Many of Microsoft’s previously announced features are scheduled to roll out in June, along with a few new announcements. Here’s what you need to know to ensure your accounts are up to speed.
Shopping Campaign Import Enhancements
Microsoft is now allowing advertisers to import their Google Merchant Center (GMC) store along with their Shopping Campaigns.
During the shopping campaign import process, advertisers will have the opportunity to log into their Google Merchant Center account to import that account, as well.
When the GMC store is imported, it will automatically create a Microsoft Merchant Center store with the same name, domain, and settings.
This feature is currently in a private beta. To request access, reach out to your Microsoft Advertising account manager or contact Support.
Smart Shopping Integration for Shopify Users
Microsoft announced that they’re adding “Smart Shopping” to their Shopify app, which is designed to simplify shopping campaign creation. Through the app, advertisers are also automatically opted in to show your products for free on the Bing Shopping Tab.
Microsoft Audience Network Expands
In April, Microsoft announced that expansions were forthcoming and has now announced that, as of today, the Microsoft Audience Network is now live in France and Germany.
As of this month, Audience Ads can now run in France and Germany, expanding our global footprint to seven markets worldwide: US, CA-EN, UK, AU, FR, DE, and NZ.
New In-Market Audiences in the UK, France & Germany
Microsoft announced today that they’ve released new audience segments in the UK, France, and Germany for both search campaigns and audience campaigns. Advertisers can download the In-market segment list to see what’s new.
Phrase Match Updates Set to Roll Out in June
Microsoft announced in May that phrase match would begin to match more similarly to modified broad match, in parody with Google’s recent change. That change is set to take effect in June in the United States (US) and Canada markets.
Similar Audiences U.S. Roll Out
Similar audiences, which have been in beta, are also set to roll out in the U.S this month.
To use similar audiences, just click “similar audiences” from the drop-down menu and then select the audiences that should be associated. Remarketing lists must match to at least 300 users in order to be eligible for Similar Audiences. Once Microsoft has enough signals to predict similar user behaviors, a similar audience will automatically be created.
Click “Similar Audiences” from the drop-down menu, then choose the audiences to be used for lookalikes.
Microsoft will review users daily to ensure there is no overlap with the original Remarketing list.
For more information on how to set up Similar Audiences, see Microsoft’s help page Similar audiences: Reach a wider qualified set of customers.
Microsoft Import Enhancements Now Live
Microsoft’s Facebook Import officially launched last week. To learn more about the new Facebook Import feature, check out this interview with Microsoft’s Search Evangelist, John Lee.
As a quick recap, advertisers can now: import Facebook campaigns, ad sets, budget, bids, images, demographic and location targeting to the Microsoft audience network.
Advertisers have a chance to confirm and adjust all of the above settings, and to preview and edit ads and tracking parameters before launching the campaign.
In addition to the Facebook import capabilities, the import tool received a facelift in effort to make the process easy-to-use. The advanced features are still accessible for those that prefer more customization.
Last but not least, advertisers can now choose to import campaigns automatically from Google, as changes occur in Google Ads, as opposed to scheduling at a certain frequency.
