With so many search engines out there, it’s incredibly hard to pick and choose one to use for your business advertising. In this article, we will explore Bing pay-per-click advertising compared to competitors like Google and explain the benefits of advertising on Bing’s platform, as it offers you the best bang for your buck. Read more to understand how Bing is still successful in the advertising industry for small business owners.
Table of Contents
What Is PPC (pay-per-click), and Why It’s Important
In the advertising world, a PPC campaign is a common phrase that stands for pay-per-click. But what does this mean? Pay per click means how much a business will pay a certain website for every time someone clicks on their search ad. In this case, Google and Bing both have PPC rates for business owners. PPC can be impacted by the number of users and the overall reach of the website. For more information about PPC and how to manage it, check out our article on PPC Management.
Pros and Cons of Bing Ads
Each search engine has its benefits and downsides, we want to be as transparent as possible, so we will discuss some of the pros and cons of Bing ads.
Pros of Bing PPC
What many people don’t know is that Microsoft owns Bing, Yahoo, and AOL. Therefore these sites are partners, and advertising on one means you’re advertising on the same display network. In other words, if you were to buy an ad for Bing, the ad would also appear on Yahoo and AOL, which is already a huge advantage.
Since Bing is owned by Microsoft, that means it’s the default search browser. Therefore, everyone with a Microsoft computer will have Bing. In fact, Bing accounts for 10% of desktop search results worldwide, which is an enormous figure considering how big the market is.
The PPC for advertisers varies on Bing, but the average cost-per-click (CPC) is $7.99. The average seems high because of the Insurance industries. Although PPC is important, demographics are important Bing ad benefits too! The average income of ⅓ of Bing users is $100,000. Therefore, many businesses could be missing out on possible revenue.
Lastly, another demographic that’s important when deciding who you want your consumers to be is age. Bing is mostly 40+ year-olds, so you can tailor your ad campaigns and targeting options to their demographic. Although there are many Bing pay-per-click benefits, we must discuss the negatives. For more information, check out our article on Bing Ads.
Cons of Bing PPC
Out of all the good things listed about Bing Ads, what could possibly be the negatives? Although Bing has a great PPC, the tools they provide for businesses are limited. The majority of users on Bing are older, which may be a burden as well, considering the fact that many new companies and startups want their digital marketing to target younger consumers. However, many businesses’ consumers have an older audience. All in all, although there aren’t many cons to Bing ads, it lacks the variety and tools other search engines can offer.
Pros and Cons of Google Ads
There’s no question that you’ve heard of or used Google’s search engine. It is one of the most popular swatch engines to date accounting for 86% of the global search market. Google is a household name, and of course, they have their own ad service. However, just like Bing, it has its pros and cons.
Google Ad Benefits
As introduced above, Google has 86% of the global search market. To put that into perspective, 86 out of 100 people who use the internet use Google. Google’s popularity and influence are unreachable. Google’s ad program is known as Google AdWords and has already proven to be Bing’s competitor. To have a better understanding, look at Google AdWords vs Google Ads – What’s the Difference.
Google has a network reach of over 12 million external websites. Also, the majority of their demographic is much younger populations, so there’s an opportunity for companies to isolate certain groups. Not to mention Google’s unique tools like keyword planner and offline ad editor. The keyword planner allows customers to do keyword research and track search volume as well as trends. The ad editor helps customers make ads faster and more efficiently. What about the cons of Google ads?
Google Ad Disadvantages
Just like Bing, Google AdWords doesn’t not only have benefits but also disadvantages. The average Google PPC is $20.08, which is extremely high. Google also has a lack of transparency when it comes to giving business owners information on where certain consumers are coming from and their data.
On the same note of money, Google spends the advertiser’s money extremely quickly, making their general prices skyrocket. Google’s ad policies are also extremely strict in what can go out, which can restrict advertisers’ creative freedom.
Bing Ads vs. Google Ads
So far, we explored the Benefits and Disadvantages of Google and Bing Advertisements. The ultimate question is, what is best for you? Let’s first compare both services and determine which is truly the best for you. Firstly, and most importantly, the PPC for Bing is 40% cheaper than Google’s, which is huge especially when a smaller business like you may have a limited budget. Google, however, has tools and a bigger market to advertise to.
With 86 percent of the market share for search engines, some would think that Google is the obvious option despite the price being so high. Not to mention Google’s advanced keyword planner, which can help target specific audiences and display trends.
As you can see, the main differences between Google Ads and Bing Ads are the PPC, demographics, and network reach. But which one is going to get you the best click-through rate for your buck? After research, we think advertising with Bing has the best benefits for your business.
Why Bing Advertising Is the Best Option
Why Bing? The main factor is price. The Google average of $20.08 cost per click compared to Bing’s $7.99 is significantly different. Some of you may have a small business and are on a budget. Therefore you will have much more success advertising through Bing. Google’s strategy of spending money rapidly is not good for the long term.
Yes, it’s a downside that Bing has only 10% of the market share. However, the conversion rates (the percentage of people actually clicking the ads) of Bing and Google are fairly similar. Google does grant higher-quality ads, but if the conversion rates are similar, quantity beats quality. Besides, in this day and age, the world revolves around money. It’s something on everyone’s minds. Therefore the ultimate factor differentiating Bing from its competitors is its unbeatable price.
If you already have a Google campaign, you can import the AdWords straight through Bing’s software, so you will lose no data. Interested in making an ad through Bing? Go to Microsoft Advertising to get started.
How to Get Started With Bing
After signing up, here are a few tips to get considered when getting started:
1. Know Your Demographics
It’s important you know who you’re selling to specify how your ads will be portrayed on Bing. It is proven that consumers prefer Bing’s Image database. Therefore you can use that to your advantage and make a visual ad. As stated before, Bing has an older demographic, but this does not mean you will night find younger consumers. If you are already using Google AdWords, you can look at the demographics reached and be prepared to do something for the Bing Ad.
2. Find Out Your PPC
Each business has different rates of PPC. For example, Insurance and Rehab businesses have a much higher price per click than a t-shirt company for example. Although some industries have higher and lower PPC rates, not all of them will be the same. You can view Bing Ads Preview Tool to see the exact amount you will pay using certain keywords.
3. Set Up the Campaign
After you have done all the research for your ad, set up the campaign. It’s important that before this step, everything is finalized so there’s no confusion or uncertainty between the company and the budget. At this point, you can also set up mirroring campaigns and have a marketing/advertising plan.
4. Check Your Results
After running the first campaign, look at the results and how effective the certain advertisement was. Was there an increase in traffic to the website? You can also see the effectiveness of Bing’s various software and trends. Make tweaks based on the ad’s performance success rate. After that, happy advertising in your business. Want to know more about digital advertising capabilities, go to Digital Advertising.
Overview
In this article, we discussed the difference between Bing and Google Ads and explored the meaning of PPC and its importance in the advertising industry. PPC is an extremely essential factor in any business’s plan to put up ads. As discovered, Bing has a much lower PPC than competitors, and that makes it the best service that money can offer. At SEO Chicago Design, we can help you when making decisions regarding advertising. Reach out to us for a free consultation at SEO Chicago Design.
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