In this guide
Test another search channel when your first campaign is understood
Microsoft Advertising offers another way to reach people searching for the holidays and services you sell. It may suit your business, but lower costs or better clients are not guaranteed. Treat it as a separate test with its own results, rather than assuming that a Google campaign will perform identically.
Import is a starting point
Keep the imported campaign paused until these checks are complete.
Correct campaign and import schedule
Check the status, warnings and which fields future imports could overwrite.
Locations, networks and keywords
Review match types and exclusions instead of assuming they copied as intended.
Budgets, bids and page relevance
Check the spending rules and that each advert reaches the right page.
UET, consent and conversion goal
Test the intended successful action and make sure it is not counted twice.
Decide whether to add it now
If your existing marketing still has broken tracking, unanswered enquiries or an unclear offer, deal with those first. Adding another advertising account creates another budget and another set of decisions. You can create a Microsoft campaign directly; importing a suitable Google campaign is an optional shortcut.
Prepare your account
Use an account controlled by your business, with appropriate access for anybody helping you. Confirm currency, time zone, billing and the spending rules shown in the account. Set a test budget you can afford, and record when somebody will review it. Do not assume that a separate account-level monthly cap exists for your payment arrangement.
Import carefully if appropriate
- Select the campaign you actually want to test. Avoid importing unrelated or experimental campaigns simply because they are available.
- Review the import options for budgets, bids, status, targeting and future updates before starting.
- Read the import summary and warnings. Check every important setting rather than assuming a warning is harmless.
- Confirm the landing pages, adverts, keyword matches, negative keywords, locations, networks and conversion goals.
- Keep the campaign paused until you have checked the result. If using scheduled imports, understand what they can overwrite, including changes you later make in Microsoft.
Set bids using evidence
Do not automatically reduce every bid by a fixed percentage. Compare the available forecasts with your acquisition allowance and check how the campaign actually delivers. Costs depend on the auction, the searches, competition and campaign quality. If traffic is limited, investigate targeting, search demand, bids and approval status before increasing expenditure.
Measure the right action
Read Measure your results before adding tracking. Microsoft's Universal Event Tracking tag, known as UET, supports conversion measurement. Ask your website team to confirm the suitable implementation and consent handling. Installing the tag and creating the conversion goal are separate tasks. Test a successful enquiry and check it appears correctly, without duplicates. Where the journey enters an embedded tool or another domain, verify that part too.
Compare channels using the same rules
Worksheet prompts: record your own Google and Microsoft results separately.
Spend → enquiries → bookings
Record spend, valid enquiries, quotes and bookings from those enquiries for your chosen review period.
Spend → enquiries → bookings
Record the same measures, using the same enquiry-quality definition and attribution approach.
Acquisition cost and contribution
Calculate costs from the relevant enquiries and bookings. Include servicing, fees and advertising when judging value.
Run a separate review
Check search terms and lead quality soon after launch, then regularly. Keep Microsoft's spend, enquiries, quotes and bookings identifiable in your records. Useful learning can inform your Google campaign, but copy exclusions and changes only when they also make sense there.
Complete this guide when
- Campaign settings and import behaviour have been checked.
- UET and the intended conversion goal have been verified.
- The test has a spending plan and review owner.
- Microsoft enquiries and outcomes can be identified separately.
Continue only if the evidence justifies the time and money involved.
Travelgenix support request
Please confirm how UET and consent can be supported on [website], and how we should measure [successful enquiry or booking action].
Sources and further help
Use the official guidance below when checking settings, eligibility and responsibilities. Platform features and rules can change.
