In today’s digital landscape, search engine marketing has become an integral part of online strategies. It offers options that you simply can’t get from any other method of digital marketing.
Paid search is by far one of the top sources for driving targeted traffic to your website. In fact, PPC provides the highest ROI (return on investment) of any type of online advertising. That’s massive when you factor in all of the digital marketing channels available.
The big question for many business owners looking to invest in PPC ads for the first time is which service to go with – Google AdWords or Bing Ads?
In an ideal word, your best bet would be to advertise on both Google and the Bing network. But sometimes that is not always the case.
What Is The Best Option For Me?
Google Adwords
Google has enjoyed roughly 67% market share in the US search market for the last 5 years. They control about 2/3 of the market, which makes Google the dominant player in paid search advertising. Paid search impressions have been growing over the last year by 38%. According to comScore, Google on average has higher CTR’s (click-through-rate) in most verticals. Google AdWords has worked wonders for many small to medium sized businesses. It works particularly well for those small to medium sized businesses that choose to advertise with long-tail keywords and niche terms, which are usually quite inexpensive. The Adwords platform is extremely intuitive and provides tools and insights that Bing does not.
Bing Ads
Bing holds about 18% of the current market share. 1/3 of searches are taking places with Google competitors. Anyone actively marketing their business is ignoring a large population if Google is your only focus. Advertisers will enjoy the benefits of a lower cost per click (CPC) on the Yahoo! Bing Network. Depending on the industry you’re in, you will typically see 10% to 24% lower costs per click than Adwords. With Bing Ads, small businesses can easily rank higher while getting increased ad exposure, despite relatively small marketing budgets. Cost per clicks is 50-70% cheaper than Google AdWords, and also offers up to 90% cheaper impressions as well. The combination of the two will also yield a much lower cost per acquisition.
Proof Is In The Pudding
A recent study by AdGooroo compares paid search performance of advertisers on Google Adwords and Yahoo! Bing Network across nine verticals in the U.S during Q1 2014.
What Does This Mean For Me?
Adopting Adwords seems like the obvious choice, but that does not mean businesses should discredit other PPC networks like the Yahoo! Bing Network. If you are not taking advantage of the 33% of search queries happening on search engines other than Google, you are simply leaving money on the table.
You don’t ever want to ignore the millions of potential visitors to your website!
For paid search advertisers, Adwords will provide superior impressions and higher click-through rates. You can reach a much larger audience and it’s scalable, measurable, and flexible.
Yahoo! Bing network will help you maximize your search efforts with lower CPC’s, and less competition, For those looking for a “cost efficient” option, it may be the right choice for you.
Verdict?
The truth is, there is no easy answer to which platform you should invest in. Depending on your vertical, market, budget, etc… one may be a more viable solution than the other. Both have their pros and cons. Find which one best suits your business goals or you can diversify by adding a second PPC source to the mix. The opportunities are endless! Feel free to contact us with any of your PPC questions!
