Microsoft Advertising Shopping Feed: Setup and Optimization Guide

Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads) offers a significant opportunity to reach customers through Bing Shopping. This comprehensive guide will walk you through setting up and optimizing your Microsoft Advertising shopping feed.

What is Microsoft Advertising Shopping?

Microsoft Advertising Shopping allows you to display your products in Bing search results, reaching customers who use Microsoft’s search engine. It’s similar to Google Shopping but reaches a different audience.

Benefits of Microsoft Advertising

• Less Competition - Lower competition than Google
• Different Audience - Reach customers who prefer Bing
• Lower Costs - Often lower cost per click
• Good ROI - Can provide excellent return on investment
• Desktop Focus - Strong desktop search presence

Prerequisites

Before setting up your feed, ensure you have:

1. Microsoft Advertising Account - Required for campaigns
2. Microsoft Merchant Center Account - For feed management
3. Product Data - Complete product information
4. Product Images - High-quality product photos
5. Website - Active e-commerce website

Step 1: Set Up Microsoft Merchant Center

Create Account

1. Go to merchantcenter.microsoft.com
2. Sign in with Microsoft account
3. Click “Get Started”
4. Enter business information:
   • Business name
   • Website URL
   • Country
   • Contact information

Verify Your Website

1. Choose Verification Method:

   • HTML file upload
   • HTML tag
   • DNS verification

2. Complete Verification:

   • Follow chosen method
   • Wait for confirmation
   • Verify completion

Complete Business Information

1. Business Details:

   • Business address
   • Phone number
   • Customer service email
   • Return policy URL

2. Shipping Settings:

   • Configure shipping methods
   • Set shipping rates
   • Configure delivery times

3. Tax Settings:

   • Configure tax collection
   • Set tax rates
   • Enable tax calculation

Step 2: Prepare Your Product Feed

Required Fields

Your feed must include:

• id - Unique product identifier
• title - Product name (max 150 characters)
• description - Product description
• link - URL to product page
• image_link - Product image URL
• availability - Stock status
• price - Price with currency
• brand - Brand name
• condition - Product condition
• gtin or mpn - Product identifier

Feed Format

Microsoft Advertising supports:

• XML - Recommended format
• CSV - Alternative format
• TSV - Tab-separated values

Data Requirements

Price Format:

• Format: “29.99 USD”
• Must include currency
• Match website exactly

Availability:

• Values: “in stock”, “out of stock”, “preorder”
• Must be lowercase
• Match inventory

Images:

• Minimum 100x100 pixels
• Recommended 800x800+ pixels
• Formats: JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP
• Must be accessible via HTTPS

Step 3: Create Your Feed File

XML Format (Recommended)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <item>
      <id>12345</id>
      <title>Product Name</title>
      <description>Product description</description>
      <link>https://yoursite.com/product</link>
      <image_link>https://yoursite.com/image.jpg</image_link>
      <availability>in stock</availability>
      <price>29.99 USD</price>
      <brand>Brand Name</brand>
      <condition>new</condition>
      <gtin>1234567890123</gtin>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>

CSV Format

id,title,description,link,image_link,availability,price,brand,condition,gtin
12345,Product Name,Product description,https://yoursite.com/product,https://yoursite.com/image.jpg,in stock,29.99 USD,Brand Name,new,1234567890123

Step 4: Upload Your Feed

Upload Methods

Method 1: Direct Upload

1. Go to Microsoft Merchant Center
2. Navigate to “Catalogs” → “Feeds”
3. Click “Add Feed”
4. Select “Upload” method
5. Choose your feed file
6. Click “Upload”
7. Wait for processing

Method 2: Scheduled Fetch (Recommended)

1. Host feed on your server
2. Go to “Catalogs” → “Feeds”
3. Click “Add Feed”
4. Select “Scheduled fetch”
5. Enter feed URL
6. Set update schedule (daily recommended)
7. Save configuration

Step 5: Link to Microsoft Advertising

Connect Accounts

1. In Microsoft Advertising:

   • Go to “Tools” → “Microsoft Merchant Center”
   • Enter Merchant Center ID
   • Request linking

2. In Merchant Center:

   • Go to “Settings” → “Account access”
   • Approve linking request
   • Verify connection

Create Shopping Campaign

1. In Microsoft Advertising:

   • Create new campaign
   • Select “Shopping” campaign type
   • Choose Merchant Center account
   • Configure campaign settings

2. Campaign Settings:

   • Set budget
   • Choose bidding strategy
   • Select target locations
   • Configure ad schedule

Step 6: Optimize Your Feed

Title Optimization

Best Practices:

• Include brand name
• Add key attributes
• Use relevant keywords
• Keep under 150 characters
• Match Google Shopping format

Example: “Nike Air Max 90 Men’s Running Shoes Size 10 Black”

Description Optimization

Best Practices:

• Write detailed descriptions
• Include key features
• Use natural language
• Match website descriptions

Image Optimization

Best Practices:

• High-quality images
• Minimum 800x800 pixels
• Square format preferred
• Fast loading
• Always accessible

Step 7: Monitor and Maintain

Check Feed Status

1. In Merchant Center:

   • Go to “Catalogs” → “Feeds”
   • View processing status
   • Check for errors

2. Review Diagnostics:

   • Check product status
   • Review errors
   • Fix issues

Regular Maintenance

Daily:

• Check feed status
• Review errors
• Update inventory

Weekly:

• Review performance
• Optimize underperformers
• Update product information

Monthly:

• Comprehensive audit
• Review optimization opportunities
• Plan improvements

Best Practices

1. Complete Data - Fill all required fields
2. Accurate Information - Ensure data matches website
3. Regular Updates - Keep feed current
4. Optimize Titles - Use descriptive, keyword-rich titles
5. High-Quality Images - Use professional product photos
6. Monitor Performance - Track metrics regularly
7. Fix Errors Quickly - Address issues promptly
8. Test and Optimize - Continuously improve

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Feed Not Processing:

• Check file format
• Verify feed structure
• Check for errors
• Ensure accessibility

Products Not Approved:

• Review error messages
• Fix data quality issues
• Ensure policy compliance
• Update product information

Campaign Not Showing:

• Check campaign status
• Verify account linking
• Review budget settings
• Check bidding

Conclusion

Setting up a Microsoft Advertising shopping feed opens up opportunities to reach Bing users. By following this guide and implementing best practices, you can create a compliant, optimized feed that performs well on Microsoft Advertising.

Remember that Microsoft Advertising management is similar to Google Shopping but reaches a different audience. Regular monitoring, optimization, and updates are essential for maintaining optimal performance.

Streamline Microsoft Advertising Feed Setup with AI Shopping Feeds

Creating and managing Microsoft Advertising feeds manually can be time-consuming. AI Shopping Feeds automates the entire process, making it easy to get your products approved and performing on Microsoft Advertising.

How AI Shopping Feeds Helps

Automated Feed Generation:

• Import products from your e-commerce platform
• Automatically format to Microsoft’s requirements
• Generate compliant feeds in minutes
• Support for XML, CSV, and TSV formats

AI-Powered Optimization:

• Intelligent product title and description optimization
• Smart categorization
• Data quality improvements
• Performance enhancement

Error Prevention:

• Real-time feed validation
• Automatic error detection and fixes
• Policy compliance checking
• Quality monitoring

Multi-Channel Support:

• Optimize once for Microsoft Advertising
• Export to 200+ additional channels
• Channel-specific formatting
• Save time on multi-channel management

Get Started Today

Stop spending hours creating and maintaining Microsoft Advertising feeds manually. AI Shopping Feeds uses advanced AI to generate optimized, compliant feeds automatically.

Start your free trial of AI Shopping Feeds today — no credit card required. Create your first Microsoft Advertising feed in minutes and see how AI-powered optimization can improve your Bing Shopping performance.