Bing vs Google: Which Search Engine is the Best for Paid Ads?

We all know Google is far and away the most widely used search engine in the world. Google has become so popular that it’s used as a verb in everyday language and conversations. Estimates by many sites, like statscounter, has Google with about an 89% share of the search market. In Canada, the numbers align with this estimate. 

As a Fractional CMO who’s constantly trying new things, I know Google might not always be the best search engine for ads.

Sure, Google has only lost about 1.2% of the search engine market share in 4 years… but some of you may have used Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, and other search engines in the past. There are lots of alternatives to choose from. Even Google’s AI is technically a different search tool!

As a marketer and a business, you want to maximize your online presence. The more touchpoints and impressions you can make online – the more growth you’ll be able to achieve with your brand. Most companies stick to Google. But is it worth investing money into search engine optimization (SEO) and paid ads for other search engines?

1. Google dominates SEO visibility. Relying on one client acquisition tactic limits growth. Use a combination of outreach, networking, content, and ads.

2. More traffic, more credibility. Google is the default for most users, which means more consistent results and higher trust in the platform.

3. Bing can be more cost-effective for ads. While SEO tends to yield better results with Google, Bing offers cheaper ad placement (often 30% less expensive).

4. Lower competition on Bing may offer ROI advantages. The advertising space on Bing is less crowded, potentially making it a smarter buy for certain campaigns.

Who’s searching on what platform? According to statscounter – this is the global usage data for search:

DuckDuckGo has 1.49% and then there’s outliers like YANDEX at 0.29% and Ecosia at 0.16% of the search engine userbase. MSN has dropped off but it used to have around 0.05% market share as well.

Keep in mind, other platforms may not be classified as search engines from a traditional sense encroach on this space. Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and various other marketplace/social media websites can and have been used as search engines. Now there’s even more competition with AI like ChatGPT and Perplexity sucking up even more potential search queries.

It depends. Google should absolutely be your primary focus for SEO (and paid ads). However, bing and sometimes even Yahoo! and other search platforms are worth optimising for + advertising on.

The good news is SEO is the same for the majority of search engines. Great SEO = great content + great links. If you get good links by making good content then you’ve done 90% of the job.

If your website provides users with detailed accurate and relevant information they’re searching for, patience and a bit of help from backlinks or paid ads to boost traffic will get you more organic pageviews.

Once you’ve perfected that formula, you need to understand where your visitors are coming from, link referrals, and keyword competition.

Even though search results tend to be similar across many search engines, there could be instances where you’re ranking well on bing – but not Google (and vice-versa). If you’re getting more referral traffic from bing vs Google… it might be time to double down on bing ads while you work to improve your Google search performance.

Consider hiring a marketing consultant to better understand where and how your targeted users are finding you before you decide to invest in other search engines.

Monitoring SEO performance means keeping an eye on the right numbers with the right tools. Google Analytics and Google Search Console show how much organic traffic you’re getting, what people are searching, and how they interact with your site. Tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or MOZ help you track keyword rankings, backlinks, and competitors, giving you a full picture of how your SEO is performing.

To stay on track, set clear goals. Like growing organic traffic, ranking for key terms, or boosting conversions. Review progress weekly for quick wins and monthly for trends. Focus on core metrics such as keyword positions, organic clicks, click-through rates, and backlinks. Pair this with regular technical SEO checks for site speed, mobile-friendliness, and crawl errors. With steady monitoring, you’ll know what’s working, what’s not, and how to adjust for better results.

Pro tip: Implement UTM links on all your off-site links (email, bio, etc.), buttons, QR codes, and social media posts for a more detailed understanding of where your traffic came from.

If you get significant traffic from somewhere, you should always look into it. Remember – your goal is to guide/link people to your website and convert them into paying customers or subscribers. If bing is bringing in a lot of traffic, then leverage it. Some Maple Marketer clients get most of their traffic from TikTok. Naturally, we doubled-down on SEO for TikTok search (and TikTok ads).

Pro tip: Segment your data by device or location in Google Analytics and Search Console. This reveals hidden trends in how different audiences find you.

Reasons to choose bing

Reasons to choose Google

Reasons to choose Yahoo!

Reasons to choose Amazon

Reasons to choose DuckDuckGo

Ecosia, Yandex, Baidu, Naver, Seznam, etc.

Alternative search engines like these offer niche, regional, or values-driven audiences. All with less competition and unique targeting opportunities.

Google remains the dominant force for SEO. Capturing roughly 90% of the search market and offering unmatched reach and credibility. But don’t dismiss the smaller players. If platforms like Bing or Yahoo! are already driving traffic or converting for your business, they’re worth exploring. And for paid strategy, Bing’s ad platform can deliver solid results at a lower cost. In the end, the smartest approach is focused first on Google, then purposefully expanding where the data shows opportunity.