Bing Search Ads reach approximately 6–8% of Australian search volume across Bing, Yahoo, and Microsoft's partner network. With fewer advertisers competing for those impressions, CPCs are typically 20–40% lower than equivalent Google Search campaigns — generating incremental leads from a less-contested auction.
Bing Search Ads are keyword-based paid search advertisements that appear on Bing, Yahoo, AOL, and Microsoft's partner search network when users search for specific terms. They operate similarly to Google Search Ads — you bid on keywords, write responsive search ads, and pay per click — but in a less competitive auction with lower average CPCs. Microsoft's search network processes approximately 6–8% of Australian search queries, a share that sounds small but represents millions of monthly searches across every category. The critical advantage is the reduced competition: many advertisers focus exclusively on Google, leaving Bing's auction less contested. For businesses that have optimised Google Search to the point where additional budget faces diminishing returns, Bing Search Ads offer the same intent-driven demand capture at a meaningfully lower cost per acquisition.
Search intent is the most valuable signal in digital advertising — someone searching "emergency plumber Footscray" has an immediate, explicit need. Bing captures the same intent signals as Google Search, just from a different slice of the searching population. The businesses that exclusively focus on Google are leaving a profitable channel untested because of the perception that Bing's share is negligible. A mortgage broker who added Microsoft Search Ads alongside their Google campaign generated over 30 additional inbound leads per month at a $32 CPL — directly competitive with their Google CPL, from an auction with 40% fewer competing advertisers (Scalepoint client, 2025–26). The incremental volume compounds: Bing leads are additive, not duplicative — most people who search on Bing do not also search the same term on Google in the same session.
additional inbound leads per month from Bing Search for a financial services business already running Google Ads (Scalepoint client, 2025–26)
CPL on Microsoft Search — directly competitive with Google CPL for the same business category (Scalepoint client, 2025–26)
typical CPC reduction on Bing versus Google Search for equivalent keywords — less competition in the auction (Microsoft internal data, 2025)
Bing Search campaigns start from your existing Google Ads structure, then are optimised for Bing-specific behaviour and unique features Google does not offer.
Microsoft's Google Ads import tool copies your campaign structure, keywords, ad copy, and extensions directly into Microsoft Ads. This gives you a fully built Bing Search campaign in hours rather than days. We review the import for Bing-specific optimisations — match type defaults differ between platforms — and add Microsoft-only features.
Microsoft Ads' broad match is more conservative than Google's broad match — it does not expand as aggressively to loosely related queries. This means broad match keywords can be used more safely on Bing, and the need for extensive negative keyword lists to control search term quality is reduced compared to Google campaigns with equivalent settings.
Microsoft Ads uniquely allows LinkedIn profile data to be used as audience targeting layers on Search campaigns. You can bid up (or bid only on) searches from people with specific job titles, at specific company sizes, or in specific industries — a B2B search targeting capability that Google Search does not offer.
Sitelink extensions, callout extensions, call extensions, structured snippets, location extensions, and price extensions — all configured for every campaign. Bing's SERP typically displays more extensions than Google in certain placements, making fully configured extensions particularly valuable for click-through rate.
Negative keyword lists from your Google Ads campaigns are imported and supplemented with Bing-specific terms identified from Bing's search term reports. We build negative keyword lists actively from week one — preventing spend on irrelevant queries that Bing's slightly different query matching might surface.
Bing Search performance reported in the same framework as Google — CPL, conversion volume, cost share. We track whether Bing leads are incremental (different individuals than Google) or duplicative, and report total search channel performance as a combined picture.
The most obvious use case. If your Google Search campaigns are generating positive ROI and you have increased Google budget to the point of diminishing returns, Bing Search adds volume from the same intent-driven audience at lower CPCs.
Bing's demographic advantage for older, higher-income searchers makes it particularly valuable for mortgages, financial advice, accounting, legal services, and professional services targeting decision-makers with established budgets.
Microsoft's LinkedIn data integration is unique — no other search platform lets you layer professional identity targeting (job title, company, industry) onto keyword campaigns. For B2B businesses, this means reaching the right job title when they search on Bing.
Bing's Windows default browser position means trades and home services searches made from home desktops go through Bing at disproportionate rates. A homeowner searching for a plumber from their Windows laptop at home is a Bing search — and a valuable one.
No call required. Tell us your business and goals — we send back a written audit within 3 business days.