Google Display Ads: Formats, Targeting and How to Optimize Them
Display ads put your brand in front of people while they browse websites, apps and YouTube. Here are the formats available, how targeting works and how to get better results.
In this article
Google Display ads are online ads that appear on websites, apps and other placements within the Google Display Network. They promote products and services using images, video and text, and they help businesses reach people who aren't actively searching for what they sell. In this article we look at the main Display ad formats, how they differ from Search ads, and how to optimize a Display campaign.
What Are Google Display Ads?
Google Display ads are visual ads that appear across the Google Display Network: a huge collection of websites and apps that partner with Google to show ads, along with Google-owned properties such as YouTube and Gmail. Display ads come in several formats and appear in ad spaces on those sites and apps. They're designed to help businesses reach a broad audience, build brand awareness and drive growth.
Benefits of Google Display Ads
- Wide reach: the Display Network spans millions of websites and apps, so you can reach people wherever they spend time online.
- Targeted advertising: you can target by demographics, interests, topics, placements, custom segments and your own data, so your ads reach people who are more likely to respond.
- Cost-effective: clicks on Display ads are often cheaper than clicks on Search ads, which makes Display useful for reaching large audiences on a modest budget.
- Multiple formats: images, video and responsive formats give you plenty of creative options to showcase your products and services.
- Brand awareness: Display ads are more visual than text-only Search ads and can be designed around your branding, which helps people remember you.
- Measurable results: you get detailed reporting on impressions, clicks, conversions and other metrics, so you can keep improving your campaigns.
How Display Ads Differ from Search Ads
Search ads appear on Google's search results page when someone searches for a term related to your product or service. They respond to intent: the person is already looking.
Display ads appear while people browse websites, use apps or watch videos, whether or not they've searched for anything. Instead of answering a query, they use images, video and text to catch the attention of people who match your targeting. That makes Display better for building awareness and staying top of mind, while Search is better for capturing existing demand.
Many businesses use both. Search ads reach people who are actively looking for a solution, while Display ads create awareness and interest earlier in the customer journey and bring past visitors back later.
Types of Google Display Ads
Responsive display ads
Responsive display ads are the most common and versatile Display format. You upload your assets, such as images, logos, headlines, descriptions and optionally videos, and Google automatically combines them into ads that fit the available ad space. A single responsive ad can appear as a small text-style ad in one place and a large image ad in another.
Because they adapt to different devices and placements, you don't need to design separate ads for every size. Google also tests different combinations of your assets over time to find what performs best.
Uploaded image ads
Uploaded image ads are static or animated ads you design yourself in specific sizes. They give you full control over the look of your ad, which is useful when brand consistency matters. They're typically designed to be eye-catching, using strong visuals, clear typography and a call to action that links to a landing page where people can learn more or buy.
The trade-off is that you need to create versions in several sizes to cover the most common ad spaces, and they can only appear where those sizes fit.
Video ads
Video can be a powerful way to promote a product or service. Video ads are mainly run through Video campaigns on YouTube and Google video partners. Common formats include skippable in-stream ads, which play before, during or after other videos; in-feed video ads, which appear in YouTube search results and recommendations; and bumper ads, short non-skippable ads of up to six seconds.
Videos can also be added to responsive display ads so they can appear across the Display Network. Explainer videos, product demos and testimonials all work well, and video ads can be targeted by demographics, interests and behaviors just like other Display ads.
How Display Campaigns Work
Display campaigns are the Google Ads campaign type built for the Display Network. They reach people browsing blogs, news sites and other online publications, as well as apps and Google properties.
When you set up a Display campaign, you choose your goal, budget and bidding strategy, add your ads and decide on targeting. You can let Google find audiences likely to convert using optimized targeting, or guide it with signals such as:
- Audience segments: people's interests, habits, life events or what they're actively researching
- Custom segments: audiences built from keywords, URLs or apps that describe your ideal customer
- Your data: people who have visited your website, used your app or are on your customer lists
- Demographics: age, gender, parental status and household income
- Content targeting: specific topics, websites (placements) or keywords related to the page content
You can measure results through impressions, clicks, click-through rate and conversions, and use remarketing to reach people who have already interacted with your business.
How to Optimize Google Display Campaigns
Choose your audience carefully
The success of a Display campaign depends heavily on who sees it. Use Google's targeting options and your own data to focus on people who match your customers. Start with your strongest audiences, such as past site visitors, then expand once you know what works.
Match the format to your goal
Different formats suit different goals. Image ads work well for promoting specific products and offers, while video is ideal for building awareness and telling your brand story. Responsive display ads are a good default because they reach the widest range of placements.
Use the right campaign type for the job
Choose campaign types that match your marketing goals. Search campaigns are ideal for reaching people with specific search intent, while Display campaigns are better for raising brand awareness and attracting new visitors to your website.
Review your placements
Check where your ads are appearing. If certain websites or apps bring lots of impressions but no results, exclude them so your budget goes to placements that perform.
Keep your creative fresh
Supply a variety of high-quality images, headlines and descriptions, and replace weak assets based on performance. People who see the same ad too often stop noticing it.
Remarketing and Dynamic Remarketing
What is remarketing?
Remarketing lets you show ads to people who have previously visited your website, used your app or otherwise interacted with your business. It's a way to reconnect with visitors who didn't convert the first time.
What is dynamic remarketing?
Dynamic remarketing goes a step further. Using a product or service feed, it shows people ads featuring the exact products or services they viewed on your website. Someone who looked at a particular pair of shoes, for example, can later see an ad with that same pair, along with its price.
Benefits of dynamic remarketing
- Relevance: ads are personalized to each visitor based on what they looked at.
- Conversions: reminding people of products they were interested in encourages them to come back and complete their purchase.
- Efficient spending: you focus your budget on people who have already shown interest.
- Brand recall: personalized ads keep your brand top of mind after people leave your site.
- Easy scaling: ads are generated automatically from your feed, so you don't need to design an ad for every product.
Display, Shopping and Performance Max
Display isn't the only way to show visual ads. Shopping ads, which show a product's image, price and store name, appear mainly on Google Search and the Shopping tab and require a Google Merchant Center account with a product feed.
Performance Max campaigns use Google's automation to run ads across all of Google's channels from a single campaign, including Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover and Maps. If you sell products, you can connect your Merchant Center feed so Performance Max can also show your products. It's a good option for advertisers who want broad reach and are comfortable letting Google's automation decide where ads appear, while a dedicated Display campaign gives you more direct control over Display targeting and placements.
Conclusion
Google Display ads are an effective way to reach a broad audience, build awareness and bring past visitors back. With several ad formats and detailed targeting to choose from, the key is to match your audience, format and campaign type to your goals, review where your ads appear and keep testing your creative. Combined with remarketing and dynamic remarketing, Display can become a valuable part of your Google Ads strategy.
