Microsoft Ads for Contractors: Get More Leads at 40% Lower Cost
Most contractors are fighting over the same Google Ads real estate, bidding against each other to stay visible on the platform that consumes most of their ad budget. Microsoft Ads, which runs across Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo, reaches roughly 14 percent of U.S. desktop search volume. Fewer than 20 percent of home service contractors advertise there. The contractors who do run Microsoft Ads report cost per clicks 40 to 55 percent lower than their Google campaigns for identical keywords, and a cost per acquisition averaging $21.68 for home services, compared to over $40 on Google. You are not choosing between the two. You run both, and Microsoft fills in leads at a fraction of the cost.
The Audience Matches Your Customer
The demographic breakdown of Bing users in the U.S. aligns better with home service buyers than the average Google searcher. Bing users skew toward ages 35 to 65, with above-average household incomes and higher homeownership rates. These are people calling about real projects and real problems, not renters asking about something that belongs to their landlord. For HVAC, roofing, plumbing, and landscaping, the Bing audience composition leans toward the decision-maker who authorizes the job and writes the check.
Microsoft Ads also offers LinkedIn profile targeting, available on no other search ad platform. If you do commercial or property management work alongside residential, you can layer job title and company size on top of keyword intent. A commercial HVAC contractor can target facilities managers and property managers specifically. Google Ads cannot do this.
How Much Less You’ll Pay Per Click
The cost differential between platforms is significant across every home service trade. Lower competition on Microsoft means fewer bidders pushing prices up, so the same budget goes further. Industry averages for 2026:
| Trade | Google Ads CPC (typical) | Microsoft Ads CPC (typical) | Approximate savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC | $5 to $9 | $2.25 to $4 | 45 to 55% |
| Plumbing | $5 to $8 | $2 to $3.75 | 45 to 55% |
| Roofing | $6 to $11 | $2.75 to $5 | 45 to 55% |
| Electrical | $4 to $8 | $1.75 to $3.50 | 45 to 55% |
| Landscaping | $3 to $6 | $1.25 to $2.75 | 45 to 55% |
Businesses that add Microsoft Ads to an existing Google Ads setup typically see 15 to 20 percent more total conversions with a 10 to 18 percent lower blended cost per acquisition across both platforms. Microsoft volume is lower than Google, but the economics are meaningfully better per lead generated.
Getting Started: Import from Google Ads
You do not start from scratch. Microsoft Ads has a direct import tool that copies your Google Ads campaigns in about 15 minutes. If you already run Google Ads, you have everything you need to launch on Microsoft today.
- Create a free Microsoft Ads account at ads.microsoft.com.
- In the Microsoft Ads dashboard, click “Import” in the top navigation, then select “Import from Google Ads.”
- Connect your Google account and select the campaigns you want to copy. Start with your highest-performing service campaigns, not brand or remarketing campaigns.
- Microsoft maps your keywords, ad copy, bid strategies, sitelinks, and location targeting automatically. Review the import summary, then confirm.
The import handles the structural work. What it does not do is optimize for the Microsoft auction. After importing, make these four changes before turning the campaigns on:
Reduce your bids by 25 to 30 percent
Your Google bids were calibrated for Google’s auction environment. Microsoft’s lower competition means those bids will overspend relative to what the market requires. Start 25 to 30 percent below your imported Google bids and let the system adjust from real impression and click data over the first two weeks.
Verify your location targeting
Microsoft and Google handle geo-targeting differently at the backend. Pull up each campaign’s location settings after the import and confirm you are targeting the correct service area, not a broader DMA or state. This is the most common error after a Google-to-Microsoft import and it can spend budget on traffic outside your market.
Check your ad assets
Microsoft calls ad extensions “assets.” Phone number, location, and sitelink assets import cleanly. Promotion and image assets sometimes have formatting mismatches. Open each asset in the interface and verify it is approved before launch.
Review your search terms after the first week
Bing indexes different query variations than Google. After the first week of running, pull the search terms report and add negatives for any irrelevant queries that triggered your ads. Expect 5 to 10 new negatives in the first 30 days that would not exist in your Google campaigns.
Copilot Placements in 2026
Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant, built into Windows, Edge, and Bing, now surfaces local service businesses in response to conversational queries. When someone asks Copilot for a plumber with good reviews nearby, Microsoft Ads placements appear alongside the AI-generated response. This is the same GEO-adjacent opportunity contractors pursue on Google AI Overviews, but on a platform where almost none of your competitors are advertising yet.
To appear in Copilot-triggered placements, enable the Audience Network in your campaign settings. Under “Ad distribution,” turn on “Microsoft Audience Network.” Your search ads continue running on Bing while Copilot placements run as a separate line item you monitor independently in your reporting dashboard.
What to Track in the First 30 Days
Volume will be lower than Google. A market where Google produces 100 clicks per day will produce 12 to 18 on Microsoft. That is expected and does not mean the platform is underperforming. Track these metrics before drawing conclusions:
- Impression share by keyword: If impression share on your core service terms is above 60 percent, your budget is adequate. Below 40 percent means you need more budget before adjusting bids.
- Cost per lead: Set up phone call conversion tracking before the campaigns go live. Without it, you are measuring clicks, not booked jobs. A 30-day Microsoft CPL 30 to 50 percent below Google is a typical result in home service markets.
- Lead quality: Ask your intake staff to note where callers mention finding you on Bing. The cost data is clear, but ground-level quality checks confirm the channel is delivering bookable customers and not just cheap traffic.
If your 30-day Microsoft CPL is lower than Google, shift 15 to 20 percent more budget toward Microsoft until CPLs equalize. Contractors who have run both platforms for six months typically settle at a 70 to 30 split between Google and Microsoft, with Microsoft delivering leads at a lower cost per conversion. The channel is not a replacement for Google. It is extra coverage at a price your Google budget cannot match.