making tax easy

Making tax easyInsights for digital marketers

Individuals and businesses spend

about 6.1 billion hours each

year doing their taxes and

complying with tax laws – that’s the

equivalent of more than 3 million

full-time workers annually.1

1Source: National Taxpayer Advocate Service 2012 Annual Report to Congress

Over time,

the federal

government

has taken

steps to

make it

easier for

individuals

to file their

own taxes.1

1Source: IBISWorld Industry Report 54121d, Tax Preparation Services in the US, Jeremy Edwards, March 2014.

National unemployment rate

Electronic filing

Regulation External competition

Source: IBISWorld Industry Report 54121d, Tax Preparation Services in the US, Jeremy Edwards, March 2014.

Projected

Source: IBISWorld Business Environment Report, National unemployment rate, June 2014.

Source: IRS Filing Season Statistics for week ending May 16 2014

136.9 Millionindividual tax returns were filed in 2014, an increase of 1.3% over 2013.

118 Million individuals filed their taxes electronically in 2014, an increase of 2.9% over 2013.

Since 2001, electronic filing has nearly tripled

Source: efile.com, 2014 merged with IRS Filing Season Statistics for week ending May 16 2014.

In 2014, tax professionals dominated electronic filing

Source: Data analysis on IRS Filing Season Statistics for week ending May 16 2014.

After the initial spike, tax professional e-filing gained ground as individuals rushed to file by the deadline

Source: Data analysis on IRS Weekly Filing Season Statistics, 2014

E-filing and manual filing peaked at different times

E-filing experienced two peaks – at the beginning and end of the tax deadline.

Manual filing, done without a tax professional, experienced only one peak at the end of the tax deadline.


Source: Microsoft internal data

In line with Yahoo Bing Network searches, IRS website visits peaked at the beginning of the tax season


The IRS doesn’t advertise – this presents a unique search advertising bidding opportunity, as 38% of the top tax searches were IRS-related.



Tax professional brands experienced a more pronounced search spike at the beginning of the tax season whereas self-service software brands tended to experience a higher spike the week of the tax deadline.

Source: comScore Long Term Trend, 2014

Pie Chart Source: Hitwise, Demo Report

Half of tax website visits come from those 45 years and older and the Yahoo Bing Network has a higher index than Google on individuals ranging from ages 45-64.1

1Source: comScore Plan Metrix, US, April 2014, custom measure created using

comScore indices and duplication

Mobile phones

are making gains

at tax time

Want to drive local leads to your store front?

Up to 7%higher click-through rate with Location Extensions than with standard text ads1

Location Extensions and Call

Extensions, can help your

customers find you quickly –

putting your business address and

phone number right at their

fingertips. Drive in-store traffic

with features like store locator,

click-to-directions, and click-to-

call for mobile searchers.

1Source: Microsoft internal data

http://advertise.bingads.microsoft.com/en-us/manage-campaigns/topic?market=en&project=Bing_Ads&querytype=topic&query=HLP_BA_CONC_ABOUTADEXTENSIONS.htm


Want to drive online tax filers to your website?

Up to 22%higher click-through rate with SitelinkExtensions than with standard text ads.1

Sitelink Extensions create richer,

more relevant search ads by

providing direct access to site

content and purchase pages. By

giving customers additional links

in your ad that take them to the

exact information they’re looking

for, this increases conversion rates

and your profits.

1Source: Microsoft internal data


Yahoo Bing

Network saw

substantial year-

over-year

increases in click-

through rates and

a decrease in

cost-per-click

mobile

phones, resulting

in strong

performance

increases.


Effectively reach your tax audience with the Yahoo Bing Network

2.6M or29%

Source: comScore qSearch (custom), US, March 2014; industry categories based on comScore classifications.

Total tax searchers

Total tax searches

of all tax paid clicks

2.9M

7M

42%

Tax searchers not reached on Google

Compared to Google, the Yahoo Bing Network Audience is:

9% more likely to have used a browser on their mobile device to access stock trading

More likely to have used SMS on their mobile device to access their bank accounts

More likely to have used their mobile device to access financial news almost every day

Source: comScore Plan Metrix, US, March 2014, custom measure created using comScore indices and duplication. March data was used to reflect the

month before tax filings are due.

Source: comScore Plan Metrix, US, March 2014, custom measure created using comScore indices and

duplication. March data was used to reflect the month before tax filings are due.

Connect with your target audience

Compared to Google, the

Yahoo Bing Network

audience is

20% more likely to have bought

personal finance/tax

software offline in the last

6 months.

Source: comScore Media Metrix, US, March 2014. March data was used to reflect the month before tax filings are due.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012 (131st Edition) Washington, DC, 2011; http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

The Yahoo Bing Network over indexes on household incomes $40,000-

$59,999 and $75,000+ compared to the overall Internet population.

31.6% of the population

Tax Advertiser Target Market

Bing Ads can help you take your ad copy to the next level

% O

ff

Ad

vice

/

Co

nsu

ltatio

n

Call

To

Act

ion

Deb

t

eFi

le

Fast

/Easy

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s

Form

s

Free

Inco

me

Taxe

s

IRS

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f

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Calc

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Tax

Typ

e

Taxe

s

(Genera

l)

Year

% Off

Advice/

Consultation

Call To Action

Debt

eFile

Fast/Easy

File Taxes

Forms

Free

Income Taxes

IRS

Official Site

Online

Relief

Returns

Tax Calculator

Tax

Identification

Tax

Preparation

Services

Tax Refunds

Tax Software

Tax Type

Taxes

(General)

Year

Great Good Insufficient dataPoor

In this example, a tax ad with “tax refund” in the title and words in the tax identification bucket in the description, such as “EIN,” “Tax ID,” or “ID Number,” has high ad quality.

Ad description

Ad titl

e

% O

ff

Ad

vice

/

Co

nsu

ltatio

n

Call

To

Act

ion

Deb

t

eFi

le

Fast

/Easy

File

Taxe

s

Form

s

Free

Inco

me

Taxe

s

IRS

Off

icia

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Onlin

e

Relie

f

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rns

Tax

Calc

ula

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Tax

Identifica

tio

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Refu

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s

Tax

So

ftw

are

Tax

Typ

e

Taxe

s

(Genera

l)

Year

% Off

Advice/

Consultation

Call To Action

Debt

eFile

Fast/Easy

File Taxes

Forms

Free

Income Taxes

IRS

Official Site

Online

Relief

Returns

Tax Calculator

Tax

Identification

Tax

Preparation

Services

Tax Refunds

Tax Software

Tax Type

Taxes

(General)

Year

Ad description

Ad titl

e

Great Good Insufficient dataPoor

Top 5 word combos in tax ad copy

All Devices

Title Description

Tax refunds [Tax identification]

[Year] Income taxes

[Year] Tax calculator

Tax calculator Advice/consultation

Tax calculator Tax calculator

The words “tax calculator”

appeared in three out of the

five top performing ad copy

combinations, whether in the

title, description, or both.

People are not just looking for

general information, they are

seeking tools to help them in

the process.

Top tax ad copy word combos by device

PC/Tablet

Title Description

Tax refunds [Tax identification]

Mobile

Title Description

Tax refunds % off

2. Test ad copy early in January before the first peak and run with the best performing ads. Remember to use dynamic insertions in your ads and have a clear call-to-action.

3. Target mobile searchers at the beginning of the tax season with refund-related ad copy and appropriate keyword bids.

1. Align budgets and bids to search trends. Plan for the two search peaks.

4. Brand name searches spike early and late in the season, and vary by tax professional services and self-serve software. Align your search campaign timing to the service you’re offering.

It’s quick and easy to import your Google AdWords campaigns directly into Bing Ads with just a few clicks.

Learn how to import your campaigns

http://advertise.bingads.microsoft.com/en-us/help-topic/how-to/51050/how-to-import-a-campaign-from-adwords-or-other-programs

Connect with a Search Specialist who can help you get started today. Call 1-800-518-5689 or check out Getting started

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http://www.linkedin.com/company/bing-ads

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https://www.facebook.com/BingAds

https://www.facebook.com/BingAds

http://advertise.bingads.microsoft.com/en-us/blogpost/128957/bing-ads-blog/three-key-tips-for-romancing-valentines-day-shoppers

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The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be

interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR

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