Microsoft Advertising CP cheat sheet

Match type reach order: broad match > phrase match > exact match; negative keywords apply at every level and block otherwise-eligible queries.

Exact match still serves close variants including misspellings, singular/plural, stemming, and reordering, so exact does not mean literal query equality.

Phrase match requires the meaning of the phrase, allowing words before and after; it also covers close variants and implied synonyms.

Broad match uses semantic intent and can serve queries with no shared keywords; pair it with audience targeting and negative keyword lists to control waste.

Ad Rank is determined by bid, ad and landing page quality, ad extensions/asset impact, and expected click-through-rate; a higher bid cannot always outrank a better-quality competitor.

Quality Score (1-10) reflects expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience; it influences cost per click and eligibility, not the auction position alone.

Dynamic keyword insertion inserts the triggering keyword into the ad headline but falls back to a default when the keyword exceeds character limits.

Negative keyword lists are shared at the account level and apply to campaigns or ad groups that link them; adding a negative does not retroactively erase historical data.

Conversion rate = conversions / clicks; cost per conversion = cost / conversions; return on ad spend (ROAS) = revenue / cost.

Cost per acquisition (CPA) = total cost / number of acquisitions; use it to compare campaigns with different budgets on efficiency.

Click-through rate (CTR) = clicks / impressions; a falling CTR with stable rank often signals ad copy or audience mismatch.

Impression share = impressions / eligible impressions; lost IS (budget) and lost IS (rank) split the shortfall by cause.

Microsoft Advertising UET tag records conversions and remarketing audiences; a conversion goal must be defined before data appears.

Attribution models include last click, first click, linear, and position-based; changing the model reallocates credit without changing total conversions.

View-through conversions count users who saw but did not click an ad and later converted within the attribution window.

Use A/B tests with a single changed variable and enough volume to reach significance; do not pause a test early on a small sample.

Budget types include daily and shared budgets; shared budgets pool spend across campaigns and can be capped at the campaign level.

Bid strategies include manual CPC, enhanced CPC, maximize clicks, maximize conversions, and target CPA/ROAS; automated strategies need conversion tracking to perform.

Ad rotation options control how often ads serve; optimize for clicks or conversions uses performance data rather than even rotation.

Ad group structure should group keywords by shared intent and landing page; too many keywords per ad group dilutes ad relevance.

Device targeting lets you adjust bids for desktop, tablet, and mobile; mobile bid adjustments apply to the device share of the auction.

Location and schedule bid adjustments multiply the base bid; a negative adjustment lowers bids during low-converting hours or regions.

Search terms report shows actual queries; add converting queries as keywords and irrelevant queries as negatives.

Ad extensions/assets (sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets) improve visibility and can raise CTR and Ad Rank without extra cost.

Microsoft Advertising serves search results on Bing, Microsoft Edge, and partner sites in the Microsoft Search Network; the Audience Network extends to native placements.

The Microsoft Advertising Editor is a desktop tool for bulk edits, imports, and exports across accounts; it syncs changes back to the platform.

Microsoft Shopping campaigns use product feeds and Merchant Center; product groups are built from the feed taxonomy.

Microsoft Audience Ads use intent and audience signals on Microsoft properties and partner sites, including native ad formats.

The UET tag is a JavaScript snippet placed on the site; it powers conversion tracking and remarketing.

Import from Google Ads is a supported workflow that maps campaigns, keywords, and settings, but some features require manual reconfiguration.

Microsoft Advertising supports responsive search ads that combine multiple headlines and descriptions to match query context.

Account hierarchy is account > campaign > ad group > ad/keyword; reporting and budget controls can be set at each level.