Bing Ads is celebrating its first anniversary in Australia and what a year it has been with the platform’s ability to drive marketing dollars further prompting partners, agencies and customers to jump on board.
From a cold start in this market in July 2013, Bing Ads has bounded ahead. In the last six months alone, its advertiser count has shot up by 53 per cent. The SMB market in particular has seen significant growth and this is expected to continue.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better first year. It is clear Australians have it in their psyche to love an underdog,” said Chris Wallington, Regional Segment Lead, Global Search and Display Services.
“We’ve felt both ecstatic and humbled at the support we have received, not only from the agency and advertiser community, but also through the increasing base of loyal Bing searchers across Australia through a growing number of devices, including tablet, mobile and Xbox,” Mr Wallington said.
Mi9 and Microsoft sales teams have positioned Bing Ads for success in the Australian market with a dedicated sales team growing the brand since launch so that agencies and advertisers can provide their clients with choice when it comes to search.
“There is a clear appetite for publisher choice and market parity in Australia and Bing most certainly provides that,” said Mi9 group business manager James Scruby. “Each advertiser that comes on board becomes a unique opportunity to discover more about the strength of our audience. Our first year has provided us with great insights, feedback and direction to be able to further adapt Bing at a local level,” Mr Scruby said.
Columbus Search was one of the first to get on board in Australia when it tasked Bing Ads to deliver a greater return on investment for Nissan’s search engine marketing activity.
Mi9’s search team matched Bing data with third party conversion reports to optimise activity by adding incremental bids during peak periods, removing negative keyword conflicts, added relevant negative keywords and optimised budgets.
Three weeks later, Bing delivered a 45% lower CPC (cost per click), 18% stronger CTR (click through rate) and a 35% lower CPA (cost per acquisition) – along with a massive 92% increase in conversions to a very happy Nissan Australia that praised the “exceptional results on Bing”.
Another early adopter was tigerair, a disruptive challenger in the very competitive airline business. In August last year MEC launched a search account for tigerair on Bing. The initial results demonstrated high conversion rates and low CPA but more was wanted in terms of additional traffic and bookings.
The Bing campaign management team worked with MEC Search to optimise the account. Steps taken included expanding the predominantly brand focus to include top performing generic and research terms and improved visibility through pro-active bid management. After six weeks, the results were in: a 30% increase in click volume, a 6%stronger CTR and, most impressively, an 18% increase in bookings across the tigerair account.
MEC Australia head of search Alex Hancocks said the increased traffic and bookings were gained without a severe impact on CPA, thanks to the “high quality, cost-efficient traffic” on Bing.
“Bing has proven to be a valuable partner in the search space in Australia, providing an additional source of high-quality traffic, which converts at an above-average rate,” Mr Hancocks said.
With results like these, it is no surprise there was a zing in the air at the Bing Ads first anniversary event, held at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art a few weeks ago. Agencies, partners and customers gathered to help Bing Ads celebrate year one and get a glimpse of the future in the fast evolving world of search marketing.
The Bing team shared some insights on the exciting year ahead in terms of platform updates and monetisation opportunities, whilst a valued Bing Ads partner, Kenshoo, spoke of the growth of mobile, and the cross-channel effect of search and social media.
Attendees were left in no doubt that it is full steam ahead at Bing Ads.
“We are committed to listening to advertisers and finding ways to simplify and improve their search marketing business to make them more successful,” said Kevin Grobler, Search Advertising Lead.
“We are really encouraged by the growth trajectory of Bing Ads, which reflects our focus on innovating in response to marketer needs,” Mr Grobler added.
If you, too would like to sign up to Bing Ads and enjoy similar success, it’s quick and easy. Simply visit www.bingads.com.au.
