We want to dedicate this article to the search engines Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising in regard to SEA. Marketers who focus on search engine advertising in particular should be able to benefit from the following content.
Google Ads is probably the bigger and better-known search engine, but it also has a lot in common with Microsoft Advertising. However, there are differences that are worth taking note of for marketing experts. Google’s market share is over 90 percent. The rest belongs to Bing, Microsoft’s search engine.
For both of these search engines, ads are shown not only internally but also in the related products and sub-platforms. For example, advertising generated via Google Ads is not only displayed on the Google search engine, but also on Google Play or Google Shopping. YouTube also belongs to Google and is one of the largest social networks.
Microsoft Advertising also shows advertisements on products belonging to Microsoft. These include sub-platforms and other platforms such as Yahoo, AOL, or Ecosia. In addition, Microsoft also includes Bing Shopping and the popular gaming platform X-Box live, on which advertising generated by Microsoft is displayed.
After Google’s last update, the search engines now at least differ in their user interfaces. Previously, they were confusingly similar. Microsoft Advertising is reminiscent of a normal internet browser. How the button menu is used is also similar. Current information can be viewed on both platforms, but campaigns cannot be optimized very well on either one (both search engines have this as a goal for the next few years).
While the navigation and functions do not differ much, the words used on the buttons do. For example, what on Google Ads are “labels”, “advertising opportunities” or “costs”, on Microsoft Advertising are “labels”, “opportunities” and “expenses”. There are no major differences here, but those who are familiar with these small differences will save time and confusion.
On the other hand, the two platforms differ primarily in their access based on location. Google Ads can be used from almost any country, so the generated ads are also displayed in all countries available through Google Ads. Google Ads is only not available in Syria, North Korea, Iran, or Cuba.
In contrast, Microsoft Advertising includes only 35 countries, which also have access to Bing. This number drops more for shopping campaigns. For this, only the USA, the UK, Australia, France, Germany, India, and Canada are included.
In summary, Google Ads is an ideal tool to reach as many people as possible with your advertising. However, Microsoft Advertising should not be underestimated and can be used in combination with Google as a complementary platform. Both platforms have uniquely-linked sub-platforms from which marketing managers can benefit.
