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Create a Microsoft Advertising account and campaign

Signing up with Microsoft Advertising is free and you can do it at any time by visiting Microsoft Advertising sign up. All you need to do is sign in using any of the following options:

  • An existing Microsoft account email address

  • Create a new Microsoft account email address

  • Sign in with your Google account credentials

    Note

    This option is available globally, except in China and India. Supported payment methods are credit and debit cards.

  • Sign in with your Facebook account credentials

    Note

    Not everyone has this feature. Supported payment methods are credit and debit cards.

Then, you can create a Microsoft Advertising account. We'll ask you to provide a few details about your business to get your account up and running.

We recommend creating both an account and campaign or importing from Google Ads and Meta Ads, but you only need to create an account. You have the option to easily and quickly create your first Performance Max campaign along with your new account. This is a helpful way for most advertisers to get started and achieve their campaign goals. With Performance Max campaigns, you can show your ads across the entire Microsoft Advertising Network and drive performance to meet your advertising goals using Microsoft AI.

Note

You have access to Performance Max during account creation. However, after creating your account and campaign, you'll have access to the full range of Performance Max features and can edit and adjust your settings accordingly.

Once you've completed signing up and creating a campaign, your ads will be eligible to go live after an editorial review. You can always import or create more campaigns and set up your billing options after signing up. You can also create more accounts, which we recommend to help structure your campaigns. You'll need to create more accounts if you are going to pay in more than one currency. Learn more about the best way to structure your accounts and campaigns. Please take note of the date that you create your account, as you'll be unable to identify the date through our system in the future.

Sign in to your Microsoft account

There are two ways to sign in depending on whether you have an existing email address for a Microsoft account:

FAQ

  • You don't have an existing email address

    1. Go to the Microsoft Advertising sign-up page and select Sign up now in the top right corner.
    2. Select Create one! next to No account?, and then select Next.
    3. Select Get a new email address.
    4. Enter an address to create an Outlook account and then select Next. (If the address is already taken, you'll need to choose a different name and try again.)
    5. Create a password and select Next.
    6. Enter your First name and Last name and select Next.
    7. An email confirmation will be sent to you with a code. Copy and paste the code in the platform.
    8. Select Next.
    9. You will see a security check with a capture. Select Next.
    10. Stay signed in.
    11. You may have another verification request. After completing the request, select Next.
    12. You will have another request to use Microsoft Authenticator App. Complete that step for additional account security.
    13. See Create a Microsoft Advertising account for instructions on creating a Microsoft Advertising account.

  • You have an existing email address

    1. Go to the Microsoft Advertising sign-up page and enter an existing email address (work, school, or personal email address from a service such as Outlook, Gmail, or Yahoo).

    2. If you have an email address you already use to sign in to Microsoft products (such as Skype or Xbox LIVE), all you need to do is sign in and we'll transition it for you. Skip to Create a Microsoft Advertising account for the next steps.

      If you've never used this email to sign in to a Microsoft product, select Create one! next to No account?, and then select Next.

    3. In the following window, confirm that you want to create a new account and then select Next.

    4. Create a password and select Next.

    5. Enter your First name and Last name and select Next.

    6. An email confirmation will be sent to you with a code. Copy and paste the code in the platform.

    7. Select Next.

    8. You will see a security check with a capture. Select Next.

    9. Stay signed in.

    10. You may have another verification request. After completing the request, select Next.

    11. You will have another request to use Microsoft Authenticator App. Complete that step for additional account security.

    12. See Create a Microsoft Advertising account for instructions on creating a Microsoft Advertising account.

Create a Microsoft Advertising account

Once you've signed in to your Microsoft account, you can create a Microsoft Advertising account.

  1. Please enter the following information when prompted:

    • Your business website.
    • The country where your business is located.
    • The language you'd like to advertise in.
    • Your legal business name, email, and phone number.
    • Your promotional offer (optional).

  2. Select the checkbox to agree to the Terms and Conditions after reviewing them.

  3. Select Next.

  4. You will see three options: Start with Microsoft Advertising, Import from Google Ads, and Import from Meta Ads. Select Start with Microsoft Advertising if you don't already have an account with Google Ads or Meta Ads. If you have an account with either of these platforms, you may choose to Import campaigns directly from Google Ads or Import campaigns directly from Meta Ads.

    Note

    If you'd like to change your account name, go to Settings > Account settings. Under the Account information section, select the pencil icon pencil icon to edit your account name. Then, select Save. However, if you receive an error message telling you that your account name already exists, please choose a different account name.

  5. Select Next.

  6. Choose whether you want to Create campaign and an account or Create an account. If you choose to create account, skip to steps 15-18 below.

  7. Review your ads. If you provided your business website's URL, we've pulled information from it to automatically populate your ads. Add or edit ad information as necessary for your Final URL, Images, Short headlines, Long headlines, Descriptions, and Business name.

  8. Select Next.

  9. Choose the audience that will see your ads by selecting where you want your ads to appear and your location target(s).

  10. Select Next.

  11. Set the Daily budget.

  12. Choose the Bid strategy.

    Note

    For your bid strategy to take effect, you need to set up conversion tracking after creating your campaign. If you don't set up conversion tracking, your bid strategy will automatically update to maximize clicks on your website instead of optimizing for your conversion goals. This is less optimal for campaign performance as your website may not receive as much traffic.

  13. Depending on the bid strategy you chose, optionally set a Target return on ad spend (ROAS) or Target cost per acquisition (CPA). To learn more about Target ROAS and Target CPA, see Let Microsoft Advertising manage your bids with bid strategies.

  14. Select Next.

  15. Update your Legal business name if needed. Then, provide your Business phone number, Business address, VAT (value-added tax), Preferred time zone, and Currency (if needed).

  16. Select Next.

  17. Select your Billing country/region, then choose a payment setting and payment method.

  18. Select Submit and go live.

You're now signed in to Microsoft Advertising! From here, you can create new campaigns and manage existing ones, or set up import from Google Ads or Meta Ads.

Edit your Performance Max campaign settings

Once you've created your campaign, you can access the full range of Performance Max features and adjust your settings accordingly.

Edit your settings

  1. From the primary menu on the left, select Advertise > Overview.
  2. If you created only one campaign, skip to step 3. However, if you created more campaigns after signing up, you'll need to select the appropriate campaign from the All campaigns dropdown above Overview.
  3. Depending on the settings you want to edit, select Asset groups, Extensions, Settings, or Targeting.
  4. Edit your settings as appropriate.
  5. Select Save.

Note

To learn more about the full range of Performance Max features, see About Performance Max campaigns and Create a Performance Max campaign.

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