What is Microsoft Advertising? It is a program that’s pivotal for your business in taking advantage of search engine marketing for contractors. Microsoft Advertising merged with Bing in 2019 to provide a similar service to what Google does. It powers your ads for search engine results across their particular Microsoft Search Network. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad, so Microsoft only shows your ads to the people that are most likely to click them. 

Unlike Google, Microsoft has a whole Search Network at its disposal. While Google just uses the Google search engine, Microsoft spreads your ads along different search engines like Bing, AOL, Yahoo!, and DuckDuckGo! Basically, you get some serious bang for your buck with ads powered by Microsoft Advertising, even if it’s not as powerful as Google.

“But Who Uses These Channels?”

While we like to think that everyone just uses Google to search except for a tiny minority, you’d be surprised at what the numbers actually say. Yahoo has an 11.7% share of the US market, AOL and DuckDuckGo both have 1%. While this might not seem like a lot, the numbers all add up to a substantial amount of people who use these search engines. 

“Tell Me More…”

When was the last time you asked Alexa or Siri a question that needed to be searched? All of those voice recognition devices use Bing to answer questions. Everything except for Google Assistant. 

• It’s bigger than you think. Microsoft controls one-third of the global market share for paid search.

• It’s got high volume. There are 133 million unique searches on the Bing network.

• It’s got exactly who we’re trying to reach. Over one-third of the Bing network users make more than $100,000 a year in personal income.

• It’s got unique searchers. Bing Ads reach 45 million US searchers that are not reached by Google. Microsoft Ads also has 36% less competition to reach those unique searchers than Google Ads does.

• It’s cheaper. Microsoft Ads have a 33% less average cost per click. You pay less for the same amount of clicks on Microsoft than you do on Google.

How Does Microsoft Advertising Work?

Microsoft Advertising functions almost identically to Google Ads. Both of these advertising networks make it easy to tailor specific ads towards specific customers, capture customers from all types of devices, targeting local customers who are available to make appointments, and more. The differences between these two advertising networks aren’t in how their ads work, but the target demographics for each network.

The Benefits of Microsoft Advertising

Here’s the deal. Google targets a larger population which makes it the search engine giant of our world. But Microsoft still targets a huge population of people that might actually be a demographic that we’re looking for. Take a look at some of the statistics below:

• They’re older. The median age of a Microsoft user is 45 years old, which is significantly older than the median age of a Google user.

• They’re wealthier. Because of this age difference, 33% of Microsoft users have a household income that goes above $100,000.

• Microsoft is preloaded. 75% of all work computers come pre-loaded with Bing and Microsoft Edge, which is where these ads show up!

• They’re more educated. Over 50% of Microsoft users graduated from college. This trends directly with the previous data points we’ve mentioned.

Let’s face it, Microsoft Ad users are more likely to be homeowners, have higher purchasing power in this market, and they’re more likely to be a customer than those who search on Google. While Google might have more search volume, Microsoft has a smaller, yet substantial, user base that is much more likely to pay for services.

Hold Your Horses!

Don’t go overboard here. We’re not saying everyone should jump ship from Google to Microsoft. Google still represents 93% of the market share, and Google still has a higher search volume than Microsoft. Google is essential to any advertising campaign, and even targets more languages than Microsoft, which can make all the difference in some markets. Google is also an innovator in this industry. Whatever changes occur, will always occur on Google first.

Why Not Both?

The more platforms you use, the bigger your potential outreach will be.

Microsoft isn’t better than Google, and Google isn’t better than Microsoft, they’re different. The idea that you need to choose one platform because it’s bad to advertise on multiple platforms is a complete myth! You’re not competing with yourself, or taking away from Google Ads if you’re adding Microsoft to your brand’s advertising channels—you’re expanding your reach.

Let’s Get You Started

iMarket Solutions only works in the Home Services industry so we are the experts for this kind of marketing. Take your local contracting company to the next level by letting us develop an advertising strategy that is proven to help you succeed.

Contact iMarket Solutions today. Dedicated to Contractor Success.