Most paid search managers I talk to have a Google Ads account running and a Microsoft Advertising account that was imported once and forgotten. That’s a mistake. Bing’s user base is smaller but more affluent, older, and in many verticals — legal, medical, financial — converts at rates that rival or beat Google. Setting it up right from the start takes about an hour. Here’s exactly how I do it for new clients.
Create Your Microsoft Advertising Account
Go to ads.microsoft.com and sign in with a Microsoft account. If you’re managing this on behalf of a client, create a manager account first — it works like Google’s MCC (My Client Center). Fill in your business information, billing details, and time zone. Time zone matters because it affects your ad scheduling data, so set it to match where your business operates. For most of my San Diego clients, that’s Pacific Time.
Import From Google Ads (The Smart Starting Point)
Don’t build from scratch unless you have to. Microsoft Advertising’s Google Import tool pulls in your entire Google Ads structure: campaigns, ad groups, keywords, negative keywords, ad copy, and most extensions. Go to Import > Import from Google Ads and authenticate with your Google account. Select which campaigns to import and choose whether to import immediately or schedule recurring imports.
I always import immediately for the initial setup, then turn off auto-sync and manage the accounts independently. Auto-sync sounds appealing but it overwrites manual Bing-specific optimizations you’ll make later. Import once, then diverge.
Install the Universal Event Tracking (UET) Tag
The UET tag is Microsoft Advertising’s equivalent of the Google Ads conversion tag. It tracks website events for conversion measurement and audience building. Install it on every page of your website — easiest through Google Tag Manager if you’re already using it. The UET tag setup is under Tools > UET Tags. After installing, verify it’s firing using the UET Tag Helper browser extension.
Without UET, you’re running Bing campaigns blind — no conversion data, no audience lists, no Smart Bidding signals. Install it before you launch any campaigns.
Set Up Conversion Actions
After installing UET, create your conversion actions under Tools > Conversion Goals. Mirror whatever you’re tracking in Google Ads: form submissions, phone calls above a duration threshold, purchase completions. For call tracking, I use the same CallRail numbers I use for Google so I can compare platform performance in one dashboard without platform attribution games.
Review and Adjust Imported Campaigns
The import creates a structural copy of your Google campaigns, but Bing needs specific adjustments to perform well:
- Bid adjustments: Bing CPCs are generally lower, but your Google bids may be too aggressive or too conservative for the Microsoft auction. Start by reducing bids 15-25% from your Google levels and adjust based on actual CPC data after 2 weeks.
- Device adjustments: Bing’s audience skews more desktop-heavy than Google’s. For B2B and professional services, I often increase desktop bid adjustments by 15-20% on Bing.
- Dayparting: Pull your Google hourly data as a starting point, but re-evaluate after 30 days of Bing data. The conversion patterns don’t always match.
Add LinkedIn Audience Targeting
This is the step that separates a basic Bing import from a properly optimized Microsoft Advertising account. Under campaign settings, add LinkedIn profile targeting — by job title, industry, company size, or seniority. Use “bid only” mode first so you’re not restricting reach while you gather data. After 30 days, evaluate which LinkedIn segments are driving better lead quality and shift to “target and bid” for your best performers.
For a detailed walkthrough of this feature, see my LinkedIn Profile Targeting on Microsoft Advertising guide.
Configure the Microsoft Audience Network
Microsoft Audience Network (MSAN) extends your ads beyond search results onto MSN, Outlook, and Microsoft Edge placements. It’s enabled by default on imported campaigns. I typically exclude MSAN from search campaigns initially and evaluate it separately — search and audience network have very different performance profiles and mixing them obscures your data. Set up a dedicated Audience campaign if you want to test MSAN placements.
Set Up Ad Extensions
Microsoft Advertising supports sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, call extensions, and location extensions. If you imported from Google, most of these came over automatically. Verify they’re all active and review their content — some extensions that work for Google’s character limits may need adjustment for Bing’s display. Call extensions are particularly important for local service businesses; make sure they’re enabled and pointing to a tracked number.
Launch and Monitor Week One
Set a modest initial daily budget — I usually start at 20-30% of the equivalent Google daily budget and scale up as data comes in. Check the account daily for the first two weeks. Bing’s audience is smaller, so it takes longer to accumulate statistical significance. Don’t make major bid changes in the first 14 days — let the algorithm gather data before you start optimizing.
If you want someone to handle the setup or manage your Microsoft Advertising campaigns ongoing, explore my PPC management services or get in touch. I manage Microsoft Advertising for a dozen active clients across San Diego and regularly see 30-50% lower CPAs on Bing vs Google for the same service categories.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to set up a Microsoft Advertising account?
The initial setup — account creation, Google Ads import, UET tag installation, conversion tracking, and basic LinkedIn audience configuration — takes about 1-2 hours for a typical single-location service business. If you’re building campaigns from scratch without a Google Ads import, plan for a full day of setup time. The ongoing monthly management for a well-configured account is significantly less intensive than Google Ads — roughly 20-30% of the time investment for comparable account complexity.
Should I use auto-sync between Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising?
No. Auto-sync sounds convenient but it overwrites your Bing-specific optimizations — LinkedIn targeting layers, device bid adjustments, Bing-specific ad copy variations — with the Google versions every time it syncs. Import once from Google as your starting point, then manage the accounts independently. The only exception: if you’re running a very simple account with identical settings on both platforms and never make Bing-specific adjustments, auto-sync is fine. But that’s rarely the right strategy.
What’s the Universal Event Tracking (UET) tag and how do I install it?
UET is Microsoft Advertising’s website tracking tag. It enables conversion measurement, audience building, and Smart Bidding by tracking user behavior on your website. Install it via Google Tag Manager (add the UET tag as a custom HTML tag triggering on All Pages) or paste it directly into your website’s header code. After installation, verify it’s firing using Microsoft’s UET Tag Helper browser extension. Set up conversion goals in Microsoft Advertising’s Tools > Conversion Goals after installation.
How do I verify my Microsoft Advertising campaigns are working after setup?
Check four things: (1) Campaign status shows ‘Active’ with ads serving, (2) UET Tag Helper confirms the tracking tag is firing on your website, (3) The Search Terms report shows actual search queries within 24-48 hours of launch, (4) At least one test conversion has been recorded in your conversion goals. A common issue after setup: bids too low to win any impressions. If you see zero impressions after 24 hours, check your keyword bids against the estimated first page bid shown in the keyword view.
What’s the minimum spend to make Microsoft Advertising worth managing?
I generally recommend a minimum of $500/month to make the management overhead worthwhile. Below that level, volume is thin enough that you’ll accumulate data slowly and the management time investment doesn’t pay back. For campaigns in very high-CPC verticals like legal or healthcare, even $300-$400/month can generate meaningful data because fewer, higher-quality clicks accumulate faster than in lower-CPC categories. The real threshold question is: can this account generate at least 20-30 clicks per week? If not, the data accumulates too slowly to optimize.
