In my opinion, inferior to Google Ads, but a good supplement to expand reach and revenue
June 25, 2024
In my opinion, inferior to Google Ads, but a good supplement to expand reach and revenue
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft Advertising
We are a marketing agency that runs Microsoft ADS for many of our clients as part of a multi-channel marketing strategy. Microsoft ADS fits as a supplemental channel to Google Ads to maximize visibility and impression share for key search terms for our clients on Microsoft search engines. In some cases it can be low hanging fruit, by capturing revenue with lower competition, but it doesn't always come with big scale potential.
Pros
- It is easy to import Google Ads and keep them synced to Microsoft ADS, and make minor adjustments that stay different in Microsoft, such as bid strategies, ad group statuses, etc
- Microsoft ADS in a lot of cases is less competitive than Google Ads, so cost per click is cheaper. This makes it so your budget can go a little farther, and you don't have to spend a ton on Microsoft to start getting results
- The user interface is really easy to use. It feels very familiar if you have used Google Ads, and it is quicker to navigate than Google Ads in some cases as well.
Cons
- In my opinion, the Audience network is horrible. I think it is a big waste of spend, and there's no way to turn it off completely, which is very dumb.
- In my opinion, the level of customization with custom columns and metrics leaves much to be desired. You can't create custom columns based on conversion goals, or even create something like a budget utilization column to easily see if your campaigns are spending their full budgets.
- In my opinion, the quality of keyword matching is not nearly as good as Google, so you get some really "far-out" search terms, and ones that don't make any sense. For this reason, conversion rates are typically not as strong as Google Ads, especially for shopping ADS.
- From our agency perspective, Microsoft ADS is included in our fees to clients for search ADS; however, being able to run effective Microsoft ADS as well as Google Ads helps us scale clients' businesses quicker, which helps us retain clients
- From our clients' perspective, we see a varied return on ad spend based on the industry, but we have one averaging a 3x, one averaging 6x, and one doing nearly 20x return on ad spend. All of these clients are profitable, so Microsoft provides great value and additional reach beyond Google Ads.
In my opinion, Microsoft ADS is definitely inferior to Google Ads as a platform, but there's no reason you can't use both. We have never chosen Microsoft ADS solely over Google Ads, it's only a supplement because Google Ads provides so much more scale potential from its search engine user base. Microsoft ADS can provide a cheaper cost per click and a similar return on ad spend as Google Ads, but it does lack some features and algorithm strength that make it less predictable and stable than Google Ads.
Do you think Microsoft Advertising delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Microsoft Advertising's feature set?
Yes
Did Microsoft Advertising live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Microsoft Advertising go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Microsoft Advertising again?
Yes
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