Google might be the dominant search engine, but Bing is still the third most important site. Many marketers consider Google and Bing as rival platforms and are quick to choose just one, but the results are better when combined. If you are thinking of expanding your digital marketing strategy,  Bing should be on your to-do list. The differences between the two platforms are what makes them unique and equally important for effective marketing.

You Cannot Ignore Bing Anymore

It is easy for Google to overshadow the other platforms by owning 85% of the search engine market, but Bing has been advancing silently. Though it is nowhere near Google, it still holds third place with 8% of its market share. Bing’s revenue also continues to rise over the years steadily.

Though the statistics of Bing might look small when compared to Google, every customer counts in digital marketing. With over 5.4 billion monthly searches being conducted on the Bing network, it would be a grave mistake to ignore Bing in your digital marketing strategy.

Powered by Microsoft, Bing strives to better itself at every turn since competing against the long-standing and powerful rival is not easy. This makes Bing introduce new strategies and features that are innovative.

Bing Search

The search engine you use for marketing is a direct link to your potential customers. Here are some of the reasons why you should consider adding Bing to your current digital marketing strategy.

1. Audience Reach 

According to research conducted by GML Consulting, Bing is found to reach older and well-educated audiences. The financial ability of the Bing audience also seems to be high, with almost half of the network having a household income of over $75,000. If you are looking for affluent customers, then Bing is a necessity. Our reviews from LocalBizNetwork have also been featured in the Bing search console, giving it a better reach.

2. Ease of Purchase

With Bing, buying products or services is easier since it tends to display “real-world results”. On the other hand, Google tends to offer its customers informational results to learn more about the product before purchasing. Thus, Bing might help your business with faster conversions.

3. Search Results and SEO 

Bing uses an enriched basic search that goes deeper than simply focusing on the essential keywords. This makes Bing produce comprehensive results for user queries. Also, Bing uses meta descriptions for the assessment of websites more than Google. This conventional method to understand content makes SEO optimization for Bing easier than for Google.

4. Unique Query Results

There are about 136 million unique searchers on Bing. Bing also has high individual query searches, which means that they are only found on Bing, and the users who search for them have a higher intent to buy.

Bing Listing

Listing your business with the major business directories is a proven method to increase conversions and revenue. Bing Places for Business allows you to enhance enterprises to whether they be small or large. Local listings on Bing would enable you to connect with your customers online and increase your reliability among the local population. Bing Places for business also lets you emphasize more on the website’s content and data.

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Read Also: What are the Best Websites to Use for Effective Business Listings?

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Bing Ads

At first glance, Bing and Google might look like they have the same features like paid advertising and so on. But you might have noticed that the same search queries offer organic results, which vary drastically in both search engines. We have compiled some of these differences between Google Adwords and Bing Ads, which bring about varied results.

1. Visibility

Microsoft has three search engines – Bing, AOL, and Yahoo. Thus, if you advertise on any one of these, your ad gets featured on all three. This accounts for greater visibility and a larger audience since a campaign is opened across all Yahoo, AOL, and Bing owned and operated sites. Traffic volume for keywords is also much lower in Bing when compared to Google.

2. Click-Through Rate

Bing Ads tend to have higher CTRs for shopping, and financial service searches since both Yahoo and MSN offer financial reporting. Bing Ads have a higher conversion rate which is 56% higher than Google AdWords in specific industries. For example, Bing users are more interested in e-commerce and are willing to spend more money online than Google users.

3. Reach

With Google being the largest search engine, it is known that the reach is enormous. But Bing has over 34% of the desktop search engine market, and Bing Ads reach about 63 million users who do not use Google AdWords.

When you leave Bing out of your marketing strategy, you miss out on 63 million potential customers, which is a wasted opportunity. Also, Bing Ads has affluent customers who are willing to spend their money online, which means there is a better rate of conversion with Bing Ads.

4. Cost

The cost of advertising in Bing is much lower than in Google. The budget depends on the particular industry and can vary for every single advertiser. But a specific digital marketing agency has found that Bing Ads cost only 20-35% compared to Google AdWords.

The cost per click on Bing Ads can be 70% lower than in Google AdWords. Less competition for advertiser’s bidding helps Bing Ads maintain this lower cost. But the traffic quality is an essential factor to note since advertisers will have to pay more for conversions than Google AdWords with lesser traffic. But Bing has lesser competition, and thus, it would be easier to get the traffic at a lower cost and a better ROI.

5. Importing Google Ads Campaign

Importing your existing Google Ads campaign into Bing Ads is easier and faster. With just a few clicks, you can import your marketing campaign and target audience information. If you are using Google AdWords already, the learning curve with Bing is minimal since the two platforms work similarly.

6. Device Targeting

Mobile ad targeting might be limited with Google AdWords, but Bing Ads does it better. With Bing, you can target a specific audience with the device type or OS they use. Also, there is the option to restrict the display of campaign ads on desktop, given that you want to focus on mobile users.

7. Better Transparency

Bing discloses details about its search partners, and this helps the advertisers find the source of traffic. The details of the metric, along with the impressions and conversions of each partner in the campaign, are available in clear and detailed reports helping you create an efficient marketing strategy while taking into account all these details.

Bing or Google?

By now, you would have understood that Bing has an irrefutable place in a proper marketing strategy. At the same time, you cannot ignore Google since it has the maximum share in the search engine market. Thus, the best digital marketing strategy comprises of using the two platforms simultaneously.

Bing could complement your Google Ads strategy and fill the gaps left in your online presence. With Bing Ads, you can reach a specific range of audiences and explore new and unique territories. Other than this, people with a lower budget for their marketing campaign can choose Bing since there is less bidding competition and lower CPC.

LocalBizNetwork

LocalBizNetwork is an online business directory, and we have been helping small businesses reach a more comprehensive range of audiences while helping them compete in the competitive digital marketing area.