When it comes to online search, Google is an omnipotent force.
All-powerful, all-knowing, and foundational for any brand that wants to make it online, Google is an essential platform. Its crucial to businesses of all kinds for online search rankings and advertisements. That said, though, it is possible to get too focused on Google.
In fact, most marketers do it, and they bypass other critical platforms in the process. Luckily, companies who understand the benefits of tapping into all of these networks simultaneously can begin to right this wrong and find new ways to reach larger audiences.
Enter: “Cross-Network Advertising.”
What is Cross-Network Advertising?
Cross-network advertising is a strategy that involves marketing a company across various types of networks simultaneously. Any business using cross-network advertising effectively won’t solely focus on Google, but will also work to rank on the other main search networks and social platforms, thus expanding their reach.
Can Good Cross-Network Advertising Boost Searches?
While many marketers assume that Google is the end-all, be-all of online search, it’s important to remember there are other platforms out there, as well. Bing, Google’s largest competitor, makes up approximately 1/3 of U.S. market share, hosting 5 billion monthly searches.
Bing User Demographics:
Understanding the demographics of those using this network provides valuable insight into the Bing audience, so that you can better target your customer base:
- Gender is split nearly evening, with just 2% more female than male users
- 44% of Bing users are married, another 9% living with their domestic partner
- Nearly 40% of the Bing network audience is between 35-54 years old
- The majority of Bing users have a high income; 30% earn 100k/yr+
With all this in mind, it’s easy to see why appearing in Bing’s search results is so essential.
Focusing on more than just Google ranking can go a long way toward exposing your brand to wider audiences. After all, more than 100 million web users rely on both Google and Bing to search the web. This means that appearing in both search indexes can help you earn more traffic and sales. Period.
As it stands now, brands that advertise on Bing see an average of 26% more searches for their brand or company on Google. As if that weren’t enough, cross-network advertising also helps you take advantage of the clients who use the network you’re advertising on. This exposure to new audiences is critical to the ongoing success of your brand and brands who ignore it are missing a large segment of the population!
3 Big Advantages of Advertising With Bing
If you’ve been a loyal Google advertiser for years, stay with us: Bing offers some serious benefits for advertisers. What’s more, using both Google and Bing to run ads is a smart way to expand your reach. Here are the top three perks of creating Bing ads:
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Bing Offers A Lower CPC
Google is a highly competitive platform, which means the cost per click on its advertisements can be incredibly high. With Bing, however, it’s different. Bing’s CPC rates are much cheaper than Google’s, which makes the platform ideal for anyone in a highly competitive industry or with a small marketing budget. While it’s true that Bing has fewer users than Google, the potential to earn highly qualified leads is there.
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Bing’s Top Page Sponsored Ads Earn More Attention
Bing displays more ads at the top of its SERPs than Google does on theirs. This allows more opportunities for advertisers to gain placement, and expands the audience you’ll be able to reach. What’s more, the subsequent ad spots offered by Bing are cheaper than those provided by Google. This is true despite the fact that consumers will pay just as much attention to them.
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Simple Integration With Bing Ads And AdWords
If you’ve decided you want to start advertising on Google and Bing, Bing’s advertising platform, Bing Ads, makes it easy to integrate with AdWords. This decreases the back-and-forth you’ll have to do and helps you optimize your traffic without rebuilding your campaigns for the new platform.
What About Facebook?
Facebook is another often-overlooked platform for advertising. In addition to being the most popular social media site in the world, Facebook is also a powerhouse when it comes to advertising.
Compared to Google and Bing, Facebook ads provide highly competitive cost-per-click and click-through-rates for new and low-budget marketers. They can also give your brand a competitive edge by providing a go-around for traditional ad blockers. This may affect the ads you display on Google and Bing.
As if that weren’t enough, WordStream also reports that Facebook advertising can increase the number of branded searches your company receives by approximately 34%!
These things combine to make advertising on Facebook a smart decision for any marketer who is serious about expanding their audience. Who doesn’t want to tap into new audiences and expand their reach with their advertisements?!
Cross-Network Advertising: A Critical Strategy
Today, the web is far too broad to rely on any one advertising platform. While it’s true that Google is an essential place for marketers to run ads, don’t ignore the advertising capabilities of other networks as well. Two of the networks you should pay specific attention to are Bing and Facebook. Popular, accessible, and ideal for expanding your brand’s appeal and reach, intelligently-designed ads placed on these platforms can go a long way toward winning you new customers and helping you make the most of your online ad spending.
Both Bing and Facebook can be seen as Google’s right arm – serving to enhance, expand, and support the search engine of all search engines. While Facebook can help you bypass popular ad blockers and reach your target audience more efficiently, Bing can boost your Google searches and help increase branded queries for your company.
With these things in mind, it’s clear that modern marketers just can’t afford to ignore the benefits of cross-network advertising. Developing broad and intelligent strategy is essential for ongoing success.
To learn more about cross-network advertising, or to partner with a team that can help you master it, contact Thrive Internet Marketing today – your source for creative and targeted cross-network advertising.
