Microsoft Ads (Bing Ads) Management

Who sees Microsoft ads

Microsoft Advertising shows search ads on Bing, Yahoo and partner sites, and can extend to the Microsoft Audience Network, depending on campaign type and settings. It is the second search ad platform in the UK.

The share is small overall but bigger at work. Statcounter's figures for September 2026 put Bing at 6.08% of UK search across all devices, rising to 18.33% on desktop, where Bing is the default in Windows and Edge. If your buyers are office workers, procurement teams, older audiences or anyone who researches at a desk, Microsoft clicks can be worth testing. They are often cheaper than Google because fewer advertisers bid on them.

Google Import, used carefully

Microsoft's Google Import copies campaigns, ad groups, keywords, ads, assets and conversion goals from a linked Google Ads account. Microsoft's help pages list the schedule options as Auto, Now, Once, Daily, Weekly and Monthly, and warn that scheduled imports can update bids, bid strategies and budgets to match Google. That is the trap: you lower a bid in Microsoft because it isn't converting, and next week's import puts it back.

We import once to save set-up time, then decide line by line what should stay in sync. Usually ads, keywords and new campaigns stay synced, while bids, budgets and negatives are managed inside Microsoft. Some Google assets have no Microsoft equivalent, so we check what came across rather than assuming it all did.

Features worth using

• LinkedIn profile targeting. Microsoft can adjust bids by a searcher's company, industry or job function from their LinkedIn profile. Microsoft's documentation describes it as bid-only: it raises or lowers bids for matching people but doesn't exclude anyone else, and adjustments multiply when several apply (an industry at +10% and a job function at +20% combine to +32%). You can target up to 1,000 companies per ad group or campaign. Availability has varied by market and device, so we confirm it in your account before planning around it.
• Performance Max and Shopping. Microsoft's version of Performance Max went global in March 2024, according to the Microsoft Advertising blog, and Shopping campaigns use a Microsoft Merchant Center feed that can be imported from Google.
• Search partners and Audience Network. Useful for reach, but we watch them closely and exclude placements that spend without converting.
• UET tag. Microsoft's Universal Event Tracking is the equivalent of the Google tag. Without it, smart bidding has nothing to learn from.

Microsoft Ads alongside Google

Few businesses should run Microsoft Ads instead of Google. Most should run it as an addition once Google is working, using what has been learned about keywords and ad copy there. We plan both together under PPC management, report cost per conversion side by side, and move budget to whichever platform earns it. If you only run Google today, start with Google Ads management and add Microsoft later.

Setting up Microsoft Ads well

A good Microsoft account starts with the UET tag on every page and conversion goals that match the ones in Google, so cost per conversion can be compared fairly. We then check location settings, because the default can include people who are only interested in your area, and set ad schedules that match your opening hours. Device performance is reviewed early: Microsoft traffic leans towards desktop, so we look at whether mobile clicks convert before deciding how much to bid on them. Finally, we review search partner traffic after the first few weeks and exclude any sites that spend without results.

Price

Microsoft Ads management is from £150 a month + VAT, or 10 to 15% of ad spend, whichever is higher. Where we run both Google and Microsoft, the percentage is worked out on combined spend. Ad spend is paid directly to Microsoft. Monthly, cancel with notice. UET and conversion set-up, if missing, is part of conversion tracking from £145 + VAT, one-off.

What you get

• UET tag and conversion goals set up and tested
• Google Import configured with the right schedule and update options
• Microsoft-specific bids, budgets and ad schedules
• Search partner and Audience Network performance reviewed and controlled
• LinkedIn profile bid adjustments for B2B campaigns where available
• Monthly reporting alongside your Google Ads results

How it works and what it costs

Google Ads management from £150 a month, social media management from £125 a month and email marketing from £95 a month, all + VAT. Ad spend is separate and paid to the platform. No long contracts.

1. Free review

   We look at your current ads, social, email and analytics, or your plans if you are starting out, and tell you plainly what we would change.

2. Plan and price

   You get a written plan with targets, budgets and a fixed monthly fee before anything starts.

3. Set up properly

   Tracking and consent first, then campaigns, audiences, content calendars or email flows, all in accounts you own.

4. Run and improve

   We manage it every week: search terms, bids, creative, posts and tests, cutting what does not pay and doing more of what does.

5. Report in plain English

   A monthly report on leads, sales and cost per result, not vanity numbers, with what we will do next.

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