What Is The Best Bidding Strategy For Microsoft Ads?

Running ads on Microsoft Ads (formerly Bing Ads) can be a great way to reach a wider audience, especially if you’re already using Google Ads. But one of the most important parts of setting up your campaigns is choosing the right bidding strategy. If you pick the wrong one, you could either overspend or not get the results you’re hoping for.

In this post, we’ll go over the most popular bidding strategies on Microsoft Ads and which one might work best depending on your goals.

1. Manual CPC (Cost-Per-Click)

Best for: Full control over your bids

With Manual CPC, you set the max amount you’re willing to pay for each click. This is a good starting point if you’re just getting used to Microsoft Ads or if you want to control your costs tightly.

Pros:

• You decide the exact bid for each keyword
• Good for small budgets
• Easy to understand

Cons:

• Time-consuming to manage
• No automation to help with performance

If you have the time to monitor and adjust your bids regularly, this method can work well. Otherwise, it might be too hands-on.

2. Enhanced CPC (eCPC)

Best for: Getting better results with some automation

Enhanced CPC is like Manual CPC, but with some help from Microsoft Ads. It adjusts your bid slightly up or down based on how likely the system thinks the click will lead to a conversion.

Pros:

• Still gives you control, but adds a smart layer
• Can lead to more conversions than pure Manual CPC

Cons:

• You still need to monitor things closely
• Results may vary if you don’t have enough conversion data

This is a nice middle ground if you’re not ready for full automation but want better performance than manual bidding alone.

3. Maximise Clicks

Best for: Driving traffic to your website

With this strategy, Microsoft Ads tries to get as many clicks as possible within your budget. You don’t set individual bids — the system does it for you.

Pros:

• Great for awareness campaigns
• Fully automated

Cons:

• Focuses on quantity, not quality
• May not lead to conversions

If your goal is simply to bring in traffic, this is an easy way to start. But don’t expect every visitor to convert.

4. Maximise Conversions

Best for: Getting the most conversions within your budget

This is one of the most popular automated strategies. Microsoft Ads will try to get as many conversions as possible for your budget.

Pros:

• Focused on your actual business goals
• Hands-off management

Cons:

• Needs conversion tracking to be set up properly
• May spend your entire budget quickly

If your goal is leads or sales and your tracking is solid, this strategy can be very effective.

5. Target CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)

Best for: Keeping your cost per conversion under control

You tell Microsoft Ads how much you’re willing to pay for a conversion, and it works to stay near that number.

Pros:

• Efficient for ROI-focused campaigns
• Helps scale campaigns profitably

Cons:

• Requires good historical data
• Not ideal for new campaigns

Once you have enough conversions, switching to Target CPA can really help improve your return on ad spend.

So, What’s the Best Strategy?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. The “best” bidding strategy depends on your goals:

• Just starting? Try Manual CPC or Enhanced CPC.
• Want more traffic? Use Maximise Clicks.
• Focused on leads or sales? Maximise Conversions or Target CPA is the way to go.

Also, don’t forget to test. Even experienced marketers try different strategies to see what works best. Start simple, watch your performance, and adjust as needed.

Final Tip:

Before using any automated bidding strategy, make sure your conversion tracking is set up correctly. Without that, Microsoft Ads won’t have the data it needs to make smart decisions, and you could waste your budget.

That’s it! Hopefully, this gave you a clear idea of which bidding strategy might be right for you. Keep it simple, stay patient, and let the data guide your next move.

Written by Uzair Kharawala

Founder of SF Digital Studios, a Google Premier Partner agency. Uzair has been helping businesses grow with Google Ads since 2002 and teaches it every week on YouTube.