Google Import Detection

What AdGradr checks

AdGradr looks at three signals that suggest a Microsoft Ads account was imported from Google Ads without platform-specific adaptation:

1. No Audience Network management. None of your campaigns have an explicit Audience Network setting recorded. The setting was never reviewed during or after import.
2. No Bing-specific ad formats. No multimedia ads or action extensions present anywhere in the account. These formats are exclusive to Microsoft Advertising; a pure import will never include them because they don’t exist in Google.
3. Google-style campaign naming (“Search -”, “Display -”, “PMax -”, etc). This signal alone doesn’t trigger a flag because many agencies use the same naming taxonomy across all networks by convention. It only counts as a corroborating signal when at least one of the other two is also present.

Two or more signals trigger the stronger finding. One signal triggers a softer one. Naming alone never triggers anything.

Why this matters

Microsoft Ads is not Google Ads with a different logo. The auction dynamics, audience composition, and feature set are meaningfully different. An imported account that was never tuned is running on Google’s logic in a Bing environment. The biggest practical difference: Microsoft Audience Network is enabled by default on imported search campaigns and behaves differently than anything in Google.

What good looks like

• A documented, deliberate decision on Audience Network for each campaign (in or out, with placement exclusions if in). See Microsoft Audience Network.
• At least some Bing-specific ad formats deployed where they make sense (multimedia ads, action extensions).
• Bids adjusted for Bing’s typically lower CPCs and different conversion patterns, not just inherited from Google.
• LinkedIn profile targeting layered on for B2B campaigns. Free, has no Google equivalent.
• Bing-specific negative keyword list built from the search terms report. Bing broad match historically runs looser than Google’s.

Common mistakes

1. Import and forget. Running the Google import wizard, confirming the settings, never touching the account again. The most common pattern on the platform.
2. Assuming Google bids are right for Bing. Bing CPCs are often 20-40% lower. Imported Max CPC bids leave money on the table or overpay.
3. Ignoring Bing-only features. LinkedIn profile targeting, in-market audiences specific to Microsoft, and Bing-exclusive ad formats. None of these exist in Google so importing will never bring them in.

How to fix it

1. Audit your Audience Network settings on every search campaign. Decide in or out per campaign. If in, set up and maintain a placement-exclusion list. See Microsoft Audience Network.
2. Review bids. Lower by 20-30% as a starting point on imported campaigns and let performance guide further changes.
3. Enable LinkedIn profile targeting on B2B campaigns where it applies.
4. Test at least one Bing-specific ad format. Multimedia ads or action extensions, even one campaign, gives you a baseline.
5. Build a Bing-specific negative list from the search terms report. Don’t assume your Google negatives transferred cleanly.

When to ignore this check

Importing from Google is a perfectly valid starting point. If you imported recently and are actively working through Bing-specific changes, this finding is expected during the transition.

If you use a consistent campaign-naming taxonomy across all networks for organizational reasons, the naming pattern by itself does not count against you in this check (we only mention it when other import signals are also present).

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