Not Signed In Join the Community
Site Language:
Microsoft Advertising Community
adCenter Ad Preview Now Available: See if Your Ad is Showing on Bing -

adCenter Blog

adCenter Ad Preview Now Available: See if Your Ad is Showing on Bing

posted Thu, Sep 10 2009

We’ve heard from our advertisers that you’d like an easier way to see if your ad is showing on Bing. So, we’ve created Ad Preview, a new feature that can help you confirm that your search ad is appearing. Instead of searching on Bing.com for your live ad, you can access Ad Preview directly in adCenter while you’re managing your campaigns. Ad Preview also helps avoid the unnecessary impressions and accidental clicks you might incur when you search for your ad on Bing.

Sign in to Microsoft adCenter and try it today—and check out our FAQ below for more info.

1. Sign in to Microsoft adCenter.

2. Select your account.

3. Click the Campaigns tab.

4. On the Campaigns page, at the upper right, click Ad Preview Tool.  

clip_image002

5. In the Keyword box, type a keyword that’s associated with your ad.

6. Click the Preview Ads button. Please note that you might get one of these security messages:
•    If you get the message Do you want to view only the webpage content that was delivered securely, click No to proceed. 

•    If you get the message This page contains both secure and nonsecure items, click Yes to proceed.

clip_image004

7. View your ad results.

clip_image006

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Q: Will searching via Ad Preview have any impact on my ad performance?
A: No. Ad Preview lets you preview your ads without affecting impressions or CTR. Impressions delivered through Ad Preview will not appear as impressions in your account performance.

Q: Can I click ads in Ad Preview? If so, will I be charged for clicks on my ads from Ad Preview?

A: You will not be able to click on ads while performing a search in Ad Preview.

 

Q: Is Ad Preview accessible only on the adCenter interface? Can I access it through another link?

A: Ad Preview is currently accessible only through the Campaigns tab in the adCenter online interface. To use Ad Preview, you must be signed in to adCenter.

Q: I still don’t see my ad even when using Ad Preview, yet the performance reports show that I am getting some traffic. Why?

A: If you cannot see your ad while using the tool, it is likely that you’re being outbid on your keywords by other advertisers or your ad relevance is not high enough to outperform other advertisers’ ads. I can work with you to review your campaign and offer specific recommendations about how to increase ad relevance. You can also refer to our Help topic on Improving ad relevance.

Q: Can Ad Preview tell me whether my ads are serving in different geographical locations or to different demographics?

A: Ad Preview does not currently have this functionality; however, we are always working on enhancements to our features.

Q: I can see my ad on Bing, but not through Ad Preview. Why?

A: Ad Preview shows ads as they appear to an average searcher. If you use targeting by geographical location and your ads appear only to a small percentage of searchers, these ads might not appear in Ad Preview.

Q: When I try to search using the Ad Preview Tool, I am prompted with a security warning. How should I proceed?

A: Please note that when you search via the Ad Preview Tool, you might receive a security warning message prompting you to choose to view only secure items. To show your results via the Ad Preview Tool, please proceed by selecting to view both secure and nonsecure items, by clicking either Yes or No, depending on the particular message displayed on your browser:

  • If you get the message Do you want to view only the webpage content that was delivered securely, click No to proceed.
  • If you get the message This page contains both secure and nonsecure items, click Yes to proceed.

Sign in to adCenter | Need an account? Sign up now

Follow us on Twitter @adCenter@MSAdvertising | Find us on Facebook and YouTube | Share your thoughts and ask questions in the Forums | Subscribe to the adCenter Blog

Comments

  • Thu, Sep 10 2009 09:14AM

    Looks great, i have been waiting for this tool from long long time.. Love.. Microsoft Rocks!

  • Sun, Sep 13 2009 03:00AM
    ariel

    but it doesn't show international msn sites (fr, Singapore)

  • Mon, Sep 14 2009 01:20AM
    Paul

    Will this be available outside of the user interface? It would be a good resource for clients who don't necessarily have access to the interface, but still check on positions.

  • Mon, Sep 14 2009 02:07AM
    Michal

    Great - now just add on the geo and demographics attributes and empower this tool to an even extent.

    In addition I don't really get it -why clicks are not allowed via such tools? (Google's tool does not let one click on ads and search results as well) - it just makes people click on real ads and this costs advertisers more money for none qualifies clicks made for research purposes. There are ways to avoid clicking ads and I personally do not click on other people's ads so that they will not have to pay for my research. But I do see an increase in those "research clicks" which cost me a lot of money and for nothing. Research clicks are there, no way around it as the market evolves - so why not make it possible for advertisers to conduct research INCLUDING CLICKS via such tools? This will bring down the advertising costs to where it should be and eliminate those click costs for clicks made by other marketers rather than potential customers. Please open my eyes here if I am completely off, but I am a little bit tired of paying for clicks that are not made by real potential customers but rather by marketers that research my keywords. Marketers will keep on researching keywords - and while this is the case - the very least the engines could do is supply tools so that decent marketers will have it easy to research, WITHOUT advertisers paying for their research. Doesn't this make just trivial sense?

  • Mon, Sep 14 2009 05:20AM
    Karthik Rai

    Shake well before use....Great work Microsoft....Hope this will be a efficent tool....

  • Tue, Sep 15 2009 10:59AM

    A step in the right direction! Can't wait to see the geo-targeting functionality added in. Also making it available as an external tool so you don't have to log into adcenter each time would be a plus.

  • Tue, Sep 15 2009 11:10AM

    Thanks for your feedback everyone! Glad you like it.

    ariel and Michal - we're looking into answers for your questions - I'll keep you posted.

    Paul and Xurxo - we're always working on enhancements to our features - so thank you for your feedback.

  • Tue, Sep 15 2009 12:00PM

    We've just started using Bing and this is an awesome tool!  Thanks for acting on feedback from your advertisers!

  • Tue, Sep 15 2009 01:19PM

    Welcome to 2005. Now, make it externally available so I don't have to log in every time and you got something!

    sort of like this: adwords.google.com/.../AdTargetingPreviewTool

  • Tue, Sep 15 2009 11:51PM
    Hir

    Nice I was waiting for this tool. With Love..........Hir

  • Wed, Sep 16 2009 02:43AM
    Michal

    Thank You Carolyn for your kind reply. I will be looking forward for your replies & thoughts.

    Once again and more explicitly - I think that is Microsoft takes this one step forward (as Google does not have clicks enabled on their tool) - it could serve you well both in user popularity & trust, as well as in PR and product related aspects.

    But then again, there might be some obstacle that holds you (and such tools) from doing this - which I completely miss - as I can't think of such an obstacle.

    Cheers,

    Michal

    www.yakora.com

  • Wed, Sep 16 2009 04:13AM

    Good Start... We have been waiting for this tool from long time.. we use to test the ads using proxy IP..

  • Wed, Sep 16 2009 05:23AM

    Hi Carolyn,

    I am still can't see my ads as after digging it I found that your Ad Preview Tool don't work on the campaigns targeting instead searchers geo-targeting basis as I am targeting my campaigns for a particular regions and can't see the ad preview for those regions if i am not at that region.

  • Wed, Sep 16 2009 12:14PM

    Thanks everyone for your input, as it helps the team shape future enhancements. RE: geo-targeting and international settings – currently the Ad Preview Tool cannot verify ads are serving in different geographical locations, different demographic, or time targeting. It will return ad results based on the adCenter language settings of the logged-in adCenter user.

  • Wed, Sep 16 2009 07:10PM

    Definitely would want the geo-targeting feature implemented.

  • Tue, Sep 22 2009 05:21AM
    Shad

    I am unable to find the "preview tool". Please help. Thanks.

  • Tue, Sep 22 2009 05:28AM
    Shad

    Sorry, found it.

  • Wed, Sep 23 2009 03:00PM
    ian

    Doesn't work. Keep getting "Navigation to the web page was canceled"

  • Fri, Sep 25 2009 06:01AM

    I can't see any ads on Bing. Tried 4 different computers, three different browsers, cleared all cookies and everything else that was cached. Made sure ad blocker in FF was off, tried 5 different proxy anonymizers, I just can't see ads. Not just our ads, but ANY ads, including our competitors and every other business. I've been managing all of our PPC accounts since 2000 and our company spends well into the seven figures each year on PPC - so I'm not exactly a newbie. The ad preview tool doesn't display the ads either. We have more than 3,000 active keywords and we're getting hundreds of clicks a day from our AdCenter account, but no matter what I try, I can't see the ads myself.

  • Fri, Sep 25 2009 09:03AM

    ian - are you using Internet Explorer 7 or 8? This sometimes happens when browsing to webpages that are in different Internet Explorer security zones. Installing the latest security update should resolve this. windowsupdate.microsoft.com

    Chris - I was going to ask if you have geo-targeting enabled but I see that you've tried going through a proxy - have you contacted adCenter Support about this issue? I'd encourage you to do so - in the meantime I'll check with the team too. Support info (U.S.):

    Telephone:  (800) 518-5689 6:00am-18:00pm PST

    Easy Assist Remote Desktop Assistance:  (866) 783-1045

    Email: support.adcenter.msn.com/eform.aspx

  • Sun, Oct 04 2009 08:17PM
    Ben

    Happy to see the tool, thank you for listening to your advertisers. (unlike Yahoo, which I hope you replace soon :)

  • Mon, Oct 12 2009 11:47PM
    Satya

    how can we see the geo targeted ads in bing?

  • Tue, Oct 20 2009 12:23PM
    steve j

    why must you sign in to view your ads?  Why not work at the google preview tool and do this external from your accounts?

  • Wed, Dec 23 2009 07:58AM

    When will you be releasing the AD PREVIEW with Geo-Targeting,  If you guys are serious about your platform, addressing this should be priority.  If my customer can't see his ad..thats a big deal.

  • Tue, Jan 05 2010 05:05AM

    Do you have any courses or conferences, as Google does, for advertising agencies to expand your relationships? I'd love to attend.

  • Fri, Apr 09 2010 12:14PM

    I agree that it would be nice to have the ad preview tool with a geo-targeting function so we could view ads rankings in various countries/languages.

  • Thu, Apr 15 2010 02:24PM
    ML

    I was excited when I saw that you had rolled out an ad preview tool but it's been over 6 months and no response from MSFT on this blog that I can find regarding two key things that I need:

    *  Geo-targeting

    *  Ability to access if you are a client at the agency manages your PPC campaigns

    I'm hoping that you tell me that I just missed the posting and that you have provided a recent update on timing. Can anyone at MSFT at least acknowledge that this has been noted and whether they have a chance of being addressed this year?

  • Mon, Apr 19 2010 02:14PM

    Hi ML,

    The team is definitely aware of the requests for a geo-targeting option for ad preview. I'll check and see if there's an update on timing, and check on your client/agency question as well.

    Thanks,

    Carolyn

  • Wed, May 12 2010 12:32PM
    UC-OL

    I can't find the tool. Followed the instructions above but the link is not there.

  • Wed, May 12 2010 12:34PM
    UC-OL

    I found it under tools...

  • Mon, May 17 2010 04:20AM
    Jeremy

    I've read through some of the comments and haven't seen an answer to this question (however I may have missed it)...

    I am based in the UK and none of my agency's accounts have the ad preview tool link in the top right corner..?

  • Mon, May 17 2010 04:21AM
    Jeremy

    Ahhh, found it. Glad to see your interface is so intuitive...

  • Mon, Jun 28 2010 01:05AM

    When I search for any keyword on bing there are no PPC ads that shows up. Could this be and ISP related issue?

  • Tue, Sep 28 2010 08:33AM

    wont let me pass navagation page

  • Thu, Oct 28 2010 12:51PM

    Hi,

    This tool doesn't work well if the keywords include space.  It will be translated to 20%, which make it unavailable to preview the right ads in the tool.  Anybody have such bugs?  Thanks.

    Jack

  • Fri, Oct 29 2010 08:50AM

    I don't see this feature where you mentioned.  This tool is pretty worthless without Geo-targeting options.  This post was back in Sept 2009... it's now Oct 2010.  Talk about slow to adopt new and useful technology.  Second, you'd think that you'd update this post with CORRECT information like UC-OL mentioned.  The Ad Preview Tool is under the Tools tab now.

  • Fri, Nov 05 2010 02:02AM
    Paul

    It's not on the campaigns tab for me. I had to find it in the Tools tab

  • Mon, Nov 08 2010 07:36AM
    Mike

    We need a tool to see our Quality Scores too

  • Mon, Nov 08 2010 03:28PM
    Britt - MSFT

    Hello,

    Thank you for your feedback. At this time Geo-targeting is not an option for the Ad Preview tool. However, we are considering this feature in a future update, though no date has been set.

    Currently there is no way to view quality scores but this may also be an option in a future upgrade.

    Thank you.

  • Fri, Nov 19 2010 08:38AM

    nvm i figured it out

  • Wed, Dec 08 2010 06:27AM
    Jacob Kurian

    Is the ad preview tool is only for US advertisers? I'm a UK advertiser and can't see the ad preview tool button on the Campaigns page

  • Wed, Dec 08 2010 11:27AM
    Britt - MSFT

    Hello,

    The ad preview tool is available to all advertisers under the tools tab. The results are based on the language settings of your adCenter account.

    Thank you.

  • Tue, Dec 14 2010 08:09AM

    Is there an external tool in the works? It would be practical to be able to see ads by different geographical locations without having to login to an AdCenter account each time you want to spot check.

  • Tue, Dec 14 2010 02:26PM

    Hi Xurxo,

    Unfortunately I don't have visibility into what's being planned for future release, but please do submit your thoughts on this to our development team for consideration: feedback.adcenter.microsoft.com/default.aspx

    Thanks!

  • Mon, Jan 17 2011 08:05AM

    We need geo targeting in the adCenter preview tool, please. It is important for local campaigns.

  • Mon, Jan 17 2011 10:18AM

    Hello Rori,

    Thank you for the feedback. I have passed along this feature request to our dev team to consider for future releases :)

    Please stay tunned to the blogs for further information.

    Thank you,

    Ricky

  • Tue, Feb 08 2011 01:48AM
    Serj

    I cant believe you haven't improved this tool yet. How are we supposed to work on different markets if we cant see our ads. I have to lose time searching for proxy sites so i can see my ads in Australia, and UK.

  • Tue, Feb 08 2011 01:25PM

    Hi Serj,

    I understand your frustration and I will absolutely pass this along to the development teams, hopefully we'll have more information on this soon.

    Thanks!

  • Wed, Feb 09 2011 11:41AM
    Geo Targeting

    I can't believe that Geo-targeting is not an option on this tool.  Simply incompetent and what a useless, worthless waste of time to develop it.

    Seriously.  Why are obvious things oblivious to Microsoft employees?  I'm seriously asking.

  • Thu, Feb 10 2011 08:06AM

    Hi Geo,

    Thanks for your feedback, I've passed it along to the development team.

  • Fri, Feb 11 2011 01:41AM

    Is there an external tool in the works? It would be practical to be able to see ads by different geographical locations without having to login to an AdCenter account each time you want to spot check.

  • Fri, Feb 11 2011 04:43AM

    Will bing be releasing anything like adsense? I think they should as there is almost no competition and adsense isnt all that great.

  • Fri, Feb 11 2011 11:41AM

    Hi Cheapest Memory and John,

    Thanks for you comments and your feedback. I will pass your feature requests on to our Dev team. Please stay tunned to our blogs for future release information.

    Ricky :)

  • Fri, Mar 04 2011 07:22AM
    TJG

    I think this option is great and will use it. on google I have searched for my ads and only have found one in the past. previewing your ad is a plus!

  • Thu, Jun 30 2011 12:25AM

    I am so excited to see this help about bing. This is very much helpful for me.

  • Thu, Jun 30 2011 01:14AM

    Hay Carolyn I just loved the help you have shared. Keep it up!

  • Tue, Jul 12 2011 03:04AM

    I do not know why this tool is not available Publicly to all searchers as Google AdWords have....

  • Thu, Sep 01 2011 01:27AM

    The question "Can Ad Preview tell me whether my ads are serving in different geographical locations or to different demographics?" your answer was "Ad Preview does not currently have this functionality; however, we are always working on enhancements to our features."

    This post was was back in 2009, 2 years ago - Has this been done?

  • Wed, Nov 02 2011 09:39PM

    Similar to Google Ad-words, Microsoft ad Center uses both the maximum amount an advertiser is willing to pay per click  on their ad and the advertisement's click-through rate  to determine how frequently an advertisement is shown.

  • Thu, Dec 01 2011 07:19PM

    Great tool that can be helpful to new users. Thanks

  • Tue, Dec 20 2011 10:33PM

    For Carolyn Miller:

    Ad Preview tool is still not working to preview the ads for Australia. When can we expect the solution for this. I am managing the AdCenter account for Australian website from India and no idea how the ads are displaying to visitors, Its really very frustrating situation.

    Thanks,

    Surjit

  • Tue, Jan 03 2012 04:16AM

    Fantastic work, thank you so much for shedding a light on the topic.

  • Tue, Jan 03 2012 09:54AM

    Hi Surjit,

    I don't have any specifics on the timeline, but I do know that our development teams are aware of the issue and are actively working on fixing it in a future adCenter release.

    Thanks!

  • Tue, Jan 17 2012 11:52PM

    Thanks nformationfor this great

  • Fri, Feb 03 2012 02:47AM

    I love your post, I will be coming back for more.

Add New Comment

   
[optional]