Microsoft Unveils Plans to Integrate LinkedIn and Bing Data for Advertisers
Google’s AdWords is still the preeminent online advertising service. The stalwart has dominated the eCommerce, fashion, retail and business-to-business (B2B) pay-per-click market for well over 15 years. From a humble beginning of just 350 advertisers in 2000 to an astounding 1 million advertisers today, Google’s 73 billion dollars in revenue means it currently owns 33 percent of the market. However, there are some challengers to that throne and Microsoft’s recent plans to integrate LinkedIn with Bing is yet another sign that the options for advertisers are growing.
Microsoft has played it close to the chest on this one. Advertisers have been awaiting news of Microsoft’s plans to integrate LinkedIn and Bing. The untapped potential of combining the company’s search history, domain preferences, and the data from millions of Microsoft cloud users with LinkedIn’s 500 million members has kept the advertising world waiting in anxious anticipation.
Microsoft didn’t disappoint with its recent update during Advertising Week in New York. It reaffirmed its efforts to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) – specifically conversational search queries – into its search algorithm. This is great news for enterprises looking to improve lead generation. So, what does this mean for advertisers?
Understand the Microsoft Graph API
Think of Microsoft Graph API as a chain that connects millions of users within the Microsoft cloud. User relationships are intertwined through a series of interconnected networks. Those networks could be defined by teams, groups, chats, tasks, meetings, devices, messages, files, calendars and chat groups. With Microsoft Graph API, companies can better manage tasks and meetings by updating attendees and team members of specific goals and objectives. They can improve how they manage calendars, project timelines, while also improving how they coordinate meeting times for various co-workers and professional acquaintances.
Bringing Microsoft Graph, LinkedIn, and Bing’s advertising network together means advertisers should be able to leverage the data, information, and knowledge of Microsoft’s Graph API, with the advertising reach of Bing and LinkedIn’s vast network of business professionals. Imagine being able to leverage the business networks and relationships built within the crowd, and the insights those relationships provide in terms of user preferences, with an advertising network that reaches LinkedIn’s 500 million users.
Bing’s In-Market Audience and Chat Bot Expansion
Bing has also started to expand its pilot in-marketing audience targeting platform and expects that offering to be available to all advertisers relatively soon. The company has also focused on integrating its chatbots with its search engine and within corresponding search results. This should help companies in various markets by providing better information about how customers see their products, services, and reputation within Bing’s search results.
While it remains to be seen just how impactful this merge is, it’s still good news for advertisers looking for additional advertising options. Making a decision to add this upgraded solution to your lead generation strategies ultimately comes down to whether you service the harried business professional, operate in a B2B market, or see this option as a complementary solution to your existing digital advertising network.
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