Using Microsoft Shopping Ads to Compete on Cost-Per-Click

In competitive ecommerce and B2B markets, cost-per-click can make or break your paid advertising strategy. While many businesses focus heavily on Google Shopping, Microsoft Shopping Ads offer a powerful alternative — often with lower CPCs, less competition and access to a high-intent audience.

Microsoft Shopping Ads appear across Bing, MSN and Microsoft’s partner network. They provide rich product listings, complete with images, prices and direct links to your site. For brands looking to reduce acquisition costs and improve return on ad spend, Microsoft Shopping is increasingly worth a place in the strategy.

This blog will explore how to make the most of Microsoft Shopping Ads, why they outperform on cost in many sectors and how to optimise your setup for long-term results.

This guide will cover:

Why Microsoft Shopping Ads Deliver Lower CPCs

One of the biggest advantages of Microsoft Shopping Ads is their lower average cost-per-click compared to Google Shopping. This difference is especially valuable for businesses looking to scale product advertising without increasing spend. Microsoft’s search engine ecosystem may have a smaller market share, but it tends to attract a more deliberate, high-intent audience — often using desktop devices during business hours. That leads to better engagement and often higher conversion rates. With fewer advertisers competing for placement, clicks cost less while still delivering strong traffic quality. In this section, we’ll explore the reasons behind Microsoft’s CPC advantage. From user behaviour and device trends to auction competition and platform incentives, understanding why Microsoft Shopping is more cost-effective can help you make smarter decisions when allocating your ad budget. For ecommerce brands and B2B retailers, this can be the difference between tight margins and profitable growth.

Lower Competition in Auction-Based Bidding

Microsoft Ads operates on an auction model similar to Google, but with significantly less advertiser competition. This means you can win ad placements for high-value keywords at a lower cost. Many ecommerce brands focus exclusively on Google, leaving Microsoft’s product listings underutilised. Fewer competitors result in less bidding pressure, reducing the cost of clicks without compromising on visibility. This is particularly useful in niche or high-value categories where margins matter. It also allows smaller or mid-sized advertisers to compete effectively with larger retailers. Lower CPCs mean you can get more clicks for your budget or maintain your current traffic volume while reducing ad spend. In an environment where paid search costs are rising, Microsoft Shopping offers a rare opportunity to stay competitive while protecting profitability. Businesses willing to diversify their ad strategy often find Microsoft’s reduced auction pressure a strategic advantage.

Higher Desktop and Workday Engagement

Microsoft Shopping Ads tend to attract users who are on desktop devices during working hours. This usage pattern is common in B2B contexts and among more deliberate shoppers. Desktop users typically have more time to research, compare and complete transactions — making their clicks more valuable. This also impacts CPC, as the platform’s user base is naturally segmented away from more casual mobile users who may be less conversion-ready. Because the Microsoft audience skews toward professionals, older demographics and enterprise users, you’re often paying for traffic that’s more qualified and closer to purchase. In turn, this can lead to better return on ad spend, even if volumes are lower. Fewer wasted clicks and stronger intent mean that your cost-per-click goes further. For ecommerce stores selling complex, high-ticket or business-focused products, this makes Microsoft Shopping Ads a cost-effective way to drive meaningful engagement.

Less Aggressive Bidding from Competitors

Many advertisers overlook Microsoft Shopping or treat it as a secondary platform, resulting in less aggressive bidding. This contrasts with Google, where automated bidding tools and agency strategies often drive up prices quickly. On Microsoft Ads, manual and semi-automated bidding is more common, giving advertisers greater control and often leading to steadier CPCs. You’re less likely to be caught in a bidding war for product placements, which keeps campaign costs more predictable. This is especially important for advertisers working within tight margins or across a broad product catalogue. Lower volatility also helps maintain budget consistency over time. While competition is growing as more businesses discover Microsoft’s value, it remains significantly less intense than Google Shopping. This gives you the opportunity to position your products competitively, achieve consistent ad placement and reduce your average cost per click — all without sacrificing visibility or sales potential.

Audience Quality and Purchase Intent

The Microsoft Ads network has a distinct audience profile. Users are often professionals, enterprise decision-makers or older demographics who are less influenced by social trends and more focused on functionality, value and trust. These users tend to be closer to conversion when they engage with product listings, especially for B2B and high-ticket purchases. This higher purchase intent means that even with fewer impressions or clicks, the traffic you receive is more likely to convert. Microsoft’s integration with LinkedIn also adds value for B2B sellers by allowing refined audience targeting. Better-qualified users mean fewer wasted clicks and better return on each pound spent. In markets where conversion rate is as important as volume, this audience quality can significantly lower your effective cost per acquisition. For businesses focused on profitable growth rather than just visibility, Microsoft Shopping’s user base is often better aligned with commercial objectives.

Platform Incentives and Promotional Credits

Microsoft often offers promotional credits and onboarding incentives for new advertisers or those expanding into Shopping campaigns. These credits help reduce risk and stretch your initial ad spend further. Additionally, Microsoft’s account managers tend to offer more personalised support to small and mid-sized advertisers, helping you optimise campaigns without additional cost. Microsoft also rewards advertisers who provide high-quality product feeds and consistently perform well, which can further reduce CPC through better ad placements. If you’re transitioning from Google Shopping, Microsoft’s Merchant Centre and import tools simplify the setup process, meaning you can start testing without major upfront investment. These incentives lower the barrier to entry and improve the cost-efficiency of your campaigns. When combined with already lower CPCs and better audience quality, Microsoft’s platform support makes Shopping Ads a highly cost-effective channel — particularly for brands willing to experiment outside of the more saturated Google ecosystem.

How to Optimise Shopping Campaigns for Better ROI

Running Shopping Ads on Microsoft is a strong start, but long-term success depends on active optimisation. The platform rewards advertisers who structure their campaigns clearly, feed in accurate product data and monitor performance regularly. If you’re coming from a Google Shopping background, some of the tactics may be familiar — but others are unique to how Microsoft’s ecosystem behaves. With lower CPCs and a high-quality user base, the focus shifts from raw traffic to meaningful conversions. This section outlines the core strategies for improving return on investment in Microsoft Shopping campaigns. From campaign structure and bidding strategies to search term management and feed quality, each optimisation lever helps you extract more value from your budget. Whether you’re scaling an ecommerce store or promoting a curated B2B catalogue, these approaches help reduce waste, increase product visibility and turn clicks into high-value sales more consistently.

Structure Campaigns by Product Category

Organising your Shopping campaigns by product category gives you greater control over performance and budget allocation. Create separate ad groups for key categories, such as office furniture, diagnostics equipment or accessories. This structure allows you to set individual bids, adjust budgets based on product value and track performance with greater clarity. Grouping similar products also improves reporting. You’ll be able to see which ranges drive conversions, which waste budget and which need further promotion. Avoid lumping all products into a single campaign — this reduces visibility and makes optimisation harder. For B2B ecommerce or complex catalogues, category-based structure supports better decision-making and helps ensure that your highest-value items receive adequate exposure. It also simplifies testing. You can trial different bidding strategies or promotional messaging for each group, giving you the flexibility to optimise more effectively without overhauling your entire campaign.

Use Manual CPC Bidding for Greater Control

Microsoft Ads allows for both automated and manual bidding, but manual CPC often delivers better control — particularly for Shopping campaigns where margins vary across products. Start with manual bids to understand performance patterns. Set higher bids on high-margin or best-selling items and reduce spend on lower-value products. This granular control is particularly useful when promoting a wide range of SKUs or serving both B2B and B2C customers. As campaigns mature, you can test automated bidding once you’ve gathered enough data. But by default, manual bidding gives you more flexibility and transparency. You’re not relying on an algorithm to make decisions with limited insight. Manual CPC bidding also helps maintain profitability and prevents overspending on non-performing products. It’s the most efficient way to learn what works, refine campaign structure and protect your budget while scaling your Microsoft Shopping presence.

Optimise Product Titles for Search Intent

Product titles are the most important element of your Shopping feed. Microsoft uses them to determine ad relevance and match your listings with user queries. Write clear, keyword-focused titles that reflect how buyers search — not just what your internal system calls the product. Include key attributes such as brand, model, size or use case. For example, “A3 Colour Laser Printer for Medical Offices” performs better than “Model X3200.” Tailor titles to reflect intent, especially for B2B or niche sectors. Make sure your title format is consistent across similar products, which helps with campaign reporting and performance tracking. Optimised titles improve clickthrough rate, ad visibility and relevance scores. Microsoft doesn’t require keyword targeting in the same way as standard search ads, so your product feed does much of the heavy lifting. Getting titles right from the start makes every other part of your campaign more effective.

Exclude Unprofitable Search Terms

Just like in search campaigns, Shopping Ads can attract irrelevant or low-converting clicks. Regularly review your search term reports in Microsoft Ads to identify queries that waste budget. If your products are appearing for vague or unrelated searches, add negative keywords to tighten targeting. This helps preserve budget for high-intent users and ensures your ads appear only in relevant contexts. For example, if you sell high-end ergonomic chairs and your ads appear for “cheap desk chairs,” that’s a misalignment worth correcting. Use exact match negatives to prevent this type of bleed. In B2B settings, where product value and consideration time are high, every wasted click represents a missed opportunity elsewhere. Cleaning up your search terms is a low-effort, high-impact optimisation step that should be done weekly. Over time, it improves efficiency, increases conversion rates and keeps your cost-per-click as low as possible.

Monitor and Adjust Device and Time Performance

Microsoft Ads gives you detailed performance data by device type and time of day. Use this information to refine when and where your Shopping Ads appear. If conversions happen primarily on desktop during weekday mornings, increase your bids during those periods and reduce spend outside of them. This level of control improves ROI by aligning ad delivery with buyer behaviour. For B2B advertisers, this is particularly important — your audience is likely browsing at work, not during evenings or weekends. Adjusting device targeting also helps. If mobile traffic generates clicks but few conversions, consider reducing mobile bids or improving mobile landing pages. Fine-tuning by time and device allows you to concentrate budget where it works best. These small adjustments compound over time, helping you reduce cost-per-click and improve your overall Shopping campaign profitability.

Product Feed and Merchant Centre Best Practices

The success of any Microsoft Shopping campaign depends heavily on the quality of your product feed. This feed acts as the foundation for ad relevance, visibility and performance. A well-optimised product feed ensures your listings appear for the right searches, deliver the right message and avoid unnecessary disapprovals. Microsoft’s Merchant Centre shares similarities with Google’s, making it easy to import existing data — but it also has its own rules and optimisation opportunities. In this section, we’ll cover the essential feed and Merchant Centre best practices that improve the effectiveness of your Shopping Ads. From accurate categorisation and image quality to regular data syncing and structured attributes, small improvements to your feed can have a large impact on campaign ROI. If you’re serious about using Microsoft Shopping Ads as a cost-effective growth channel, getting your Merchant Centre in order is one of the most important steps you can take.

Keep Product Data Accurate and Up to Date

Accuracy is the backbone of a compliant and effective Shopping feed. Ensure that all product information — including pricing, stock availability, titles and descriptions — is kept up to date in real time. Mismatches between your feed and landing pages can result in disapprovals, reduced impressions or even account suspension. Use automated feed syncing tools wherever possible to keep your Microsoft Merchant Centre aligned with your ecommerce platform. For B2B brands with complex or fluctuating pricing models, make sure price breaks or VAT-inclusive pricing is clear and correctly formatted. Regularly audit your feed to remove discontinued items and update any outdated data. Microsoft is less forgiving than some platforms when it comes to product detail inconsistencies. Clean, accurate feeds improve ad eligibility, reduce rejection rates and ensure your ads appear for the right searches. It’s one of the simplest ways to keep Shopping campaign performance stable and cost-effective.

Use High-Quality, Professional Product Images

Product images are a key driver of clickthrough rates in Shopping Ads. Users rely on visuals to assess quality, trust and suitability before clicking. Use clean, high-resolution images with neutral backgrounds that showcase the product clearly. Avoid lifestyle images unless they directly support the product offering. Microsoft’s Shopping platform, like Google’s, has strict rules around image formatting — no watermarks, logos or promotional overlays. Follow these guidelines to prevent disapprovals and ensure consistent presentation. For B2B products, prioritise functional clarity over style. Show the product in its most recognisable and relevant form. If your products come in multiple variations, such as sizes or colours, include accurate swatch images and identifiers. Test image variations to see which drive better engagement. A professional, consistent image set signals credibility and helps improve ad performance across your feed. Strong visuals not only increase CTR, they also support user confidence during the purchase journey.

Make Full Use of Product Attributes

Microsoft Merchant Centre allows you to include a wide range of attributes such as brand, GTIN, MPN, size, colour, condition and product type. These fields are not optional — they’re critical to improving ad relevance and placement. Complete every applicable attribute in your product feed to help Microsoft match your listings with the right search queries. Use structured data to differentiate product variants and improve filtering. For example, if you sell lab equipment, specifying voltage, size or compatibility improves visibility for more specific searches. For ecommerce retailers or B2B catalogues, detailed attributes increase the likelihood of your ads appearing in high-intent queries. They also improve user experience by setting accurate expectations before the click. The more complete your feed, the more qualified your traffic. Microsoft prioritises listings with strong data quality, so using all relevant attributes helps maximise exposure and improve Shopping campaign performance.

Segment Products for Promotional Targeting

Not every product in your catalogue will perform equally. Use feed custom labels to segment products based on margin, seasonality, promotional eligibility or stock level. For example, you might label items as “High Margin,” “Clearance,” or “Core Range.” These labels allow you to build Shopping campaigns around business priorities rather than treating all products the same. Microsoft Ads lets you filter campaigns by these custom labels, giving you granular control over where your budget goes. You can test bidding strategies, rotate seasonal offers or focus spend on top-selling products. For B2B businesses, this is especially useful when promoting complex catalogues with varied buyer journeys. By segmenting your feed for tactical use, you turn your Shopping campaign into a strategic sales tool — not just a product display channel. Smart segmentation leads to smarter bidding and more profitable outcomes across your Microsoft Ads account.

Monitor Feed Health and Resolve Errors Quickly

The Microsoft Merchant Centre includes a diagnostics dashboard that flags feed issues, disapprovals and performance warnings. Monitor this dashboard regularly to catch and resolve errors before they affect campaign performance. Even small issues, such as missing GTINs or incorrect image links, can reduce visibility or result in temporary disapproval. Prioritise resolving high-impact errors that affect multiple listings, then work through minor warnings to maintain feed integrity. Use automatic email alerts to stay informed of changes. For ecommerce teams managing large catalogues, consider assigning responsibility for weekly feed checks. Maintaining a healthy feed ensures that your ads remain eligible, your budget is used effectively and your campaign metrics stay reliable. Microsoft’s system rewards consistency, so addressing errors quickly protects the long-term stability of your Shopping Ads. A clean, compliant feed underpins every other optimisation effort — and often separates top-performing accounts from the rest.

Strategy Tips for B2B and High-Value Products

B2B ecommerce and high-ticket product advertisers face different challenges to B2C retailers. Sales cycles are longer, decision-making involves multiple stakeholders and the value of each lead or sale is significantly higher. Microsoft Shopping Ads offer a cost-effective route to visibility, but success depends on tailoring your strategy to suit complex products and professional buyers. This section outlines key tactics for improving campaign effectiveness in B2B and high-value contexts. From pricing presentation and audience targeting to feed structure and remarketing, the goal is to deliver relevance, build trust and generate qualified interest from the outset. Microsoft’s lower CPCs and business-oriented audience make it an ideal channel for product promotion in industries like manufacturing, healthcare, wholesale and technical equipment. With the right approach, you can turn product listings into profitable lead generators — even in markets where online sales require support from sales teams or specialist consultation.

Focus on Value Over Volume

In B2B and high-ticket sales, it’s more important to attract the right audience than to drive high click volumes. Structure your Shopping campaigns to focus on product ranges with the highest margins, strongest demand or most strategic value to the business. Use custom labels to identify priority SKUs and allocate higher bids to them. Avoid promoting products with low lifetime value unless they serve as entry points for cross-sell opportunities. Microsoft’s lower CPCs allow you to invest more selectively in products that generate meaningful ROI. Also consider whether some products should lead to enquiry forms rather than purchases — especially for services, software or specialist equipment. Shopping Ads can still play a role by showcasing those offers, even if the transaction happens offline. With B2B marketing, focusing on high-value outcomes rather than traffic metrics ensures your Shopping campaigns remain commercially viable and strategically aligned.

Include Business-Focused Attributes in Product Data

For B2B buyers, key product details often differ from consumer expectations. Focus on business-relevant attributes like bulk pricing, specification sheets, regulatory approvals or integration compatibility. Use these in your feed where possible, either through structured fields or in the product description. If your products are available with trade discounts or B2B bundles, call that out. Microsoft Shopping doesn’t show full descriptions in the ad itself, but relevance signals from your feed affect placement and quality. Business buyers tend to compare by features, not just price, so ensure your feed reflects what matters in procurement or operational decisions. This helps improve the quality of clicks and sets clearer expectations before the visit. Accurate and business-appropriate product attributes increase trust and reduce wasted traffic. For high-ticket items, these small details often determine whether a user engages or clicks away.

Adapt Landing Pages for B2B Conversions

Once a user clicks a Shopping Ad, the landing page must do more than just display the product. In B2B, that page should support enquiry, specification review or a buying conversation — not just an ‘add to basket’ action. Include clear information about pricing (with VAT clarity), lead times, bulk order options and how to get in touch. Add downloadable PDFs, technical specifications or integration guides where relevant. Use contact forms that are short, professional and suited to business users. Live chat and call-back features can also help. If your products are available on procurement frameworks or partner portals, make that easy to access. Microsoft Ads often brings in highly qualified traffic — but only if the landing experience supports a B2B buyer’s needs. Optimising pages for conversion in a professional setting turns Shopping Ads into a valuable entry point for business development or inside sales teams.

Test Shopping Ads for Lead Generation

Not all Shopping campaigns must lead directly to a sale. For B2B products or high-value services, use Shopping Ads to promote downloadable brochures, pricing guides or demo requests. Set up landing pages with clear CTAs that reflect these softer conversions. You’ll still benefit from visual product listings and high clickthrough rates, but without pushing for a purchase that may not align with how your audience buys. Track these conversions using Microsoft Ads’ offline conversion import or CRM integrations, allowing you to measure ROI more accurately. This approach works well for complex solutions that require custom quotes, installation or regulatory approvals. Shopping Ads are simply a visual entry point. What matters is how you capture interest once the user lands. If traditional ecommerce metrics like basket size or checkout rate don’t apply to your offering, lead generation becomes the smarter goal — and Shopping Ads can support that objective.

Leverage LinkedIn Targeting Where Relevant

Microsoft’s integration with LinkedIn allows you to layer in targeting options for job title, industry or company size — a rare advantage in Shopping campaigns. While this feature is more limited in Shopping than in search or audience ads, it’s still valuable for remarketing or audience exclusions. For example, you can retarget LinkedIn-defined audiences who’ve visited specific product pages or exclude non-decision-maker roles from certain campaign groups. Use these tools to refine who sees your Shopping Ads and ensure visibility is focused on people with buying authority. This is especially useful when running hybrid B2B campaigns where the buyer isn’t always the end user. LinkedIn targeting adds another level of quality control to Microsoft Ads, reducing wasted spend and improving lead relevance. In B2B, where every click needs to count, combining product listings with professional data can help convert interest into meaningful commercial engagement.