Microsoft Ads
Data & TrackingAlso: Bing Ads · Microsoft Advertising
Quick definition
Microsoft Ads is the pay-per-click advertising platform that runs search ads on Bing, Yahoo and AOL, plus the Microsoft Audience Network. It works like Google Ads, with keyword bidding, ad extensions and audience targeting, but reaches a smaller and often less contested slice of search traffic.
How it varies across Australia
Bing's share of Australian search traffic sits well below Google's, but the audience that remains skews older and higher-income in some categories, particularly desktop users on Windows machines. Competition for keywords is typically lighter, which pulls average cost per click (CPC) down relative to Google Ads for the same terms.
Compare paid search performance across Australian industries →What it actually means
Microsoft Ads is Google Ads' quieter sibling. Same mechanics: keyword bidding, quality scores, ad extensions, conversion tracking through a pixel similar to the Google Ads tag. The difference is audience size. Bing, Yahoo and AOL together capture a fraction of the search volume that Google does in Australia, so the ceiling on Microsoft Ads is lower from the start.
What makes it worth a look isn't reach, it's cost. Fewer advertisers bid on the same keywords, so cost per click (CPC) and sometimes cost per acquisition (CPA) come in lower than the equivalent Google campaign. For businesses already running Google Ads, importing an existing campaign into Microsoft Ads takes minutes and often pays for that effort within the first month.
It isn't a replacement channel. Treat it as an incremental layer on top of Google Ads and search engine optimisation (SEO), not a standalone acquisition strategy. The businesses that get value from it are the ones already disciplined about tracking conversion rate and return on ad spend (ROAS), because Microsoft Ads rewards the same rigour Google Ads does, just on a smaller stage.
Microsoft Ads is rarely the main event. It's the cheap extra reach most businesses forget to collect.
How it shows up
Microsoft Ads shows up as a separate line in your paid media reporting, usually a small fraction of total spend and conversions next to Google Ads. It appears in attribution reports as its own channel, and if you haven't set up conversion tracking separately, it can look like it's underperforming when it's actually just under-measured.
The Australian context
Windows desktop usage in Australian workplaces keeps Bing's B2B audience more relevant than the consumer numbers suggest. Categories like professional services, finance and government-adjacent work often see a disproportionately engaged Microsoft Ads audience relative to overall market share.
Where people get this wrong
Related terms
Common questions
Is Microsoft Ads worth running alongside Google Ads?
For most businesses already running Google Ads, yes. The setup cost is low because campaigns can be imported directly, and the lower cost per click (CPC) often means a strong return on ad spend (ROAS) even on modest volume.
How much traffic can Microsoft Ads realistically bring?
Expect a fraction of your Google Ads volume, often somewhere between a tenth and a third depending on industry and audience. It supplements Google Ads rather than replacing it.
Do I need separate conversion tracking for Microsoft Ads?
Yes. Microsoft Ads uses its own tracking tag, separate from Google Ads and Google Analytics. Without it set up correctly, performance looks worse than it is because conversions go unrecorded.
Who tends to see the best results from Microsoft Ads?
B2B businesses, professional services and categories with an older or Windows-heavy desktop audience tend to see stronger relative performance, since that's where Bing's user base concentrates most in Australia.
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About New Rebellion
New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.
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