Microsoft Q4 2018: Bing Search Business revenue grows 17% YoY!

Microsoft’s search business is showing ongoing good momentum, growing an impressive 17% YoY in FY Q4 2018.

Search advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs increased 17% (up 16% in constant currency) driven by higher revenue per search and search volume

The growth rate improves on both a year ago and on last quarter, showing a significant upwards trajectory.

Operating expenses for the More Personal Computing division, which includes Bing, grew 8% due to a seasonal increase in acquisition costs and investments in search and AI engineering, both related to the service.

Microsoft has previously said that Bing-using households generally had higher incomes, with  24% of the Bing audience sitting in their country’s top-earning bracket, and that more Bing users clicked on ads that from other search engines, both of course which is good news for advertisers.

You can find the full earnings report here.