Commentary

Data Suggests Bing More Efficient For Small Businesses

It cost less for small businesses to advertise on Microsoft's Bing, compared with Google, per a recent study. In fact, the findings suggest the average search marketing cost per click (CPC) of $1.10 on  Bing undercuts the $2.40 on Google AdWords.  

Pricing Engine analyzed digital campaign data from thousands of businesses. Most of the companies, very small businesses (VSB), have less than 100 employees and spend $1 million or less annually in marketing. Preliminary data suggests 19% of its customers use Bing for search marketing, compared with 81% solely using Google AdWords. The study marks the first time Pricing Engine shared information about the trends it sees from about 1,500 client accounts.

Pricing Engine users saw slightly better performance on Google, with an average click-through rate (CTR) of 2.4% on AdWords, and 2.3% on Bing, but campaigns on Bing gained higher efficiency rates in most cases as a result of significantly lower CPC.

Digital services firms had the highest average spend on AdWords, at about $3,200 per month, likely due to a primarily digital focus. Retail stores follow with about $2,500; with outdoor activities and other at about $1,250.

Pricing Engine notes that retail stores were the biggest category by number of accounts in the survey at 17%, followed by home/construction at 15%, and restaurants at 11%.

 

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2 comments about "Data Suggests Bing More Efficient For Small Businesses".
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  1. kevin lee from Didit / eMarketing Association / Giving Forward, October 30, 2013 at 7:04 p.m.

    We've got several clients that over-index on Bing spend in comparison with impression volume (normalized) for a variety of reasons. Lower average CPC is one of them. But there re also nuances in polices and targeting options.
    Advertisers who for whatever reason have not used Bing adCenter yet should certainly take the time to open an account. Importation of a Google account is fairly easy (assuming that's the foundation you want to use). The eMarketing Association is running a deal with my eBook $200 in adCenter credit when you buy the eBook at the eMarketing Association site.
    http://emarketingassociation.com/library/200-bing-adcenter-coupon/

  2. Pete Austin from Fresh Relevance, October 31, 2013 at 6:01 a.m.

    Interesting, but (1) leads != well-qualified leads. (2) There's an overhead for each additional marketing channel, so if you get (say) very fewer clicks on Bing, the cost including overheads might be higher. Do you have any ROI data comparing Google and Bing adverts?

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