A Beginner’s Guide to Google Display Ads
Google Display Ads: are you looking to get started?
Whether you’re not familiar with display ads or you want to start a campaign but don’t know how to begin, there are some key things you should know about Google Display Ads.
If you’re curious to learn more, look no further – we’ve created the following quick guide to help you begin using Google ads.
Why Use Google for Ads?
Google is one of the most popular search engines worldwide. Estimates vary, but some say that Google users make up 4 billion of the 4.39 billion Internet users worldwide.
It’s not Google’s reach that makes it so popular. The network is also able to segment and target users in a variety of ways. This ensures that your ads are reaching your target audience.
What Are Google Display Ads?
Google display ads are a different form of advertising that Google uses. Unlike traditional Google search ads, Google display ads are part of the Google Display Network. This network shows ads to users across websites, videos, and applications based on their previous online activity.
The Google Display Network is Google’s network of sites and apps. Google has agreements with millions of websites and applications, so the network reaches 90% of internet users every day.
The site will receive revenue for letting Google advertise there, and your display ads will often appear on these websites.
Google display ads have some differences from Google search ads. The most obvious difference is where they’re displayed: Google search ads appear in search results. Google display ads are shown on partners’ websites through the Google Display Network.
With Google display ads, you have more control over your branding and what the ad looks like. Google search ads follow the same format. But a Google display ad can be creative – you can make them look any way you want.
Different Types of Displays
Many people think that you can only display image ads. But the Google Display Network allows you to advertise using several formats and sizes. You can also experiment with status and animated image ads.
Text ads consist of a headline and two lines of text. They allow advertisers to create a variety of ads to test which copy format or structure will get the most clicks.
Image ads are static images that fill the entire ad block on the source it appears on. You’ll be able to customize imagery, layouts, and background colors.
Rich media ads have interactive elements, animations, and other aspects. These ads change depending on the user who is looking at them. For instance, there can be a moving carousel of products that moves based on how the user interacts with these products.
Video ads are becoming more popular as video advertising has exploded in recent years. In addition, Youtube is now included on the Display Network, so you can now use Adwords to place your ads next to YouTube videos.
Targeting on Google Display Network
The GDN will let you focus your ads on certain audiences. Here are several of the ways that you can target your ads.
Placement Targeting
Placement targeting lets you choose the websites that you want to appear on. This will give you the most control over where you appear on the GDN. It’s especially helpful if you’re looking to target a specific demographic, knowing that they use a particular website.
If you think there are any industry-specific websites that you think are relevant to your business, you should advertise them using placement targeting. Use the Adwords Display Planner to help you find websites that match your goals and carry GDN ads.
Contextual Targeting
This is the most common targeting type. It involves utilizing keywords related to your ads. To use this method, you’ll create a keyword list, and Google will optimize your display ads based on these keywords.
The best way to do this involves writing a list of 10 – 20 keywords or short phrases that are related to the subvert of your ads.
Then, keep an eye on the websites that you’re appearing on. Modify your list based on the ad’s success on different websites. You can analyze this data by going to the ‘Placements’ tab within Keywords.
Topic Targeting
Topic targeting allows you to choose from an existing list of page topics. Your ads will then only display on-page about that topic.
You won’t be able to go too deeply into many of the topics because some of them may be broad. For example, you may classify your ad as one about “Human Resources” when it’s targeted toward a specific HR concept.
But despite this downside, topic targeting is effective when paired with another method.
Interest Targeting
You can also use interest targeting. The list of interests is similar to the topics, but the ad will target the user and not the page content. This means that the user could be looking at anything when the ad appears, not on a page that’s related to the topic.
Google does this by storing cookies on users’ computers when they visit a page within Google’s advertising network (referred to as DoubleClick cookies).
If people regularly visit pages about a specific category, Google will add them to the list of people who have that “interest.” Then, “interest” ads will be targeted to those users accordingly.
Optimizing Your Display
Optimizing your display campaigns is similar to the mindset you have when optimizing your website content for SEO. You’ll want to include certain elements and exclude others:
- Exclude irrelevant categories and audiences
- Add click-to-call extensions for mobile devices
- Review reach using dimensions
- Review ad performance
- Exclude mobile abs
- Exclude YouTube if necessary
There are dozens of other strategies you can use. But if you are just starting, you should focus on just a few elements at a time regularly.
Using Google Display Ads
If you’re a digital marketer looking to reach your audience even more effectively, you should leverage the benefits of Google display ads for your campaign.
Google advertising is one of the most impactful ways out there to rehab your audience. For more display advertising tips or to learn about our programmatic advertising services, reach out to our team.
