Microsoft Ads in Australia: A Complete 2026 Guide to Advertising on Bing, Copilot and the Microsoft Audience Network
In Australia, the vast majority of paid search investment goes to Google Ads. That makes sense: Google handles most of the country's searches. But that concentration creates an opportunity few advertisers take: Microsoft Ads (formerly Bing Ads) reaches a different audience, with less competition in the auction and, in many accounts, noticeably lower cost per click for comparable searches.
This guide explains what Microsoft Ads is, where its ads appear, which Australian businesses it suits, how to set it up step by step starting from a Google Ads account, what to expect in results and which mistakes to avoid. We write it from Old Fox, a performance marketing agency founded in 2012 and a Google Premier Partner that also manages Microsoft Ads as a complementary channel for B2B and service accounts.
In short: Microsoft Ads shows ads on Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, in Copilot experiences and across the Microsoft Audience Network. Its share of searches in Australia is small compared with Google's, but its audience tends to be more corporate, more desktop-based and often higher-income than average, and competition in the auction is lower. It suits B2B, professional services, finance, executive education and technology especially, as a complement to Google Ads and not a replacement, starting with roughly 10%–20% of search budget and measuring over at least 60 to 90 days.
Last updated: November 2026.
Request a free search advertising audit →
What Microsoft Ads Is and Where the Ads Appear
Microsoft Advertising is Microsoft's advertising platform. It works on the same keyword auction logic as Google Ads, and its ads can appear on:
- Bing, Microsoft's search engine, which is the default in the Edge browser and in Windows search.
- Yahoo and DuckDuckGo, which use Bing results and ads.
- Copilot experiences, Microsoft's AI assistant integrated into Bing, Edge and Windows, where ads can appear alongside conversational answers.
- The Microsoft Audience Network, a display and native network across Microsoft properties (such as MSN and Outlook) and partner sites, with audience targeting.
For an Australian advertiser, the most relevant part is usually search: it carries explicit commercial intent and can be imported almost directly from Google Ads.
Why Microsoft Ads Makes Sense in Australia
1. The audience is different, not just smaller. A significant part of Bing usage comes from office computers with Windows and Edge as defaults. That means more searches during working hours, more business decision-makers and an older age profile than mobile-first Google.
2. Fewer advertisers competing for each click. Because many Australian businesses do not advertise on Microsoft Ads, the auction has fewer competitors. That tends to mean lower CPCs and, often, better positions for the same bid.
3. Each dollar can go further. With rising ad costs in competitive categories, finding quality clicks at a lower price has real value.
4. Targeting by LinkedIn profile attributes. Where available, Microsoft Ads lets you adjust bids by company, industry or job function from LinkedIn profile data in search campaigns, a capability Google Ads does not offer and one that is very useful in B2B.
5. Fast implementation. Importing from Google Ads lets you launch in hours, reusing keywords, ads and structure that are already tested.
Which Australian Businesses Benefit Most
| Industry | Why it works on Microsoft Ads | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Software and B2B services | Decision-makers at work, LinkedIn profile targeting where available | High |
| Professional services (legal, accounting, consulting) | Older audience, desktop searches, high ticket | High |
| Finance, insurance and investments | Higher-income profile, lower CPC on expensive terms | High |
| Executive education and postgraduate study | Professional audience, desktop comparison | High |
| Industrial and supplier businesses | "Supplier," "manufacturer," "wholesale" searches in working hours | Medium-high |
| Higher-ticket travel | Desktop planning, older audience | Medium |
| Mass-market ecommerce | Limited volume; useful only with well-set-up Shopping | Low-medium |
| Mobile-first urgent services | Most of these searches happen on Google from phones | Low |
Microsoft Ads Versus Google Ads: A Practical Comparison
| Aspect | Google Ads | Microsoft Ads |
|---|---|---|
| Search volume in Australia | Very high | Much lower |
| Competition in the auction | High | Lower |
| Average CPC | Reference | Often meaningfully lower for comparable terms |
| Predominant device | Mobile | Desktop |
| Professional targeting | Limited | LinkedIn profile attributes where available |
| Automated bidding | Very mature | Available; needs more volume to stabilise |
| Campaign import | — | Direct from Google Ads |
The practical conclusion: Google Ads remains the main search channel in Australia. Microsoft Ads is an incremental channel that adds conversions at lower cost, above all in B2B and higher-ticket services. For a deeper comparison, see Microsoft Ads versus Google Ads and Microsoft Ads for B2B.
How to Set Up Microsoft Ads for Australia, Step by Step
1. Create the account and set up billing. Define currency and payment method with your accountant, considering GST treatment. Account currency cannot be changed afterwards.
2. Install UET (Universal Event Tracking). It is the equivalent of Google's tag. Without UET there is no conversion measurement or remarketing. Set up the same conversions you use in Google Ads (forms, calls, bookings, purchases with value) so you can compare channels fairly.
3. Import campaigns from Google Ads. Choose the best-performing search campaigns, not the whole account. After importing, review budgets, location targeting (set to "people in the location"), language, schedules and extensions.
4. Adjust bids. Do not copy Google's CPCs: start with somewhat lower bids and raise them where volume is insufficient. If you use automated bidding, start with maximise clicks or conversions with a cap and move to target CPA once there is volume.
5. Review negatives. Import your Google negative list and add Bing-specific ones as they appear in the search terms report, which often shows different variations.
6. Turn on LinkedIn profile adjustments (B2B), where available. Raise bids for your ideal industries, companies or job functions and lower them for profiles that do not buy.
7. Schedule around working hours. Because much of the traffic is corporate, working days during office hours often concentrate the best conversions.
8. Measure for 60 to 90 days before deciding. With lower volumes, conclusions need more time than in Google Ads.
How Much to Invest in Microsoft Ads
The practical rule we use: start with 10%–20% of the search budget currently going to Google Ads, concentrated on campaigns that have already shown profitability. If cost per conversion matches or beats Google, scale until available volume is exhausted, which in Australia usually happens sooner than on Google because total search volume is lower.
For a B2B company spending AUD 5,000 a month on Google Ads, a reasonable test would be AUD 500–1,000 a month on Microsoft Ads for three months. It makes no sense to start with such low amounts that the test cannot produce even a dozen conversions, because nothing can be concluded.
Indicative Benchmarks in Australia
These come from the kind of service and B2B accounts we see; they vary a lot by industry, city and account quality:
- CPC: often meaningfully lower than on Google Ads for comparable keywords, especially in B2B and professional services.
- Conversion rate: similar or slightly higher in B2B and professional services, because of the audience profile.
- Volume: a fraction of Google's volume for the same keywords.
- Device: a majority of desktop traffic during business hours.
- Best relative performance: professional service terms, software, industrial suppliers and finance.
Copilot and Conversational Search: Why It Matters Now
Microsoft has integrated ads into Copilot experiences linked to search. That changes something important: in conversational searches, users ask longer, more specific questions ("what accounting software suits a 20-person Australian distribution business?") and intent tends to be more mature.
To be present, it helps to have complete ad assets, landing pages that clearly answer the specific questions users ask and a website with structured content that can also be cited organically by these assistants. It is the same logic as generative engine optimisation (GEO) that we describe in SEO agencies in Australia.
Microsoft Audience Network: When to Use It
The audience network shows native and display ads on MSN, Outlook and partner sites. For most Australian accounts we recommend starting with search only and adding the audience network later for:
- Remarketing to site visitors who did not convert.
- Professional audience targeting in B2B.
- Ecommerce campaigns with a product feed.
Activating it from day one without control often generates cheap, low-quality clicks that distort channel results.
How to Tell Whether Microsoft Ads Adds Sales or Just Redistributes Them
The key question when adding a channel is not "how many conversions does it report?" but "how many conversions does it add that would not have happened anyway?" Some practical ways to answer:
Look at the total, not only the channel. If activating Microsoft Ads raises total search conversions (Google plus Microsoft) and combined cost per conversion stays flat or falls, it is adding. If Google conversions fall in the same proportion as Microsoft's rise, you are probably paying twice for the same customers.
Separate brand from non-brand. Brand searches on Bing convert very well, but many of those people would have found you anyway. The real incremental value lies in generic searches.
Use a CRM or spreadsheet with the original lead source. In B2B with consultative sales, the platform only sees the form. The CRM shows whether those leads progressed to meeting, proposal and sale. It is common to find that Bing leads, though fewer, close at a higher rate because of the corporate audience profile.
Compare equivalent periods. Australian seasonality — January and February with lower corporate activity, EOFY in June, the end of the year with closed budgets — makes month-on-month comparison misleading. Compare against the same period last year or use a test period with a geographic control.
Microsoft Shopping for Australian Ecommerce
If you have an online store, Microsoft Ads lets you import the product feed from Google Merchant Center and launch Shopping campaigns on Bing. In Australia the volume is limited, so we recommend:
- Start only with higher-margin, higher-ticket categories.
- Exclude out-of-stock products or those whose prices change very frequently, to avoid disapprovals and clicks from users who cannot buy.
- Measure purchase value with UET to calculate the channel's real ROAS.
- Compare average order value on Bing with Google's: in many categories it is higher because of the desktop buyer profile.
The work done on the feed serves both search engines. See our guide to Google Ads for ecommerce.
An Illustrative Test Plan for an Australian B2B Company
This is an illustrative example (not a real client) of how a Sydney-based B2B software company spending AUD 6,000 a month on Google Ads might structure a three-month Microsoft Ads test:
| Item | Plan |
|---|---|
| Budget | AUD 800 per month for three months (about 13% of search budget) |
| Campaigns imported | The three best-performing Google search campaigns by cost per qualified lead |
| Bidding | Maximise conversions with a cap in month one; move to a target cost per lead in month three if there are enough conversions |
| Conversions | Demo requests and qualified opportunities imported from the CRM, matching Google Ads |
| LinkedIn profile adjustments | Higher bids for target industries and for decision-making job functions, where available |
| Schedule | Weekdays during business hours, with reduced bids on weekends |
| Success criteria | Cost per qualified lead within 20% of Google's, or better; at least 15 conversions in three months |
| Review points | Day 30 (tracking and search terms), day 60 (bids and negatives), day 90 (scale, hold or stop) |
At the end of the test, the company compares cost per qualified lead and cost per opportunity across channels, and checks that Google conversions did not fall in parallel. If Microsoft Ads meets the criteria, it receives a larger share of the search budget; if not, the company has learned at a controlled cost.
Weekly and Monthly Review Routines
A small channel still needs consistent attention. A light routine:
Weekly (about 30 minutes):
- Check spend, clicks and conversions against plan.
- Review the search terms report and add negatives.
- Confirm that conversions are recording (a sudden drop is often a tracking problem).
- Look for disapproved ads or policy notices.
Monthly:
- Compare cost per conversion with Google Ads for the same campaigns and period.
- Review performance by device, location and hour.
- Check impression share to see whether you are leaving available volume unused.
- Report on leads, opportunities and revenue by channel using CRM data.
- Decide whether to raise, hold or reduce the budget.
Quarterly:
- Review whether Microsoft Ads is adding incremental conversions or overlapping with Google.
- Reassess new features, such as Copilot placements and audience options, and whether they are worth testing.
Policies and Compliance on Microsoft Ads
Microsoft Ads has its own advertising policies, which are broadly similar to Google's but not identical:
- Restricted categories such as financial services, health, alcohol, gambling and therapeutic goods have specific requirements, and Australian rules (ASIC, AHPRA, TGA and state licensing) apply on top.
- Landing page quality matters: pages must load quickly, be relevant and be transparent about pricing and terms.
- Misleading claims are not allowed, and the Australian Consumer Law applies to any claim you make.
- Data and privacy: when you use remarketing or customer lists, follow the Privacy Act and Spam Act and the platform's rules on personal data.
- Imported campaigns can trigger different disapprovals than they did on Google, so review the status after import and fix issues promptly.
Keeping a record of approved ad copy and policy exceptions makes future launches and audits faster.
Microsoft Ads Launch Checklist
Before activating the first campaign, verify:
- UET installed and verified on all pages, with form, call, booking and purchase conversions if applicable.
- Currency, time zone and billing reviewed with your accountant.
- Location targeting set to "people in the location," not "people interested in."
- English (Australia) language and, if applicable, exclusion of countries you do not serve.
- Audience network turned off in search campaigns unless an explicit decision is made.
- Negative keyword list imported and reviewed.
- Extensions (sitelinks, callouts, call, location) complete.
- Schedules matched to the working-hours pattern.
- LinkedIn profile adjustments applied in B2B campaigns, where available.
- Review dates scheduled at 30, 60 and 90 days.
Common Microsoft Ads Mistakes
1. Importing the whole Google account without review. Errors, oversized budgets and wrong location settings are imported too.
2. Not installing UET or not defining conversions. Without measurement, you cannot know whether the channel adds or subtracts.
3. Evaluating with a few weeks of data. With small volumes, statistical noise is large; two or three months are needed.
4. Leaving the audience network on by accident. Some import settings include it; check campaign by campaign.
5. Ignoring LinkedIn adjustments in B2B. It is the platform's strongest differentiator and most advertisers do not use it.
6. Copying Google's schedules. Bing's hourly pattern differs; analyse it separately.
How Old Fox Works With Microsoft Ads
At Old Fox we use Microsoft Ads as a complementary channel within an integrated search strategy. First we make sure Google Ads is well structured and measured; then we import the profitable campaigns selectively, install UET with the same conversions, apply LinkedIn profile adjustments in B2B accounts where available and compare both channels by the same yardstick: cost per qualified lead or per sale.
We are a Google Premier Partner with 130+ active accounts and an average ROAS of 4.5x. Our goal is for each added channel to bring incremental results, not to make the account look bigger. We support Australian businesses remotely and agree meeting times that suit your time zone.
Frequently Asked Questions About Microsoft Ads in Australia
Does Microsoft Ads work in Australia? Yes. Microsoft Advertising is available to Australian advertisers and shows ads on Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, Copilot and its audience network. Its search volume is smaller than Google's, but its audience is more corporate and competition is lower.
How much does a click cost on Microsoft Ads in Australia? It depends on the industry and competition, but in our accounts CPC is often meaningfully lower than on Google Ads for comparable keywords, especially in B2B and professional services.
Can I import my Google Ads campaigns? Yes, Microsoft Ads has a direct import tool. We recommend importing only the profitable campaigns and reviewing budgets, locations, schedules, negatives and extensions afterwards.
Does Microsoft Ads replace Google Ads? No. It is a complementary channel. Google concentrates most search volume in Australia; Microsoft Ads adds extra conversions at lower cost in certain audiences and industries.
How much should I invest to test Microsoft Ads? A reasonable test is to allocate 10%–20% of your current search budget for two or three months, on the campaigns that already work in Google Ads.
What is targeting by LinkedIn profile in Microsoft Ads? Where available, it is the ability to adjust bids in search campaigns by a user's company, industry or job function using LinkedIn profile data. It is particularly useful for B2B businesses.
Which Australian businesses should use Microsoft Ads? B2B, professional services, finance and insurance, executive education, technology and industrial suppliers usually get the best results. For urgent mobile-first services the contribution is usually low.
Does Microsoft Ads show ads in Copilot? Microsoft integrates ads into Copilot experiences linked to search. To benefit, it helps to have complete ad assets and landing pages that clearly answer specific questions.
How long does Microsoft Ads take to show results? First clicks and conversions come within days, but because of lower search volume we recommend evaluating the channel with at least 60 to 90 days of data, and a minimum number of conversions, before deciding whether to scale.
Do I need a different agency for Microsoft Ads? No. Ideally the same agency or specialist manages Google Ads and Microsoft Ads, because they share keywords, negatives, ads and learnings, so channels can be compared with the same measurement.
Add a Search Channel Your Competitors Ignore
If your business sells to other businesses, to professionals or to higher-ticket customers, some of your buyers search on Bing from their work computer, and probably few of your competitors are there. Testing Microsoft Ads with method — correct measurement, selected campaigns and three months of data — is one of the simplest ways to gain incremental conversions.
Keep reading: SEM agencies in Australia and B2B marketing in Australia.