Microsoft Ads Management, Run by a Senior Paid Search Specialist

I've been managing search campaigns on Microsoft's platform since before it was called Bing — back through MSN Search, Live Search, and the Yahoo search alliance, when Microsoft first took over serving Yahoo's search ads. Twenty years in paid search, and Microsoft has been part of the picture the entire way.

Today, most advertisers pour their entire budget into Google and treat Microsoft as an afterthought — or ignore it completely. For a lot of Denver and Boulder businesses, that's leaving cheap, qualified leads on the table.

Here's the thing: Microsoft Ads isn't a Google replacement, and anyone who tells you it is doesn't know the platform. It's a complement. But it's a complement that often delivers a lower cost-per-click, reaches an audience Google doesn't dominate, and — for the right kind of business — quietly produces some of the most cost-efficient leads in the account.

The question isn't whether Microsoft Ads can work. It's whether it makes sense for your business, and whether it's set up properly if you run it. I'll tell you honestly on both counts.

Why Microsoft Ads Is Worth Your Attention

  • Lower cost-per-click. Less advertiser competition on Microsoft usually means you pay less for the same click. If your Google CPCs are painful, this is where your budget stretches further.
  • An audience Google doesn't own. Microsoft Ads powers Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo — and it's the default search on Windows and Edge, which means a lot of desktop users at work.
  • A demographic that matters for high-value services. Microsoft's audience skews older, higher-income, and desktop-heavy. If you're a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare practice, that's your buyer.
  • It's not an either/or. Microsoft complements Google — it doesn't replace it. For most businesses already running Google Ads, adding Microsoft is one of the cheapest ways to expand reach.

The Microsoft Ads Import Trap

Microsoft lets you import your Google Ads campaigns with a few clicks, and most advertisers stop there. That's the mistake.

An imported campaign carries over Google's structure, Google's bids, and Google's assumptions — onto a platform with different competition, different CPCs, different audience behavior, and different match-type quirks. It "works," in the sense that ads run. It just doesn't perform like it should.

Doing it properly means treating Microsoft as its own platform: rebidding for its actual CPC landscape, adjusting for its demographic, using its unique targeting (like LinkedIn profile targeting, which Google simply doesn't have), and pruning what doesn't translate. That takes someone who knows the platform — not someone who clicked "import" and moved on.

Who Runs Your Account

Me. Personally. Not a junior at a big agency, not an automated import job, and not a sales rep who hands you off after the contract is signed.

I've spent 20 years in paid search and I've been on Microsoft's platform since its earliest days — which matters more than it sounds. Microsoft Ads has its own quirks, its own targeting options, and its own way of behaving that doesn't map cleanly onto Google. Knowing those differences is the difference between a campaign that quietly wastes money and one that becomes the most cost-efficient part of your account.

I'll be straight with you about whether Microsoft is even worth it for your business. For some advertisers it's a meaningful, cheap source of leads. For others, the volume just isn't there and your budget is better spent elsewhere. I'd rather tell you that up front than take your money to run a campaign that won't perform.

Wondering if Microsoft Ads is right for your business?

Whether you're a Denver or Boulder business already running Google Ads and curious about expanding, or an agency that needs someone who actually knows this platform — let's talk. Call (720) 534-2239 or fill out the form below and I'll respond promptly.