AdWords and Bing Ads in 2016

Everyone "googles," and no one seriously considers other options for searching the World Wide Web. However, we would like to explain to you in the following paragraphs why you should not only focus on advertising with Google but also place your ads on Microsoft's search engine, Bing.

At first glance, Google AdWords and Bing Ads hardly differ from each other. The following images show how paid ads are presented in both search engines.

Fig 1: Representation of ads on Bing; Source: Screenshot Bing

Fig 2: Representation of ads on Google. Source: Screenshot Google

The differences between Google and Bing

The search engines Google and Bing differ in some key aspects. The first major difference concerns market share: Google holds a 93.3 percent market share in Germany. Only 2.5 percent of search queries are conducted with the Microsoft-developed search engine.

Fig 3: Search engine market shares in Germany 2015; Source: www.seo-summary.de

A look at Europe shows a similar picture. Here, Google has a market share of 92.6 percent, while 2.6 percent of European internet users search with Bing.

Fig 4: Search engine market shares in Europe 2015; Source: www.seo-summary.de

If we analyze market share from a global perspective, it's noticeable that Bing's reach is significantly higher in some countries, such as the USA, than in the German market (2.9 percent versus 19.3 percent).

Fig 5: Global search engine market shares 2015; Source: www.statcounter.com

The second main difference between Google AdWords and Microsoft Bing can be seen in the features. Since 2013, Bing has made several enhancements to seriously compete with Google AdWords:

Ad Extensions: The Sitelinks extension provides additional links within the ads that increase the attractiveness of the ad and promise higher click-through rates. These were rolled out on Bing in 2015. Besides Sitelinks, phone numbers and location are also displayed.Shopping Ads: With Shopping campaigns and ads, you have an excellent opportunity to use images and product information to appeal to users who are ready to buy. The so-called Product Listing Ads from AdWords are image ads displayed to the right of organic search and marked as advertisements. In contrast to Google AdWords, Shopping Ads are currently only available on Bing in the USA. It is expected, however, that these or similar features will soon be introduced in Bing Ads in Germany.

Table: A glance at the differences between AdWords and Bing Ads; Source: Own illustration

What advantages do Google AdWords and Bing Ads offer?

Apart from the reach, both advertising networks offer various advantages.

Google AdWords Ads

The significant advantage of AdWords is its higher reach. Google is the most widely used search network in the world. Furthermore, you have more ad extensions available than on Bing. Extensions with additional information and the snippet extensions are currently only available on AdWords and promise a better click rate for your ad. Google's paid ads also offer you more intuitive management. The Google AdWords Application Programming Interface (API) and the offline tools AdWords Editor can be quickly learned and successfully applied.

Microsoft Bing Ads

Bing Ads have the advantage that the competition is not as fierce, and the CPCs are accordingly lower. Microsoft's paid ads also offer you the opportunity to have more control over your ad group. This means you can set language and location settings as well as bid adjustments at the ad level. In Bing Ads, you can import your Google AdWords account and work more efficiently by directly utilizing your existing campaign structure, requiring only specific adjustments.

More information about the market, features, and tracking of these two advertising networks can be found in our article: Bing Ads vs. AdWords - Market Features Tracking

What we can do for you

Do you want to know how best to design and optimize your Bing and AdWords campaigns? Are you unsure in which search network you should place your ads? We will be happy to advise you. Contact us.