This nine part blog series aims to guide SMB’s through understanding and managing their search marketing strategy with Bing Ads. So far, the various online marketing channels, the difference between paid and organic search and the jargon associated with paid search marketing have been introduced. The next step is to create an account with Bing Ads and to build the account structure which will facilitate your search marketing strategy.
The Bing Ads search platform is still very fresh in the Australian and New Zealand market. Many business owners may have a good deal of experience with search advertising however when setting up a new Bing Ads account, there are several things an advertiser must consider.
As a recently new contender in the search platform arena, Bing Ads can provide an advertiser with many benefits including the compatibility of its features and functions with other platforms. The below image is a preview of the Bing Ads Editor tool and the ‘import’ option to directly import your account structure from a different platform.
Despite this, there are a number of factors an advertiser must consider when setting up an account on Bing. These include your CPA and ROI goals, the available Bing Ads products and features in the AU and NZ market and how the Bing Ads platform will contribute to your overall online advertising strategy.
The first step to advertising on a new platform is the setup of an account. Whether you are uploading your account structure from another platform or starting from scratch, this process should be based upon the three S’s: strategy, settings and structure.
Strategy
The first S to consider when setting up your Bing Ads account is strategy which should clearly map out your required CPA and ROI goals, key market regions, products & services and your unique selling proposition (USP). A clear strategy will allow you to get the most from your Bing Ads account and will lead you to then consider the second S: settings. Bing Ads platform settings are a significant part of setting up a PPC account as they will facilitate the delivery of your strategy.
Settings
The great thing about the Bing Ads platform is that it correlates with other search advertising platforms, contributing to a great user experience. As a new platform in the AU and NZ market, you will need to consider the settings that are available when creating your account. The below image is a preview of the Bing Ads editor tool and available targeting options.
Depending on the specifics of your Bing Ads strategy, you will need to have targeting in place including geographical targeting and network distribution. In addition to this, you will need to consider daily budget and bid settings, device settings and ad extensions. The available settings are a key aspect to consider when setting up your Bing Ads account. They create the infrastructure for the strategy and the blue print for the account structure, the third S to consider when setting up a Bing Ads account.
Structure
The account structure may be the first step advertisers consider when creating a new Bing Ads account. It is the structure however that should be directed by the strategy and the available platform settings required to deliver this strategy.
I’ve found that there are usually three common account structures which include website focused, ROI focused or settings focused. A website focused account structure is built to mirror the structure of the website. ROI focused is based upon how the budget is split across the campaigns and how the structure will best achieve ROI. Settings focused is generally the largest account structure with campaigns built out for different targeting and device settings as well as keyword match types.
A great account structure should include elements from all three of the common account structures. To achieve this it is important you first consider your strategy and best available settings to ensure a clear and effective account structure is created.
This article has been a guide to help you plan and build your Bing Ads account structure. Upcoming blog articles will provide greater details on the available settings and targeting options to help you better manage your Bing Ads account.
We welcome questions and comments; please feel free to add your comment in the section below.