Discover what’s possible

Customers search.
People enter search terms called keywords into search engines like Bing.

Customers see your ad.
If the keywords in your ad match a search, your ad appears next to or above search results on Bing.

Customers contact you.
You can configure your ad so people can call you, visit your website or go right to your door.

The Microsoft Search Network powers 38.1% of U.S. desktop searches2 and 6.4 billion monthly searches around the globe,1 plus connects you with 46 million searchers in the U.S. that Google can't reach.2 In the U.S., the Microsoft Search Network has 109 million unique searchers.2

Microsoft Search Network is a part of your customers’ life, powering the devices, apps, and sites they use every day, as well as meeting them in the moments that matter most.
Searchers find the Microsoft Search Network on Bing and partner sites, through Windows 10, Cortana and Office, plus across third-party platforms and partnerships—whether it’s search inside Amazon’s devices, web results for Siri and Spotlight Search on Apple devices, or maps on thousands of leading websites.

The Microsoft Search Network consists of Bing and partner sites. It’s where your business can reach a large and unique audience made up of millions of people who search every day. Use the advertising platform Microsoft Advertising to connect with these valuable potential customers.

Your ads could appear on the top or to the right of Bing, Yahoo, and MSN search results. And you can choose to target your ads to different geographic regions, times or days of the week, and even demographics.

Microsoft Advertising is a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising system. You bid based on how much you're willing to pay per each click on your ad. Because webpages have a limited number of places to show ads, we auction those spaces. You’re bidding against other advertisers to get your ads into the space you want. So if you bid on the keyword "shoe", you’ll have to beat the bids of the other advertisers who are also bidding on "shoe". You determine how much you’re willing to bid. Your ad position is based on several things, including:
1. How closely your ad and website fit with the terms that are searched (relevance).
2. How your bid compares to other bids in the Microsoft Advertising auction.
3. How strongly your ad has performed in the past and how often it has been clicked (click-through rate).
The stronger you are in these areas, the better your chances of winning the top ad position.

All types of businesses can find value and success with Microsoft Advertising. Whether you’re focused on local calls and foot traffic, or want to drive traffic to your website from across the country or around the world, Microsoft Advertising has solutions for you.

Your current customers may search for your business by name, making it easy to find you in search results. But customers you’ve yet to reach are more likely searching for general terms that wouldn’t necessarily bring up your business in search results. Advertising next to relevant Bing search results puts your business front and center with interested customers you otherwise might not reach.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is adjusting your website to improve your natural ranking in search results. You cannot pay to improve your website ranking on Bing or Yahoo, thus we often refer to these results as unpaid or “organic” search results.
Clicks from SEO are free. But SEO also requires technical expertise and involves some factors over which you have only limited control.
Search engine marketing (SEM) is paid advertising that appears next to or above unpaid (or “organic”) search results. These paid ads are purchased through Microsoft Advertising.
You pay for SEM clicks. But SEM gives you more control over when your website appears on result pages, and you decide how much you want to pay. You can also measure which ads are working and quickly improve your results.
You don’t have to choose between SEO and SEM. You can do both!

Yes! Call a Microsoft Advertising specialist at 877-635-3561* and we’ll set up your first campaign for you for free. We’ll give you tips on getting the most out of your ads and set you up for success. We’re here to help.

Here are some tips to get better results:

◦ Review your budget and bid strategy. If your ads keep pausing, your budget limit may be set too low. Competitive bids help your ad stay in a strong position to catch eyes and get more clicks to your website.
◦ Expand your targeting, both for location and for devices (computer, mobile, and tablet).
◦ Make sure your ads and website are relevant to the keywords you bid on. Would someone searching your terms expect to see an ad for your business?

While your first instinct may be to lower your budget, first try lowering your maximum bids. Yes, this could mean fewer customers visit your site. But if you increase your quality score and build ads with a strong performance history, you may be able to win a good ad position with a lower bid. That would lower your cost per click and help stretch your budget.

View a wide range of performance trends in your account to quickly see key stats: ad clicks, the number of times your ad appeared (impressions), spend, average cost per click, click-through rate, average ad position, cost per acquisition, and conversions. You can also run performance reports to get insights into how well your campaigns are doing.

Yes! In fact, we encourage it. Only one ad will show at a time but running multiple ads lets you test different approaches to see what’s working best with your target customers. Frequently, businesses try out different ads for specific products or pages.

Sign up for Microsoft Advertising.

You have a few options to help choose your keywords. First, you’ll want to think of the terms one of your customers might use to search for your products and offerings. Those search terms are a great starting point. Then you can use tools right in your account to find more keywords.

Within Microsoft Advertising, click Campaigns on the top of the page, click the Keywords tab, and then click Add Keywords. This will let you:
◦ Search for new keywords based on one you enter.
◦ Search a website for keywords.
◦Search your destination URLs for keywords.

The following tips can help make your ad stand out.

◦ Keep your ads relevant. One way to improve relevance is to use your customers' most popular search terms in your ad titles and text.
◦ Describe what sets your product apart.
◦ Use your customers' language. Use words and a writing tone that are likely to attract your typical customer.
◦ Be specific. The clearer and more specific the offering, the better. For example, rather than "big discounts", specify an exact percentage, such as "50 percent off".
◦ Give customers a reason to click your ad right now. Offer a specific call to action, such as encouraging customers to request a brochure or consultation, download a free e-book, subscribe to a newsletter, or take advantage of a limited-time discount.