Bing Ads 2018 Recap Shows They're Gaining Market Share

While a lot of affiliate marketing strategies focus on Google, if you aren’t using Bing advertising then you are missing out on potential conversions. Don’t let the internet memes that poke fun Microsoft’s search engine deter you. Bing has been steadily gaining marketing share on desktop and mobile over the past ten years of its existence.

2018, in fact, was a notably good year for the search engine, and the company has been making strides in improving their services to meet customer demands.

Current State of Bing Ads

Here are a few stats to demonstrate that Bing is not struggling like some may believe:

• Bing Ads has 33.8% of the US desktop search market
• Bing Ads’ combined desktop and market share is over 20%
• Microsoft sites are responsible for approximately 24% of all US search queries

There’s no denying that Google continues to be the leader in the space, but Bing’s market share should not be ignored. Bing’s recent partnership with Verizon Media to be their exclusive search provider is likely to help it continue taking share in the market.


During 2018, Bing Ads released more than 60 updates and new features to improve their ad platform. These features will make it easier for you to create and run campaigns with Bing Advertising. Here are some of the key new releases from last year:

• Extended Text Ads: This update increases the character count for ads from the 25-71 range to 80 characters for ad text and two 30-character headlines. This keeps Bing Ads on par with Google’s expanded text format.
  
  
• In-Market Audiences: Want higher click through rates and conversions? This AI-powered feature allows you to reach customers who have shown intent to buy through more than 170 in-market categories.
  
  
• LinkedIn Targeting: This new feature is exclusive to Bing. It allows you to target customers based on information in their professional LinkedIn profiles.
  
  
• Bing Ads Scripts: This feature brings much needed automation to repetitive campaign tasks that take up a lot of your time. Using a simple JavaScript, you’ll be able to save time without having to hire a developer.
  
  
• Multiple Language Targeting: Bing expanded its targeting ability to include multiple Bing Ad support languages to target customers at the campaign level, rather than restricting this capability to the group level. This change will help you expand your global reach.
  
  
• Import Capabilities: If you’re hesitant to use Bing because you’ve already spent so much time setting everything up in Google, Bing’s new import capabilities can help you out. For example, you can now easily import product ads you currently have in Google Merchant Center to Bing Merchant Center. Similarly, Bing’s Google Import system allows you to bring over more items such as campaigns, keywords, ads, ad groups, etc.

Bing Advertising recognizes its place in the market, but they’re listening to your feedback and making significant improvements to their platform. With growing market share that is poised to continue growing, you should include Bing Ads as part of your overall affiliate marketing strategy.