If you run ads on both Microsoft Ads (Bing) and Google Ads, you will notice that the tracking and reporting feel similar on the surface but differ in important ways underneath. Understanding these differences helps you interpret your data correctly and avoid misattribution errors when comparing performance across platforms.
The Tag Layer: UET vs gTag/GTM
Both platforms use JavaScript tags installed on your website:
- Google Ads: the global site tag (gTag) or Google Tag Manager container
- Microsoft Ads: the Universal Event Tracking (UET) tag
The key difference: Google has invested significantly more in server-side tracking (Google Tag Manager Server-Side, Enhanced Conversions for Web, GA4 Measurement Protocol) than Microsoft. Microsoft’s tracking stack is primarily browser-side, with Enhanced Conversions as a supplementary layer using hashed email matching.
For most ecommerce stores, this means Google has more resilient purchase tracking in privacy-constrained browsers than Microsoft Ads does.
Attribution Windows
Default attribution windows:
- Google Ads: 30-day click, 1-day view-through (adjustable up to 90 days click / 30 days view)
- Microsoft Ads: 30-day click, no default view-through (view-through can be enabled)
Both platforms use Last Click as the default attribution model, though Google strongly promotes Data-Driven Attribution where account volume qualifies.
The 30-day default click window is the same. For most Shopify ecommerce stores, this window is appropriate. Reduce it to 7 days if you have a very short purchase cycle (impulse-buy products), or keep at 30 days for considered purchases.
Smart Bidding Thresholds
Both platforms offer automated bidding (Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions), but the conversion volume required differs:
- Google Ads: Target ROAS requires approximately 20+ conversions in the last 45 days per campaign
- Microsoft Ads: Smart bidding typically requires 30+ conversions per month across the account
This means Microsoft Ads smart bidding is harder to unlock for smaller advertisers, because Microsoft Ads drives lower traffic volumes than Google for most advertisers. If you cannot hit the smart bidding threshold on Microsoft Ads, use Enhanced CPC as the next best alternative.
Audience Matching and Remarketing
Both platforms build remarketing audiences from website visitors tracked by their respective tags. Microsoft Ads has additional audience capabilities through LinkedIn Profile Targeting (because Microsoft owns LinkedIn), which allows you to target Microsoft Ads campaigns at users by:
- Company name
- Industry
- Job function
- Job title
- Company size
This is unique to Microsoft Ads and not available on Google. For B2B advertisers, it can significantly improve targeting precision even within the Bing / Microsoft audience network.
Reporting and Analytics Integration
Google Ads integrates natively with GA4, allowing you to import GA4 conversions and see campaign performance alongside all other GA4 data. Microsoft Ads has less robust analytics integration — you can link Microsoft Ads to a UA property (now legacy) but native GA4 integration for Microsoft Ads is limited.
This means Google Ads campaign performance is easier to analyse in the context of your full GA4 data, while Microsoft Ads performance typically lives in its own silo unless you use UTM parameters and GA4 to bridge the gap.
Using UTM Parameters Across Both Platforms
Auto-tagging works on both platforms:
- Google Ads: gclid (auto-tag) allows GA4 to import Google Ads session data without UTM parameters
- Microsoft Ads: msclkid (auto-tag) works similarly with GA4, though the integration is less developed
For consistent cross-platform analysis in GA4, add UTM parameters to all Microsoft Ads campaign URLs manually (utm_source=bing, utm_medium=cpc). This ensures Microsoft Ads traffic is correctly identified in GA4 regardless of msclkid integration status.
Which Platform Needs More Tracking Attention?
Google Ads typically drives more volume and has a more mature tracking ecosystem. But precisely because of this, tracking errors on Google Ads have a larger impact on your data. Microsoft Ads tracking errors are often noticed less quickly because the volume is lower.
Both platforms should be audited together. A tracking gap on Microsoft Ads affects its smart bidding effectiveness even if the impact on total revenue reporting appears small.
Audit Your Full Ad Tracking Stack
Book your free Shopify tracking audit here and we will check your Microsoft Ads and Google Ads tracking setups together to confirm both platforms are receiving accurate conversion data.