The Auction Your Competitors Are Ignoring

Most siding replacement contractors running Google Ads now face a brutal truth. Dozens of well-funded local and national competitors, plus lead generation aggregators, are all bidding on the same high-intent keywords. Costs per click in many metro markets have climbed past $35, with some top-of-page bids exceeding $50 for terms like "siding replacement contractor near me." On Microsoft Advertising, the same search intent routinely delivers clicks at $10 to $18.

The gap is not caused by a weaker audience. It is caused by absence. Many of the companies crowding Google have never set up a Microsoft Advertising account. Others imported a campaign once, let it run unchanged, and never optimized for the Bing environment. That neglect creates an opening: an auction where a siding contractor can appear in the top position for the cost of a third-page bid on Google.

When you add Microsoft Advertising to a paid search mix that already includes Google, you are not duplicating effort. You are extending your budget's reach into a pool of high-income homeowners who use Bing, Yahoo, MSN, and DuckDuckGo as their primary or secondary search engines. The clicks cost less, the competition is thinner, and the lead quality often matches or exceeds what your Google campaigns deliver because the user demographic aligns unusually well with siding replacement buyers.

Who Searches for Siding Replacement on the Microsoft Network

Microsoft's search network includes Bing, Yahoo, AOL, and partner sites like DuckDuckGo. The user base skews toward the 35-to-65 age range, with above-average household income and high rates of homeownership. These are people who have owned their homes for years, have equity, and are willing to invest in major exterior improvements.

For a siding contractor, that is essentially the ideal buyer profile. Siding replacement is a five-figure decision made by homeowners who care about curb appeal, energy efficiency, and long-term durability. The typical customer is in their 40s, 50s, or 60s, often in an established neighborhood, and more likely to use a desktop or laptop for research than a smartphone-only user on other platforms. Microsoft's network over-indexes on exactly that behavior.

This does not mean Microsoft Advertising will match Google's raw search volume. In most siding markets, Bing's volume is smaller, roughly 20 to 30 percent of the total search query pool. But the value case is not built on impressions. It is built on the cost to acquire a qualified phone call or form submission. When the same "James Hardie siding installer" search on Google costs $42 per click and on Microsoft Advertising costs $14, you need fewer clicks to generate the same number of leads profitably.

Platform Capabilities That Matter for Siding Contractors

Microsoft Advertising offers a set of features that directly benefit local home improvement companies. You want the ones that increase lead quality and reduce waste, not the generic overview.

Search network reach. The combined Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo audience searches for "siding replacement," "vinyl siding contractors," "fiber cement siding near me," and hundreds of related terms every day in most metro areas. In a mid-sized city, that might mean hundreds of monthly searches. In a large metro, thousands. The volume is real, and because fewer contractors are bidding, your ad is more likely to show in position one or two without paying a premium.

LinkedIn Profile targeting. This is unique to Microsoft Advertising. No other search platform lets you layer LinkedIn job title, company, and industry targeting onto your campaigns. For residential siding contractors, this opens a commercial extension without adding complexity. You can target property managers, facilities directors, and HOA board members who are searching for multi-unit siding replacement or commercial exterior renovation. That segment is difficult to reach efficiently on Google because you are competing against every commercial contractor in the region. On Microsoft Advertising, the combination of search intent and LinkedIn filters makes it possible to serve ads only to decision-makers with the right professional profile.

Microsoft Audience Network. Native and display placements across MSN, Outlook, Microsoft Edge, and partner sites extend your reach beyond the search results page. A homeowner who searched for "siding cost" last week may see your ad while checking email or reading news on an MSN property. This is not a separate display campaign you need to build from scratch. It is a toggle within the same campaign, using your existing responsive search ads and assets. For siding, remarketing-style exposure on trusted Microsoft surfaces keeps your company in front of homeowners during their research phase without requiring a complex multi-platform setup.

Import from Google Ads. A Microsoft Advertising campaign can be built by importing an existing Google Ads campaign. SBS does this as a starting point when a contractor already runs Google Ads, but we do not stop at the import. We correct the elements that do not translate cleanly: bid strategies calibrated for Google will misfire on a smaller conversion dataset, location targeting may need to be tightened, and some ad extensions require platform-specific setup.

Responsive Search Ads and ad assets. The same creative discipline applies on both platforms. You can upload multiple headlines and descriptions, and Microsoft Advertising will test combinations. Sitelink extensions, call extensions, image extensions, and location extensions all have equivalents. Call tracking and conversion tracking integrate directly so you can see which leads originated from Bing versus Google.

The Competitive Landscape on Microsoft Advertising for Siding Replacement

In a typical siding market, Google Ads auctions feature 15 to 25 unique advertisers bidding on core replacement terms. National home service marketplaces, local aggregator sites, and direct competitors all drive up CPCs through overlapping keyword coverage. On Microsoft Advertising, the same keyword set often has four to seven active bidders. Several of those bidders are running on auto-pilot, using imported settings they never adjusted for the platform.

Lower auction pressure translates into three concrete advantages for a siding contractor.

1. Lower average CPCs. Top-of-page bids for high-intent terms such as "siding installation company" or "replace wood siding with vinyl" are routinely 40 to 60 percent cheaper than on Google. In some markets the discount is even steeper.
2. Easier top-of-page position. With fewer competitors, your ad can capture premium placement without needing the highest bid in the auction. Relevance and expected click-through rate carry more weight, and a well-structured campaign with strong ad copy often claims position one at a fraction of the Google cost.
3. Lower minimum bids for extensions. Google sometimes requires a minimum bid threshold to show location extensions, call extensions, or sitelinks. That threshold is lower on Microsoft Advertising, meaning your ad can display a phone number and business address more consistently, which increases click-through rate on mobile and desktop alike.

The CPC differential is most pronounced on the bottom-of-funnel keywords that matter most: "[siding material] replacement contractor," "siding estimate," "best siding company near me." These are the searches that lead to calls and booked estimates. Paying half as much for the same action changes the unit economics of your entire paid search program.

How SBS Structures a Microsoft Advertising Campaign for Siding Contractors

A profitable Bing presence does not happen by accident. The platform's smaller auction requires a different approach to bidding, budget pacing, and negative keyword management. SBS builds campaigns specifically for the Microsoft Advertising environment, even when we start from a Google import.

Import or Build from Scratch

When a contractor already runs a Google Ads account with strong conversion history, we import that campaign as a starting structure. We then strip out or rework anything that will underperform on Microsoft Advertising. Match types are reviewed and often tightened, because the query matching logic differs slightly between platforms. Audience lists do not carry over, so we rebuild remarketing and in-market audiences natively. If there is no Google account to import, we build the account from scratch using Microsoft Advertising's keyword planner and our own trade-specific keyword research, which includes material names, project types, and local modifiers that align with Bing search behavior.

Bid Strategies That Fit Smaller Conversion Data Sets

Smart Bidding on Microsoft Advertising, with Target CPA or Maximize Conversions, works well but needs enough conversion volume to optimize. In a single-city siding campaign, the total number of conversions per week may be smaller than a national ecommerce campaign. SBS typically starts with Enhanced CPC or a conservative Target CPA based on historical Google data adjusted downward for the Bing environment. As the account accumulates conversion data, we shift toward fully automated bidding. The key is not forcing the algorithm to make decisions on five conversions a month.

Negative Keyword Strategy for Siding on Bing

Most of the same negative keywords apply across platforms: exclude terms like "DIY," "how to," "repair" (if you only do full replacement), "vinyl siding roll," "mobile home skirting," and job-seeker queries. However, Bing search query reports sometimes surface different variants than Google. We review search terms weekly during the first month and aggressively add negatives that are specific to the Microsoft network. This keeps the budget focused on homeowners ready to replace siding, not tire-kickers comparing material prices.

Budget Structure Between Google and Bing

The goal is complementarity, not cannibalization. SBS sets the Microsoft Advertising budget as a percentage of Google spend, typically 15 to 30 percent, depending on the market's Bing search volume. We monitor search impression share on both platforms. When Microsoft Advertising impression share exceeds 90 percent and the cost per lead stays below target, we know there is room to incrementally increase budget without hitting diminishing returns. If impression share is low, we increase bids or budget until we reach the volume ceiling.

We never simply split a single budget between platforms. Each channel earns its own allocation based on its own lead cost, volume, and close rate. Microsoft Advertising spend grows when it proves it can acquire a phone call or form submission for less than the contractor's target CPA.

Trust Signals, Reviews, and the Microsoft Business Profile

Bing search results surface business ratings and review counts from multiple sources, including the Microsoft Business profile and third-party review sites. When a siding contractor's ad appears with a star rating and review count, click-through rate improves measurably. Before we launch a campaign, we ensure the contractor's Bing Places listing is claimed, verified, and fully populated with accurate information, photos, and service categories.

We link the advertising account to Bing Places so that location extensions pull directly from the verified profile. This puts the business address, phone number, and rating directly into the ad. For a local trade like siding replacement, that trust layer means the difference between a homeowner calling you versus the next competitor.

Mistakes Siding Contractors Make When They Try Microsoft Advertising

Plenty of contractors know Bing exists and have even tried it. Most fail to generate a return because they repeat a predictable set of errors.

1. Blind Google import with no platform adaptation. Importing a Google campaign and hitting "enable" without cleaning up match types, bid strategies, or location settings. The campaign runs poorly, wastes budget, and the contractor concludes Bing does not work for siding.
2. Completely ignoring LinkedIn audience targeting. Even residential contractors can benefit from targeting property managers and HOA decision-makers. Leaving that capability unused is a missed opportunity for commercial siding and multifamily work that has far less competition on the platform.
3. Setting a budget too low to generate enough conversion data. If the daily budget is $20 in a market where a single click costs $12, the account will never accumulate the conversions needed for Smart Bidding to optimize. SBS calculates the minimum viable daily budget based on expected CPC and conversion rate, so the account has a fair chance to perform.
4. Leaving the Microsoft Audience Network turned off. Siding replacement is a considered purchase with a research cycle that can last weeks. The Audience Network extends your presence into that research window without requiring a separate display campaign. Failing to enable it shrinks your reach to search impressions only, leaving impressions and potential leads on the table.
5. Failing to link Bing Places and build out the business profile. Running ads without a complete profile and review integration depresses click-through rate and wastes ad spend on impressions that do not convert.

SBS: Paid Search Management That Makes Bing Pay for Itself

SBS runs both Google and Microsoft Advertising campaigns for siding replacement contractors. We do not treat Bing as an afterthought or a copy of the Google account. We build for the Bing audience, the Bing auction dynamics, and the specific way homeowners on that network search for exterior renovation services.

We track calls and form submissions separately by platform. Every month, contractors see exactly how many leads came from Google, how many from Microsoft Advertising, and what each lead cost. When Microsoft Advertising delivers a cost per acquisition that is 40 to 50 percent lower than Google, we adjust budgets to capture more of that efficiency while maintaining Google volume.

We also audit existing Microsoft Advertising accounts for contractors who already tried the platform and did not see results. Most of the time, the account is not broken. It is simply built for a different auction. A few structural changes, a negative keyword cleanup, a bid strategy reset, and proper extension configuration can turn a money-losing Bing campaign into a reliable lead source within 30 to 45 days.

If your siding replacement company spends money on Google Ads but has no Microsoft Advertising presence, or if you have a Bing account that is not converting, contact SBS. We will evaluate your market's Bing search volume, estimate what your cost per lead should be, and build a campaign that captures the homeowners your competitors are ignoring entirely.