Microsoft Advertising: Importing Google Ads and Reaching Bing Users

Microsoft Advertising is the search advertising platform that places your ads on Bing and on a network of partner sites, and it is often the cheapest way to add a second source of search leads. Many small businesses run everything on Google Ads, and that is a sensible start. Once a Google account is stable, though, the same offers can reach another audience with little extra work, because Microsoft Advertising can import your existing campaigns. The audience is smaller, but click costs are often lower and competition is usually thinner, so a modest budget can bring leads at a good price.

This guide explains who uses Bing, what the import does and does not copy, how to set up measurement and what to review in the first weeks. It is written for owners and marketers who already understand basic search advertising and want to decide whether a second platform is worth their time.

Who Actually Uses Bing

Bing has a smaller share of searches than Google, but the share is not trivial in every market. Bing is the default search engine in the Edge browser and on many Windows computers, and it powers search in several other products. In practice, this means that people who use office computers, work laptops and older devices are more likely to see Bing results than people who live on a phone. For business-to-business services, professional services and anything bought during working hours, that audience can be valuable.

Bing results are also reused by partner services. Your ads can appear on the Microsoft network, which includes Bing results pages and a set of partner search sites and publishers. The exact mix changes over time, so check the current network description in your account rather than assuming. Always treat the numbers you read in general guides as a starting point, and test with your own data.

• Often older and desktop-heavy. Useful for professional services, software, finance, travel and local services bought on a work computer.
• Lower competition. Fewer advertisers bid on the same keywords, which can mean lower cost per click.
• Smaller volume. You will not replace Google; you add a second, smaller stream.
• Different results by country. Share and quality vary, so test before committing a large budget.

What the Google Ads Import Does

The import tool connects to your Google Ads account, lets you choose campaigns and copies them into Microsoft Advertising. It brings across the structure you have already built: campaigns, ad groups, keywords, ads, many ad extensions (now often called assets) and a number of settings such as budgets and locations. You can import once, or schedule repeat imports so that changes in Google Ads flow through. This saves days of manual building, and it keeps naming consistent, which matters for reporting.

The import is a copy, not a mirror of every feature. Some Google-specific campaign types and automation do not exist in the same form. Settings may map imperfectly, and some bids or audience lists need to be rebuilt. Plan on a review step after every import rather than assuming it is finished. If your Google account is messy, the import will copy the mess, so tidy it first; our guide to Google Ads account structure and naming shows what a clean account looks like.

Before You Import: Prepare the Source

1. Pick campaigns that already work. Import search campaigns with a track record, not experiments.
2. Clean up keywords and negatives. Remove dead keywords and check that your negative keyword lists are in place; see the explanation of match types and negative keywords.
3. Check final URLs. The same landing pages will receive Bing visitors, so confirm they load quickly and work well on desktop and phone.
4. Decide a separate budget. Do not split the Google budget by default. Set a small daily limit that you can afford to lose while you learn.
5. Note your conversion goals. You will need to recreate measurement on the Microsoft side.

Set Up Conversion Tracking First

Measurement does not import. Microsoft Advertising uses its own tag, called the Universal Event Tracking tag, usually shortened to UET. You add the tag to your site, define goals such as a form submission, a phone call click or a purchase, and then optional imports of Google conversions can be mapped to those goals. Without this, you will see clicks and costs but no leads, and you will be tempted to judge the platform by traffic alone.

Use a tag manager if you have one, and test the tag in a browser before you start spending. Make sure consent settings are respected for visitors in regions that require it. Our guide on conversion tracking that holds up describes a testing routine that works for any ad platform.

What to Review After the Import

Differences That Affect Results

Even when the campaigns look identical, the platforms behave differently. Keyword volumes are smaller, so some keywords will show few impressions and may never spend. Match type behaviour is similar in concept but not identical, and search terms can differ because Bing users phrase queries a little differently. Quality scoring and ad rank follow their own rules, so a bid that wins position two on Google may rank differently on Bing.

Because volume is lower, results take longer to be statistically meaningful. Judge performance over several weeks, not several days, and avoid changing bids and budgets daily. If you run automated bidding, it needs a minimum number of conversions to learn; with low volume, manual or simple strategies may be more predictable at first.

Budgeting for a Second Platform

A common approach is to start with ten to twenty percent of your Google search budget, then adjust once you see cost per lead. Compare the platforms by the cost of a real outcome, not by cost per click. A click that costs half as much is not a bargain if it converts at a quarter of the rate. Track the same outcomes in both accounts and review them side by side in a spreadsheet or dashboard. For broader budget questions, see our guide on how much to budget for Google Ads.

• Set a fixed test period, such as six weeks, and a spend limit for it.
• Decide before you start what cost per lead is acceptable.
• Keep the test fair: same offers, same landing pages, same business hours.
• Review search terms weekly during the first month and add negatives.

Keeping Both Accounts in Sync

After the first import, you can keep working in Google Ads and re-import changes on a schedule, or you can manage the Microsoft account directly once its performance diverges. Scheduled imports are convenient but can overwrite local edits, so decide which account is the master. Many teams treat Google as the source for structure and ad text and manage Bing bids and budgets locally. Whatever you choose, write it down so that everyone who touches the accounts follows the same rule.

Remember also that policies differ in small ways. An ad approved on one platform may be disapproved on the other, especially in regulated sectors. Check the status of every imported ad after the first day.

A Worked Example

A regional accounting firm runs Google search campaigns for tax return preparation and small business bookkeeping. The campaigns are stable and bring about thirty enquiries a month. The owner wants more leads without increasing the Google budget. The firm cleans its account, removes five dormant ad groups and imports the two best campaigns into Microsoft Advertising with a daily budget equal to fifteen percent of the Google budget.

The UET tag is added through the tag manager, and two goals are created: contact form submissions and clicks on the phone number. After import, the team notices that one campaign targeted a region wider than intended and that two ads lost their call assets. These are corrected on day two. In the first month, Bing delivers fewer clicks, but the cost per enquiry is about a third lower, and most of the enquiries come on weekday mornings from desktop users. The firm raises the budget gradually and adds three Bing-specific negative keywords found in the search term report. It never matches Google volume, and it does not need to.

Common Mistakes

• Importing everything, including weak campaigns, and then judging the platform on poor results.
• Skipping the UET tag and relying on clicks as success.
• Judging after one week with a few clicks.
• Letting scheduled imports overwrite local changes unexpectedly.
• Forgetting that locations and languages can import differently.
• Splitting the Google budget instead of adding a small, separate test budget.
• Ignoring search terms and leaving broad matches without negatives.

When It Is Not Worth It

If you have fewer than a handful of conversions a month on Google, fix that first; a second platform will only double the problem. If your product depends on mobile users, young audiences or impulse purchases, Bing is unlikely to deliver. If your landing pages are slow or confusing, extra traffic simply wastes money. And if no one has time to review the account weekly, a small test can quietly run for months without learning anything. In those cases, invest in landing page fixes before adding channels. Our online advertising service can also set up and review both accounts if you prefer to hand it over.

For background on the platform and its history, the Microsoft Advertising overview is a useful starting point, and the Bing article explains how the search engine fits into other Microsoft products.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Microsoft Advertising the same as Bing Ads?

Yes. Bing Ads was renamed Microsoft Advertising in 2019. Many people still say Bing Ads, and the ads still appear on Bing, but the platform now covers a wider Microsoft network.

Can I import Google Ads campaigns automatically?

Yes, you can import selected campaigns and schedule repeat imports. Always review the result, because some settings, assets and audiences need to be rebuilt by hand.

Will the same keywords perform equally well on Bing?

Not exactly. Volumes are smaller and users search a little differently, so you should expect different click costs and conversion rates. Test with a small budget and judge by cost per lead.

Do I need a separate conversion tag?

Yes. Microsoft Advertising uses the UET tag, and you define goals in the Microsoft account. Without them, you will not see conversions.

How much should I spend to test it?

Many advertisers start with roughly ten to twenty percent of their Google search budget for six weeks. The right amount is one you can lose without harm while collecting enough data to decide.

Should I stop using Google Ads if Bing is cheaper?

No. Bing is smaller, and its lower cost per click does not mean it can replace Google’s volume. Treat it as an additional channel that is judged on the cost of real leads.

The Bottom Line

Microsoft Advertising works best as a careful second channel for businesses whose Google Ads account is already healthy. Clean the source account, import only proven search campaigns, add the UET tag and goals before spending and give the test enough weeks and budget to produce real numbers. Review locations, assets and search terms after the import, keep one account as the master and compare platforms by cost per lead rather than cost per click. If the numbers work, grow the budget slowly; if they do not, you have lost little and learned a lot.