Google AdWords vs. Bing Ads

What’s the difference between the two giants in search advertising? They both provide the same service yet there are several key differences between the two.

The Strengths of Google AdWords

When people think of search advertising, their mind automatically goes to Google AdWords. That’s a double-edge sword in many ways. While it means more revenue for Google, it means higher costs for advertisers. While the price is higher, you could argue there is more value to make up for the higher price.

Higher Search Volume

Search volume is higher on this platform than any other platform.

If your advertising campaign is limited to a small geographic area, Google AdWords may be the only platform where you’ll gain significant search volume, depending on your keywords and match types. Higher search volume means more potential customers for your business.

Ad Extensions & Additional Visibility

There are more advertising extensions on Google than Bing. Search advertisements are notoriously short. Trying to sell your business to potential customers in two 35-character lines is hard for copywriters. Using ad extensions, you can take up more space and sell your message more easily. There are a lot of neat features about ad extensions, like mobile-click-to-call and review extensions to show positive social proof.

Easier to Manage

Google AdWords is an easier platform to manage your search advertising on while at the same time offers much more for settings, targeting, and optimization. While search advertising isn’t the most intuitive activity, Google has done a decent job at incorporating a large number of features and making it relatively easy for users to understand.

The Strengths of Bing Ads

Bing Ads is often an overlooked platform and it shouldn’t be. There are a lot of positives that go with advertising on Bing.

Potentially Lower Cost

It’s at least half as expensive as Google AdWords. Bing Ads has fewer advertisers, which means there are fewer people driving up the price of keywords. That translates into saving businesses money on their advertising dollars. I’ve seen keywords on AdWords cost $17 a click, and those same keywords on Bing cost $5. That’s significant savings over the course of a year.

Bing/Yahoo Partners

Bing and Yahoo partner for their ad network. When you advertise on Bing, you are also advertising on Yahoo. While there is less search volume on the two platforms than Google, it’s still used enough to create significant search volume for many campaigns.

Great Customer Service

While we’re a Google Partner agency and their customer service is amazing, Bing does a good job as well.  Whenever we encounter a problem, the Bing representatives are extremely helpful in solving our issues. This is great for the average business that may not be familiar with the nuances of search advertising.

In The Battle of Google AdWords vs. Bing Ads, Who Wins?

Each platform has unique aspects, but usually it’s effective to use both.

If cost and high competition levels are major factors in your advertising budget, then Bing could be a better choice and result in lower cost-per-acquisitions. If you’re looking for a more user-friendly platform with high search volume, Google AdWords is often be a better choice.

Google AdWords is the favorite of many advertisers with a flexible platform and higher search volume.  Every business has its own specific needs, and depending on those, one platform may perform better or be a better choice than the other.

Need help with your search advertising? Feel free to contact us and we’ll come up with the best solution together.