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Create a Microsoft Advertising account and campaign

Learn more about creating an account

Signing up with Microsoft Advertising is free and you can do it at any time by visiting Microsoft Advertising sign up. All you need to do is sign in with an existing Microsoft account email address or you can create a new Microsoft account email address. Then, you can create a Microsoft Advertising account. We'll ask you to provide a few details about your business to get your account up and running.

We recommend creating both an account and campaign or importing from Google Ads and Facebook Ads, but you only need to create an account. You have the option to easily and quickly create your first Performance Max campaign along with your new account. This is a helpful way for most advertisers to get started and achieve their campaign goals. With Performance Max campaigns, you can show your ads across the entire Microsoft Advertising Network and drive performance to meet your advertising goals using Microsoft AI. Note: You have access to a streamlined version of Performance Max during account creation. However, after creating your account and campaign, you'll have access to the full range of Performance Max features and can edit and adjust your settings accordingly.

Once you've completed signing up and creating a campaign, your ads will be eligible to go live after an editorial review. You can always import or create more campaigns and set up your billing options after signing up. You can also create more accounts, which we recommend to help structure your campaigns. You'll need to create more accounts if you are going to pay in more than one currency. Learn more about the best way to structure your accounts and campaigns.

Sign in to your Microsoft account

There are two ways to sign in depending on whether you have an existing email address for a Microsoft account:

You don't have an existing email addressexpando image
  1. Go to the Microsoft Advertising sign-up page and select Sign up now in the top right corner.
  2. Select Create one! next to No account?, and then select Next.
  3. Select Get a new email address.
  4. Enter an address to create an Outlook account and then select Next. (If the address is already taken, you'll need to choose a different name and try again.)
  5. Create a password and select Next.
  6. Enter your First name and Last name and select Next.
  7. An email confirmation will be sent to you with a code. Copy and paste the code in the platform.
  8. Select Next.
  9. You will see a security check with a capture. Select Next.
  10. Stay signed in.
  11. You may have another verification request. After completing the request, select Next.
  12. You will have another request to use Microsoft Authenticator App. Complete that step for additional account security.
  13. See below for instructions on creating a Microsoft Advertising account.
You have an existing email addressexpando image
  1. Go to the Microsoft Advertising sign-up page and enter an existing email address (work, school, or personal email address from a service such as Outlook, Gmail, or Yahoo).
  2. If you have an email address you already use to sign in to Microsoft products (such as Skype or Xbox LIVE), all you need to do is sign in and we'll transition it for you. Skip to Create a Microsoft Advertising account for the next steps.

    If you've never used this email to sign in to a Microsoft product, select Create one! next to No account?, and then select Next.

  3. In the following window, confirm that you want to create a new account and then select Next.
  4. Create a password and select Next.
  5. Enter your First name and Last name and select Next.
  6. An email confirmation will be sent to you with a code. Copy and paste the code in the platform.
  7. Select Next.
  8. You will see a security check with a capture. Select Next.
  9. Stay signed in.
  10. You may have another verification request. After completing the request, select Next.
  11. You will have another request to use Microsoft Authenticator App. Complete that step for additional account security.
  12. See below for instructions on creating a Microsoft Advertising account.

Create a Microsoft Advertising account

Once you've signed in to your Microsoft account, you can create a Microsoft Advertising account.

  1. You will see three options: Create account, Import from Google Ads, and Import from Facebook Ads. Select Create account if you don't already have an account with Google Ads or Facebook Ads. If you have an account with either of these platforms, you may choose to Import campaigns directly from Google Ads or Import campaigns directly from Facebook Ads.
  2. Select the country where your business is located.
  3. Choose the language you'd like to advertise in.
  4. Select Next.
  5. If you have a business website, select I have a website and enter the main URL for it. Otherwise, select I don't have a website.

    Note: If you don't have a business website, you can create a landing page for your ads. Learn more about building a free business website with Smart Pages.

  6. Select Next.
  7. Choose whether you want to Create account and campaign or Create account only. If you choose Create account only, skip to steps 16-21 below.
  8. Review your ads. If you provided your business website's URL, we've pulled information from it to automatically populate your ads. Add or edit ad information as necessary for your Final URL, Images, Short headlines, Long headlines, Descriptions, and Business name.
  9. Select Next.
  10. Choose the audience that will see your ads by selecting where you want your ads to appear and your location target(s).
  11. Select Next.
  12. Set the Daily budget.
  13. Choose the Bid strategy.

    Note: For your bid strategy to take effect, you need to set up conversion tracking after creating your campaign. If you don't set up conversion tracking, your bid strategy will automatically update to maximize clicks on your website instead of optimizing for your conversion goals. This is less optimal for campaign performance as your website may not receive as much traffic.

  14. Depending on the bid strategy you chose, optionally set a Target return on ad spend (ROAS) or Target cost per acquisition (CPA). To learn more about Target ROAS and Target CPA, see Let Microsoft Advertising manage your bids with bid strategies.
  15. Select Next.
  16. Provide your Legal business name, Phone number, Business location, and Preferred time zone.
  17. Select Next.
  18. Select your Billing country/region, then choose a payment setting and payment method.
  19. Enter your Promotional offer (optional).
  20. Review the Microsoft Advertising Terms and Conditions and select the box if you agree to the terms.
  21. Select Submit and go live.

You're now signed in to Microsoft Advertising! From here, you can create new campaigns and manage existing ones, or set up import from Google Ads or Facebook Ads.

Edit your Performance Max campaign settings

Once you've created your campaign, you can access the full range of Performance Max features and adjust your settings accordingly.

Edit your settings
  1. From the primary menu on the left, select Advertise > Overview.
  2. If you created only one campaign, skip to step 3. However, if you created more campaigns after signing up, you'll need to select the appropriate campaign from the All campaigns dropdown above Overview.
  3. Depending on the settings you want to edit, select Asset groups, Extensions, Settings, or Targeting.
  4. Edit your settings as appropriate.
  5. Select Save.

Note: To learn more about the full range of Performance Max features, see About Performance Max campaigns and Create a Performance Max campaign.

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