Smart campaigns: Where and when will my ads appear?

Learn about Microsoft Search Network and what triggers your ads to appear.
Note

Not everyone has this feature yet. If you don't, don't worry—it's coming soon!

With smart campaigns, your ads will be shown:

  • On the Microsoft Search Network
  • When people on those sites search for relevant search phrases

Let's break down what each of those points mean.

The Microsoft Search Network

The Microsoft Search Network includes sites owned and operated by Bing (including Bing.com and MSN.com), AOL, and Yahoo, as well as sites that partner with Bing, AOL, and Yahoo to use Bing or Yahoo search results.

How searches trigger your ad

When people search for a word or phrase on one of these sites, they see a search results page with links to the most relevant websites alongside relevant search ads. Which ads appear—and which appear more prominently—is determined by an auction that takes place in a fraction of a second after the search.

With smart campaigns, Microsoft Advertising's AI determines what search phrases to bid on and how much to bid on each one, informed by:

You can see which search phrases brought up your ads by checking the Search phrases tile of your campaign's details page (from the All campaigns page, click Campaign details). If you see search phrases here that aren't relevant to your products or services, click Manage search phrases, then click on the search phrase's status icon and select Pause.

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