Microsoft & Pinterest feeds
Why this matters for your business
Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads + Bing Shopping) reaches ~30% of US desktop searches. Pinterest has 480M monthly active users, half doing product research. Both have lower competition (and lower CPCs) than Google + Meta — the cost-per-click averages 30-50% less. Brands that ignore them leave cheap, high-intent customers on the table.
Setup is fast (Microsoft can import from Google Ads; Pinterest via single OAuth). Maintenance is near-zero. Worth the 30 minutes for any brand spending $5K+/month on ads.
What this typically unlocks
| Outcome | Result |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Ads CPC vs. Google | −30 to −50% typical |
| Pinterest organic shopping reach | measurable for visual brands |
| Setup time per channel | 15-20 min |
| Audience demographics | older + higher-income on Microsoft |
What you actually get
| Channel | Setup | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Shopping | Connect via Microsoft Advertising | Bing Shopping ads + organic listings |
| Pinterest Catalog | OAuth | Shoppable pins, Pin ads, organic discovery |
| AI Pin generation (Pro+) | Generate Pinterest pins from product images | Scale visual content |
Real merchant scenarios
Scenario A — Microsoft Ads at lower CPC
Setup. Brand running Google Shopping at $1.40 avg CPC. Activated Microsoft Shopping (imported from Google).
60-day result:
- Microsoft Shopping spend: $4K (small budget test)
- Avg CPC: $0.85 (39% lower)
- ROAS: 4.6× (vs. Google's 4.2×)
- Audience: notably older (avg 42 vs. Google's 33)
Lower CPC + matching ROAS = same money, more conversions.
Scenario B — Pinterest organic for visual brand
Setup. Furniture brand (visual category). Connected Pinterest Catalog.
6-month result:
- 200 products as shoppable pins
- Pinterest organic impressions: 1.2M
- Pinterest-driven traffic: 8K/month
- Pinterest-driven revenue: $14K/month
- Marketing spend on Pinterest: $0 (organic)
Pinterest is a free distribution channel for brands with strong visual identity.
Scenario C — AI Pin generation at scale
Setup. Brand had 300 products. Manual pin creation: ~10 min each = 50 hours. Most stayed unpinned.
With AI Pin generation: Generated optimized pins from product images in 2 hours total. All 300 products now discoverable on Pinterest.
Best practices
✅ Test Microsoft Ads with small budget first. Different audience; CPC is lower but conversion may differ.
✅ For visual brands, Pinterest is essential. Furniture, fashion, home goods, beauty.
❌ Don't expect Pinterest to compete with Google volume. It's complementary, not replacement.
❌ Don't ignore Microsoft if you spend $5K+/month on Google. The lower CPC alone often justifies.
Plan tiers
| Capability | Free | Starter | Pro | Agency | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Shopping connect | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pinterest Catalog connect | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI Pin generation | — | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-shop feeds | — | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |