Now that Microsoft adCenter has been out for a few months and I have some data I can use for comparison purposes, I can finally give a brief review of adCenter.

Low Volume

For approximately the same list of keywords, my experience is that there is simply less traffic coming through MSN—anywhere from 3 to 5 times less than Yahoo and 5 to 10 times less than Google.

Sometimes-Clunky Interface

There are some neat things about adCenter, but the interface seems like it’s a little clunky. Some of the terminology is odd (since when was an ad with a group of keywords referred to as an “Order?”), and I found a couple situations where items were clickable but gave no indication of their ability—no underline, color difference, or hover effect. Reports and navigation can be a little less intuitive than Google’s.

Low Competition

There are still few, or occasionally no, competitors bidding on keywords in Microsoft adCenter. It is usually very easy to get a high or first placed ranking.

Decent Conversion Rates

Despite the lower numbers of impressions and clicks, the traffic from Microsoft adCenter is of good quality—it converts at similar percentages to Google and Yahoo.

Get Started with adCenter Right Away

The fact that there is little competition and that conversion rates are good means you should get into Microsoft adCenter right away. The interface may not be the easiest to learn ever, but you can figure it out, and traffic volumes are probably going to increase, if Microsoft has any money to throw at it. You can also access the base of users who don’t use Google’s services, which should widen your customer base, and beat your competition to the punch.