Microsoft Advertising
Search Engine Land is your go-to source for Microsoft Ads news, strategies, and in-depth content. You’ll find a wide range of up-to-date and authoritative resources, including the latest news, tactic-rich tutorials, and the latest data to help you work smarter and make better decisions.
Optimizing your Microsoft Ads campaigns
Microsoft Ads offers unique opportunities to reach high-intent audiences across platforms like Bing, MSN, and the Microsoft Audience Network. This page provides practical advice and insights for optimizing your campaigns, from structuring effective ad groups to leveraging advanced targeting options.
Stay informed on updates to Microsoft’s advertising tools, including AI-powered enhancements, new bidding strategies, and cross-platform integrations. Whether you’re exploring audience targeting, different ad formats, or conversion tracking, you’ll find the guidance you need to make the most of Microsoft’s advertising ecosystem.
What you read here is written by our experienced in-house team, as well as subject matter experts from agencies and top-performing brands leveraging Microsoft’s advertising ecosystem.
Discover how businesses are effectively using Microsoft Ads to tap into unique audiences and improve performance across channels.
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Facebook Import is now available in Microsoft Advertising
Advertisers can import up to 10,000 campaigns for each account.
Advertisers can now bring their customer segments into Microsoft Advertising via a new integration
And, Customer Match is now generally available to all advertisers on Microsoft’s platform.
Microsoft Advertising to treat phrase match the same way Google Ads does
The new treatment will begin in mid-May.
Microsoft Advertising Partner Summit announces video ads, in-browser price comparisons and Facebook import
Plus, Microsoft announces private search for Bing API
Microsoft Advertising announces Automotive Ads open beta in the US and UK
This beta opens up the use of automotive feeds and the API for advertisers.
Microsoft Advertising introduces more automation via ad suggestions with auto-apply
Ad suggestions marked as auto-apply will start serving after 14 days if no action is taken.
Microsoft Advertising blocks 1.6 billion ads while dealing with the pandemic, says annual ad quality review
Microsoft says it is committed to keeping the ads in Microsoft Bing fair and in compliance with its ad policies.
Static headlines now available for DSAs in Microsoft Advertising
Marketers can now have full control over their ad text with Dynamic Search Ads
Key trends in PPC, reporting and analytics in 2021 and beyond
With COVID shifting consumer behavior in 2020, use these trends from speakers at SMX Report to find equilibrium in 2021.
Maryland’s ad tax is here, and advertisers should look to their European counterparts for how to deal with it
Last year, Google passed digital service taxes onto advertisers in the UK, Turkey and Austria, and it’s likely to do the same in the U.S. as well.
How the Microsoft Search Network can maximize your search campaigns
When it comes to search marketing, it can be tempting to stick with what you know. Maybe it's time to step out of your comfort zone.
Microsoft Ads to replace Manual CPC with Enhanced CPC by end of April
Microsoft Advertising says eCPC increases conversions while lowering CPA, but some advertisers worry about loss of control.
Microsoft Advertising now offers Filter Link Extensions
Filter Link Extensions give advertisers more visibility and the opportunity to tell customers more about their business offerings.
PPC 2020 in review: COVID leaves its mark on e-commerce and paid search
Platforms pivoted to accommodate advertising during a crisis and automation continued to be at the heart of paid search changes.
Microsoft Advertising promotion extensions available in time for the holidays
Promote deals and offers for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas and other occasions in your text ads.
Marketing that our collective future depends on
MJ DePalma, Microsoft Advertising's Head of Multicultural & Inclusive Marketing, lays out the three core building blocks of what the company calls Marketing With Purpose.
Microsoft’s Digital Marketing Center for search and social management adds features, opens beta
The free platform is now open to U.S. small businesses.
Microsoft Advertising adds brand safety with IAS partnership
Audience Network ads will be blocked from pages deemed to have moderate or high brand risk.
Insights to reimagine your holiday 2020 planning
The holiday consumer’s journey starts with search. As the pandemic continues, your brand should be relying on it more than ever.
Microsoft Advertising expands LinkedIn Profile, dynamic remarketing, in-market audience targeting
B2B marketers can use LinkedIn Profile targeting in Search and Audience campaigns in more countries. Retail advertisers can retarget product engagers automatically with dynamic remarketing ads.
Call analytics: How they can drive down costs and improve search conversions
With call volume on the rise, these platforms give marketers more ways to connect the digital experience to over-the-phone.
Back to school looks very different this year
For back to school season, know that virtual and online schooling is top of mind, and parents are leveraging search to know and do more.
Microsoft Advertising Editor gets updated with recommendations and campaign-level targeting
The new features are designed to help advertisers with bulk campaign management and optimize performance.
Microsoft Advertising offers free stock images for Audience ads
A new partnership with Shutterstock opens up the stock image library to advertisers.
What’s behind the hype about Customer Data Platforms?
How CDPs aim to solve some of marketers' most vexing challenges.
Video: Christi Olson of Microsoft on audience targeting, syncing with Google and Promote IQ
Christi Olson is the head of Evangelism for Search and Advertising at Microsoft.
Bing brings visual search to product ads
Currently available for clothing and shoes, users can upload an image or click on a product result to shop for visually similar items.
Microsoft launches a free Search and Social campaign management platform for SMBs
Digital Marketing Center powers both organic social media and ad campaigns across Microsoft, Google, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Welcome to the Predictive Marketing Era
How to become a nimbler, smarter, more successful PPC marketer in the age of machine learning and AI.
How to use the new Microsoft Ads Audience Network Planner
You can expand your reach beyond your Audience Ads campaigns by uncovering more data with the new audience planner.
Martech Spotlight: How Kenshoo does digital commerce ad management
At a time when digital commerce is more important than ever, we're profiling vendors that help retailers scale their ads on e-commerce marketplaces.
Why digital commerce marketers shouldn’t ‘go dark’ during COVID [Video]
Keeping up your marketing momentum is more important than ever as shopping habits shift.
Search insights and shifting consumer behaviors and trends during COVID-19
Here's a look at automotive and retail verticals to shed light on the search trends and shifts in consumer behavior happening right now.
Have we hit bottom yet? What new earnings reports say about COVID’s impact on digital advertising
The hit in mid-March was sudden and dramatic, but there appear to be signs, including from media buyers, that the worst is over.
Why businesses that prioritized martech, data and organization are faring better during COVID [Video]
The struggles of companies without solid data practices are now exacerbated, said Brad Geddes in this clip from Live with Search Engine Land.
Microsoft: Search, LinkedIn ad revenue took a big hit due to COVID-19
Search advertising grew by just 1% in the third-quarter of fiscal year 2020. That could spell opportunity for some advertisers.
Why updating your messaging is the best strategy right now [Video]
‘This works, you should be doing this all the time instead of these hard, shove-it-down-their-throat sales tactics.’
Microsoft Advertising UI: What’s new (so far)
Love it or hate it, the double sidebar makes context switching a lot easier as you move between ad accounts or from other search engines.
How working from home has thrown a wrench in campaign targeting [Video]
While working remotely has kept some businesses online, it has also made analytics and cookie data less reliable.
Microsoft Advertising adds cookie-based experiment option
Cookie-based A/B tests will ensure that customers are only shown ads from either your experiment or original campaign.