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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>. That growth is new accounts, new campaigns and new budgets moving onto the platform.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The platform has four layers, and it helps to picture them before you start:<\/p>\n Microsoft explains how these fit together in its guide to account hierarchies<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n Gather these first, and sign-up takes about ten minutes.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n A credit card or other accepted method. You’ll need it on file before any promotional code can be redeemed.<\/p>\n Keywords, two or three ads and a daily budget. If you run Google Ads, decide which campaigns you’ll import.<\/p>\n Get your new-customer code before you sign up, so you can redeem it inside the 30-day window. More on that below.<\/p>\n Visit ads.microsoft.com and select Sign up. Sign in with the business email you prepared, or create a new Microsoft account with it.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Choose prepay or postpay billing, depending on what’s available in your market, and save your payment details.<\/p>\n Check everything once more, accept Microsoft’s terms and create the account.<\/p>\n Go to Tools, then Billing & Payments, then Billing summary. Select View promotional offers, then Add promotional code. Enter your code and save.<\/p>\n That’s it. Your ads go through editorial review before they serve. Our existing walkthrough on creating a Microsoft Ads Manager account<\/a> shows the dashboard you’ll land on.<\/p>\n A manager account lets one login oversee many ad accounts. It’s Microsoft’s equivalent of a Google Ads MCC.<\/p>\n You probably need one if:<\/p>\n You probably don’t if you’re a single business with one website and one budget. One ad account is simpler.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> covers permissions and linking in detail.<\/p>\n Currency is fixed for the life of the ad account. Pick the one you’ll be billed and report in.<\/p>\n Your time zone drives ad scheduling and daily budgets. Get it wrong and your “9am to 5pm” schedule runs at the wrong hours.<\/p>\n Add at least one more trusted admin user. A single admin who leaves or loses access can lock the whole team out.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> explains how.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Couponer is a free app built by Adcore that helps new advertisers claim promotional ad credit, including on Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads). When you create a Bing Ads account, the first 30 days decide whether you get a credit at all, and Couponer lets you secure the code before the clock starts.<\/p>\nHow a Bing Ads Account Is Structured<\/h2>\n
\n
What to Prepare Before You Sign Up<\/h2>\n
A business email you’ll keep<\/h3>\n
Your business details<\/h3>\n
A payment method<\/h3>\n
Your first campaign plan<\/h3>\n
Your promo code<\/h3>\n
How to Create a Bing Ads Account in 6 Steps<\/h2>\n
Step 1: Go to the Microsoft Advertising sign-up page<\/h3>\n
Step 2: Enter your account details<\/h3>\n
Step 3: Create or import your first campaign<\/h3>\n
Step 4: Add your payment method<\/h3>\n
Step 5: Review and accept the terms<\/h3>\n
Step 6: Redeem your promotional code<\/h3>\n
Manager Accounts: Do You Need One?<\/h2>\n
\n
Setup Mistakes That Are Hard to Undo<\/h2>\n
The wrong currency<\/h3>\n
The wrong time zone<\/h3>\n
Only one admin<\/h3>\n
Opening a second account to get around a problem<\/h3>\n
Waiting too long to redeem a code<\/h3>\n
Why Choose Couponer When You Create a Bing Ads Account<\/h2>\n
\n