Let’s be honest: when was the last time you seriously benchmarked your Bing Ads performance? I don’t mean glancing at a cost-per-click and comparing it to Google. I mean a deep, strategic analysis that tells you if Bing is a genuine growth engine for your business.
If you’re like most, the answer is never. The marketing world is obsessed with Google Ads benchmarks, case studies, and best practices. Bing, meanwhile, is treated as a digital afterthought-a place to dump leftover budget for “incremental reach.” This isn’t just lazy; it’s a massive strategic mistake. The complete lack of sophisticated Bing Ads benchmarking is one of the last great blind spots in digital marketing, and it’s a golden opportunity for leaders who want an edge.
Why Nobody Talks About Bing Benchmarks (And Why They’re Wrong)
The benchmarking gap exists for three convenient, but flawed, industry excuses.
- The Volume Fallacy: Bing’s smaller market share (about 6%) makes it easy to dismiss. But lower volume often means lower competition and a more attentive, affluent, professional audience. Value isn’t about matching scale; it’s about superior efficiency and reaching customers where your competitors aren’t.
- The Copycat Assumption: Everyone assumes Bing is just a cheaper, slower version of Google. It’s not. Its network includes Yahoo, AOL, and powerful LinkedIn audience targeting. The user intent and journey are different. Using Google’s benchmarks here is like using a recipe for cake to bake bread.
- The Specialist Shortage: Most agencies are built for scale, not deep dives into “secondary” platforms. Building real Bing expertise requires a focused, lean model that prioritizes client results over sheer ad spend volume. That model is rare.
Build Your Own Bing Playbook: A 4-Pillar Framework
Forget trying to force Google’s data onto Bing. It’s time to build your own bespoke benchmarking system. Here’s how.
Pillar 1: Measure the Path, Not the Click
Stop comparing click-through rates. Start benchmarking the Intent-to-Conversion Ratio. Bing users in sectors like B2B, finance, and high-end retail often exhibit stronger commercial intent. Your key insight should be whether those cheaper clicks actually lead to more efficient customer acquisition and higher lifetime value. That’s the metric that moves the needle.
Pillar 2: Calculate Incremental Efficiency
Don’t just look for cheap clicks. Ask: “What does Bing add after Google is optimized?” Calculate your Incremental Efficiency Gain (IEG). If your optimized Google CAC is $50 and Bing acquires customers at $45 without stealing from other channels, your IEG is +10%. This frames Bing as a profit center, not a discount bin.
Pillar 3: Test Creative for Bing, Not Google
Your best-performing Google ad will likely stumble on Bing. The visual environment on MSN, Outlook, and within Windows demands stark clarity. You need a separate, lean testing plan for Bing creative. Benchmark image ads against responsive search ads specifically for this platform. What works in a Google search bar flops in a Bing sidebar.
Pillar 4: Define Its Job, Then Measure That
What is Bing’s actual role in your portfolio? Assign it a clear strategic job:
- Is it a branding tool on the MSN homepage?
- A lead-gen machine via LinkedIn profile targeting?
- A bottom-funnel retargeting channel?
Then, and only then, benchmark it against that specific goal. Measure lead quality, sales cycle length, or brand lift. Judge it on the mission you gave it.
The Leadership Advantage of Mastering the Gap
Closing the Bing benchmarking gap isn’t a tactical task for a junior analyst. It’s a strategic priority for leadership. It signals a move away from herd mentality and toward intelligent portfolio diversification. It provides:
- Better Forecasting: With real Bing data, your 90-day plans become reliable, not guesses.
- Reduced Risk: A profitable, understood Bing channel reduces your dangerous over-reliance on Google’s next algorithm update.
- Asymmetric Returns: The biggest wins come from playing where others aren’t even keeping score.
The ultimate question isn’t whether your Bing CPC is lower. It’s this: What are our unique benchmarks for Bing, and how is this channel actively driving us toward our core business objectives? Answer that, and you’ll stop chasing averages and start setting your own standards.
