Set up Microsoft (Bing) search campaigns from one place
Set up Bing search ads and image ads on Microsoft sites, created paused in your own Microsoft Advertising account. Anything Microsoft won't accept in your text is checked before you publish; for example, an emoji counts as two characters in a headline.
When is Microsoft Ads a good fit, and when isn't it?
On Microsoft Advertising, your search ads show on Bing: when someone searches, Bing picks the combination of your headlines and descriptions that best fits that search. As with Google Search, you reach people who know what they need and are looking for it right then, which makes it strong for sales and leads. With audience campaigns, your image and video ads show across devices on Microsoft sites such as MSN, Outlook and Microsoft 365, and Microsoft notes that your search ads can appear there as image ads too. Besides search, audience and Performance Max campaigns, you can set up Shopping campaigns built from the products in your Microsoft Merchant Center store. When Microsoft isn't the right fit: if your ad relies on vertical video, this isn't the place. Video ads run only in audience campaigns and only in landscape (16:9); TikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts suit vertical video better.
How Microsoft Ads works in Mecrio
Mecrio builds Microsoft Advertising's own structure: the campaign (budget and locations), the ad group (keywords, age, gender and audience) and the ad (headlines, descriptions and the page it links to). In Performance Max, an asset group takes the ad group's place. Everything is created paused in your own Microsoft Advertising account, so nothing spends even if setup stops halfway, and nothing spends until you start it. After launch you can change the budget, dates, keywords, headlines and descriptions from Mecrio, and pause or restart the campaign; each change is updated in Microsoft Advertising.
A Microsoft Ads campaign in four steps
Set up
Tell Mecrio about your product or service and Mecrio AI drafts the copy and audience for you to edit and approve. Create visuals in Mecrio or use your own.
Check and approve
Mecrio checks your ads before they go live and tells you if anything is missing or needs a fix. You preview how they'll look on each platform and approve when you're ready.
Publish
Once approved, your campaign is set up in your own ad account on each platform and waits until you start it. You decide where and when it goes live.
Manage
Bring in the campaigns already running on your platforms. Update budgets, dates and targeting while they're live, and compare results in one report.
Which campaign objectives can you set up?
The objective you pick is set up as its Microsoft Ads equivalent. The table shows what Mecrio can set up end to end on this platform.
- Brand awarenessBrand awarenessImageAd the platform builds from your images and text
- Website trafficWebsite trafficSearch ad (text)ImageAd the platform builds from your images and text
- EngagementWebsite trafficSearch ad (text)ImageAd the platform builds from your images and text
- Video viewsVideo viewsVideo
- Lead generationLead generationSearch ad (text)ImageAd the platform builds from your images and text
- Sales / conversionsSalesSearch ad (text)ImageAd the platform builds from your images and text
- App promotionApp promotionSearch ad (text)
Image and video specs
File type, size, length and text limits for each ad type are on a separate page, compiled from the platform's own pages with the source and the date we checked.
Microsoft Advertising specs
Responsive search ad character limits, Audience and Performance Max images, and video requirements.
What gets checked for Microsoft Ads before you publish?
A setting the platform won't accept is named before the campaign is created, along with where to fix it.
- If a headline has an emoji or Chinese, Japanese or Korean characters, Microsoft halves the character limit (15 instead of 30); the counter and the pre-publish check account for it.
- When a headline uses a short code that inserts the search term, the limit is measured on the word that replaces it; a code without fallback text is flagged, since that ad may not show.
- The main image of an audience ad must be at least 703×368 pixels, whatever its shape; a smaller image is flagged with its size before you publish.
- Saved audience choices aren't applied in Performance Max; so your choice isn't silently ignored, publishing stops while an audience is selected and you're asked to remove it.
- A video-views campaign needs a video, and Microsoft accepts only landscape 16:9 video there; a draft prepared with an image is stopped before you publish.
Microsoft Ads: frequently asked questions
Can I run ads in Turkish?
Yes. Turkish is one of the languages Microsoft Advertising accepts for ads and keywords, and the language you pick is saved to the campaign. Audience campaigns don't take a language choice; Microsoft requires all languages there.
Which Microsoft Advertising accounts can't be used?
Accounts in smart campaign mode (in that mode Microsoft doesn't let outside apps do most things), suspended or inactive accounts, and accounts where you only have view access. Mecrio shows them as not selectable and says why.
What if my account is paused for billing?
Setup isn't blocked; Microsoft lets you update a paused account and its campaigns. Mecrio marks the account with a note, and you'll need to check the billing status in Microsoft Advertising.
Can I set a total budget for an audience campaign?
No. Microsoft doesn't accept a total budget or campaign-level dates for this campaign type, so Mecrio doesn't offer that option and a daily budget is used.
Related pages
Other ad platforms
The same campaign can be set up on these platforms too.
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