• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, September 9, 2014

Bing released a dashboard giving search marketers a six-month view that digs deeper into several important metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) like impressions, clicks, cost per click (CPC) and click-through rate (CTR) for target markets. The tool supports agencies, resellers and small businesses that are dependent on targeting in specific geographic areas.

The tool, now available in the Bing Ads Agency Hub, provides the data in an Excel file. There are seven reports. Data is available for the months of January through June 2014, per Microsoft vertical specialist Peter Haubold. He explains how the data will update quarterly.

The controls down the left navigation panel allow marketers to select a preferred Designated Market Area (DMA), vertical and sub-vertical to see data. Marketers can integrate third-party data from sites like Nielsen Net Ratings to compare the percentage of clicks coming from specific market areas vs. population size.

Haubold explains that the chart shows 2.09% of all people in the U.S. live in the Atlanta, GA metropolitan area -- with the number reflected by a red line on the chart. A blue bar shows the actual click percentage of all Bing Ads clicks for select sub-verticals in the area. "If the blue bar reaches above the red line, the click percentage is actually higher than the population percentage meaning we are seeing more clicks coming from this area than expected based on population size," he writes, explaining how the charts can help marketers make educated decisions on where to align their budget.

This week, Microsoft also introduced a redesigned MSN brand with a new home page and several Bing-powered apps. The new Bing apps featuring News, Sports, Travel, Weather, and Finance will rebranded as MSN, with plans to release each app for iOS and Android.

Microsoft also chose to outsource news, videos, how-tos and other content, partnering with more than 1,000 creators to develop content on a range of topics.