Vertical Ads, industry formats from a feed#
Quick answer: Vertical Ads are keywordless, feed-driven ad formats for specific industries, automotive, legal, medical, real estate, travel and more, that run in an auction independent of text ads.
by the folkfox bench.
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What is a Vertical Ad?#
A Vertical Ad is a keywordless, feed-driven format purpose-built for one industry. You upload a feed of your inventory or services, and Microsoft dynamically generates personalised ads from its attributes.
Supported verticals today include automotive, credit cards, cruises, job listings, professional services, and tours and activities, with more announced. Start at the Microsoft Ads hub for the full picture.
How the feed replaces keywords#
You create a search campaign, upload the feed, and add one placeholder keyword. Microsoft matches search terms to your offers using the feed's rich attributes, image URLs, pricing, locations, and more.
Vertical ad auctions are independent of text ad auctions, so you can win both a text ad and a vertical block on the same results page. Feeds go live about 48 hours after submission.
| Lever | What it means |
|---|---|
| 1. Feed | comprehensive offer data, richer attributes beat keywords |
| 2. Placeholder keyword | one token, matching comes from the feed |
| 3. Enhanced CPC | the supported bid strategy for vertical auctions |
| 4. 48 hours | time from feed submission to live ads |
When Vertical Ads pay, and when they do not#
Run them when your industry has a supported vertical, when your offer data is structured, and when you want a second presence on the results page beyond text ads.
Skip them when your feed data is thin or inaccurate, rich attributes are the whole advantage, or when the vertical does not yet exist for your sector.
Where the ads actually show#
Dedicated vertical blocks on the Bing results page, independent of the text ad auction, with property promotion and tours and activities formats eligible inside Copilot.
The same account and feed can serve multiple vertical ads simultaneously when they win their auctions.
Why run Vertical Ads at all?#
Because structured offers beat text for cars, clinics, listings and trips, and the independent auction means double presence on the same page at no extra keyword management.
The honest caveat: vertical ads live or die by feed quality. A thin feed delivers thin ads.
Search Intent Mapper
Paste a raw keyword list and sort it into buying, comparison, research, brand and irrelevant tiers before it reaches your Microsoft Vertical 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 Vertical 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 Vertical 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 Vertical 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 vertical intel
Live headlines from the folkfox journal, fresh angles for your microsoft vertical ads.
Ready when you are#
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