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Can I import my Google Ads campaigns into Microsoft Ads?

Rokas Golcas · Updated

Yes. Microsoft Advertising has a built-in Google Import: you sign in with your Google account, pick campaigns, and it copies campaigns, ad groups, keywords, ads, budgets and most settings. You can run it once or on a schedule, but videos, automated rules and IP exclusions don't come across, and some bid strategies and negatives change.

Microsoft built Google Import so you can run the same campaigns on Bing without rebuilding them. The same import tools also bring in campaigns from Meta Ads and Pinterest Ads. It takes a few minutes, but the result still needs a review before you spend real money.

How do you run the import?

  1. In Microsoft Advertising, hover over Import in the left menu and select Import from Google Ads.
  2. Choose Quick import to use Microsoft's default settings, or Customize to change budgets, bids, campaign status and more.
  3. Select Sign in to Google and give Microsoft Advertising permission to read your Google Ads account.
  4. If you customize, choose the campaigns and ad groups and which items to import. Tick "Show paused ad groups" if you want paused ones too, and decide whether to convert currencies.
  5. Name the import, pick a schedule and save. Results and error logs appear under Import schedule & history.

Microsoft's scheduling options are now, once, daily, weekly, monthly or automatic. From a manager account you can import up to 10 Google Ads accounts at once, but Microsoft recommends one Google Ads account per Microsoft Advertising account.

What does not come across cleanly?

Microsoft says most items import, but not everything:

  • Videos: YouTube's terms stop Microsoft from importing the video files, so you upload them yourself.
  • Automated rules and IP exclusions can't be imported. Recreate them, for example from my list of IP addresses to exclude.
  • Auto-generated assets from Google, text or image, are not imported.
  • Display Network ad groups are skipped; ad groups on Search and Display are set to Search only.
  • Broad match negative keywords become phrase match negatives, because Microsoft does not use broad match negatives. Worth a check if you rely on negative keywords.
  • Bid strategies Microsoft does not support switch to enhanced CPC (manual CPC for Audience campaigns). Without a conversion goal, Performance Max imports with Maximize clicks.
  • Bids and budgets below Microsoft's minimums are raised by default. If you opt out, campaigns below the minimums are not imported.
  • Conversion goals: importing them is still a pilot, and only tag-based, page-visit goals created in Google Ads qualify, not goals imported from Google Analytics. You still need Microsoft's UET tag on your site.

Microsoft also warns that targeting settings and Quality Score work differently on the two platforms, so review location and time targeting after the import.

Should you keep scheduled imports on?

Scheduled imports copy changes made in Google Ads since the last run. That is handy at the start, but it can undo your work: Microsoft notes that automated imports can reactivate campaigns you paused and reset budgets to the Google values. If you see unexpected changes to status, budgets or bids, check your import schedule first.

What I do: keep the schedule while you test whether Microsoft is worth it. Once you start tuning bids, budgets and keywords for Microsoft separately, pause it, or the next change in Google Ads can overwrite what you set. To decide if it is worth the effort, see whether Microsoft Ads is cheaper than Google Ads.

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