I wanted to catch up with Nate Burke, Founder and CEO at Diginius, a SaaS technology company specializing in digital marketing and e-commerce solutions, for a chat about how his company is using Microsoft Advertising Network for the benefit of clients.
We discuss the potential for Microsoft to gain market share in search advertising with the help of AI and proprietary technology. We agree that Microsoft has an opportunity to increase coverage in the mid-market and lower segments, and that the current antitrust suit could impact the search landscape. Nate observes that that while mobile users are a smaller percentage on Microsoft, the platform can still convert well for certain industries, and shifting desktop traffic budget to Microsoft can lead to improved performance.
Nate is bullish on the potential of Microsoft’s network to get great results for his clients. “We typically see a 20 to 40 percent better CPA on the Microsoft channels than on Google, if you manage it with a bit of tools. You don’t want to replicate the bidding strategy because it’s a different market. Most people, historically, think that Bing is just for old people who don’t know how to change their browser. And you have to talk them through and say ‘actually, it’s a lot of people on their desktops with higher incomes who are out there with buying intent.’”
Our discussion turns to the topic of B2B marketing, whose long sales cycles require nuanced KPIs and the use of signals that can serve as proxies for engagement and interest. We then talk about the increasing adoption of AI in various industries, including marketing, where AI tools are being used to automate tasks such as product listing creation and bidding algorithms, with Nate noting that while AI can save time and improve efficiency, it’s important to develop critical thinking skills and expertise to use it correctly.
Nate is excited about potential changes in the search industry which may happen in 2024, including the prospect of increased competition and the possibility that some large tech companies may be broken up.
