Master the Google Display Network with these Actionable Tips

Google Ads is split into two networks. This gives advertisers more options over where they’d like their ads to appear, the type of ads they’d like to show and the way they want to target their audience.

• The Search Network: Advertising on Google’s search network gives advertisers the ability to show text ads on search results pages, other Google sites like Maps and Shopping, and other search sites that partner with Google to show ads.
• The Display Network: With the Display Network, marketers can advertise using image ads on sites like YouTube, Blogger and Gmail, as well as thousands of partnering websites across the Internet

The channels are vastly different, providing their own unique offering to advertisers. Google’s Search Network targets users typing directly into Google’s search engine and Google partner search sites. The Display Network, on the other hand, uses image ads rather than text-based ads that are created around keywords. These image ads, or display ads are the visual ads that you can see on advertising-supported sites all over the web. Google claims that its Display Network has over 2 million websites on its database and reaches over 90% of Internet users globally. These sites show display ads to users in banners or small boxes on webpages as they are browsing the web.  This is a more passive form of advertising, as the audience are not necessarily looking for the business’ products and services when they see their ads.

While this form of advertising may not be quite as direct as other search engine marketing tactics, it doesn’t mean that it’s not effective. The Display Network gives advertisers the chance to get hundreds of thousands of impressions a month – and they don’t even have to pay for them unless someone clicks! 

At Digital Squad, we’ve worked on a number of Display Network campaigns. The following are some of the things we’ve learned along the way.

Ensure Ads Are Simple and Visual

This seems basic, but over 65% of ads on the display network are plain text ads. By using text ads on the display network, advertisers miss out on opportunities to really capture the audience’s attention and increase the reach of the brand. In addition, the campaign is unlikely to perform as well with text ads alone, as text ads have much lower click-through rates than image ads. But! Don’t go overboard with design for the Display Network and try to fit too many elements on to ads. The best performing ads on the Display Network are simple, visual, and easy to read. 

Run a Remarketing Campaign

Remarketing is the ideal place to start on the Display Network as it is the most likely to generate results for the business. This is because remarketing targets people who have already been on a business’ website as they browse the web. This is done by placing a cookie on the website that tracks visitors and then essentially follows them with display ads. This may sound like an invasion of privacy, however, a study from AdRoll revealed that only 11% of people said that they have negative feelings about seeing retargeted ads, while 30% reported having ‘very positive’ reactions to being remarketed to. Remarketing campaigns are typically extremely cost-effective as cost per click is low, and because users have already been on the site and are familiar with the brand, they are more likely to convert. 

Make the Most of Managed Placements

Managed placements is a targeting method that allows the advertiser to select the specific websites that their ad appears on. This gives the advertiser granular control of their campaign, rather than leaving it to Google to place ads with topics or interests targeting. For advertisers with a smaller budget who are cautious of where they’d like their ads to appear, this is a great place to start. They can use this option to choose 10 to 20 domains that are extremely relevant to the business’ products or services and its audience. They can then start serving ads on these specific placements first and if impressions are limited, try branching out to other relevant sites.  Looking at referral sites in Google Analytics can be a great starting point to identify placements.

Give Display Campaigns as Much Attention as Search Campaigns

Anyone running a successful search campaign knows that they have to continuously monitor, analyse and adjust the account in order to keep generating conversions. With a search campaign, digital marketers will dedicate time to evaluating the account; looking at search queries, adjusting keyword bids, adding new negative keywords and editing ads that are not performing. The same should be done with Display. Instead of adding negative keywords like for search, advertisers can exclude placements on the Display Network.  They should also be checking which ads, campaigns and targeting methods are most effective for conversions.

In addition to the campaigns that directly generate conversions, look for the ads and campaigns that are driving and impacting conversions. This involves attribution tracking, which you can see in Analytics. This can show whether the Display Network is also helping your organic or paid search campaigns, as display is most effective at brand building and introducing your brand, while other campaigns may be more likely to convert.

For more information on digital advertising on the Display Network, get in touch with Digital Squad. We are more than an SEO agency. In fact, we can help you with your entire digital strategy. Whether that’s local SEO services, social media marketing NZ, Google shopping ads or Google remarketing ads, we’re here to help. Give us a buzz, and we’ll grab coffee!