Import from AdWords only once your campaigns work there, then install Bing's own tracking tag and check locations, schedule, budgets and negative keywords before trusting the results. Keep the two accounts in step monthly.

The same ads in one more place

A business running AdWords reaches people who search on Google. Some of its customers search somewhere else, and Bing Ads offers a quick way to reach them with the same ads.

Its import tool signs in to the AdWords account and copies campaigns across: keywords, ads, bids, budgets and most settings. On paper, an afternoon's job.

The import is the easy part. Whether the second account earns its keep depends on what you check afterwards, and on whether anyone keeps the two in step.

Who the ads reach

Bing answers the searches typed on many office computers where nobody changed the browser's default settings, and it supplies ads to some partner search sites as well.

That makes it a smaller audience than Google's, not a different kind of customer: the same searches, more often typed at a desk during the working day.

For a business whose customers include office managers, marketing staff or professionals at work, that is the part of the market worth paying to reach.

When the second account is worth it

The first is the condition most often skipped. Importing a campaign that does not work in AdWords produces a second campaign that does not work, and splits the attention the first one needed.

Cheaper clicks, fewer of them

Clicks on Bing often cost less than the same clicks on Google, mostly because fewer businesses bid for them.

There are also fewer searches. A campaign that spends its full budget on Google may spend only part of it on Bing, which is normal rather than a fault.

Start Bing on a lower budget, and judge it on the cost of each enquiry rather than the cost of each click.

What the import does not bring

Conversion tracking does not come across. AdWords counts enquiries with its own tag; Bing has a separate tag that must go on the site, with goals set up in Bing, before it counts anything.

Analytics will not separate the visits either unless the landing page addresses carry campaign tags. Without them, paid visits from Bing are counted with ordinary Bing searches.

And settings chosen when the Bing account was opened, such as its time zone, have nothing to do with the import, so they need checking separately.

A worked example

A small exhibit builder that designs, builds and rents trade show booths, from pop-up displays to custom stands, runs AdWords for searches about booth design and rental.

Its customers are mostly marketing coordinators and event managers, searching at their desks during the working day. The owner imported the AdWords campaigns into Bing Ads one afternoon.

Clicks came through at a lower cost, but three weeks later there was nothing to compare: Bing's tracking tag had never been added to the site, so no quote request had been counted.

The account had also been opened on Eastern time, so the schedule meant to stop the ads at six in the evening was stopping them at three in the afternoon, Pacific.

And the negative keywords that keep out job seekers and people looking for show dates had been left out of the import, so the ads were appearing for exhibit jobs and trade show calendars.

The tag went on with the same quote request goal as AdWords, the time zone was fixed and the negatives copied. A month later the owner could see what an enquiry from each account cost.

Checks after importing

Locations: confirm every targeted area came across as set, and check the location option, which decides whether people elsewhere searching about your area also see the ads.

Budgets arrive at the AdWords level and usually need lowering. Ad extensions, such as sitelinks, callouts and call extensions, need checking in the new account.

And the review status of every ad. Bing reviews ads separately, and an ad approved on Google can be held back on Bing.

Read the search terms

Bing's matching works differently from Google's, and broad match in particular can reach searches further from your keywords than you expect.

For the first month, read the search terms report every week: the actual searches that triggered your ads. Add anything irrelevant as a negative keyword.

Keeping the two in step

Bing Ads can repeat the import on a schedule, so new ads and keywords added in AdWords follow automatically.

Decide what the scheduled import may change. Ads and keywords usually should follow; bids and budgets usually should not, because costs on Bing are different.

When something important changes, such as an offer ending or a service stopping, check Bing the same day rather than waiting for the next import. And have one person own both accounts.

Comparing the results fairly

Compare cost per enquiry, not clicks or impressions; Bing will almost always show fewer of both.

Give it months rather than weeks. A small account produces small numbers, and a handful of enquiries either way can swing a fortnight's figures.

If Bing produces enquiries at a similar or lower cost, keep it. If after three months it has produced none, the hour a month is better spent on AdWords.

The counter-case

A business whose AdWords campaigns are not yet working should fix them first. A second account adds work without fixing anything.

A very small budget, or a service searched for only a few times a month, may produce too little on Bing to measure. And customers who mostly search on phones in a hurry are fewer there.

Where AdWords already works and customers search from desks, import it, check it properly and keep the two in step.

After the import

  1. Add Bing's tracking tag and a matching goal.
  2. Check the account's time zone and ad schedule.
  3. Confirm the locations and the location option.
  4. Copy every negative keyword across, shared lists included.
  5. Set a lower budget than in AdWords.
  6. Read the search terms weekly for a month.
  7. Schedule the import for ads and keywords.

Step one comes before everything else. Without Bing's own tag the account can report clicks and costs but not a single enquiry, and the question of whether it was worth it can never be answered.

Whether some of those clicks should be phone calls instead is covered in call-only ads for a business that lives on the phone.

Frequently asked questions

Can Bing Ads copy my AdWords campaigns?

Yes. Its import tool copies campaigns, keywords, ads, bids, budgets and most settings, and can repeat on a schedule. Conversion tracking and account settings need setting up separately.

Are clicks on Bing cheaper?

Often, because fewer businesses bid there. There are also fewer searches, so expect lower spend and fewer clicks, and judge it by what each enquiry costs, not each click.

Who will Bing ads reach?

Largely people on office computers whose default settings still send searches to Bing, plus visitors to some partner search sites. It is a smaller audience, not a different kind of customer.

What does the import leave out?

Bing's own conversion tracking tag and goals, campaign tags for Analytics, and account settings such as the time zone. Shared negative keyword lists are also easy to miss.

How do I keep both accounts matching?

Schedule the import for ads and keywords, manage bids and budgets separately, check Bing the same day after important changes, and have one person own both accounts.

When is Bing not worth it?

When AdWords is not working yet, the budget is very small, or customers mostly search on phones in a hurry. Fix the AdWords account first in those cases.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

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