For the most part, clients are usually very receptive to most SEO strategies. But there’s one technique which always gets at least a little pushback: Bing ads.
Generally, most people have a very poor impression of Bing. Isn’t Bing a failed search engine? Is optimizing for Bing a waste of time? Is buying ads on Bing a waste of money?
The truth is Bing is large, popular and effective for advertising. Just two years ago, one out of every five internet users used Bing. Last year, Bing’s market share grew by .2% while Google’s dropped by the same amount.
So, Bing Ads can have a big impact on your site. But Bing Ads aren’t carbon copies of Google Ads. Optimizing Bing Ads requires different techniques and strategies. Here are 10 ways to make the most out of Bing Ads:
Use Automated Rules
Automated Rules is an interesting and unique feature. These rules allow you to automate a variety of processes related to bids, budgets, keywords and more. While setting up the Automatic Rules can be a bit complicated, they allow significant portions of your campaign to run on their own.
Adjust Your Ads for Specific Time Zones
Your ads don’t mean much if nobody can see them. Bing allows you to adjust your ad displays based on time zones. This effective if your customer base is located around the world or across the country.
Reach Specific Audiences
Understanding your customer base is one of the most important aspects of increasing your sales. Compared to Google, Bing gives you far more control over who sees your content. Each campaign can be adjusted separately. Combined with a well-researched Buyer Persona, you can target your customer base with expert precision.
Target Specific Devices
Mobile devices account for more than half of all internet searches. While you want your site visible on all devices, sometimes you might want specific ads to reach specific devices. Bing Ads allows you to optimize each ad based on device or even operating system.
Stay Ahead of the Competition
Your ads don’t exist in a vacuum. Bing lets you analyze how well your ads are performing versus the competitors in your niche. Compare various metrics and see how much influence your ads are having.
Go Local
Is your site connected to a local business? Bing helps you customize your ads for local SEO. In fact, Bing matches queries with local results even when the site has no obvious local connection. This can help your site reach a whole new audience which is otherwise unavailable through Google Ads.
Track Top Moves
Bing lets you view performance changes by campaigns or ad groups. You can view changes by size during specific time periods. The Top Movers feature helps you identify the cause of any campaign variations. Understanding the cause of changes helps you manage your budget.
Optimize for Siri
Voice search is growing in popularity. If you want to optimize your ads for voice search, Bing is a great choice. In fact, Bing is actually the default search engine for Siri. Voice-based keywords automatically account for errors and similar-sounding words.
Include Ad Extensions
Bing allows for ad extensions. Similar to WordPress plugins, Bing ad extensions add several extra functions. Seven extensions are available: app, call, callout, image, location, review and sitelink.
Custom Remarket Features
Sometimes users will visit your site but leave without making a purchase. These users might still be interested in your products or services. You’ll want to target these users with remarketing campaign. Bing’s Custom Events feature allows you to customize your remarketing efforts. This allows you to refine your remarketing efforts to better connect with your audience.
Import Existing AdWords Ads
Have you already developed ads with Google AdWords? You can take those existing ads and import them directly into Bing. You can copy multiple ads.
Of course, Bing Ads and Google AdWords are different platforms. You’ll likely want to make some changes to targeting, negative keywords and other features. But importing existing ads is still a great starting point and time-saver.
Don’t Shy Away from Bing
Bing is a viable part of any successful strategy. While Bing’s doesn’t always have the best reputation, the second-most-popular search engine can help your site rank number one in the search results.
