The Ultimate Guide to Syncing your Bing Ads and Google AdWords Accounts

Syncing your Bing Ads and Google AdWords accounts is one of the best ways to streamline your paid search marketing efforts. In this in-depth guide, we’ll explore the key benefits of account syncing and provide best practices to help you get the most value.

Why Should You Sync Your Accounts?

There are several compelling reasons to take advantage of Bing’s account syncing feature:

Eliminate Redundant Work: Without syncing, you’d have to manually make the same changes in both platforms. This wastes precious time that could be better spent on strategy. Syncing automatically replicates changes to save effort.

Gain Insights from Combined Data: Seeing performance metrics and change history for both accounts in one place provides a consolidated view. This makes it easier to spot trends and opportunities and test different campaign variations.

Simplified Experimentation: You can test new ad copy or bid adjustments on one platform while delaying the change on the other. Comparing results helps distinguish effects of your tests from other external factors.

Consistent Branding: Keeping your ads synchronized ensures a unified branding, messaging, and customer experience across search engines. This can boost recognition of your business.

As you can see, account syncing removes redundant tasks while improving your ability to learn from data and refine campaigns. It’s a powerful way to maximize efficiency and results.

How to Set Up Account Syncing

Setting up the initial sync between your Bing Ads and Google AdWords accounts only takes a few simple steps:

1. Log into your Bing Ads account and navigate to “Settings.”.
2. Select “Linked Accounts” and click “Link Account.”.
3. Sign in with your Google credentials and grant permission to connect the accounts.
4. Choose a daily sync schedule that works for your business needs. I recommend starting with a daily schedule.
5. Review the linked accounts and consent to the data sharing terms.
6. Your accounts will immediately sync for the first time with all existing campaigns and ads.

From then on, any changes made in one system, like ad copy, bidding, or campaign structures, will automatically sync to the other platform based on your scheduled sync time. It’s that easy!

Adding Shared Negative Keyword Lists

One powerful use of linking is to maintain shared negative keyword lists between accounts. To do this:

1. In Google AdWords, create a shared list and add your blocklist terms.
2. In Bing Ads, import the list via “Tools” > “Shared Library” > “Import”.

Now any changes to that list in one system will sync over. This is highly recommended to keep non-relevant search terms from driving up costs.

With the initial setup complete, you’re ready to start streamlining your campaigns through ongoing account syncing. Let’s explore some best practices.

External link: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/03/15/google-adwords-bing-ads-syncing

Best Practices for Effective Syncing

To maximize the benefits of linked accounts, follow these tips:

Use the default sync schedule. Unless you have a good reason, stick with the daily schedule to automatically inherit changes each day. Custom schedules increase the chances of discrepancies.

Test Sync Before Major Changes: For large rollouts, test the sync process with minor adjustments first. If issues occur, diagnose them before relying on the sync.

Watch for Sync Conflicts: Periodically check for any settings out of sync between platforms. The sync is not perfect, so monitor for conflicts and fix them manually if needed.

Consider Paused Campaigns: Be aware that pausing a campaign in one system may not pause it in the other during the next sync. Pause intentionally on both sides.

Avoid Ad Schedule Mismatches: Different ad schedules between platforms could cause ads to serve inconsistently. Keep schedules aligned wherever possible.

Use Campaign/Ad Grouping: Organize campaigns and ads into labeled folders or groups to simplify maintenance as your account grows in size and complexity.

Consolidate Negative Keyword Lists: As mentioned earlier, shared negative lists are very important for streamlining unprofitable search queries between search engines.

Perform Regular Syncs Manually: In addition to automated daily syncs, occasionally force a manual sync to catch changes made outside routine schedules.

Following these recommendations will help optimize your linked account setup to minimize issues and maximize efficiency gains over time. Proper planning goes a long way.

FAQ about Syncing Accounts

What happens if I unlink my accounts?

Unlinking removes the connection so changes must thereafter be made separately in each system. Any shared elements, like ad groups or lists, are no longer joined.

Can I sync more than two accounts?

Currently, the sync feature only supports linking one Bing Ads account with one Google AdWords account. You cannot combine multiple platforms.

Do bids and budgets sync between accounts?

No, bidding strategies and account budget amounts do not sync automatically. These settings require independent configuration per system.

What types of campaigns can be synced?

All standard campaign types are supported, including search, shopping, and display campaigns for both search engines. Some advanced or customized campaign settings may not sync fully.

If I pause an ad in one system, will it pause in the other?

No, pausing a campaign or ad in one interface will not directly pause it in the linked system. You must intentionally pause elements in both accounts for it to take full effect during the next scheduled sync.

Can I undo an accidental sync?

There is no way to roll back or undo a sync once it has completed. However, you can manually update settings as needed in each account to override any unintended changes from the last sync. It’s best to test first before relying on sync.

How often should I sync my accounts?

Most users find that syncing on a daily schedule works well. This ensures near-real-time replication of changes. But you can adjust the frequency as needed based on your campaign activity levels and business needs.

Key Takeaways

To summarize, linking your Bing Ads and AdWords accounts provides significant benefits:

• It streamlines operations by eliminating redundant work through automatic change replication.
• Performance insights are easier to uncover since you can view consolidated data trends.
• Testing variations between platforms is simplified for split-testing different marketing approaches.
• Branding stays consistent thanks to synchronized ads, messaging, and settings.

Making the initial connection only takes a few minutes. From then on, keep your sync schedule running daily while following best practices to fully leverage this powerful paid search marketing feature. Proper planning and change management are important as your accounts grow in complexity over time. With ongoing optimization, linked accounts will certainly help maximize your multichannel efforts.