Bing Ads for Manufacturers: The Channel Your Competitors Overlook

In today’s market, almost every machine builder is fighting over the same expensive clicks on Google. While bids for keywords like “CNC machining center” or “custom machinery” keep climbing, many companies completely ignore where a large part of their target audience actually is.

At the same time, there’s a platform most competitors dismiss: Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads, usually just called Microsoft Ads). If you use this opportunity now, you can win a share of the market your competitors often don’t even have on their radar.

Bing vs. Google: why the global numbers mislead German manufacturers

If you only look at global search engine market share, you’ll usually see Google at over 90% and Bing at a meager 5%. That raises the question: why advertise there at all? For German manufacturers, though, that surface-level view is a costly mistake.

Desktop market share: surprisingly relevant

As soon as we filter for Germany and desktop users only, the picture shifts: Bing’s share is noticeably higher than the global figure suggests. Outside Germany the numbers differ, so check them for your target market.

Why office users end up on Bing automatically

The reason is simple: in industrial B2B, research and purchasing happen at the desk, on office computers. Nobody orders industrial equipment from their phone on the train.

Buyers and engineers work in a typical corporate IT environment. Windows is the standard there, Microsoft Teams is the communication tool, and the Edge browser, along with the Bing search engine, is often set as the default by IT. If you’re not present there, you’re missing the searches that run through these default settings.

How Bing works: why you need ads to be seen there

Let’s be honest: in many B2B areas, Bing is practically an ad engine. Search for industrial technical terms today and you’ll often see only a few organic results above the fold. The rest of the space goes to ads.

Hardly any organic results: why ads are a must

Bing has long labeled its ads subtly, though labeling is clearer now, partly because of regulation. If you want to be present there, there’s really no way around paid Microsoft Ads. Without an ad budget, you’re practically invisible to your target audience on this platform.

Strategic advantages of Microsoft Ads in B2B

Microsoft Ads offers features that seem made for B2B. Since Microsoft also owns LinkedIn, you can use LinkedIn profile data in your targeting.

LinkedIn profile targeting: a bonus for manufacturers

You can show your ads more often to people who work in certain industries or job functions, as long as that information is in their LinkedIn profile. Even though tracking restrictions and ad blockers limit this feature today, it remains an effective way to cut wasted spend and gives you an edge over competitors.

The myth of the cheap click: a reality check

You often hear that cost per click (CPC) on Bing is generally much lower than on Google. That can happen, but it’s not a given. In highly competitive manufacturing niches, CPC on Bing can even be higher than on Google, because a few competitors there are already bidding very aggressively. So it always comes down to your specific niche.

In practice: when should you add Bing to Google Ads?

When we advise clients, we don’t think in black and white. The question isn’t whether Google or Bing is “better.” The goal is omnipresence.

The principle of omnipresence

If your budget is big enough, you should run both channels anyway. For our clients, we only ever ask one question: Where will the next euro we invest have the biggest impact? Our order is clear: first get the most out of Google Ads, then test Microsoft Ads. Sometimes it’s more profitable to keep optimizing an existing Google campaign. In many cases, though, once Google Ads is running well, it makes more sense to put the next euro into Bing and capture Bing’s share of desktop searches, often against fewer competing bidders.

Why clean testing makes the difference

You can’t get around testing. Statistics point you in a direction, but you only get real certainty for your specific niche through a clean setup and real market data. One important point: if a campaign doesn’t work, it’s often not the channel itself, but a flawed technical setup or the wrong ad copy.

Conclusion: invest the next euro where it has the biggest impact

Microsoft Ads won’t replace Google Ads. But once your Google campaigns are running well, it’s a strategic channel for reaching buyers right at their office desks. If you rely on Google alone in the long run, you leave money on the table and hand that share of searches to competitors who move first.

Want to know whether Microsoft Ads makes sense in your markets? We’re happy to take a look in a free consultation.