What does first come to your mind when I say “PPC”?

If you thought of “Google Ads”, then you are not alone!

For most marketers, PPC is equitable to Google ads.

Why?

Well, it has been reported that 1.17 billion people in the world use Google.

So for many marketers, it makes more sense to focus the company’s marketing efforts on this platform.

But is that true for all? Maybe not.

Many businesses are just running behind google ads because everyone is doing that.

This is a huge mistake. Especially for small and medium businesses who are ignoring bing ads completely.

So let me start by sharing some latest statistics:

Bing caters to 22.8% of all search queries in the United States.
133 million unique searches accounted on bing network
5 million monthly searches reported on bing network
Bing accounts 34% share of the US desktop search market.

Most important, bing’s market share is increasing faster than Google. It’s probably due to the growth of Windows 10.

Clearly, Bing Advertising is very powerful.

Well, ignoring the bing ads platform means ignoring millions of customers.

This also means that the reality of bing ads is not what most people imagine.

That’s what we are going to discuss in this blog: Bing ads vs Google ads.

But wait a minute.

I am not here to simply enlist some key differences.

My objective is bigger that might help you in making the right decision.

So what am I going to discuss? Here’s a glimpse of it:

Bing ads vs Google Ads: Which platform which has a wider reach?
Bing ads vs Google Ads: Which platform is expensive out of two?
Bing ads vs Google Ads: Which platform has more targeting capabilities
Bing ads vs Google Ads: Which platform has high conversions and revenue?
Bing ads vs Google Ads: Performance benchmarkers in different verticals.

As I said, this is just a glimpse. I have combined recent data and experts insights.

The goal is to help you pick the right platform based on your needs.

So let’s quickly start with some basic tidbits of information.

Google Ads

Google Ads is a powerful platform is comprised of two popular advertising networks: search networks and display networks.

The former category caters to text ads that can run on the search engine results page.

Display network: marketers run display ads that can appear on a number of websites.

Bing Ads

Bing which is owned by Microsoft caters to two more search engines: Yahoo and AOL.

The benefit is when you advertise on one of the platforms, your advertisement on all three platforms are displayed.

This opens up your advertisement to users on various partner sites.

Who uses Bing?

It’s important to note understand what kind of audience uses bing.

Data revealed that bing audience is very different from Google audience.

Here are some of the traits that define bing uses clearly:

Less tech-savvy
An older age group of users (usually 35+)
Often have children
One-third of bing users are college graduates
One-third of bing users income is greater than $100K

It’s important to understand the user persona before running your PPC campaign.

The user persona of bing audience is very different from that of Google audience.

This influence the kind of ads that can run on both platforms.

Considering the user persona of Bing is very important to decide whether you want to pursue bing ads or not.

For instance: Bing is a good idea for advertisers who are trying to sell the affluent, highly educated, and a bit older set of people (35+ age).

Which Platform Offers a higher Keywords traffic Volume

Google and Bing, both offer a keyword research tool, negative keyword targeting and broad match.

However, the one thing that distinguishes the two is the traffic volume for keywords.

Data reveals that the traffic volume for keywords is comparatively less on bing.

But hey, isn’t it less traffic equals less competition too?

Yes, it is. That’s what I am going to discuss in the next section.

Which Platform Offers a higher CTR

Though accounting for less traffic volume, bing ads tend to have a higher CTRs in some verticals.

The CTR varies from one vertical to another. But the average CTR on bing across all verticals is accounted for 2.83%

In fact, Bing Ads CTR is 50% higher from Google ads. Every vertical note a higher CTR on bing ads.

If you have run a PPC campaign, you would know the desperation to get a high CTR.

In fact, there are few specific services which record an impressive CTR.

Here are a few of them:

Employment and career-related services show an average of 3.53% CTR.
Finance and insurance related services record 3.51% CTR.
Apparel & accessories show 3.33% CTR
Retail verticals recorded 3.06% of CTR

Likewise, bing has appeared to be a better platform for many other verticals. Here’s a look.

Which Platform Offers a Lower CPC?

CPC, cost per click is an important part of PPC.

Also, it is well a known fact that CPC fluctuates from industry to industry.

But compared to Google AdWords, Bing ads CPC is much lower.

In fact, according to one report bing spent only between 20% to 35% of their Ads campaign.

There are many reasons for this:

Compare to Google, Bing PPC has far less advertisement bidding.

Less competition means cheaper clicks.

Result? Advertisers get more for a single dollar.

Indeed, Bing CPC is cheaper than Google ads CPC.

But aren’t you curious to know how much?

The latest ReportGarden states the average CPC on bing ads is $7.99 and $20.08 on Google adwords.

Like CTR, the CPC varies from one vertical to another:

One study conducted by search engine people found that CPC in some verticals is far less when compared with Google.

Smart advertisers take full advantage of this lower CPC on bing network. What’s more?

Unlike Google, Bing also serves ads in the right-hand rail of the SERP. As a result, it gives more space to show ads from advertisers with lower bids.

Low CPC is a bonus when you are running ads on bing network. This is true for even expensive and highly competitive industries.

Check this data

The legal sector is a good example of this case.

Despite the keywords like “lawyer” & “attorney” are ranked as the most expensive, the CPC for these sector Ad’s are much cheaper.

Advertisers running PPC campaigns for legal services pay $1.42 cost per click.

Similarly, the CPC found in the automotive industry was 32.5% lower on bing when compared with Google.

The CPC data was 59.2% lower in the insurance industry.

Where Google takes the lead?

Interestingly for certain verticals, Google offers a lower CPC. Retail is one of that!

Retail advertisers’ average CPC is less on Google when compared to Bing.

An advertiser would pay $1.24 on bing whereas the cost on Google would be less than a dollar.

Note: Lower CPC not equitable to high profit!

It is important to note that the lower CPC not necessarily indicates a profitable situation.

In many cases, the Bing ads CPC is lower and so is the traffic quality.

As a result, advertisers end up paying more for conversion than they do it on Google Adwords]

However, in some cases, its opposite can also be true.

If the right kind of traffic is targeted, Bing PPC can get you more sales at a lesser CPC.

Plus point: As the competition on Bing is lower, the chances of getting the right kind of traffic at a low cost is far more.

The opposite can also be true, though — with the right traffic, Bing PPC can generate more sales at a lower CPC.

Fortunately, since competition is lower on Bing, it’s easier to get the traffic you need at a low cost.

Result? Better ROI.

Which platform offers Better Adpositions

Bing’s auction dynamic is similar to that of Google ads auction.

Still, Bing ads come with many features.

It’s another reason why small and medium-sized businesses should consider bing ads.

Due to the lack of competition on bing, the platform not only gives cheaper costs per click but also better ad positions.

In our close analysis, clients who were running their ads on both the platforms experience not just experience a lower CPC on Bing but also better ad positions.

Not only bing offers lower CPC but also better ad positions than Google ads.

Result the client gets a higher CTR at a much lower amount.

Which platform offers better Conversion rate?

As per the latest reports: the average conversion rate on bing is recorded 2.94% across all industries.

This is seen to be slightly better the Google Ads. But again this varies from industry to industry.

It’s important to note that Bing’s audience is very different from that of Google audience. So, it’s important to analyze where does your target audience spend the most time.

Wondering how is Google’s audience from that of bing?

Here’s one small example.

Not many know but the majority of searches occurring on Google are mobile.

This is not the case with Bing. remember the stat we have shared in the starting? Yes, bing still attracts many more desktop searches.

This difference is important for many industries with a longer sales cycle.

Here are some of these:

Careers & employment: 6.81%
Real estate: 5.13%
Finance & insurance: 5.57%

Here are Conversion rate for other verticals

Which platform offers better CPA

CPA, cost per action is another aspect of PPC.

CPA allows you to determine the action taken by the users after the click.

So what these actions mean?

The total number of view, leads or sales that you want to measure.

Basically any conversion-related action is accounted as CPA.

Higher CPA means better ROI! This is where Bing gives edge across all industries.

The average CPA on bing accounts to $41.44

When compared to Google ads, bing’s average CPA came 30% lower.

It’s due to the fact that Bing’s CPC is much lower.

So which are these verticals those account to a higher CPA?

Clients advertising for home services accounts for a higher return on Bing.

On average, the CPA for home services is recorded at around $21.68%.

One of the reasons is that Bing’s audience is typically more educated, affluent and older when compared to Google.

As a result, this helps many high-value industries convert searches easily and at a better rate on Bing.

But it’s important to note that Bing’s audience isn’t perfect for everyone.

Let’s recall the data, 34% of the desktop using audience is still coming from Bing.

This age group of audience oftentimes seems to be less tech-savvy.

That’s one reason it helps advertises in the tech space reap a higher CPA from bing ads.

Here a list of verticals records less CPA :

How are Google and Bing different in features?

We have seen the major differences between Google ads and Bing ads.

Bing ads aren’t just limited to growing reach and reduced CPC.

There are some other benefits of Bing PPC which can give you a lead.

I have picked the top 5 features of bing ads.

These features when combining google ads can easily give you lead. How? Let’s take a look:

Import Google Ads campaign directly into bing ads

Not many know but bing ad platform offers an interesting option for advertisers.

It allows you to directly import the existing google ads campaign into bing ads.

What real help does it give to advertisers?

Well, with the import feature your campaign is ready to run without having to create from scratch.

Increased granular control

While both platforms offer targeting options, its Bing offers more granular targeting.

Targeting filters are an important way to execute a successful campaign.

More filters lead to focussed targeting. This is Bing ads are different from Google ads

Google allows targeting the campaign based on network, location, language, ad scheduling and ad rotation based on a campaign level.

This is not the case in the bing ads.

Bing offers targeting options at the ad group level.

Also with bing, the advertisers can assign different ad campaigns to different time zones.

This is one feature that ads doesn’t offer while running a campaign.

Improved Device Targeting

Gone are the days when users would rely on the 32-inch desktop screens to get information.

With varied forms of devices, the options are wide for the users and for the advertisers.

You need to know which device your audience is using to execute a well-targeted campaign.

This is where Bing ads beat google ads as it offers device targeting.

Bing allows advertisers to target the users depending on their device type and OS.

It also allows the advertisers not to show the campaign on desktops, if your ideal audience is on mobile.

Video search

Video search is an emerging trend. Google knows this very well.

It’s one of the reasons Google has been preaching youtube for quite a long time now. Google’s youtube feature is very potent.

This is something bing don’t offer.

However, bing does have a video search interface.

What’s interesting to note is that bing’s video search interface is preferred by many users over Google’s.

Why?

Well, bing doesn’t offer a vertical list of videos with small thumbnails.

But it does give a grid view of larger thumbnails.

The benefit? Well, you can easily play this without ever leaving the bing interface.

Also, there’s a preview option of the video.

Auto-complete

Haven’t you ever relied on autosuggest?

Indeed, we rely on them all the time!

That goes for your users too who are looking for what you sell without typing too much.

Auto-suggest quickly shows you searches based on your query.

For users, bing autocomplete suggestions are a big help.

This is where Bing goes one step ahead of Google.

While Google only provides 4 suggestions in autocomplete, bing offers 8 suggestions.

What does this mean?

It means that the user query will be answered with only a few keystrokes. Also reducing the chance of misspelling.

Many advertisers mistakenly take this feature for granted.

But a closer analysis reveals that bing’s feature is a result of advanced technicality and computational horsepower.

As we have seen, many times a user end up spending more time to get the right results.

Wrong spelling is one of the reasons.

You enter a query, scan through the listed results and refine again till you get what you are looking for.

This is where autosuggest rescue you. It quickly provides you with a list of suggestions as you start typing a query.

Let’s consider an example here:

Imagine a user begin a search by typing the query prefix (American).

In this, the intent is not yet clear.

The user might be interested in American express for a new credit card. Or looking for American idol maybe because he/she is a fan of the show. Or something else.

At this point, the user can pick one of the provided searches or continue typing with another word.

Now, a lot of work goes behind the algorithms before it shows you the suggestions.

The algorithms scan through billions of search queries and make the list depending on many factors.

In this case, one of the factors could be how many times users have searched for a query with a prefix American.

On the surface, auto suggests gains seem to be minor. But in today’s world, where speed and relevance are driving everything, this is a huge plus and Bing makes the most of it.

This certainly helps the users but that’s not it. These autocomplete suggestions play a major role for digital marketers too.

In the case of bing, the searching speed is increased by 16% by reducing clicks and frequency of typed letters.

Result? The search process is faster, relevant with more autocomplete suggestions at bing.

We know Google only gives 4 suggestions while bing offers 8.

This feature is a big bonus for users who are using autocomplete to search for alternative products or looking for wild card suggestions.

Extra Features

When it comes to extra features both search engines are neck to neck.

For instance, Google beats Bing with features like reverse image search and voice search.

Bing, simultaneously beats Google in some aspects.

Here are some of those:

Bing rewards

Bing offer rewards for doing something which you do it all the time.

That is surfing! Yes, bing gives rewards for your everyday search.

Wondering what real benefit would these rewards give?

Well, the rewards bing gives you can be used to grab a new game or buying a new laptop. Each point is converted by the search engine for per dollar.

As you earn more points, they can be used to shop online at the Microsoft store.

Sitelink extensions

Ever thought what makes the user click an ad?

Well, the additional information that the ad display is one of the important factors. It can persuade the search users to click the advertisement.

This additional information gives the ad an opportunity to stand out from the crowd. It gives the user crucial details about the advertisement.

These details include information related to price, discount, limited offer, demos, freebies and more.

Such details attract the attention of the users quickly. Let’s not forget we live in a world where the attention span of humans is less than that of a goldfish.

Capturing the user’s attention is important and difficult at the same time. Sitelink extensions are extremely important in this regard.

So when they are displayed it attracts the attention of the users instantly.

While both Bing PPC and Google AdWords allow you to filter your ad’s targeting, Bing’s software has a unique innovation that sets it apart from Google.

With Bing, you can set age filters for your search ads, so only visitors of a certain age group will see them.

Or, you can set up a location filter so visitors in a certain part of the world see your content.

This way, you’ll ensure qualified leads are being exposed to your marketing campaigns.

Another key feature that Bing has an advantage in is its social extensions.

Social extensions are a line of copy on your ad that tells the visitor how many social media followers your business has.

On Bing, this feature shows your social following for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Google AdWords, however, can only show you the number of Google+ followers.

What does this comparative data suggest?

We have seen how different verticals performance varies on Google and bing.

Indeed, there is no one size fit for everyone!.

What works for x may not work for Y.

The figures clearly reflect an interesting performance on bing.

But let’s not forget it vary from one vertical to another.

Bing ads surprise advertisers with a very strong performance.

But we have seen how bing’s reach is far less than Google’s reach. Again I repeat, no ad platform is perfect!.

This calls for a complete marketing strategy.

The strategy should be made depending on your vertical. Also, the advertisers should content by running the ads on one platform.

Multiple ad campaigns should be run across different networks.

Why?

Well, your prospective customers don’t use just on the platform. The different audience runs ads on different sites.

A complete marketing strategy would ensure that your target audience is focussed well.

So if you find yourself struggling with poor performance on any platform, you know there’s still plenty of room for improvement.