Microsoft Advertising platform features: a practical guide for UK businesses
Most businesses running paid search put everything into Google Ads and leave it there. That makes sense, as Google has the largest share of searches by a long way. But Microsoft Advertising reaches a different slice of people, often at a lower cost per click, and it’s worth understanding what it actually does before you write it off.
This is a plain, nuts-and-bolts guide to what Microsoft Advertising offers: how the platform works, what campaigns you can run, and where it tends to perform well for UK businesses.
Microsoft Advertising works best alongside Google Ads, not instead of it
Its audience suits B2B, professional services and considered purchases
LinkedIn profile targeting is a feature Google can’t match
Bidding options changed in 2025 and 2026, so check your strategies
What is Microsoft Advertising, and who uses it?
<a href=”https://mcallisterdigital.co.uk/microsoft-ads/”>Microsoft Advertising</a> (previously Bing Ads) is Microsoft’s paid advertising platform. Your ads can appear in Bing search results, and the network also covers Yahoo, AOL and a range of partner sites. Bing’s share of UK search is small compared with Google’s, but it still represents millions of searches every month, and for some sectors the audience is more valuable than its size suggests.
The Bing audience tends to be older and more likely to be on a desktop or laptop, partly because Windows devices come with Edge and Bing set as defaults. That makes Microsoft Advertising a particularly good fit for these sectors.
Financial services and insurance
Where the audience tends to be older and more established.
B2B products and services
Because many business searches happen on work devices running Windows.
Home improvement and property
Where buyers are often older homeowners making considered purchases.
Legal, medical and professional services
Where searchers are often older and researching carefully.
Luxury goods and travel
Where the audience profile matches well.
If your target customer is 18 to 25, Microsoft Advertising is probably less relevant. If they’re older and buying something considered, it’s worth a look.
Campaign and ad types
Search campaigns
The core of the platform. Text ads, keywords and bids work much like Google Search, and you can import Google campaigns, though you should check everything afterwards.
Shopping campaigns
Product listings with images and prices, run from your Microsoft Merchant Center feed. Competition tends to be lower than on Google Shopping.
Audience ads
Display-style ads across the Microsoft Audience Network, including MSN and Outlook, shown by interest and behaviour rather than search.
Multimedia ads
Richer, more visual search ads that combine images, headlines and descriptions, taking up more space in results.
Dynamic search ads
Microsoft scans your website and matches pages to relevant searches, generating headlines automatically. Useful for large sites.
Responsive search ads
The standard text ad: up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, with Microsoft testing combinations to find what works.
Performance Max
One campaign across Microsoft’s channels using your assets. Reporting is less detailed than on Google, and it works best with good conversion data.
For a closer look at each format, see my <a href=”https://mcallisterdigital.co.uk/insights/guide-to-microsoft-ads-types/”>guide to Microsoft Ads types</a>.
Targeting features
Keyword targeting
Like <a href=”https://mcallisterdigital.co.uk/google-ads/”>Google Ads</a>, Microsoft uses broad, phrase and exact match. Broad match now matches related searches even if not all the words appear, while exact match keeps things tighter. Most campaigns benefit from a mix.
Audience targeting
In-market audiences, actively researching a category
Remarketing to previous website visitors
Customer match from your own email lists
Similar audiences based on your customers or visitors
LinkedIn profile targeting by job title, company or industry, which Google can’t offer. See <a href="https://mcallisterdigital.co.uk/insights/mastering-linkedin-ad-formats/">LinkedIn ad formats</a> for more on LinkedIn itself
Location targeting
Target by country, region, city or postcode area, and exclude places you don’t serve. Ideal for local service firms and regional retailers.
Device and schedule targeting
Adjust bids by device, and set schedules so ads only run when you can take calls.
Microsoft Advertising vs Google Ads: the practical differences
Cost per click
Usually lower on Microsoft in most sectors, because fewer advertisers compete.
Volume
Google has far more searches, especially on mobile, so Microsoft delivers fewer clicks in total.
Audience
Bing’s audience leans older and more desktop-based, which can be an advantage.
LinkedIn targeting
Unique to Microsoft, and genuinely useful for B2B advertisers.
Import from Google
Pulling in your Google campaigns makes getting started much faster.
Competition
In some niches there are far fewer advertisers, which can mean better positions for less.
The honest answer on whether to use it: if Google Ads is already working and you have the budget, running Microsoft Advertising alongside it is usually worth testing. Expect fewer conversions, but often at a better cost.
I’ll look at your Google Ads account and show you where Microsoft Advertising could add enquiries, free.
How billing and bidding work
Microsoft Advertising is pay-per-click: you only pay when someone clicks your ad. You set a daily budget for each campaign, and spending stops once it’s reached for the day.
Bidding has changed in the last couple of years. <a href=”https://ppc.land/microsoft-consolidates-bidding-strategies/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Since August 2025</a>, new campaigns can’t use Target CPA or Target ROAS as standalone strategies. Instead, you set a target within Maximise Conversions or Maximise Conversion Value. And from October 2026, new campaigns <a href=”https://www.relevantaudience.com/google-ads-en/microsoft-advertising-removes-max-cpc-new-campaigns-october-2026/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>lose the separate Max CPC setting</a> unless they use Enhanced CPC, target impression share or a portfolio strategy.
Maximise Conversions, with an optional target cost per acquisition
Maximise Conversion Value, with an optional target return on ad spend, useful for ecommerce
Maximise Clicks, to get as many clicks as your budget allows
Enhanced CPC, which adjusts your bids based on the likelihood of a conversion
Target impression share, to aim for a set level of visibility
For accounts with limited conversion data, starting on Enhanced CPC and moving to Maximise Conversions once you have data is usually the sensible approach.
Conversion tracking and measurement
Microsoft Advertising has its own conversion tracking tag, similar to Google’s. You add the Universal Event Tracking (UET) tag to your website, then set up goals for purchases, form completions, phone calls or whatever matters to your business.
Once tracking is in place, the platform can report on which keywords, ads and campaigns are driving real results, not just clicks. Auto-tagging also passes data through to your analytics, and it works alongside Google Analytics 4 if you use that to track your site. My <a href=”https://mcallisterdigital.co.uk/google-analytics-training/”>GA4 and tracking training</a> covers the setup.
Is Microsoft Advertising worth it for UK businesses?
For many businesses, yes, but it works better as a complement to Google than a replacement.
Worth considering if
Your sector has an older, more established audience
You target B2B buyers and want LinkedIn profile targeting
Your Google Ads costs are high and you want volume at a lower cost
You already have Google campaigns to import
You want to cover as much of paid search as possible
Less of a priority if
Your audience is mainly young and mobile-first
Your budget is very limited and focused on Google
Few people search for what you offer on Bing
Getting started
1. Create an account
Setting up an account at ads.microsoft.com is free. Add your billing details, then build campaigns or import from Google Ads.
2. Check the import
Review what came across from Google. Match types, bid strategies and assets don’t always translate perfectly.
3. Give it time
Allow at least four to six weeks before drawing conclusions. Early performance is rarely representative.
Microsoft Advertising isn’t a replacement for Google, as the volume isn’t there. But it’s a genuine, often underused channel that can deliver solid results at a lower cost per click, particularly for UK businesses targeting older or professional audiences. If you’ve only ever run paid search on Google, it’s worth setting up a test.
Thinking about Microsoft Advertising?
If you want help setting it up, or an honest assessment of whether it’s likely to work for your business, I can help.
