---
title: "Microsoft adCenter vs Google Adwords (Round 1)"
description: "At the risk of being called a keyword Nazi and having to endure accusations that I care just a little too much about this stuff: Microsoft just managed…"
author: "Kevin Hunt"
date: "2007-08-23"
kind: "archive"
tags: ["Internet", "Business"]
canonical: "https://kev.in/writing/microsoft-adcenter-vs-google-adwords-round-1"
---

# Microsoft adCenter vs Google Adwords (Round 1)

_From the archive: written in 2007._

At the risk of being called a keyword Nazi and having to endure accusations that I care just a little too much about this stuff: Microsoft just managed surpass [my experience with Yahoo](http://kev.in/2007/08/21/yahoo-marketing-vs-google-adwords-round-1/).

As I mentioned, I've been advertising my _online community classifieds site_, [Dibs.net](http://dibs.net), on Google for almost a month. Last night I decided to try out Microsoft's advertising network for my _community classifieds site_. I copied some of my better performing ads from my _Classifieds Ad Group_ on Google into my _Classifieds Ad Group_ on Microsoft.

Here's representative ad from the bunch:  
![Ad on Microsoft](/images/picture-19.png)

I was in business fairly quickly -- or so I thought. Microsoft has a similar "editorial guidelines" process to Yahoo's. But at Microsoft, the process must go something like this:

1.  Take break from huffing paint fumes and watching Scooby-Doo
2.  Flip coin
3.  Heads, you get to advertise with your keyword; tails, you don't

Microsoft rejected what I consider to the the most important keywords from my advertising, including "classifieds" and "community classifieds."

I've given them a chance to respond before I start calling them names here ;)

(PS - Google's success in advertising appears to be not without reason.)

**Update:** Microsoft took only a few hours to respond, and did so positively by reinstating the classifieds-related keywords. Good for them (and me). They blamed the problem on their automated editorial process, which raises the question: why would anyone automate such a thing? I think we can all agree computers are great at some things, but applying subjective and vaguely defined editorial guidelines isn't one of them. Either way, I take back my paint fumes and Scooby-Doo comment above, since it appears they aren't nuts after all.