Many businesses run their PPC advertising through Google Ads. Some also run campaigns through Microsoft Ads, while others overlook this often-forgotten platform and may be missing out on valuable additional conversions.

So, how similar are Google Ads and Microsoft Ads? And what should you consider when running campaigns across both platforms?

In this article, we look at the main similarities and differences between Google Ads and Microsoft Ads, and why simply copying your Google Ads strategy across to Microsoft Ads may not always deliver the results you expect.

Google Ads vs Microsoft Ads: What Is Similar?

It makes sense to start with what these two platforms have in common.

Google Ads and Microsoft Ads share many similarities when it comes to campaign types, setup and functionality. The familiar campaign types you find across Google Ads, including Search, Shopping and Performance Max, are also available in Microsoft Ads, alongside other campaign formats designed for different stages of the customer journey.

The platforms also have very similar requirements for ads, keywords and campaign structures. In fact, Microsoft Ads allows advertisers to import campaigns from Google Ads, which can save a significant amount of time when setting up campaigns and demonstrates just how closely the two platforms are aligned.

Microsoft Ads campaigns also have budgets, keywords, products for Shopping and Performance Max campaigns, bidding strategies, ad schedules, negative keywords, search terms and many other familiar controls.

This means that managing Microsoft Ads can be relatively straightforward for someone who already has experience with Google Ads.

But while the platforms may look very similar, there are some important differences.

So, What Is Different?

Although Microsoft Ads shares many similarities with Google Ads, there are also some subtle – and some not-so-subtle – differences between the two platforms.

This means that running campaigns in exactly the same way on Microsoft Ads as you do on Google Ads can lead to very different results if the differences between the platforms are not taken into account.

1. Audience Size and Algorithm Learning

One of the biggest differences between Google Ads and Microsoft Ads is audience size.

Microsoft Ads generally has a much smaller audience than Google Ads in markets such as the UK, US, Canada and Australia. This means there are fewer searches and, consequently, fewer opportunities to generate conversions.

A smaller conversion volume also means less data for automated bidding algorithms to learn from.

As a result, Microsoft Ads campaigns can take longer to generate enough conversion data for automated bidding strategies to perform effectively. At Ad Ripple, we often see manual bidding work well in certain Microsoft Ads scenarios, particularly where campaigns do not yet have enough conversion volume for automated bidding to learn effectively.

Performance Max campaigns can be particularly interesting in this respect. Because they rely on automated bidding and optimisation, the smaller volume available through Microsoft Ads can mean campaigns take longer to move through the learning phase and reach a stable level of performance compared with equivalent campaigns on Google Ads.

It also means that Microsoft Ads campaigns can require a different approach to optimisation.

We often find that large or aggressive changes can cause more volatility on Microsoft Ads, and the platform may take longer to respond to those changes.

A useful way to think about the difference is to imagine Microsoft Ads as a train and Google Ads as a car.

A car can accelerate, slow down and change direction relatively quickly. A train takes longer to respond and needs more gradual changes.

The same principle can apply when managing campaigns on the two platforms. Microsoft Ads can take longer to react to changes because of the smaller amount of available data.

This is one reason why a bidding strategy that works particularly well on Google Ads will not necessarily perform equally well on Microsoft Ads.

If you’re unsure which bidding strategy to use for a particular campaign, see our article on the best PPC bidding strategy here.

2. Demand Gen, Video and Audience Campaigns

Another important difference is the range of campaign types and inventory available on each platform.

Google Ads offers campaign types such as Demand Gen and YouTube advertising, while Microsoft Ads does not provide direct equivalents to all of these formats.

Instead, Microsoft Ads offers Audience Ads, which are designed to provide more visual exposure and reach users outside traditional search results.

Audience Ads should not be viewed as a direct replacement for Google Display or Demand Gen, but they can play a similar role within a broader mid- to upper-funnel strategy.

As a result, the approach to building a mid- or upper-funnel strategy on Microsoft Ads can be quite different from Google Ads.

3. Competition and CPCs

With Microsoft Ads having a smaller audience than Google Ads, a common question is:

Why advertise on Microsoft Ads at all?

At Ad Ripple, we believe there is a strong case for testing the platform.

While Microsoft Ads has a smaller audience, it can also have lower competition and cheaper CPCs in many industries. This means that although Microsoft Ads is unlikely to simply double the size of an overall PPC strategy, it can provide valuable incremental conversions – sometimes at a lower cost than Google Ads. Therefore, if high CPCs are an issue for your campaigns on Google Ads, check out our article about ways to combat them here and consider running more ads on Microsoft Ads instead.

Across the accounts we manage, we often see Microsoft Ads contribute an additional 10–20% in conversion volume when it is implemented and managed effectively.

The exact opportunity will obviously vary by business, industry and market, but the combination of lower competition and different search behaviour makes Microsoft Ads well worth testing.

4. Audience Types and LinkedIn Targeting

The audiences available through Microsoft Ads can also differ from those on Google Ads.

Microsoft’s audience can often skew towards older and more affluent users, although this will vary significantly depending on the market and industry.

Another interesting factor is that Bing is commonly used as the default search engine on some workplace computers. This can make Microsoft Ads particularly interesting for businesses targeting professionals and B2B audiences.

Microsoft also owns LinkedIn, which creates some useful targeting opportunities that are not available in the same way through Google Ads.

Microsoft Ads can use LinkedIn profile information for targeting based on factors such as industry, company and job function. This can provide an additional layer of audience targeting for B2B campaigns and potentially help advertisers reach users based on their professional characteristics.

For B2B advertisers in particular, this is one of the more interesting differences between the two platforms.

5. Merchant Centre

Google and Microsoft also take a different approach to their Merchant Centre functionality.

Google Merchant Center operates as a separate platform from Google Ads, while Microsoft Merchant Center is integrated within the Microsoft Advertising ecosystem.

The functionality is similar in many respects, including managing product feeds and promotions, but the interfaces and controls are noticeably different.

For advertisers managing Shopping campaigns across both platforms, this is another area where familiarity with Google does not necessarily mean the Microsoft setup will feel exactly the same.

6. Controls and Data Visibility

There are also a number of smaller differences between Google Ads and Microsoft Ads when it comes to campaign controls and the data available to advertisers.

For example:

• Unlike Google Ads, Microsoft Ads does not provide the same level of Performance Max channel reporting, which can make it harder to understand exactly where campaigns with multiple asset groups are spending their budget.
• Google Ads allows advertisers to turn off the Search Partners network, whereas Microsoft Ads has more limited control over some of its additional networks and placements.
• Microsoft Ads provides useful reporting around partner sites and can show metrics such as conversions, revenue, ROI and CPA. Advertisers can also use URL exclusion lists to prevent ads from serving on specific sites or placements that are not delivering satisfactory results.
• In our experience across client accounts, seasonality adjustments can also behave differently between the two platforms. Google Ads seasonality adjustments can produce more noticeable changes in performance, while the impact we observe in Microsoft Ads tends to be softer.

These may seem like relatively small differences, but they can become important when managing campaigns at scale and trying to understand exactly why performance is changing.

Should You Be Running Microsoft Ads?

Google Ads undoubtedly has a significantly larger audience and greater overall reach than Microsoft Ads.

However, that does not mean Microsoft Ads should be ignored.

The platform provides access to a different audience, a different competitive landscape and, in many cases, lower CPCs. It can therefore provide valuable incremental conversions alongside an existing Google Ads strategy.

At Ad Ripple, we often see Microsoft Ads contribute an additional 10–20% in conversion volume when there is a suitable opportunity and the campaigns are managed correctly.

However, Microsoft Ads should not be treated simply as a smaller version of Google Ads.

The smaller audience means there is less conversion data available, which can make automated bidding slower to learn and campaigns slower to stabilise. It is therefore important to give Microsoft Ads enough time and avoid making large changes too quickly.

In some cases, it can take 4–6 months to build enough reliable data to properly assess the platform’s potential, particularly for lower-volume accounts.

The key takeaway is simple:

If your business is already investing in Google Ads but isn’t using Microsoft Ads, it may be worth testing.

You may be leaving additional conversions on the table – potentially at a cost that compares favourably with Google Ads.

At Ad Ripple, we can help assess whether Microsoft Ads is a worthwhile opportunity for your business and identify where it could complement your existing PPC strategy.