What Is “Microsoft Ads” and Why You Need Them?
Microsoft Advertising offers a great opportunity to diversify your campaigns across various mediums, allowing you to reach new audiences and in doing so expand your business. Advertising throughout the Microsoft ecosystem means that your ads are part of a platform that is continuously evolving and presenting fresh, innovative tools which help you to meet your business goals. While Microsoft doesn’t command the same attention in the marketing world as Google does, there are many advantages to advertising on Microsoft that make it an exciting and profitable prospect for companies looking to make their budget go further.
What is “Microsoft Ads”?
Microsoft Advertising provides a range of digital marketing solutions across various channels in the Microsoft ecosystem, using industry-leading AI and deep audience intelligence to deliver powerful results. Microsoft Advertising allows businesses to reach their target audience across a variety of Microsoft-owned properties such as Bing, Yahoo, and MSN.
Microsoft audience ads can be loosely grouped into three categories: Search, Display, Native, Video and CTV ads.
Search ads are probably what comes to mind first when you ask yourself what is Microsoft Ads. Advertisers can create pay-per-click (PPC) ads to appear on search engines such as Bing, Yahoo and DuckDuckGo.
Display, Native and Video Ads are displayed across Microsoft’s network and partnerships which include Ecosia, MSN and 193k+ other advertisers including Bloomberg.
With rising video consumption, Connected TV (CTV) ads have become particularly impactful. Microsoft has recognised the power that these ads can wield and exciting advertising opportunities are available on Netflix with its first ad-supported plan.
What is “Microsoft Ads” used for?
To put it simply, Microsoft ads help to grow businesses by enabling your advertising to reach a valuable, growing audience. Most importantly, this includes millions you’re not able to reach anywhere else.
Utilising Microsoft Ads means you can reach customers who are interested in your sector or product but may not know your name – yet! Your business will appear next to relevant searches and appear to your ideal audience depending on the keywords you use. Whether you are focused on driving traffic to your website or asking people to come to your store, you can choose a CTA (call-to-action) that suits you and focus on reaching people locally or across the globe.
What you get out of your ads and who you reach is down to you. Flexibility is important when it comes to digital marketing and Microsoft delivers solutions which are innovative and tailored to your needs. Therefore, all manner of businesses have success with Microsoft ads.
The process is simple: customers search, customers see your ad and then they contact you. Microsoft Ads are designed to suit you and grow your business, whatever you do or wherever you are.
Benefits of Microsoft Ads
The benefits of Microsoft Ads are manifold and with their focus on brand transparency and accountability, the list of positives only grows. Moreover, Microsoft Advertising, and the Microsoft Search Network more widely, focus on developing and using technology responsibly. Innovative tools allow for the creation of impactful campaigns which cut through noise and deliver those all important results.
Although technological development is core to Microsoft, this has not come at the expense of the customer. The creation of their powerful AI-back platforms, such as Bing, still prioritise consumer privacy. The trust that this builds leads to sustainable development and means both consumer and advertiser can be confident of long-term reliability. Microsoft Bing ads, as well as all other advertising platforms on Microsoft, offers an intelligent advertising platform that understands the needs of all its users.
Greater online visibility
When considering online visibility, it is important to see the whole picture. The great benefit of
Microsoft is not simply the number of users but the number of users unique to the Microsoft ecosystem and that those numbers continue to grow. In the UK, the Microsoft Search Network delivers 605 million searches every month; however, Microsoft Advertising is also available in 187 markets and in 35 languages meaning your ads can have extraordinary reach.
Likewise, there are many ways to increase your visibility as you become more confident managing campaigns.
Low CPC
Cost per click (CPC) is an important consideration when choosing where to place your ad spend. Google typically has a higher CPC and so, Microsoft Ads provide a good opportunity to diversify your campaigns. Microsoft supports companies no matter how big the budget by delivering a great return on investment (ROI) and proving repeatedly that strong performance is possible for all.
It is important to note that CPC can vary depending on various factors and cost is determined through an auction process which is continuous. Likewise, you aren’t billed until someone clicks your ads.
If you need help with working out the best way to use your ad spend, Diginius have a dedicated team to help you navigate Microsoft Advertising with our Agency Partner Program.
More options for targeting
When you spend your money on ads, you want to be sure that they are reaching the right people. Microsoft offers plenty of flexibility and is remarkably effective at targeting your ideal consumers. Not only can you customise your audiences, reach out to similar ones and remarket to customers but Microsoft offers the ability to target LinkedIn profiles. This unique feature means you can reach certain industries and jobs on this critical and ever-growing platform
Integrations with Microsoft’s products
Microsoft offers a whole ecosystem of products meaning your ads reach a diverse range of audiences depending on your needs. Microsoft products extend beyond Outlook365, Bing and MSN with recent partners including the giants that are Netflix and Snapchat. You can choose the type of ad and its placement to ensure that your campaign is as effective as possible.
How to start with Microsoft Ads?
Starting with Microsoft Ads may seem daunting but the process is not as intimidating as it may first appear. All you have to do is create an account – it is as easy as that! From here you will be able to create and manage your campaigns with ease. Of course, a Microsoft ads agency can always help get you started too!
Using Microsoft Ads Marketing tool
Utilising Microsoft Ads as a marketing tool presents businesses with a rich avenue to expand their online presence and drive qualified engagements with their target audience. Using the platform’s advanced targeting capabilities, advertisers can craft tailored campaigns and creating a campaign is simple. The hard work actually comes in when you need to reflect on your objectives and consider how your ads can reach the right audience most effectively to boost sales. This step-by-step guide will help you create your first ad.
- Begin by identifying your goals. This essential tenet of good marketing practice will help you to create campaigns which will achieve your goals as well as to keep an eye on your ad’s performance. Moreover, specific goals will help Microsoft’s AI craft your ads to be optimised for success.
- Consider where your audience is and specify a location to target.
- Next, you should reflect on what keywords you want to use. To do this, think about the words and phrases that a customer is likely to use when searching for your product.
- Determine a budget which tells Microsoft how much you want to spend per day on your ad campaign.
Following this will get you started but there are a few more considerations to bear in mind to ensure high performance. It is vital to consider the content of your ad and make sure it is relevant and describes what sets your product apart from others. Likewise, consider what language and tone your customers will respond to and be specific in what you are offering. Finally, a specific call-to-action is most effective at ensuring that a customer engages and clicks right now.
Why you need Microsoft ads
Personalisation, smart technology and a user-focused approach characterises Microsoft Advertising. Google ads have attracted much attention over the past few years but it is Microsoft that has continuously proven its ability to improve its offerings.
The key to success in advertising is ensuring that you can maximise your spend to ensure the best reach. It would therefore be wise to properly consider all the tools that you have at your disposal and consider the huge benefits that Microsoft can offer. After watching how much Microsoft Advertising has grown over the past few years, increasing numbers of businesses have diversified their campaigns on Microsoft and utilised the wide-ranging platforms and smart technology to their benefit.
Convinced about Microsoft Ads now? As a Microsoft ads partner, we can help you! If you’re a marketing agency, head to our website to find out more about our Diginius Agency Partner Program. Meanwhile, if you are a business managing your paid advertising in-house and you would like our support, discover how our Diginius Insight Platform boosts your ROI.
