Multimedia Ads, the visual mainline spot#
Quick answer: Multimedia Ads are Microsoft Advertising's large visual search ads, shown in the exclusive mainline or right-rail position on Bing, one advertiser at a time, combining image, logo and text assets.
by the folkfox bench.
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What is a Multimedia Ad?#
A Multimedia Ad is Microsoft Advertising's large-format visual search ad. One advertiser wins the mainline or right-rail slot per page, so the format gets attention no text ad can buy.
It combines headlines, descriptions, call to action, logo assets, and images in four aspect ratios, and it is eligible to serve inside Copilot where richer formats win. Start at the Microsoft Ads hub for the full picture.
How the assets fit together#
The ad is assembled responsively from the assets you supply: headlines up to 90 characters, descriptions, a call to action, and images at the required ratios. Microsoft pairs the best combination for each placement.
More variants means more chances to fit. Accounts with full asset sets see higher expected clickthrough and better auction standing than text-only competitors.
| Lever | What it means |
|---|---|
| 1.91:1 landscape | minimum 703 by 368 pixels, the workhorse |
| 1:1 square | minimum 470 by 470 pixels |
| 4:1 banner | minimum 608 by 152 pixels |
| 1:2 tall | minimum 470 by 940 pixels |
When Multimedia Ads pay, and when they do not#
Run them for high-ticket, visual, or brand-sensitive products, and to defend brand searches with a presence text ads cannot match.
Skip them when you have no image assets, or when the extra creative upkeep outweighs the premium on a low-margin click.
Where the ad actually shows#
The exclusive mainline or right-rail position on the Bing results page, one advertiser per page, plus Copilot chat surfaces where multimedia formats serve alongside product and vertical ads.
Placement control stays with your campaign, but the format itself is the differentiator: nobody shares the slot.
Why run Multimedia Ads at all?#
Because in a text-only auction, the advertiser with the picture owns the page, and richer formats also perform better inside Copilot, where engagement beats the standard SERP.
The honest caveat: exclusivity cuts both ways. You are paying for attention, so pair the visual with copy that still earns the click.
Search Intent Mapper
Paste a raw keyword list and sort it into buying, comparison, research, brand and irrelevant tiers before it reaches your Microsoft Multimedia Ads. The rules are plain word lists, shown in full, and you can overrule any row.
Search Intent Mapper
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Your draft saves automatically in this browser tab, and only in this browser tab.
Feed the irrelevant tier straight into your negative keyword list, then let the search terms report show whether junk queries still trigger your ads. This tool never invents search volumes or costs: for estimated monthly searches, use Keyword Planner.
One keyword, three behaviours #
Broad, phrase and exact read the same searches very differently. Simulate all three against your own examples before your microsoft ads search campaigns spend anything.
Match Type Simulator
A simulation of how the documented match types behave using transparent word overlap rules, never a prediction of what Microsoft will actually serve. Runs entirely in your browser; nothing you type leaves this page.
The only place to see the searches that really triggered your ads is the search terms report in your account.
Negative keyword conflict finder#
In Microsoft Multimedia Ads, one stray negative can silence a whole ad group with no warning. Paste both lists and this checker names every clash, with the blocking rule spelt out.
Negative Keyword Conflict Finder
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this page.
One keyword per line. Wrap a line in [square brackets] for exact match, in "straight quotes" for phrase match, or leave it bare for broad match.
- A broad match negative blocks a positive when every one of its words appears in the positive, in any order.
- A phrase match negative blocks a positive when its words appear in the positive in the same order, side by side.
- An exact match negative blocks a positive only when the two match word for word.
- Negative keywords do not use close variants, so plurals and misspellings count as different words. Each positive keyword's own text is tested as though it were a search query.
Feed this tool from Microsoft Advertising's search terms report, where irrelevant queries become negatives, then ask our PPC team to make the pruning a habit.
RSA Message Lab
Draft responsive search ads for your Microsoft Multimedia Ads in a live lab, rather than lifting google search ads examples off the internet. Character counters, pinning and a rotating preview, all in your browser.
RSA Message Lab
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Microsoft currently accepts up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions per responsive search ad. See the Microsoft Ads asset limits.
Preview
Your headlines will appear here
www.folkfox.com › microsoft-ads
Your descriptions will appear here.
Start typing and the lab will keep a running tally here.
Your draft saves automatically in this browser tab, and only in this browser tab.
Find the waste hiding in your spend
The quickest saving in Microsoft Multimedia Ads is the money you stop leaking. Feed this finder your search terms report and it drafts the negative keyword list for you.
Search-Term Waste Finder
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Microsoft Advertising's search terms report shows the real searches that triggered your ads; pruning it is routine hygiene.
Your flagged terms will appear here once you analyse a report.
Fresh multimedia intel
Live headlines from the folkfox journal, fresh angles for your microsoft multimedia ads.
Ready when you are#
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