It is no doubt that Google is the leader when it comes to online searches, and it has been rightly so for many years now. That has driven many marketers to neglect other ad networks and turned their focus solely on Google alone; not knowing even Yahoo! Bing Network could make them a reasonable amount of money compared to Google Adwords if done right.
If you would like to see reasons why you should consider including Yahoo! Bing Network ads in your money making portfolio, here are some hard facts about the network:
- Microsoft and Yahoo agreed to join forces to form a united PPC advertising network in January 2010 when Microsoft announced a deal in which it would take control of functional operations of Yahoo! Search, and set up a joint venture (a revenue sharing program) to sell advertising to web searchers on both Bing and Yahoo! Search.
- In October 2010, the transition of all Yahoo! Search sponsored ad clients to Microsoft adCenter was completed.
- The Microsoft adCenter was renamed Bing Ads on September 10, 2012, with the alliance between the 2 search companies renamed the Yahoo! Bing Network.
- When you buy a single ad on the Yahoo! Bing Network, you have the potential of reaching well over 162 million unique searchers on the network (which includes Yahoo Search, Bing, and partners), and that accounts for 30% of total search engine share and over 6 billion searches a month. (comScore Core Search, January 2012)
- Between June 2011 and June 2012, Yahoo! Bing Network wrestled roughly 5% of Google’s search share. (Experian Hitwise)
- According to Microsoft, local, travel, shopping and health related searches are the most popular on the Yahoo! Bing Network and they account for about 30-40% of total search queries. Sessions in these four areas on the network are often longer and more complex, which means it might be worth your while to try them if you run a business in one of these areas.
- comScore Core Search (August 2011) has reason to believe searchers on Yahoo! Bing Network are likely to spend 21.5% more than the average web searcher, and 0.76% more than Google searchers in the U.S. – which makes it the better place to advertise if you run or own an eCommerce store.
- Since joining forces in 2010, the Yahoo! Bing Network has seen a steady increase in advertising revenue: in July 2012, Bing reported a 12% increase in advertising revenue and 18% in 2013.
- 3.5 billion explicit core searches were conducted on Bing in the US in April 2013, up 1% from March (comScore, April 2013).
- Yahoo (15%) and Bing (15%) combines to amass 30% control of the search engine market share in the United States, with and Ask holding down only 2%. They are led by Google who has a distant 66% of the search engine marketplace in the U.S.
- Worldwide, paid per click (PPC) click-through rates (CTR) on Google and the Yahoo! Bing Network have been almost identical. Average worldwide CTR on Bing in Q1 of 2011 was 2.5%, compared to Google’s 2.9%. However, in 2010, Google’s 2.5% click-through rate was lower than Bing’s average CTR, at 2.8% (eMarketer).
- As opposed to Google’s restriction of 25 characters for ad titles, Yahoo! Bing Network ads allow you to use 40 characters in your title.
- Over all, Yahoo! Bing Network’s support for small advertisers surpasses that which is offered by Google. With Google, you ought to be spending more than $500,000 a year on AdWords to be given a dedicated account rep while, on Yahoo! Bing Network you only have to spend $500 a month to talk to a Bing rep for free through the Quick Launch program. (Entrepreneur)
The truth of the matter is, the Yahoo! Bing Network is still miles away from a touching distance of Google but many webmasters have reported immeasurable successes with Yahoo! Bing advertising alone. And most of their successes came about because they strategized properly and worked hard, just like you would with anything else – even with Google. So think about it for a second and see if Yahoo/Bing transition for PPC advertising would be good for you.