Bing Ads vs Google Adwords (or Ads)

Bing Ads and Google Ads differ in terms of reach, targeting options, cost, and more. Find out just how in this article

Google Adwords (known today as Google Ads) and Bing Ads are both pay-per-click (PPC) advertising platforms for advertisers that want to reach a large audience using search engines. The purpose of both platforms is the same — to help websites, businesses and organisations expand their reach, traffic, leads ultimately revenue. However, the platforms differ in terms of reach, targeting options, cost, and more.

Google Ads consists of two ad networks:

  1. Search Network: Ads appear in Google’s search engine results when people search target keywords or phrases on Google.
  2. Display Network: Ads appear on Google properties like YouTube, Gmail and and others services that offer display advertising, as well as a network of millions of partner sites and mobile apps displaying ads via Google Adsense.

Bing Ads, owned by Microsoft, and Bing are being displayed on three search engines: Bing, Yahoo and AOL. Advertising on Bing Ads allows your ads to show in search results on all three search engines, as well as on partner sites such as Microsoft-owned Linkedin, which provides new opportunities for Bing Ads to target professionals.

In the Bing Ads vs. Google Ads debate, there are seven critical differences you need to know about:

  • Reach
  • Demographics
  • Targeting
  • Cost
  • Cost per click
  • Click-through rate
  • Conversion rate
  • Display URL
  • Average position

To summarize the differences before diving in to each of them:

GOOGLE ADS (FORMERLY GOOGLE ADWORDS) BING ADS
Reach 76% search market share Less than 5% search market share
Demographics Large, diverse market. Skews slightly younger than Bing Skews towards older, married individuals with high incomes
Cost Per Click (CPC) The average CPC for Google Ads is $1 to $2 The average CPC for Bing Ads is $1.54
Click Through Rate (CTR) The average CTR for Google Ads is 1.91% (for the Search Network) and 0.35% (for the Display Network). The average CTR for Bing Ads is 2.83%.
Conversion Rate The >average conversion rate for Google Ads is 3.75%. The average conversion rate for Bing Ads is 2.94%.
Targeting Audience & content target with many options Audience targeting, more account-based marketing options leveraging services like Linkedin
Ad Copy 1-3 headlines (up to 30 characters), 1-2 descriptions (up to 90 characters), 1 display URL (up to 15 characters) More limited, but offers great A/B testing features

 

Bing Ads vs Google Ads: Reach

Reach is paramount to an effective online campaign.

If you don’t have enough reach, people won’t find your business, which means they won’t buy your products or services. For your advertising team, that means you won’t hit your goals on return on ad spend (ROAS), which can impact your company’s overall profitability too.

With a 92% market share on the search market, when it comes to reach, Google Ads takes the lead.

Google takes the lead in search engine market

The platform’s Display Network and Search Network both offer access to a broad and diverse audience.

That doesn’t mean Google wins the Bing vs. Google Ads debate.

Bing does offer a few unique advantages when it comes to its reach. For example, with Bing, you can reach 53 million desktop searchers that Google can’t. Depending on your target audience, that may influence where you spend your ad budget when it comes to search engines.

Microsoft Bing Search Network Audience

 

Bing Ads vs Google Ads: Demographics

The characteristics of your audience matter when advertising online. Anyone telling you otherwise hasn’t understood what good online marketing is all about. If you target the wrong people, it can make or break your ad campaign. Hence, it is crucial that you use the targeting options offered by Bing Ads and Google Ads to your advantage. How well those targeting options work, however, depends on the demographics of existing Bing and Google users.

Google users are usually younger than Bing users. Other demographic details pose a challenge to pinpoint, as Google encompasses such a massive audience. But the audience size on Google, however, can increase your chances of reaching members in your audience, even if it’s a niche one.

Bing users, on the other hand, are typically married (43%), 35-54 years old (40%) and earning a higher income, generally above $100,000 (33%).

Bing Vertical Market Segments

So if your audience is married, earns an income above $100,000, and is between 35-54 years of age, then Bing is an excellent choice for your ad campaign. Companies with audiences outside those demographics, however, may want to use Google Ads.

 

Bing Ads vs Google Ads: Cost Per Click (CPC)

Cost is another undeniable factor in the Bing vs. Google debate.

In a recent study, one agency found that businesses (across industries) generally spend 20-35% on Bing Ads of what they spend on Google Ads. That means if your company created two identical campaigns on Google Ads and Bing Ads, your Bing Ads would likely cost 20-35% less than your Google Ads!

That difference in cost, however, doesn’t mean your ad campaigns will generate the same results.

While your company may spend less, you may also earn less — and vice versa. If unqualified leads click on your ads, for example, that doesn’t help your business reach its goals for acquiring a new client or generating a few more online sales.

You want to consider cost when debating between Google Ads vs. Bing Ads, but don’t make price the ultimate deciding factor. Look at the relationship between cost and return of your ad campaigns to find out which platform offers the best results.

When looking at ad rates, you also want to research the average cost per click (CPC) of Google Ads and Bing Ads. In online advertising, CPC describes the amount you pay when someone clicks on your ad versus when they see your ad or act on your ad, like by purchasing an item.

What is the average CPC for Bing Ads and Google Ads?

The average CPC for Bing Ads is $1.54.

The average CPC for Google Ads is $1 to $2.

Again, Bing Ads promotes a lower cost, which can seem enticing for a small ad budget, and also why we included it in our 5 Reasons to Use Bing Ads Instead of Google Ads.

Bings Ads average Cost Per Click CPC

Source: WordStream

Remember, though, that you need to think about your ad performance. If you’re generating poor results, you aren’t saving money — you’re wasting it! That’s why your business must monitor the performance of your ads and experiment with different ad platforms, using both Google and Bing.

 

Bing Ads vs Google Ads: Click Through Rate (CTR)

As you look at the performance of your ads, you’re going to look at your click-through rate (CTR). Your CTR describes how many users click on your ad compared to how many users see (= impressions) your ad.

The average CTR for Bing Ads is 2.83%.

The average CTR for Google Ads is 1.13%, split between 1.91% for the Search Network and 0.35% for the Display Network.

Google AdWords Ads average Click Through Rate CTR

Source: WordStream

In the Bing Ads vs. Google Ads matchup, Bing Ads delivers a significantly higher CTR. If you decide to use Bing Ads, however, remember that you’ll still need to create a compelling ad and offer to get users to click on your ads.

 

Bing Ads vs Google Ads: Conversion Rate

Your conversion rate is another can’t-ignore metric for online advertising. A conversion rate describes the percentage of users that completed your ad’s goal, like calling your business or purchasing your product, compared to the users that clicked on your ad, but didn’t complete your goal.

What is the average conversion rate for Google Ads and Bing Ads?

The average conversion rate for Bing Ads is 2.94%.

The average conversion rate for Google Ads is 3.75%.

Google Ads Conversion Rate

Source: AmplifiedMarketing

While close, Google Ads boasts an impressive conversion rate, especially when you consider the number of advertisers using the network. Even though Bing Ads comes with a lower conversion rate than Google Ads, it’s a decent average.

 

Bing Ads vs Google Ads: Targeting

Similar to demographics, ad targeting can help your business reach your target audience more successfully.

In Google Ads, you can use audience targeting and content targeting.

Audience targeting revolves around the following options:

  • Demographics
  • Affinity
  • In-market
  • Custom intent
  • Similar audiences
  • Retargeting

Content targeting provides the following options:

  • Topic
  • Placement
  • Keywords
  • Display expansion for search

In comparison, Bing Ads provides the following targeting settings:

  • In-market
  • LinkedIn profile
  • Custom audiences
  • Keywords
  • Location
  • Day of the week
  • Time of day
  • Gender
  • Age
  • Device
  • Retargeting

While Google Ads provides more targeting options than Bing Ads, Bing Ads offers one big advantage due to Microsoft’s ownership of LinkedIn: If you’re looking to market or advertise to an individual or company, for example, you can use the platform’s LinkedIn Profile Targeting option.

Bing Ads Linkedin Profile Targeting

Again, though, when it comes to Google Ads vs. Bing Ads targeting, Google Ads tends to win.

 

Bing Ads vs Google Ads: Ad Copy

For many businesses, their ad campaigns begin with a text ad.

In Google Ads and Bing Ads, however, there are guidelines on the format of your ad, especially text ones. The most common rule relates to character counts for headlines, descriptions, and display URLs for your landing page.

When it comes to Google Ads, text ads follow these rules:

  • 1-3 headlines (up to 30 characters)
  • 1-2 descriptions (up to 90 characters)
  • 1 display URL (up to 15 characters)

Google Ads DisplayIf you advertise via Google Ads, you have more freedom and flexibility when it comes to your ad copy. In comparison, Bing Ads comes with some limits, which can slow down any A/B testing that your team does to find the best ad copy.

 

So all in all, the answer to the great debate on whether to choose Google Ads and Bing Ads is: it depends!

We advise people to try both, and see what works for them, and if you are just starting out with Bing Ads, make sure to get your Bings Ads coupon today, using the offer links below:

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