How often do these platforms update performance data and metrics from Bing Ads?

The frequency with which third-party bid management platforms update performance data and metrics from Bing Ads (now Microsoft Advertising) can vary depending on the platform and the specific integration. However, most advanced platforms generally provide updates at different intervals, depending on factors like the platform's architecture, the amount of data, and the API access to Bing Ads. Here's a breakdown of how these platforms typically update performance data:

1. Real-Time or Near Real-Time Updates
Frequency: Every few minutes to hourly.

Details: Some platforms provide near real-time data updates, particularly for critical metrics such as clicks, impressions, conversions, and spend. These platforms can pull data directly from Bing Ads through API connections, allowing you to make immediate adjustments, such as bid changes, budget reallocations, or pausing underperforming ads or keywords.

Use Case: Real-time or near real-time updates are typically used for high-velocity decisions where campaign performance needs to be adjusted rapidly, such as during high-traffic periods or when campaigns are scaling quickly.

2. Hourly Updates
Frequency: Hourly updates are common on many third-party platforms.

Details: In most cases, performance data is refreshed at least once per hour, especially for metrics like clicks, impressions, conversions, CTR, and CPC. This ensures that advertisers have up-to-date information about their campaigns while still allowing enough time for data to accumulate.

Use Case: Hourly updates are typical for campaigns that are running continuously and where performance adjustments aren't needed instantaneously but still require monitoring throughout the day.

3. Daily Updates
Frequency: Once per day or every 24 hours.

Details: Most daily metrics (e.g., daily spend, conversions, and ROI) are updated on a daily basis. These updates typically come through at the end of the day or at the beginning of the following day, summarizing the day's activity.

Use Case: Daily updates are often sufficient for performance trends and analysis. This frequency is commonly used when the focus is on longer-term optimization, such as bidding strategy adjustments, overall campaign budget monitoring, and key performance indicator (KPI) tracking.

4. Weekly or Custom Reporting Updates
Frequency: Once a week or at custom intervals.

Details: Some platforms offer weekly performance summaries or custom reporting intervals. This allows advertisers to get a comprehensive view of their campaigns' performance over a longer period (e.g., a week or a month).

Use Case: Weekly updates are typically useful for strategic reviews and long-term optimizations. These insights can help in adjusting bids, allocating budgets across campaigns, and shifting strategies for the upcoming week.

5. API Polling and Delays
Frequency: Delays of 3-24 hours for some metrics.

Details: Depending on the integration with Bing Ads' API and how the third-party platform polls or syncs data, there may be a delay of up to 24 hours for certain types of performance data (e.g., conversion tracking, audience performance, and search query performance). This delay can occur due to the time it takes for Bing Ads to process and report conversions, particularly when it comes to delayed or offline conversions (e.g., phone calls or website form submissions).

Use Case: This delay is common for more granular or complex performance data, like offline conversions, or for situations where there is a large amount of data processing, especially with high-volume campaigns.

6. Batch Updates
Frequency: Weekly or bi-weekly for certain types of aggregated data.

Details: In some cases, third-party platforms might provide batch updates of performance metrics, such as historical trends or aggregated data across different periods. These updates may occur once a week or at custom intervals, depending on the reporting setup.

Use Case: This is more common for historical performance analysis or when generating comprehensive reports for optimization strategy planning.

Key Factors That Influence Data Update Frequency:
API Access and Limits: Bing Ads offers API access to third-party platforms, but the frequency of updates may be influenced by rate limits or API polling intervals set by Microsoft Advertising.

Data Processing Delays: Some data, particularly conversion data or cross-device tracking, may take longer to process, which can cause delays in real-time reporting.

Platform Architecture: Some bid management platforms pull data more frequently, while others may batch it for efficiency reasons. Larger platforms with dedicated resources for data processing might update faster than smaller ones.

Custom Reporting and Alerts: Most platforms allow advertisers to set custom reporting intervals and automated alerts that can notify users of changes in performance metrics at chosen frequencies.

Common Metrics and Their Update Frequency:
Clicks, Impressions, and Spend: Often updated in real-time or hourly.

Conversions and Conversion Rate: Typically updated every 3-24 hours, depending on data processing time.

CTR and CPC: Generally updated every few minutes to hourly.

Quality Score: May be updated daily or bi-weekly depending on the platform.

Bid Adjustments, Budget Allocation: Real-time or hourly updates.

ROAS and Profitability Metrics: Daily or weekly, depending on data aggregation needs.

Conclusion
Third-party bid management platforms typically provide real-time, hourly, or daily updates for most key metrics like clicks, impressions, spend, and conversions. The frequency of updates depends on several factors, including API polling intervals, data processing delays, and the platform's data architecture.

For strategic adjustments, platforms may provide hourly updates, but for deeper analysis and longer-term optimization, daily or weekly reports are often more common. Always verify the update frequency with your specific bid management platform to ensure you're receiving the most accurate and timely data.