ricardo.ch is the largest online marketplace in Switzerland. The company uses Google AdWords to bring together buyers and sellers on its platform. In order to better exploit the growing number of searches via alternative search engines, ricardo.ch now also advertises on Bing. Bing has a 12% market share in Switzerland (comScore, as of March 2017, desktop traffic) and processes around 1 million searches each day.

The Bing campaigns have paid off: compared to the same period for the previous year, traffic via Bing from January to December 2017 increased by a total of 38%. This growth is disproportionately high compared with other search engines. Furthermore, paid ads make up 49% of Bing traffic. The conversion rate, which measures how many users purchase a product or take part in an auction via a Bing ad, quadrupled during the period of the campaigns.

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Project overview

Initial Position

ricardo.ch advertises its products with Google AdWords campaigns, among other channels. A target group analysis reveals unexploited potential in search engine advertising on Bing. The platform already enjoys a number of organic visits based on Bing searches, and the conversion rate for organic Bing traffic is 84% higher than for other sources of traffic. This indicates that the conversion rate for paid Bing ads could be similarly positive. We also expect Bing to expand its market share in future, particularly because the Bing search engine is integrated into Windows 10.

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Goals

  • Search engine marketing mix: ricardo.ch wants to invest in search engine marketing on Bing in addition to its existing AdWords campaigns.
  • Traffic uplift: ricardo.ch wants to increase traffic to its marketplace and reach new, relevant users.
  • Efficiency: the new Bing campaigns are expected to improve in terms of conversion rates and cost-revenue ratio over time.
Bing’s market share is growing and needs to be exploited by advertisers. Our decision to integrate Bing Ads into our performance marketing strategy has paid off through higher traffic and more conversions. We are delighted with the results of the campaigns and will continue to advertise on Bing.

Mareike Huprich

Senior Performance Marketing Manager, ricardo.ch

Measures

Starting January 1, 2017, ricardo.ch implements German and later also French campaigns on Bing with the help of Webrepublic’s Bing experts. The campaigns are regularly optimized in terms of clicks, click-through rate, conversion rate and cost-revenue ratio.

Results

Traffic uplift

  • Total Bing traffic from January to December 2017 grows 38% compared to the same period in 2016. The paid ads make up 49% of Bing traffic.
  • By December 2017, the number of clicks on Bing ads increases by 88% compared to January – far exceeding the expected fluctuations due to seasonal changes. During the same period, the campaign budget only increased by 22%.

Performance

  • The CTR for Bing ads grows 120% between January and December 2017.
  • The conversion rate for Bing ads quadruples from January to December 2017.
  • The cost-revenue ratio improves by 75% from January to December 2017.
  • The cost per click is approximately 20% lower than for AdWords campaigns with comparable keyword sets.

After launching Bing campaigns in January 2017, traffic to ricardo.ch via Bing from January to December 2017 increased 38% compared with the same period in 2016.

Conversion rate for Bing ads quadruples from January to December 2017.

We have been working with Webrepublic since 2013, an agency that supports our performance marketing and helps us progress even further with its dedication, innovation and rigorous testing. Webrepublic is a crucial partner for us, and we look forward to growing together.

Valérie Gryson

Chief Marketing Officer, ricardo.ch

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