At SBWC, we talk a lot about internet marketing and getting the most bang for your buck. Today, I’m going to talk about a question I get asked a lot – Is Bing advertising worthwhile? Despite being an underdog, Bing continues to be at Google’s throat all the time. Unlike the past, Bing Ads has a unique advantage that most internet advertisers are unaware of – they have lower CPC.

It may come as a surprise that Bing does have some competitive advantages that Google AdWords doesn’t have, but we’ll get more in-depth below. From the Bing advertising cost to Bing Ads Intelligence, several factors have helped Bing to scale the ladder of success gradually. On the other hand, Google Adwords has its share of merits, which are proving to be a challenge for Bing. Let’s give you a run-down of the five major differences on Bing Ads vs Google Adwords to see how they scale up against each other.

Google Adwords vs Bing Ads – Which One is Worth it?

1. Traffic and CPC

Google captures more market share than both Bing and Yahoo combined. Not to say that it beats them by a landslide, but Google is definitely the king of the jungle.  If you are advertising on Bing alone, you are missing out on a large share of the audience, which is hooked to Google. Your reach will probably be less than one-third of all the searches. In simple words, you could miss out on a lot of traffic by choosing Bing Ads over Google Adwords. I’m not saying to choose one over the other though. As an internet marketer myself, I always advocate testing all possible routes. This can be done at little to no cost as almost all advertising platforms today will give you a trial for free. Check out my advertising page here for free Bing Ads and Google AdWords, which will give you a chance to try them both out at no cost.

It’s clear that the PPC God has bestowed a fleet of loyal customers to assist Adwords in its battle against the competition. So, the traffic potential will always be higher on their network vs any other PPC platform out there. BUT because Google is such a brand name, their advertising competition and therefore CPC, is much higher. Marketers don’t realize that Bing has a 33% lower CPC than Google AdWords. This is HUGE difference and means that you’ll reach more people, make more sales, and get higher traffic at a lower cost than what Google AdWords can offer. The lack of popularity on Bing Ads makes it a prime target for marketers. On average, Bing also had a higher CTR than Google AdWords. In the long run, this could be the difference between huge growth vs mediocre growth. If your online business relies on CPC, I highly recommend giving Bing a try.

2. Advertising Competition

Due to lower reach, Bing may not be for everyone. But, you can’t afford to cast a blind eye towards it. The Bing PPC network is growing by the day. At this day and age, it’s the second most popular search engine in the world. If you were to do a quick search for a product or service on Bing, you would notice that the number of advertisers that populate for the product/service is far less than what you witness on Google. So, the competition is less. Remember, lower competition means cheaper CPC and potentially higher CTR.

So, Bing Ads could prove to be deal-breaker for companies that don’t want to break their bank trying to get a first-page position on search engines. How much does Bing Ads cost would depend on the targeted keyword? But, are Bing Ads worth it despite the lower reach is the million dollar question over here? Given the cheaper CPC and higher CTR, Bing Ads are definitely worth a shot. All things considered, it’s still an excellent PPC network. In fact, it’s bliss for small advertisers that don’t have deep pockets to blow money on PPC campaigns.

3. Platform and Control

Between the two networks, Google Adwords platform is definitely more user-friendly. In comparison to AdWords, it takes few seconds longer to complete the same task on Bing. Adwords is faster in certain areas, where Bing still lags a tad bit. A few seconds delay is not a great deal, but the overall Adwords interface is more welcoming and easy to use.

One thing that Bing dominates over is ad control. Bing’s platform allows more granular control over where you target your advertisements. Thus, if you use Google Analytics and know your demographic well, you could, in theory, maximize your conversions via Bing’s superior targeting. On Google’s platform, all of the settings are done at the campaign level and the ad groups are restricted to those settings. Bing, on the other hand, allows full control even at the ad groups level. These minor nuances are what makes Bing a true underdog in the marketing game. Don’t be fooled by their lower traffic, the CPC says it all.

Other important factors to keep in mind:

• Bing still has sidebar ads and Google doesn’t
• Bing has less competition
• Performance may vary depending on your particular industry

4. Ad Remarketing Platform

As you may already know, remarketing is an excellent way to reach prospects that might have already shown interest in a particular product or service. Today, there is a big difference between the remarketing features that Google and Bing product ads have in store for advertisers. Google definitely shines over here through their speed and targeting algorithms for remarketing. This isn’t to say that Bing won’t catch up with them sooner or later. However, Bing still has a lot of distance to cover over here. On the other hand, Google Adwords appear to be all set at the moment.

5. Internet Marketing/Ads Performance

Given the low pricing, Bing can deliver better ROI penny for penny. Remember, Bing product ads cost less than Google Adwords. So, the ROI through Bing can be superior, if things work in accordance with the plan. Both the networks have been road-tested by tens and thousands of people and the results have been different for different people. While some have experienced better results with Bing, there are others who vouch for Google Adwords any day of the week. So, the value lies in both the networks. It’s all about harnessing the best of it and TESTING. Given the fact that you can get freebies (from the link above) and also pay a low amount, the only costly thing in testing is learning the platform. Once you’ve learned one, the other one should be easy to learn as well.

Final Words on Bing and Google Ads:

Bing Ads doesn’t take the prize money over here, nor does Google Adwords dwarf Bing Ads. They both have their share of merits and demerits. Simply put, they are both different. Depending on the budget, targeted keyword, chosen industry, and other factors, one PPC platform could outperform the other one. Truthfully speaking, it’s a matter of trial and error to figure out the best PPC platform for a particular product or service. One’s best bet would be to allocate a certain budget for both the networks to figure out which network delivers the best return on investment for a certain product or service. Check out my coupons page for deals and trials if you’re interested in trying out online services.