Most businesses that run paid search run it on Google and stop there. That is reasonable. Google handles the large majority of searches, and a company with limited time is right to focus where the volume is. But it leaves a channel untested that, for the right business, produces leads at a noticeably lower cost than Google does, from people who are often better customers.
That channel is Microsoft Advertising, the ad platform behind Bing, and it reaches far more people than most business owners assume.
Who is actually searching on Bing
Bing is the default search engine on every Windows computer, in the Edge browser, on Windows taskbars, and inside Microsoft’s AI tools. That default is the whole story. Millions of people search on Bing every day not because they chose it but because it was already there when they typed. The people who leave defaults alone skew older and higher income, and they search from work computers during business hours, since most corporate machines run Windows with Edge locked in.
For a Utah business, that translates to a specific audience: homeowners over 45, professionals searching from the office, retirees, and business buyers. If those people are your customers, they are searching on a platform where you are probably not advertising and many of your competitors are not either.
Why the clicks cost less
Ad prices are set by auction, and the Microsoft auction has fewer bidders. The same keyword that costs $40 a click on Google in a competitive Utah service category often costs $15 to $25 on Microsoft. Fewer advertisers competing means less pressure on price, and the smaller volume is exactly why the big competitors have not bothered. That is the opportunity: a less crowded auction for the same searches.
Volume is lower, sometimes a fifth or a tenth of what Google delivers for the same keywords. But cost per lead is what matters, and for businesses whose customers match the Bing audience, a small, cheap, steady stream of leads is worth having.
Which Utah businesses it works for
The pattern from our own campaigns is consistent. Microsoft Advertising tends to perform for:
- Home services with an older homeowner customer: HVAC, roofing, plumbing, remodeling, windows, landscaping.
- Financial, legal, insurance, and professional services where clients are often over 45.
- Medical and dental practices, especially for procedures with older patients.
- Business to business companies whose buyers search from corporate Windows machines during the workday.
- Furniture, mattress, and other considered purchases with a mature buyer.
It tends not to work for businesses aimed at younger customers, mobile first purchases, or anything where the audience is concentrated on phones, since Bing’s share on mobile is small.
How to test it without much effort
The main reason Microsoft Advertising goes untested is that setting up a second platform sounds like a second job. It does not need to be. Microsoft Advertising can import an existing Google Ads account directly, campaigns, keywords, ads, negatives, and all, and keep it synced on a schedule. A well built Google account becomes a Microsoft account in an afternoon.
A sensible test looks like this:
- Import your best performing Google search campaigns.
- Set a modest budget, often 10 to 15 percent of your Google spend.
- Turn off search partner placements at first so the test is clean.
- Make sure conversion tracking is installed so leads are counted, not just clicks.
- Run it for 60 days and compare cost per lead against Google for the same services.
If the cost per lead comes in lower, which it does for many of the categories above, scale the budget until the volume runs out. If it does not, you have spent a small amount to learn something definite. Either result is better than never checking.
The mistake that ruins the test
The import is convenient, and it is also where tests go wrong. Bids that are right for Google’s auction are usually too high for Microsoft’s. Location targeting sometimes imports with wider defaults. Ad extensions can arrive incomplete. A campaign imported and never reviewed will spend more than it should and make the channel look worse than it is. The test needs the same attention a new Google campaign would get in its first two weeks, which is a small amount of work for a channel most of your competitors ignore.
That review is a standard part of how we set up paid advertising for Utah clients, and it is why we treat Microsoft as a channel to be managed rather than a box to check.
Frequently asked questions
Does anyone in Utah actually use Bing?
Yes, because it is the default on Windows and Edge and most people never change it. The audience skews older, higher income, and toward people searching from work computers during business hours.
Is Microsoft Advertising cheaper than Google Ads?
Per click, usually yes, because fewer advertisers compete in the auction. Volume is lower, so the useful comparison is cost per lead for the same services over the same period rather than click price alone.
Can I just copy my Google Ads campaigns over?
You can import them directly, which is the fastest way to start. The import needs a review afterward, especially bids, location targeting, and extensions, because settings that fit Google’s auction usually need adjusting for Microsoft’s.
How much should I budget for a test?
Around 10 to 15 percent of your current Google Ads budget for 60 days is enough to produce a clear cost per lead comparison for most Utah businesses without putting meaningful spend at risk.
Never tested the other search engine?
Infogenix has managed paid search for Utah businesses since 1998, on Google and on the platforms most agencies skip. If you want to know whether cheaper clicks are sitting untouched in your category, let us run the numbers on a test.
Call us at 801.724.7483.