How to Create a Bing Ads Account [Step-by-Step Guide]

I’ve lost count of how many Microsoft Advertising accounts I’ve inherited that were built in a hurry. Wrong time zone, so every report is off by hours. A personal email as the only admin, who left the company. A second ad account opened “just to test”, which later got flagged. None of it was hard to avoid. It just needed ten minutes of thinking before clicking Sign up.

The old line attributed to Benjamin Franklin fits perfectly: by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. When you create a Bing Ads account, the choices you make in the first screens are the ones that are hardest to change later.

And more advertisers are making those choices. Microsoft’s search and news advertising revenue grew 9% to over $15 billion in fiscal 2026, according to its annual report. That growth is new accounts, new campaigns and new budgets moving onto the platform.

In this guide, we’ll cover how Bing Ads accounts are structured, what to prepare, how to create a Bing Ads account in six steps, when you need a manager account, and how to make sure you claim your new-customer credit on day one.

How a Bing Ads Account Is Structured

Bing Ads is the old name for Microsoft Advertising, renamed in 2019. When people say “create a Bing Ads account”, they mean signing up for Microsoft Advertising, which serves ads on Bing, Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft’s partner sites.

The platform has four layers, and it helps to picture them before you start:

1. Your login: a Microsoft account (an email address) that signs you in.
2. A manager account: optional, used by agencies and larger advertisers to hold several ad accounts under one roof.
3. Ad accounts: where billing, payment methods and promotional credits live.
4. Campaigns, ad groups, keywords and ads: the actual advertising.

Microsoft explains how these fit together in its guide to account hierarchies. The key point for new advertisers: credits and billing belong to the ad account, not to you as a user. That affects how you set things up.

What to Prepare Before You Sign Up

Gather these first, and sign-up takes about ten minutes.

A business email you’ll keep

Use a role-based or shared business address rather than a personal one. If the person who signed up leaves, you don’t want the account leaving with them.

Your business details

Have your legal business name, address, phone number and website ready. They should match your official documents, because Microsoft may ask you to verify your identity as an advertiser.

A payment method

A credit card or other accepted method. You’ll need it on file before any promotional code can be redeemed.

Your first campaign plan

Keywords, two or three ads and a daily budget. If you run Google Ads, decide which campaigns you’ll import.

Your promo code

Get your new-customer code before you sign up, so you can redeem it inside the 30-day window. More on that below.

How to Create a Bing Ads Account in 6 Steps

Step 1: Go to the Microsoft Advertising sign-up page

Visit ads.microsoft.com and select Sign up. Sign in with the business email you prepared, or create a new Microsoft account with it.

Step 2: Enter your account details

Add your business name, website, phone number, country, currency and time zone. Double-check currency and time zone. They’re the settings people most often regret.

Step 3: Create or import your first campaign

Microsoft will prompt you to build a campaign. You can create one from scratch or import from Google Ads. If you’re not ready, build a paused campaign so nothing spends yet.

Step 4: Add your payment method

Choose prepay or postpay billing, depending on what’s available in your market, and save your payment details.

Step 5: Review and accept the terms

Check everything once more, accept Microsoft’s terms and create the account.

Step 6: Redeem your promotional code

Go to Tools, then Billing & Payments, then Billing summary. Select View promotional offers, then Add promotional code. Enter your code and save.

That’s it. Your ads go through editorial review before they serve. Our existing walkthrough on creating a Microsoft Ads Manager account shows the dashboard you’ll land on.

Manager Accounts: Do You Need One?

A manager account lets one login oversee many ad accounts. It’s Microsoft’s equivalent of a Google Ads MCC.

You probably need one if:

• You’re an agency or freelancer managing several clients
• Your business runs separate brands, regions or currencies
• You want clients to own their ad accounts while you manage them

You probably don’t if you’re a single business with one website and one budget. One ad account is simpler.

One note for agencies: credits are tied to each new ad account and its eligibility. Create each client’s ad account properly, with that client’s details and payment method, rather than reusing one account for everyone. Our guide to Microsoft Ads manager accounts covers permissions and linking in detail.

Setup Mistakes That Are Hard to Undo

The wrong currency

Currency is fixed for the life of the ad account. Pick the one you’ll be billed and report in.

The wrong time zone

Your time zone drives ad scheduling and daily budgets. Get it wrong and your “9am to 5pm” schedule runs at the wrong hours.

Only one admin

Add at least one more trusted admin user. A single admin who leaves or loses access can lock the whole team out.

Opening a second account to get around a problem

If an account is suspended, don’t open a new one. Microsoft treats that as circumventing enforcement, and it can affect every account linked to you. Appeal instead. Our guide on why Microsoft Ads suspends accounts explains how.

Waiting too long to redeem a code

Most new-customer codes must be redeemed within 30 days of account creation. Open the account when you’re ready to launch, not weeks before.

Summary

To create a Bing Ads account, prepare a business email, matching business details, a payment method and a first campaign, then work through Microsoft Advertising’s six sign-up steps and redeem your code the same day. Choose currency and time zone carefully, because they’re hard to change. If you want to go further, set up a manager account early if you’ll ever run more than one ad account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it free to create a Bing Ads account?

Yes. Creating a Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads) account costs nothing, and there’s no monthly fee. You only pay when people click your ads or, for some campaign types, when ads are shown. You set daily budgets, so you control the maximum you spend, and new accounts may qualify for promotional credit.

Can I have more than one Bing Ads account?

Yes, you can run several ad accounts, ideally grouped under a manager account. This is common for agencies, multi-brand businesses and companies advertising in different currencies. What you should never do is open a new account to get around a suspension, because Microsoft may then suspend every account linked to you.

How long does it take for a new Bing Ads account to start showing ads?

Usually within a day or two. After you create the account and add a payment method, your ads go through Microsoft’s editorial review, and most reviews finish within 48 hours. If Microsoft asks you to complete advertiser identity verification, ads may not serve until that’s done, so submit documents promptly.