Microsoft Ads for enterprise software: why it deserves your attention

Microsoft Ads is the channel most B2B tech advertisers leave on the table. The reasoning we hear is consistent. “Bing’s audience is too small.” “We tried it once, the volume was nothing.” “It is not worth the management overhead.” All of which would be reasonable if the audience were the same as Google’s. It is not.

For enterprise software, IT services and SAP/ERP consultancies, the Microsoft Ads audience skews older, wealthier, more senior and more often inside corporate networks where Bing is the default browser search engine. We have run Microsoft Ads alongside Google for clients across managed services and ERP consulting, and the cost-per-opportunity is regularly half of Google’s, sometimes better. Below is how we set the channel up and what to watch.

Who is actually clicking your ads on Microsoft

Microsoft Ads runs across Bing, Yahoo, AOL, DuckDuckGo and inside Edge, Outlook, Windows search and the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. The composition matters. A large share of the queries come from work devices where IT has not changed the default browser, which over-indexes hard towards corporate users.

For B2B tech, that audience profile is gold. It includes IT directors browsing on a Windows-managed laptop, finance leaders inside SAP shops, and procurement researchers who never personally chose Bing but use it because that is what their estate gives them. Click volume is lower than Google. Click quality, in our experience, is usually higher.

Microsoft also exposes LinkedIn profile targeting (job title, function, industry, company) inside Microsoft Ads as a bid modifier. This is a unique feature. Nowhere else in the search ecosystem can you layer LinkedIn-quality firmographics onto a search auction. For account-based programmes that already lean on LinkedIn Ads, this overlap is genuinely useful.

Why the volume looks small (and why that is fine)

The first conversation we usually have with a finance director about Microsoft Ads is a defence of the volume. Yes, Bing’s UK search market share sits around 5 to 8 per cent depending on the source. No, that does not mean Microsoft Ads will deliver 5 to 8 per cent of your Google traffic.

Two things adjust the comparison. First, competition is lower in many B2B categories, so impression share at the same bid is much higher. We routinely see clients running 90 per cent impression share on Microsoft against 35 to 50 per cent on Google for the same keywords. Second, conversion rates on B2B terms tend to be slightly higher because the audience is more senior and less likely to be researching casually.

The honest framing is not “Microsoft Ads will replace Google”. It is “Microsoft Ads will add 10 to 25 per cent more pipeline at a meaningfully lower cost per opportunity, with very little incremental management”. For enterprise software firms with cycles measured in months, that is real money.

How we set up a Microsoft Ads account from a Google import

The fastest start is the Google Ads import tool. Microsoft will pull campaigns, ad groups, keywords, ads and conversion goals across, and run them on a parallel schedule. Useful, but lazy if left there.

The reasons to go beyond a straight import:

• Audience targeting differs. LinkedIn profile targeting is unique to Microsoft. We add it as a bid modifier on key campaigns, weighted towards the ICP.
• Negative keyword behaviour differs. Microsoft’s match logic on negatives is slightly looser, so we tighten the lists. Our negative keyword strategy guide covers what we add by default.
• Audience exclusions differ. Microsoft has its own remarketing pixel (UET tag) and audiences are not shared with Google. The remarketing pools have to be rebuilt.
• Bing’s network includes syndicated partners that often produce low-quality clicks. We exclude search partners on most B2B campaigns until we have data proving they pay back.

After the import, we usually rebuild the conversion tracking from scratch using UET, with offline conversion imports from HubSpot or Salesforce flowing back through Microsoft’s offline conversion API. This is the same logic we apply on Google, and we cover the cycle problem in conversion tracking for long B2B sales cycles.

What to bid on, and what to skip

Not every Google keyword translates to Microsoft. The terms we typically prioritise:

• Brand defence. CPCs on Microsoft are often 30 to 60 per cent lower, and the protection is the same.
• Competitor terms. Lower competition often means higher impression share at lower bids.
• High-intent BoFu category terms. These convert at similar rates to Google with cheaper clicks.
• Geographic and localised search. Microsoft’s location data is reasonable and the auction is less crowded.

Where we hold back:

• Top-of-funnel broad match. Microsoft’s broad match has improved, but for B2B categories with ambiguous language, the search terms report can still surprise you.
• Demand Gen-style awareness. Microsoft does not have the same audience scale for top-of-funnel video or display as Google or Meta.

Bidding strategy on a smaller account

Microsoft’s smart bidding has improved significantly. Enhanced CPC, target CPA and maximise conversions all work, with one important caveat: smart bidding needs conversion volume to learn. A campaign producing five conversions a month will not optimise effectively under target CPA, regardless of platform.

Our usual sequence on a Microsoft rebuild:

1. Manual CPC for the first six to eight weeks, until conversion volume is established
2. Enhanced CPC once conversion data is reliable
3. Target CPA or maximise conversions once the campaign clears 30 to 50 conversions a month

For accounts that never reach the volume threshold, manual bidding with strong negatives outperforms automated strategies. Patience here saves money. We’ve put a fuller framework on the volume problem in bidding for low-volume B2B keywords.

Microsoft Audience Network: handle with care

Microsoft Audience Network (MSAN) is the native, display and outstream video network across Microsoft properties. The targeting is reasonable and the inventory includes premium outlets like MSN. The trouble in B2B tech is that MSAN can absorb significant budget on impressions that look like awareness but rarely convert.

We typically run MSAN as a separate campaign, never bundled into search. The creative is built specifically for native placements, and the goal is engagement (reads, video completions) rather than direct conversion. As with any awareness layer, the value is realised through retargeting, which we cover in retargeting tech buyers without burning the brand.

Where Microsoft Ads sits in the wider plan

For most enterprise software clients we work with, Microsoft Ads is not a standalone channel. It is the cheaper second layer of a Google Ads programme, with selective use of LinkedIn profile targeting to add account-based discipline. The split we typically see:

Reporting needs to add Microsoft into the same multi-touch view as everything else, or you will undercount its contribution. Our piece on attribution models for tech companies with multi-touch journeys goes into the mechanics.

If you are running Google Ads for a B2B tech business and have not tested Microsoft seriously, the chances are you are paying more per opportunity than you need to. Working through any of this on your own account? Tell us where you’re stuck. You can also see how we run paid search across both channels on our paid media service page.