Bing Ads vs Google Ads for B2B: where the revenue comes from

Advertisers who try Microsoft Ads tend to report the same mix. On r/PPC, one wrote that "Avg Cpc never crossed $2 and CVR 4%+." Another got "about 2 to 3 a month" in leads. A third warned about budget going to "scam partner websites" (r/PPC).

Cheaper clicks, less volume, more junk risk. Whether that adds up to revenue depends on how you set it up and how you measure it.

Bing Ads vs Google Ads: the key differences#

Search share: StatCounter, September 2026, all platforms and desktop.

On cost per click: many guides claim Bing clicks cost 30–50% less, usually with no source. The only benchmark we found that separates Microsoft out is old: WordStream's 2017 data showed an average Bing CPC of $1.54, 33% lower than Google (WordStream). Current benchmarks blend the two. Measure your own.

Why Microsoft Advertising can suit B2B#

1. Desktop, during work hours#

Bing's US share is almost twice as high on desktop as across all devices. Windows PCs default to Edge and Bing, and many companies leave that in place. If your buyers research software at their desks, a bigger share of them use Bing than the overall figures suggest.

2. LinkedIn profile targeting#

This is the feature Google can't match. Microsoft Advertising lets you target or adjust bids by LinkedIn company, industry and job function (Microsoft Advertising). In 2026 it added job seniority to Search campaigns (PPC Land).

Use it in observation mode first. That collects data on which companies, roles and seniority levels click and pay, without limiting reach. Then raise bids on the segments that bring paying accounts.

3. Copilot#

Ads can show inside Microsoft Copilot answers, drawn from responsive search ads, Performance Max ads with a logo and some other formats. There's no separate Copilot report yet, according to one agency's testing (JumpFly).

One caution: ChatGPT now runs its own ad platform. Microsoft Ads do not serve in ChatGPT (Axios).

The risks: partner traffic, junk leads and imports#

Syndicated partners and the Audience Network#

By default, Microsoft search ads can show on partner sites, and ad groups can serve on the Audience Network. Advertisers report bot-like traffic even after excluding partners (r/PPC). In 2025 an agency told Microsoft about fake B2B leads from what it called a "very sophisticated click farm" (MediaPost).

How to lock it down:

• Set ad distribution to Bing, AOL and Yahoo (owned and operated) only for your first test (JumpFly).
• Set the Audience ads bid adjustment to −100% on search ad groups.
• Use website exclusion lists: up to 10,000 sites per list and 100 lists per account (PPC Land).
• Check the publisher websites report weekly once you open partners back up.

Imports from Google that quietly break#

The Google Import tool copies "most supported campaigns, ads, targets, ad extensions" and can repeat on a schedule (Microsoft Learn). What it doesn't fix, according to one agency checklist (Pink Dog Digital):

• Smart Bidding strategies don't carry over
• Conversion tracking needs setting up again
• Partner distribution may be on
• Location targeting can come in broader than intended
• Time zones can shift

As one r/PPC advertiser put it, don't "just dump Google Ads campaigns into MS and expect it to work."

Performance Max without guardrails#

Microsoft's Performance Max now supports negative keyword lists of up to 5,000 terms, at campaign or account level, and you can import negatives from Google (Microsoft Advertising). Leave PMax out of your first test, or add these before launch.

Many of the same leaks apply on both platforms. See Google Ads wasted spend: the 9 places your budget leaks.

Are Bing Ads worth it? A 12-week test plan#

Weeks 1–2: set up#

1. Import once, not on a schedule. Start with your best-performing Google Search campaigns.
2. Fix the imported settings: owned and operated only, Audience ads −100%, location "people in" the US, correct time zone.
3. Start with phrase and exact match. Import your negative keyword lists too.
4. Install the UET tag and set up conversion goals.
5. Store the click ID. Save msclkid alongside gclid when visitors land, and copy it onto the user at sign-up.

Weeks 1–12: send revenue back#

When Stripe confirms a first payment, upload it as an offline conversion with its value. Microsoft accepts conversions up to 90 days after the click, and the conversion window can be set up to 90 days. Wait about 2 hours after creating the goal before uploading (Microsoft Learn).

This is the same pattern as Google's offline import: see track Stripe conversions in Google Ads.

Weeks 3–8: add LinkedIn data#

Add company, industry, job function and seniority in observation mode. After a few weeks, compare which segments brought paying customers, then raise bids on those.

Weeks 9–12: decide#

Compare Microsoft with Google on cost per paying customer and payback, not clicks or leads.

These thresholds are our suggestion. Adjust them to your margins.

How to do this in Kratly#

1. Connect Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising and Stripe. Microsoft connects through a script that runs inside your account, so no developer token is needed.
2. Compare side by side. See cost per paying customer and revenue for Google and Microsoft campaigns in one view.
3. Spot the campaigns that don't pay. Kratly shows Microsoft campaigns that spend without bringing paying customers, next to their Google equivalents.
4. Move budget to what pays. Shift spend between platforms based on Stripe revenue, and Kratly measures the result.