporting a lack of support from Google, for resolving account and technical issues, and as they dominate the search market it’s something that they can get away with.
Understanding Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft Advertising was formerly known as Bing Ads and it is also a PPC platform that includes three search engines – AOL, Bing, and Yahoo. Your ads will be displayed on these websites together with other partner sites like MSN.com. It offers many similar features to Google Ads in terms of search and shopping, but does not include display and YouTube.
Using Microsoft Advertising you can produce a range of ad types including Bing Smart Search Ads, Dynamic Search Ads, and Expanded Text Ads. The platform also has a comprehensive dashboard where you can manage your campaigns and look at important metrics like click, CTR, and conversions.
Pros
- Easier to use and set up: Microsoft Advertising is certainly the easier platform to get started on and people with minimum technical experience can create ad campaigns quickly. Of course, you can contact a Microsoft Advertising agency too and they can setup your account and manage your ads allowing you to concentrate on other areas of your business.
- Appeals to an older audience with more disposable income: Google Ads has a younger audience with less disposable income, whereas Microsoft Advertising appeals to an older audience who will spend more. This often means that your ad campaigns are more fruitful and can yield better results in terms of value.
- Less competition & lower cost-per-click: Because of the smaller audience and lesser competition, you can rank easier for keywords within Microsoft Ads and it is usually much cheaper than Google Ads so could be a great option for a startup business or if your company has a limited marketing budget.
Cons
- Smaller audience and market share: Because of the vastly inferior market share, Microsoft Advertising may yield less results than Google Ads.
- Concentrated US audience: Microsoft Advertising generally appeals to a US audience so if your business is purely local, this could provide some limitations in terms of relevant customer exposure.
- Less Brand Exposure: With no options for display or YouTube, image and video content is limited meaning there is less opportunity to build brand awareness through this platform.
Google Ads vs Microsoft Advertising – Which Is the Right Option for Your Business?
So, which is the best option in the Google Ads vs Microsoft advertising argument? Unfortunately, there is no blanket right or wrong answer and which platform is the best option typically depends on your individual business, aims, budget, and target demographic.
If you have an older demographic of customers, desktops browsers or people who are less likely to change their default browser to Google, then Microsoft Advertising could be the better choice as the userbase where your ads are displayed too are also typically older with more disposable income. Also, if you have a smaller marketing budget, Microsoft Ads could be a great starting point as it is usually the cheaper option.
In contrast, Google Ads could be a fantastic choice for local businesses that have a niche audience in their local area. The enhanced targeting features and expanded reach with the Display and YouTube Network allow you to reach that audience effectively. If you have a larger marketing budget and want to reach as many customers as possible, Google’s far superior reach is difficult to ignore.
For advertisers with larger budgets, testing both Google and Microsoft at the same time can also be an option, splitting the budget initially to see which works best can guarantee an additional uplift in enquiries or sales using both channels. We have many clients who max out their targeting with the channel that generates the best results and then uses the rest of their PPC budget to generate additional incremental revenue from the other advertising platform.
If you need support in any issues related to your Google Ads or Microsoft campaigns or a digital marketing strategy, Get in touch or call 0115 880 0211 Our experts are on hand and willing to help.
