When most people think of pay-per-click advertising on a search engine, the first name that comes to mind is Google AdWords. The statistics support that claim, with AdWords claiming a 78 percent market share of search ad revenues.
It’s easy to see why AdWords is so popular. They are the biggest PPC platform displaying ads on the most popular search engine in the world.
Most advertisers run their campaigns on AdWords and never test the waters on other search engines, namely Bing.
But is that a mistake? Are Bing Ads worth it?
Read on because these are the questions we’re answering today to help you determine if it is worthwhile to run ad campaigns on Bing.
Why Do Advertisers Avoid Bing?
Most advertisers see figures regarding AdWords market share and logically realize they must advertise on Google. Add in the fact Google delivers billions of searches per day and one can clearly see how the reach of Google will benefit them.
In short, these advertisers don’t consider Bing Ads because their needs are met by AdWords.
But in many cases, it’s a mistake to blindly give all your search engine ad spend to AdWords, when you may be able to get more bang for your buck with Bing.
What Can Bing Do For You?
While it’s true Google has a larger audience size, it is also true that Bing still delivers ads to millions of users every day.
According to a Bing report, 137 million people search on Bing performing over six billion searches per month. What’s more, Bing’s market share of desktop users in the U.S. is nearly 35 percent.
These numbers have been trending upwards for several years. Clearly, we can see that Bing Ads provide a viable marketplace for anyone looking to advertise their products and services.
One advantage with Bing Ads is that, due to their smaller market share, there is less competition for ad space. To that end, advertising on Bing is akin to advertising on AdWords ten years ago.
What Are the Costs and Results with Bing Ads?
You must ask yourself, is it important that your AdWords campaign has the potential to appear in over three billion searches? Especially when your ad budget will never allow you to reach a fraction of that audience size?
Perhaps a better way to view ad platforms is to consider the costs and results.
When it comes to advertising costs, Bing Ads outperforms AdWords resoundingly. In fact, the average cost-per-click is nearly half of what of an AdWords ad costs.
And according to Spinutech, CTR rates are considerably higher with Bing Ads than with AdWords. Analysis of their campaigns shows higher click-throughs and lower cost-per-click.
Bing Ads provide a great alternative for businesses stuck with exorbitantly high cost per clicks on keywords for their AdWords campaigns. Find out your competitors’ keywords and run a test campaign to gauge the results.
What Are The Drawbacks of Bing?
The biggest drawback to Bing Ads is that your campaigns have less potential reach. The importance of reach varies from company to company depending on their vertical. But reach is particularly important if you have sales benchmarks to meet that require the vast audience Google can deliver.
Another potential drawback is nearly 75 percent percent of Bing users are over 35 years of age. If your company is targetting a younger audience then Google may be your best bet.
The Final Word: Are Bing Ads Worth It?
With less competition, cheaper cost-per-click, and higher CTR, Bing Ads are definitely worth it for most businesses.
It’s best to add Bing Ads to your marketing efforts and not view them as a Google replacement.
When you place your ad on Bing, your ad is also displayed on their partner sites at Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL. Add in the massive reach of Google and you have the ability to cast your net far and wide.
Decide for yourself and give Bing Ads a try. And if you would like some help growing your revenue using PPC ads, check out our services now.
