WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH YOUR
MICROSOFT ADVERTISING’S SEARCH
CAMPAIGNS?
SOPHIE LOGAN
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10 YEARS AGO I
STARTED WORKING IN
PPC.
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6 YEARS AGO I
BROUGHT MY BEST
FRIEND HOME.
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AND 1 YEAR, 1 MONTH
AND 18 DAYS AGO, I
WAS FLABBERGASTED
AT THIS MSFT BLOG
POST…
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“...MICROSOFT ADVERTISING WILL
FULLY OPTIMIZE YOUR CAMPAIGNS
ACROSS CHANNEL.”
MICROSOFT ADVERTISING BLOG - 2ND FEBRUARY
2023
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REACH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE WITH
TEXT, IMAGE OR VIDEO ADS, AS THEY
EXPLORE THE INTERNET AND
MICROSOFT OWNED PROPERTIES.
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Image Ad Text Ad Product Ad
AUDIENCE ADS EXAMPLES
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REACH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE WITH
TEXT, IMAGE OR VIDEO ADS, AS THEY
EXPLORE THE INTERNET AND
MICROSOFT OWNER PROPERTIES.
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COMPARED TO SOMEONE WHO HAD
ONLY SEEN A SEARCH AD, SOMEONE
WHO HAD SEEN AN AD ON BOTH
NETWORKS WAS…
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2.6X MORE LIKELY TO VISIT THE
BRANDS WEBSITE.
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6.6X MORE LIKELY TO GO ON TO
CONVERT.
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SAW 14% HIGHER CONVERSION
RATES AT A 21% LOWER CPA.
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“THE MAJOR TAKEAWAY HERE IS THAT
SEARCH AND AUDIENCE SHOULD WORK
TOGETHER AND NOT IN SILOES.”
MICROSOFT ADVERTISING BLOG - 2ND FEBRUARY
2023
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HOW HAS THIS IMPACTED
US?
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“...not investing any budget into the platform
atm.”
“The audience network spend keeps increasing,
even though there’s no performance to match
it.”
“We’ve been shifting clients away from Microsoft
as performance has just tanked this year.”
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B2B SAAS BRAND
WERE RUNNING A AUDIENCE
CAMPAIGN SINCE NOVEMBER 2022
DATE RANGE: 22/02/23 - 22/10/23
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26.81% OF THE ACCOUNTS ENTIRE
BUDGET WENT ON TO THE AUDIENCE
NETWORK EXPANSION.
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CTR FOR ADS THROUGH AUDIENCE
NETWORK EXPANSION WAS 0.14%,
WHILST CTR FOR ADS THROUGH THE
AUDIENCE CAMPAIGN WAS 0.49%.
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CPC FOR AUDIENCE NETWORK
EXPANSION WAS $2.49, WHILST CPC
FOR THE AUDIENCE CAMPAIGN WAS
$0.23.
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ZERO CONVERSIONS.
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ALL IS NOT LOST!
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1. OPTIMISE YOUR SEARCH CAMPAIGNS FOR
AUDIENCE NETWORK EXPANSION
2. OPT OUT OF AUDIENCE EXPANSION
(YES THIS CAN ACTUALLY BE DONE)
3. OPT OUT OF AUDIENCE NETWORK EXPANSION
AND RUN AUDIENCE CAMPAIGNS
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1. OPTIMISE YOUR SEARCH
CAMPAIGNS FOR AUDIENCE
NETWORK EXPANSION
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IDEAL FOR:
THOSE HAPPY WITH AUDIENCE NETWORK
EXPANSION
BUT WANT TO HELP THIS EXPANSION BE
MORE EFFECTIVE
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FEED THE MACHINE WITH THE INFORMATION IT
NEEDS TO MAKE BETTER DECISIONS
&
OPTIMISE ADS SO THAT THEY CAN PERFORM
BETTER IN SEARCH RESULTS AND AUDIENCE ADS
ACROSS THE INTERNET
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ADD IMAGE EXTENSIONS:
- Great for Search results
- Adds a visual element for when your
Search ads are turned into Audience Ads
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ADD IMAGE EXTENSIONS
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ADD IMAGE EXTENSIONS
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DOUBLE CHECK CONVERSION TRACKING
- Time for an audit!
- Make sure the system knows what it is that
you want it to achieve
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USE AN AUTOMATED BID STRATEGY
- Review your existing settings
- Educate the platform on what you want by
pulling as many levers as possible
ADD IMAGE EXTENSIONS
USE CONVERSION TRACKING
USE AUTOMATED BID STRATEGIES
EXCLUDE POOR PERFORMING URLS
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2. OPT OUT OF AUDIENCE
NETWORK EXPANSION
COMPLETELY
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YES THIS CAN BE DONE!
(Although you won’t find much in terms of
documentation on this process…)
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IDEAL FOR:
THOSE WHO DON’T WANT TO HAVE ANY
PART IN THE AUDIENCE NETWORK
EXPANSION
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ELIMINATE AUDIENCE
NETWORK
EXPANSION
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X
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“HOW CAN I OPT OUT OF AUDIENCE
NETWORK EXPANSION WHEN THESE
CHANGES ARE IMPLEMENTED ON 21ST
FEBRUARY?”
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USE PLACEMENT EXCLUSIONS.
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ADD A -100% BID
ADJUSTMENT.
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IT’S NOT POSSIBLE.
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WHY IT’S GOOD AND WHAT THE STUDIES
SHOWED
HOW TO OPTIMISE SEARCH CAMPAIGNS
FOR AUDIENCE NETWORK EXPANSION
HOW TO EXCLUDE SPECIFIC PLACEMENTS
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“I UNDERSTAND BUT STILL WANT OUT.”
“I HAVE TRIED TO OPTIMISE TO HELP
IMPROVE EFFICIENCY.”
“I WANT A COMPLETE OPT OUT, NOT
INDIVIDUAL PLACEMENT EXCLUSIONS.”
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X
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SPEAK TO YOUR ACCOUNT
REPRESENTATIVE
CONTACT CUSTOMER SUPPORT - IDEALLY
THROUGH LIVE CHAT
KEEP TRYING
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3. OPT OUT OF AUDIENCE
NETWORK EXPANSION AND
RUN AUDIENCE CAMPAIGNS
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IDEAL FOR:
THOSE WHO WANT TO KEEP THEIR SEARCH
AND AUDIENCE NETWORK ACTIVITIES
SEPARATE.
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MAKE SURE THEIR SEARCH CAMPAIGNS ONLY
APPEAR IN SEARCH RESULTS
&
MAKE THE MOST OF THE AUDIENCE NETWORK
OPPORTUNITY (REACH OUTSIDE OF SEARCH
RESULTS & CHEAP CLICKS)
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STEP 1 - OPT OUT OF THE AUDIENCE
NETWORK EXPANSION.
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STEP 2 - CREATE A AUDIENCE CAMPAIGN.
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MULTIMEDIA AD =
RESPONSIVE DISPLAY AD.
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DON’T RUSH YOUR AD CREATION.
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UTILISE THE
TARGETING
OPTIONS
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LOCATION, AGE AND GENDER
AUDIENCES (REMARKETING, CUSTOMER MATCH,
SIMILAR AUDIENCES…)
LINKEDIN PROFILE TARGETING (COMPANY, INDUSTRY
& JOB FUNCTION)
YOU CAN ALSO ADD EXCLUSIONS
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START SMALL - 5%.
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OPT OUT OF AUDIENCE EXPANSION
CREATE A AUDIENCE CAMPAIGN:
- Multimedia ad = RDA
- Use asset options thoroughly
- Utilise targeting options
- Start with a smaller budget
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SUMMARY
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YOUR 3 OPTIONS
OPTIMISE YOUR SEARCH
CAMPAIGNS.
Prepare your Search campaigns for
Audience Network expansion, to give
them the best chance of positive
performance.
01
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YOUR 3 OPTIONS
OPTIMISE YOUR SEARCH
CAMPAIGNS.
Prepare your Search campaigns for
Audience Network expansion, to give
them the best chance of positive
performance.
01
OPT OUT COMPLETELY.
Stop your Search campaigns from
showing on the Audience Network by
requesting a complete opt out via
customer support.
02
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YOUR 3 OPTIONS
OPTIMISE YOUR SEARCH
CAMPAIGNS,
Prepare your Search campaigns for
Audience Network expansion, to give
them the best chance of positive
performance.
01
OPT OUT COMPLETELY.
Stop your Search campaigns from
showing on the Audience Network by
requesting a complete opt out via
customer support.
02
OPT OUT & RUN AUDIENCE
ADS CAMPAIGNS.
Get the best of both worlds by having
separate Search and Audience
campaigns running at the same time.
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