- Add Microsoft Advertising once Google Ads search campaigns are converting and tracked, not to rescue a weak account.
- Google Ads campaigns can be imported, but targeting, bids, negative keywords and video ads need review.
- Scheduled imports can overwrite changes made in Microsoft Advertising, including paused campaigns and budgets.
- Conversion tracking needs the UET tag and conversion goals; it does not reuse your Google tag.
- Judge the test on qualified leads or sales in your CRM, over long enough to see real conversions.
Is Microsoft Advertising worth adding after Google Ads?
It is worth testing once your Google Ads search campaigns already bring leads or sales at a cost you accept and your conversion tracking is reliable. Import your best search campaigns, review what the import changes, install Microsoft's UET tag and conversion goals, and judge the test on qualified leads or sales in your own records. If Google Ads is not working yet, fix that first.
We cannot promise results for any account, and nobody honest can. What we can do is set the test up cleanly so the answer is clear. Our Google Ads and PPC team runs both platforms side by side.
Where do Microsoft Advertising search ads show?
Search ads can show on Microsoft's own sites and select traffic, and on syndicated search partner sites. You choose the distribution per ad group: Microsoft sites only, or the whole network including partners. Since July 2024 you can no longer choose partner traffic only, according to Microsoft's ad distribution reference.
In a test, check search terms and partner performance in the reports early. If partner traffic brings clicks but no leads, limit that ad group to Microsoft sites.
How does importing from Google Ads work?
Microsoft Advertising can import campaigns directly from Google Ads after you sign in to Google and give permission. Quick import uses default settings; the custom route lets you choose campaigns and ad groups, adjust bids and budgets, and link UET tags. You can import up to 10 Google Ads accounts at once from a manager account, per Microsoft's import guide.
Microsoft recommends reviewing several items after import:
- Bids and budgets: Microsoft has its own minimums and, by default, raises anything below them.
- Targeting: location and time-of-day settings work differently and need checking.
- Negative keywords: broad match negatives are treated as phrase match negatives.
- Video: video files from Google Ads video campaigns cannot be imported, so you upload them yourself.
Microsoft also recommends importing one Google Ads account into one Microsoft Advertising account, to avoid hitting account keyword limits.
Why can scheduled imports undo your changes?
Scheduled imports keep Microsoft campaigns in step with Google Ads. That is convenient, but Microsoft's guide warns that automated imports can reactivate campaigns you paused and set budgets back to the Google values. The import API also lets you schedule imports daily, weekly, monthly or automatically (Microsoft: Google Ads import).
Decide early which platform leads. A common setup: let the schedule bring in new ads and keywords, but set the import options so budgets and statuses are not updated, so changes made for the test are not overwritten. If campaigns you paused start running again, check the import schedule first.
What changes once the campaigns are running?
An imported campaign is a starting point, not a copy that behaves the same way. Microsoft's import guide points out that quality score is calculated differently, so optimizations that worked on Google may not apply. Audiences differ too: remarketing and in-market audiences on Microsoft are built from UET data, so they start empty and grow once the tag is live.
- Read the search terms report weekly for the first month and add negative keywords for searches that do not fit.
- Compare ad copy and extensions against the Google versions; some may need rewriting rather than importing.
- Check device and location results separately, because the audience mix can differ from Google.
How do you track conversions on Microsoft Advertising?
Microsoft does not read your Google tag. Conversion tracking, remarketing and automated bidding all need Microsoft's Universal Event Tracking tag, which records what visitors do on your site, per What is UET. Then create conversion goals for the actions that matter, such as a form submission or a purchase.
- Conversion goals can look back over a conversion window of up to 90 days, and you choose how conversions are counted (Microsoft: create a conversion goal).
- Microsoft adds a click ID to landing page URLs. The same guide notes that turning it off makes it impossible to import offline conversions, which matters if you want CRM outcomes back in the account.
- For visitors from the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, Microsoft asks advertisers to pass consent with UET through Consent Mode or the TCF.
If you track calls or offline sales on Google Ads, plan the same for Microsoft. Our guides to tracking phone calls as conversions and enhanced conversions for leads cover the Google side; the CRM fields are the same.
How do you run a fair test?
- Start with proven campaigns: the search campaigns that already convert on Google, not experiments.
- Set a learning budget you can afford to spend without a result, and a date to review.
- Keep offers and landing pages the same, so the network is the only difference.
- Measure in your own records: qualified leads, booked jobs or sales by source, not only platform conversions. Our analytics and reporting work joins ad data with CRM outcomes.
- Run it long enough to collect a meaningful number of conversions before deciding.
- Keep the sources apart: make sure your forms and CRM record which network each lead came from, for example from UTM tags on the final URLs, so the two platforms are never credited for the same lead.
When is it not worth adding?
- Google Ads is not profitable yet, or its conversion tracking is unreliable.
- Your service area or niche is so small that search volume is very low on any network.
- Nobody has time to review search terms and imports every week.
In those cases, improving the existing account usually pays more; our guide to a Google Ads budget for a service business is a good starting point.
Frequently asked questions
Is Microsoft Advertising only Bing?
No. Search ads can show on Microsoft sites and select traffic, and also on syndicated search partner sites, depending on the ad distribution you choose for each ad group. Since July 2024 you can no longer choose partner traffic only. Review the distribution setting and the partner performance in reports during your test.
Can we just copy our Google Ads budget?
Start smaller. Search volume differs by market and audience, so a budget that works on Google may not be spent, or may be spent on different searches. Set a test budget you can afford to learn with, and adjust once you see the search terms and conversions it actually brings.
Do we need a separate landing page?
Usually not. The same landing pages can work, as long as the UET tag is installed on them and the conversion pages. Microsoft adds its own click ID to landing page URLs, so check that forms, redirects and tracking scripts keep URL parameters rather than stripping them.
Will automated bidding work from day one?
Automated bid strategies rely on conversion data from UET, so a new account has little to learn from at first. Many advertisers start with simpler bidding while conversions build up, then move to automated strategies once the account has steady conversion data. Keep the import from overwriting the bid strategy you choose.
Can the same agency manage both accounts?
Yes, and it helps, because the two accounts share keywords, ads and reporting needs. Agree who owns each account, keep both under your company’s own logins, and ask for one report that shows each network separately against the leads or sales recorded in your CRM.
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