Like most single-income families who've had to do some belt tightening in recent months, I'd like to think I'm a fairly well-educated consumer when it comes to making decisions about purchases that fall outside the realm of every day necessities. While most of my friends are well-versed at bargain hunting and have been doing it for years, I've never paid much attention simply because I'm not a huge fan of shopping in general (so much for that female stereotype!). Now that I find myself looking at every product or service with a more discriminating eye, I know that I'm getting the best value for my money on a consistent basis.

Because this carefulness around spending isn't limited to personal finances, now more than ever it's important for businesses to position themselves in the best possible marketing venues in order to compete in today's economy. Like bargain hunters scouring the shelves and racks for the best quality products at the best prices, advertisers should be taking a long, hard look at how effectively their search engine marketing campaigns are performing and whether they're getting the best return-on-investment.

If you're unsure what questions you should be asking yourself as you review your adCenter reports, I recommend visiting Shefali Singla's post, Campaign Optimization Quick Reference Guide.

While these tips should be helpful for Bing advertisers who are already running campaigns through adCenter, I want to take a minute to address all of you who are doing some bargain hunting of your own in collecting information on what search engine marketing (SEM) options are available and what the benefits are of adding Bing to your marketing mix.

It's probably no surprise to most of you who have seen Bing ads on TV or heard them on the radio to learn that Microsoft is driving a huge marketing push to attract and retain new searchers and advertisers. As the holiday season approaches, these marketing initiatives are going to shift into high gear in an effort to build upon the buzz momentum that began with Bing's release this summer.

If you're new to search engine marketing, or simply new to advertising on Bing, here are a few things to keep in mind as you start considering how to allocate your holiday marketing dollars:

. Bing has over 73 million unique searchers¹ and reaches 32% of the internet population in the US.²

. Bing searches have increased +7% month-over-month (MOM);  the 7% search volume increase equates to 75 million searches.³

For more detailed, in-depth analysis of how Bing can help your marketing efforts this holiday season, be sure to check out the attached PDF presentation, Holiday Advertising on Bing.

Stay tuned for the next installment of Bing Buzz posts about opportunities for advertisers on Bing Shopping and Bing Travel this holiday season.

1. comScore qSearch Key Measures, U.S., August, 2009, 2. comScore Media Metrix, August 2009, 3. comScore qSearch Trend Report, July v. August, 2009, U.S.