Three updates from Microsoft Advertising this month that are worth knowing about. Each one addresses a practical gap that advertisers and agencies have been working around.
Ad Preview Hub for Audience Ads
Microsoft Advertising now offers a clearer preview of how audience ads appear across the network. The updated ad preview hub lets advertisers select specific publishers, currently MSN and Outlook with more sites planned, choose specific assets in multi asset campaigns, preview across devices, and toggle between full page and isolated ad views.
The most useful addition is shareable preview links. For agencies, this solves the recurring friction of showing clients how their ads look in context without requiring account access. A small improvement that removes a meaningful amount of back and forth.
Performance Max: Self Serve Negative Keywords
Self serve negative keywords for Performance Max campaigns have entered open beta. Advertisers can now access these through Campaigns then Negative keywords to prevent ads appearing alongside specific search queries.
This has been one of the most requested controls for Performance Max. Without negative keywords, advertisers had limited ability to refine where their ads appeared. The open beta status means it is available to test now, though further refinements are likely. If you are still building your Performance Max knowledge, Microsoft now offers a free learning path with certification.
Customer Acquisition Goals Now Globally Available
Customer acquisition goals for Performance Max are now generally available worldwide. Advertisers using purchase conversion goals can configure campaigns to prioritise new customer acquisition rather than optimising equally across new and returning buyers.
This matters for e commerce advertisers in particular. Optimising for new customer acquisition changes bidding behaviour meaningfully, especially in categories where repeat purchase rates are already strong and marginal spend on existing customers yields diminishing returns.
Google Account Sign Up
New advertisers can now register for Microsoft Advertising using their Google account. Available globally except in mainland China and India. A minor friction reduction for new account setup. If you are considering getting started with Microsoft Advertising, our account setup and linking support can help you structure things correctly from the start.
This insight is based on content originally published on the Microsoft Advertising Blog, rewritten with added context and perspective by Scepter Digital.
