Commentary

Microsoft Advertising Supports Spanish-Language Ads In U.S.

Microsoft Advertising announced Tuesday that advertisers can now serve text ads from Spanish ad groups in the U.S. on all devices and publishers.

About 13% of the U.S. population speaks Spanish at home, earning it the title of the most common non-English language spoken. The U.S. also has the second-largest population of Spanish speakers in the world, behind only Mexico.

My son-in-law is Hispanic, first-generation and born in the United States, so my two grandchildren are second-generation. Both are under the age of five and are leaning to speak fluent Spanish. My son-in-law’s mother, "Abuela," does not speak English, although she has lived in the U.S. for decades.

Microsoft’s news should be a welcome change for brands looking to reach this market. It means any campaign that has either English or Spanish as a selected language can now serve in the U.S. Spanish ads serve when either the user self-identifies as Spanish-speaking or the query is in Spanish.

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Advertisers with existing Spanish-language campaigns on Google Ads can replicate the structure on Microsoft Advertising. For those just starting out and looking for recommendations for brand campaigns, Microsoft suggests best practices for both branded and non-branded campaigns.

Recommendations include separating Spanish and English ad copies into different ad groups and choosing the corresponding language at the ad-group level.

Advertisers can create Spanish extensions for their Spanish ad groups, bid boost for their Spanish ad groups, or have a higher base bid, so their Spanish ad can be shown over their English-language one.

For branded campaigns, advertisers should keep the same keywords in both ad groups. For non-branded campaigns, the company recommends choosing the correct keywords for each corresponding ad group. All other settings should remain the same.

Microsoft has also announced updates to the Microsoft Audience Network, including support for Video Ads and Feed Ads in the Audience Network Planner and the ability to choose between CPC or CPM pricing.

Audience Network Planner extends support to Video and Feed Ads. In addition to Image Ads, the Audience Network Planner now supports Video Ads and Feed Ads as well.

Advertisers on the Microsoft Audience Network can now specify a maximum amount to pay per 1,000 impressions (CPM), but CPC pricing remains available for those wanting another bid option.

Last week, Microsoft announced that Bing lets consumers search local stores for merchandise to determine store-stock availability and choose to buy online and pick up in-store.

With broader topics, Bing search helps focus choices and narrows “nearby” suggestions. Searching for gift baskets on Bing Maps, consumers have the same option to narrow the search. Results also provide product options like nearby and store reviews, so shoppers can buy what they need.

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