Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads).

Microsoft Advertising works on the same principle as Google Ads: advertisers book search terms, write ads and pay per click. Ads are served in Bing, in search engines that use Bing results, and increasingly in Microsoft Copilot. On top of that comes the Microsoft Audience Network, with ads in Outlook, MSN and on partner sites.

One practical advantage is the import: existing Google Ads campaigns can be brought across in a few clicks, including keywords, ads and budgets. Afterwards, though, you should fine-tune, because search volumes and click prices differ. In Switzerland, Bing's volume is considerably smaller than Google's; in return, competition is lower in many niches.

An example: a fiduciary firm looking for business clients imports its Google campaign 'bookkeeping SME Zurich' into Microsoft Advertising. Bing is used frequently on company computers running Windows and Edge, because it is the default there. After two months it becomes clear whether the additional clicks lead to enquiries. If they do, the campaign stays live on a small budget; if not, it is paused. (Illustrative example, not a client case.)

Microsoft Advertising is a complement, not a replacement. It makes sense once Google Ads is already running cleanly and the good terms are exhausted, especially in a B2B setting. For an SME with a very small budget, improving the Google account first usually brings more. Whether Bing is worthwhile on top only shows in the figures from existing campaigns, and those only exist with clean conversion tracking. How best to divide up the channels is a subject for digital marketing consulting.