Paid Search: Google Ads vs. Bing Ads
What is Paid Search?
When you search a query using Google, the web pages that show up that are relevant to your search are considered the organic results. But the links above the organic search, usually labeled with the work “ad” is a paid search. Using paid search is good for smaller companies to advertise their products, since any one can use them. It is a good way to spread the word about your company. The company has to pay a certain amount each time someone clicks on the ad. Paid search has many benefits ranging from analytics to Google’s first page real estate. Search engines like Google and Bing provide advertisers analytics of their ads to see things from how much time someone spent on your site to where the person is located. Using paid search can help you get placed at the top of the first page of Google which will let users see your content first.
Google Ads
Google Ads can appear above or below search results on Google search. They can also be seen on other Google platforms like Google Play and Google Maps. You also have the option to put ads when a user is browsing the web, which appear on either side or the top/bottom of the webpage. If you want to show your ads to certain people, you can base it off of which type of device they are using. For example, and iPhone or Android device. You are also able to base who sees your ads on location, you can choose anything from a certain country to city. Your ads are scored by Google from a 1 to 10, which is a quality score. It is based on how well and efficient your ad works. Google lets you choose the maximum amount you are willing to spend on your ad. Making sure you choose the correct keywords on your Google Ad can make sure your ads are seen when the user is more likely to see and click on it.
Bing Ads
Bing Ads has the same idea as Google Ads, but there are many differences between the two. Bing is owned by Microsoft, which has three search engines, Bing, Yahoo, and AOL. When you advertise with Bing Ads, your ad is seen on all three of those platforms. If you are using Google Ads, using Bing Ads as well can help you reach about 33% of the search marketplace in the United States. Bing Ads are found in the same location as Google Ads, on the first page of the search results under the search bar. If you are already using Google Ads, you can import the campaigns into Bing Ads. This is an easy way to run the same ads from Google on Bing. Bing Ads are usually significantly cheaper than Google Ads. Cost per click averages $7.99 on Bing Ads and $20.08 on Google Ads. Bing Ads gives you the ability to control demographics like gender and age that see your search ads, unlike Google Ads. Demographic targeting can be controlled at the campaign level within Bing Ads. Many people think that no one uses Bing, but there are around 5 billion searches a month. As a digital marketer, you should defiantly be using a combination of both Google Ads and Bing Ads to reach the different demographics that each search engine has.
WWU MBA Program
I have been given a task to give suggestions to my schools, Western Washington University, MBA program’s PPC. This university is located in the pacific northwest, and since WWU is a smaller school, the MBA program should target people based on them living in the pacific northwest. There are many different types of people who consider going back to get an MBA. A lot of times, they already have a job and are wanting to go back and take night time classes. But other times, students who just graduated with a BA want to continue their education and get an MBA. I would suggest using both Google and Bing Ads, since the people who want to go back to school for night time classes are most likely using Bing. On the other hand, the students, who are a younger demographic, are most likely using Google. The MBA program should make sure they use the correct keywords for their ads. Keywords like “Bellingham MBA” or “Pacific Northwest MBA” would be a good start to attract those consumers who are interested in your program. Finally, WWU should make sure that the landing pagethat you get referred to from the ad aligns with your campaign’s goals.