When most people think of Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads), they picture search ads on Bing search results. But there’s a second network that most advertisers either don’t know about or ignore: the Microsoft Audience Network. I’ve tested it across several client accounts in San Diego and have a clear view of when it’s worth using and when it’s not. Here’s the honest breakdown.
What Is the Microsoft Audience Network?
The Microsoft Audience Network (MSAN) is Microsoft’s display and native ad network. It extends your ads beyond Bing search results onto MSN, Outlook.com, Microsoft Edge (new tab pages), and third-party publisher sites within Microsoft’s exchange. Ad formats include native ads (which match the editorial look of the page they appear on), display banner ads, and video ads.
Think of it as Microsoft’s version of the Google Display Network — but with a different audience profile and different performance characteristics. The MSAN audience is generally older, more professional, and desktop-oriented, consistent with the overall Microsoft Advertising demographic.
How MSAN Placements Work
MSAN campaigns can be run in two ways. First, you can enable Audience Network distribution on existing search campaigns — your search campaign budget gets distributed across both search and audience network placements automatically. Second, you can run dedicated Microsoft Audience campaigns that run exclusively on MSAN with Audience-specific creative and bidding.
I strongly prefer the dedicated audience campaign approach. Mixing search and MSAN in a single campaign obscures performance data — you can’t tell whether your conversions came from a Bing search or an MSN article placement, which makes optimization impossible. The first thing I do when I inherit an account with MSAN enabled on search campaigns is separate them.
Who MSAN Works Well For
Based on the accounts I’ve tested, MSAN performs best for:
- Remarketing: Showing ads to past website visitors as they browse MSN or read Outlook. Past visitors already know your brand and convert at significantly higher rates than cold traffic. MSAN’s relatively low CPMs make remarketing cost-efficient.
- B2B awareness: Reaching business professionals on MSN and Outlook with informational content or brand messaging. The audience quality is good; the intent signals are weaker than search.
- High-consideration purchases: Home remodeling, financial products, healthcare services — categories where buyers research over time and can be influenced by display impressions during the research phase.
Who MSAN Works Poorly For
MSAN doesn’t work well for businesses that need immediate conversions from cold traffic or for tight-margin products where display CPAs are hard to justify. I’ve seen MSAN drain budget on e-commerce accounts where it generated clicks at low CPCs but nearly zero conversions. The audience is browsing MSN, not shopping — the intent gap is significant for direct response campaigns.
If your primary metric is conversion volume and your budget is limited, I’d allocate 100% to search before testing MSAN. Add MSAN budget incrementally once your search campaigns are performing efficiently.
LinkedIn Audience Integration in MSAN
MSAN supports the same LinkedIn audience targeting available on search campaigns — job title, industry, company size. For B2B native ads on MSN, this creates a genuinely powerful combination: you can show content-matched native ads to specific professional personas while they read business news on MSN. The targeting precision is much stronger than typical display advertising, which usually relies on broad interest categories.
Performance Benchmarks I’ve Seen
From my client accounts: MSAN CPCs typically run 40-60% lower than Bing search CPCs for the same account. Conversion rates on MSAN are usually 50-70% lower than search conversion rates. This means the cost per conversion often ends up comparable to or slightly above search — not dramatically worse, but rarely better. The value MSAN adds is usually incremental volume and remarketing reach, not lower CPA. Set your expectations accordingly.
If you want to add Microsoft Audience Network to your Bing strategy or need help managing your full Microsoft Advertising setup, explore my PPC management services, read my Microsoft Advertising optimization guide, or reach out directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Microsoft Audience Network worth using?
It depends on your campaign goals and budget. For remarketing to past website visitors, yes — MSAN CPMs are low and the audience quality is reasonable. For cold traffic direct response, usually no — MSAN conversion rates are typically 50-70% lower than search, and the cost per conversion often ends up comparable to search despite the lower CPMs. I recommend testing MSAN with a dedicated budget separate from your search campaigns, starting with remarketing before testing cold audience campaigns.
How does the Microsoft Audience Network compare to Google Display Network?
Both are display/native ad networks with broadly similar formats and targeting options. MSAN’s placements (MSN, Outlook, Edge) reach a more professionally-oriented audience than GDN’s broader publisher base. GDN has significantly more inventory and reach. MSAN offers LinkedIn profile targeting as a differentiator — you can target by job title or industry on MSAN, which GDN can’t match. For B2B native advertising, MSAN’s LinkedIn integration is a meaningful advantage. For volume and breadth, GDN wins.
What’s the difference between MSAN and Bing search campaigns?
Bing search campaigns show text ads when users actively search for your keywords — high intent, direct response. MSAN shows display and native ads to users as they browse MSN, read Outlook email, or open new tabs in Edge — lower intent, awareness and retargeting oriented. The user mindset is completely different: searching vs. passively browsing. I separate these into different campaigns with different budgets, creative, and KPIs. Never mix them in a single campaign — the performance data is too different to optimize effectively when blended.
What creative works best for Microsoft Audience Network ads?
Native image ads with clear, non-clickbait headlines perform best on MSN placements. MSAN ads appear as sponsored content within editorial environments, so ads that look like natural content (informational headlines, clean imagery, no aggressive CTAs) tend to have better CTR and lower CPMs than overtly promotional creative. For remarketing campaigns, dynamic ads using the Audience Ad format (which automatically pulls product or service information from your URL) work well. Responsive image ads in multiple sizes ensure coverage across the full range of MSAN placements.
How do I exclude MSAN from my Bing search campaigns?
In your campaign settings, navigate to ‘Networks’ and deselect the Microsoft Audience Network. This ensures your search campaign budget only goes to Bing search results placements. Alternatively, you can set the campaign-level setting to ‘Search only.’ If you want to test MSAN, create a separate campaign with Audience Network as the exclusive distribution channel so you can manage budget and evaluate performance independently from your search campaigns.
