Generating Pension Enquiries via Microsoft Ads
A parallel-channel test to a live Google Search account that delivered 27% lower CPL and £3.75M in advisory assets for a UK IFA on a £1,227/month budget.
Campaign Performance
Client Overview
A chartered UK IFA firm specialising in pension consolidation for the 55-plus market was already running a mature Google Search account with Platinum Prospects, delivering a stable £85 CPL.
The firm wanted to diversify beyond a single paid-search platform and test whether Microsoft Ads could deliver meaningful incremental volume without cannibalising Google performance.
The Challenge
Microsoft Ads is often dismissed by UK advisers as "too small to matter", with ~8% of UK search share against Google's 92%. The challenge was to run a rigorous 90-day test that either validated Microsoft as a peer channel or produced the data to rule it out for good.
The test had to isolate Microsoft performance without contaminating the live Google account, maintain FCA-compliant creative across both platforms, and prove out audience quality - not just CPC.
Strategy
A 90-day parallel test against the existing Google Search account, engineered to measure incremental lift, not replacement.
Imported the top 3 converting Google Search campaigns using Microsoft's Import from Google Ads tool, preserving ad group structure and negative keyword lists
Set initial Microsoft bids at 75% of the Google equivalent to reflect the less-competitive auction; let 21-day data inform ongoing bid adjustments
Deployed UET (Universal Event Tracking) with identical conversion names to Google, so reporting could be compared line-for-line in the client dashboard
Used Microsoft Audience Network for LinkedIn-profile-signal retargeting of pension-page visitors aged 55+ who did not convert on first visit
Created Microsoft-specific responsive search ads that referenced Edge and Outlook audience behaviours (desktop-heavy, long-form enquiry forms)
Google vs Microsoft: Head-to-Head
Identical campaign structures, identical FCA-compliant creative, measured over the same 6-month window.
Results
The Economics
- 14 new clients onboarded from Microsoft leads at an average pot size of £268k
- £3.75M in new advisory assets introduced over 6 months on £7,363 total spend
- Assets-to-spend ratio of 313x, materially better than the 242x Google achieved on the same account
- Zero cannibalisation detected on Google performance across the test window
Key Takeaway
Microsoft Ads is not a Google replacement - it is a Google complement. Run side-by-side, it adds roughly 45% more paid-search volume at a 27% lower CPL and delivers older, higher-net-worth pension enquiries. For UK advisers with a mature Google account, it is typically the highest-ROI incremental channel available.
Want this result for your adviser firm?
We run Microsoft Ads as a peer channel alongside Google, Meta and LinkedIn for UK regulated firms. Audit your current paid-search stack and see where Microsoft could close the gap.
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