What is Bing Ads? How Is It Different From Google Ads?
When it comes to Pay-Per-Click (PPC) online advertising, one name dominates: Google. It’s the world’s largest search engine after all, so it’s no surprise that Google is most businesses’ first port of call in their quest to reach prospective customers online. But what is Bing Ads, Microsoft’s answer to the mighty Google Ads? Is it worth using and, if you do decide to take the plunge, what can you expect?
It works in much the same way as Google Ads, utilising an auction system. As the PPC moniker suggests, you pay for each click your ad receives. But what, if any, are the key differences between the two platforms?
The Users
Yes, Google is unmatched when it comes to its user base, but it’s important to consider which users are making all of those searches. Depending on the nature of your business, you may wish to target slightly older (and generally more affluent) searchers – and if that’s the case, Bing Ads may be worth a look.
Here in the UK, 44% of Bing users are over the age of 45, and 32% have a household income among the top 25% of the population. A significant proportion, 54%, also have children living at home.
What does this tell us? While Google might be seen as the more ‘trendy’ option, Bing has millions of older and wealthier users which you may miss out on if you concentrate fully on the former option. And that’s not all Bing Ads has going for it.
Bang for Buck
Not only does Bing have a potentially lucrative collection of users (over 60 million of them), it’s also cheaper to use Bing Ads than Google Ads. You’ll generally pay less per click on Microsoft’s platform, and although your ads won’t be seen by as many eyes, Bing Ads may still provide the boost your business is looking for.
Plus, with many marketers focusing entirely on Google, Bing can sometimes get forgotten about. The benefit? Your ads won’t face the same tough competition that they’re likely to on Google, so you could argue that Bing Ads offers better value for money in some regards.
Adding further weight to this argument are the findings of a PPC study by Wordstream, which suggested that Bing Ads have a higher click-through rate than their Google counterparts.
Bing Ads may never be able to eclipse the sheer volume of traffic Google receives (or even come near), but as the second-biggest PPC provider it’s a worthy rival which certainly shouldn’t be overlooked.
