Google Display Network is a unique system created by Google. It can be used to reach prospects with targeted display ads when they are scrolling through websites, watching a YouTube video, going through their Gmail, or using phone apps.
Essentially, since everyone’s information is now stored on Google accounts, Google can use this to show personalised ads,. This includes tapping on personal information, including age, location, or interests, such as sport, clothes or beauty.
Before continuing, let’s differentiate three types of advertising using Google Display Ads Network:
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Whatever your business is, the 2 million sources in the GDN network prove that this is the best way to reach people. 90% of internet users are reached every day by GDN via web banners, videos and applications.
With traditional advertising, you are limited to reaching local, regional, or, if there’s sufficient budget, the national population. But, with network search available all around the globe, your ad can now be shown worldwide at fairly low costs.
You can also learn how to successfully reach buyers in the earliest stages of their buying cycle. For example, when the potential buyers are specifically looking for something similar, weighing their options, or even if they’re still unaware of the benefit your product/service can bring into their lives.
1. Google-owned websites – Google owns the most popular websites known to almost anyone around the world. Google Maps, Gmail, and Google Keep, YouTube are just some of them.
2. Adsense websites – these are all websites not owned by Google but show ads powered by the GDN. In return, they are paid for showing Google’s content on their independent website. As a business wanting to use the GDN for your marketing purposes, you can select which websites you would like your ad to appear on.
Although both GDN and search ads are excellent ways of advertising your brand, there are some key differences between them that you should be familiar with.
With GDN, ads can be shown on websites to people unfamiliar with your brand. So, you might not get that many visits from ads, but this is an excellent option for those trying to raise their brand awareness and get people talking about them.
Also, keep in mind that display ads serve only a secondary role on websites since all people visit it for something else. The ads are there to hopefully catch their attention and motivate people to find out more about what the ad stands for.
On the other hand, search ads are intended for anyone looking for something specific. Visits are higher with search ads because they are shown only to a particular group of people interested in and looking for something similar in content.
GDN can be used for multiple things, usually for prospecting and remarketing.
1. Prospecting – you get to introduce your brand to other people who have never heard of it. This way, your brand awareness grows, as well as the other’s knowledge of your products or services.
2. Remarketing – you get to remarket to users who have already visited or taken some kind of action on your website. Here, your primary goal isn’t to raise brand awareness anymore but to meet your clients’ needs. It’s highly recommended to set Google Analytics, which will help you track the audience for your website by using various parameters:
User types include general website visitors or anyone
While prospecting is an excellent choice for those looking to raise their brand awareness and aren’t focused on the number of sales made, remarketing is a wiser option for anyone looking to reach people already familiar with the brand, ready to make a purchase.
Depending on your business size, business aim, and overall demand on the market, you can change what you’re using GDN for at any time.
Text ads are a type of ads using only text to catch someone’s attention. They are typically square or rectangular boxes of text with bolded keywords. They consist of a headline text, a link, and a descriptive text.
Even though text ads can be quite challenging since finding the right words to attract customers is no picnic, it’s crucial to convey the desired message perfectly. So, use keywords that will help show the ad more often, beware of the text length; the ad should be concise, precise, and provide sufficient information. Learn how to optimise Google ad texts and Google ad extensions here.
As a general rule, try to avoid all capital letters - you don’t want to sound too pushy. The advantage of text ads is that you can get creative with the text and use specific keywords to affect the ad’s success.
Image ads are, as the name suggests, images that may or may not contain texts within the image itself. They can be formatted to a square, rectangle, skyscraper, or banner.
A picture’s worth a thousand words, and the same rule applies in Google Display Network. With an eye-catching design, you can be sure that you will have a successful ad.
Similarly, it’s recommended to use brand colour-ways, high quality, and clear images.
However, there are some picture ads that lack the text explanation, so users might not always get what the ad is about. So, be sure your ad leaves the right impression with just an image, and if that is impossible, be sure to integrate the appropriate text into the image itself.
Below are the common dimensions used for image ads:
Responsive display ads are a mix of text and image ads. They consist of the three image types, one long headline, up to five short headlines, up to five descriptions, and a business name.
These ads offer three different image types and a variety of descriptions, short and long headlines. If you still can’t choose only one final ad design, consider doing split testing.
The biggest advantage is how versatile these ads are. It’s the perfect match of text and picture, capable of catching someone’s attention but still providing all the crucial information.
Yet another great advantage of responsive ads is that they automatically adjust their dimensions, look, and format to fit almost any available ad space and screen size. For instance, depending on where the user is viewing the ad, it might appear as a native banner or a dynamic text.
However, this can also be a disadvantage. Suppose the ad appears in dynamic text format, yet all the important information can only be seen on the image. In that case, the very essence of the ad will be lost.
Here are the common dimensions for responsive display ads:
Among newer options are engagement ads. This type of ad is believed to produce more user engagement, and in return, advertisers pay only if the user “engages” with the ad, meaning they moused over the ad for more than 2 seconds.
This is great for anyone wondering if the GDN marketing is worth it or is skeptical of a complete ad fiasco. Marketers only pay the cost-per-click, meaning that they have expenses only if the ad attracts customers.
The advantage is probably the biggest for people on a budget that don’t want to spend money if the ad isn’t going to bring in new customers. However, the disadvantage is that with engagement ads, you might not be able to have that much control over where, when, and to whom the ads are displayed.
Gmail ads are visible in the “Social” and “Promotions” tabs of Gmail. They are used to target a specific group of Gmail users.
Gmail ads are shown as a teaser, and by clicking on the ad, it’s expanded to the full version, containing more information. They are created by using specific Google templates that allow text, pictures, and videos to be included in the ad.
The users can also conveniently save the ads in their inbox and treat it like a regular email service.
This service’s advantage is the high engagement with a desired group of people if you set your parameters correctly. With over 1.5 billion Gmail users, these ads’ design is very similar to email, so many people are tempted to see what it’s about.
But, as already said before, these ads are shown only in “Promotions” and “Social” tabs, which are much less visited than the “Important” tab containing primary emails, and thus this being its most significant disadvantage.
Do take note that starting from 1 July 2021, advertisers will no longer be able to create new gmail ads or make changes to existing campaigns. To continue serving ads on Gmail, advertisers are recommended to create Discovery campaigns, whose advertising reach includes Gmail.
Google has insight into the different interests of its users. These interests can be divided into categories, such as apparel, sport, fitness, education, home, garden, etc. In this way, Google “gets to know” its users and can detect if the user is looking for something that doesn’t align with their usual interests.
The way this works is that Google remembers each user’s history, clicks, websites visited, and previous conversions, so it’s immediately notified if there are some changes. This makes it possible for companies to attract potential customers with what they’re offering, and they can choose to show their ads to this targeted audience.
However, even though there are sub-categories for each segment available, we’re still talking about millions of users of each sub-category.
So, beginning with in-market segment targeting is an excellent way to test GDN’s possibilities and use it as a starting point. Other segments need to be adjusted to use in-market segment marketing in its full capacity and focus on a desired group of people.
Additionally, using Google Analytics can be very helpful because of its aligning segments with Google Ads. By showing which type segments have the most successful conversion rates and reaching only highly qualified users, Google Analytics can lead to an overall better marketing output.
Opposite from in-market segment targeting is affinity audience targeting.
As Google is familiar with users’ interests, this targets the users that are known to be interested in the categories, so the ads are shown only if the user has an affinity for a specific category.
Since these categories are also vast, additional specification is possible with sub-categories to focus on the desired group more accurately.
However, no matter how specific you get or how much you pay attention to all aspects, audience targeting can get quite pricey, so it’s essential to use Google Analytics to pinpoint the most responsive audience. Hence, you get insight into what you need to look for.
For a custom intent audience to work, you first need to set criteria like keywords, webpages you would like to hit, or people who have already searched for something similar recently, so they’re most likely interested in your offer.
The main advantage of custom intent audiences is that you are targeting only high quality audiences.
Placement targeting is used so Google can place your ads on a specific website if an URL is provided. This offers a more precise engagement because the ads are displayed only on specified content or webpages.
Since the ads are limited to certain websites, this can go in two ways. On the one hand, you can appeal to customers who are very likely interested in buying your product. On the other hand, there also are more visited websites that you’re unfamiliar with, and it’s prevalent among your target audience.
There is also the possibility of showing your ads on websites dealing with similar topics. With this, you target the audience that is highly likely to be interested since they are looking at similar content. This topic can be aligned with Google’s interests and affinities but doesn’t have to be since many other topics are still not included.
Using keywords can determine the audience you’re targeting and where your ad is displayed, especially the subject or content of the page. So, for your ads to appear next to lots of relevant and similar content, you can use targeted keywords to reach your audience.
Read more about different types of search targeting and display targeting here.
Upon setting up an ad or a campaign, you should always keep in mind the audience you’re trying to reach. This also includes which device your audience is most likely using. Develop your campaign in that direction.
Always ask yourself how people are going to use this ad and for what purpose. For example, if you are promoting apps, focus your ads on mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. In this way, anyone interested will be able to search your product and try it out for themselves quickly.
Similarly, if you’re promoting desktop software, make sure to focus on website marketing instead of in-app marketing. There is a slim chance that someone using a mobile device will be interested in getting something for their desktop. It can happen, but, again, the chances are slim.
So, be in touch with what interests your audience and what do they commonly use. In this way, you can efficiently reach them without unnecessary expenses.
Make sure to promote what you want, to whom you want. Based on the target audience you want to reach, you can adjust numerous parameters to fit your desired target. From the age range, income, to location, you can pick who will be able to view your ad.
For example, if you know that what you offer is relevant only to business people in finance, don’t waste your money on showing the same ad for teenagers or elders who’ll be completely uninterested. Instead, target the age range from young adults to middle-aged people who are building their careers.
Similarly, if what you’re offering is more of a luxury product or service, beware of average household incomes.
Finally, location is among the most critical factors. If your company doesn’t have international shipping, it’s useless to promote your brand outside the boundaries. Instead, focus on the local and national market until you gain enough awareness to advance your business.
Even if you set all the parameters mentioned above, don’t skip some final customisations. One of the most important ones is to decide whether you want your content to be excluded on specific sites or not.
These specific websites include some sensitive content, like websites with sexual content or websites with specific social issues, and so on. If you placement exclusions, make sure to tick the box since Google doesn’t do it automatically.
There are some suggestions to keep your ad clear and attractive to other people.
First, make sure that your brand logo is visible and displayed with a 1:1 or 4:1 ratio next to your brand name. Since humans tend to memorise things by visualising them, this will help make your brand easy to remember and spot.
The picture used needs to be kept high quality and clear. This makes the whole ad look clean, polished, modern, and professional. Nobody wants to see an ad with blurry pictures. It looks unprofessional and signifies that little effort has been spent on it. A simple, clean look is always a more attractive choice than overly detailed and elaborate pictures.
Try to avoid blank space so as not to risk your ad looking empty and unfinished. However, collages and overlaid texts are also not suggested because the ad may seem overcrowded with information. The customers might be drawn away by overly detailed ads.
Also, keep the colour pattern of your ads consistent with the overall colour pattern of your brand. Some of the most popular brands reached the level of their fame only because they are so recognisable. Usually, this is a result of new, unusual colour blends.
Keep your text concise and informative. Try to deliver your main message within the 80 characters limit. Even though this may seem challenging at first, it’s essential not to tire the readers with dense descriptions.
Even Google itself recommends this one. Don’t use “clickbaity” descriptions - no one wants to risk it by visiting suspicious websites. So, be sincere with what you provide. Also, avoid using all capitalised letters because it can seem rude and unprofessional.
Even though people are starting to catch up on how a good ad should look, many still experience a low response rate. This is so because we are developing “banner blindness”. In the sea of ads, people are filtering to see what interests them. A good idea might be to present your ads on websites with a minimal and simple design, so it's more noticeable.
Half-page ads and large rectangles are also proven to receive more CTRs (clickthrough rates) than other ad formats. So if you're wondering which one to choose, this can help you make the final cut.
If you’re just starting with GDN, the best option may be to start with these well-received combinations. However, make sure to splurge a little bit on ad campaigns after some time to see whether other combinations suit your brand and audience better.
Even after setting all the necessary parameters, it’s necessary to optimise them from time to time. Among crucial things when talking about marketing is keeping track of demographic performance and constantly making required changes.
For example, if your product is meant for the elderly, you might notice that the ads aren’t bringing in many customers. This is so because the elderly rarely use the computer, if ever. Even if they do, they don’t browse the internet in their spare time. In this case, traditional marketing would be a better option than digital.
So, after the launch of your campaign, make sure to go back and check the statistics. Here you will find out how your ads are performing or whether you need to make some changes. If you do, don’t hesitate to exclude all underperforming categories.
You can also track where the ads have been shown.
Select the display campaign you are interested in, then click on Placements, followed by Where ads showed.
By filtering the results, you can gain insight into what websites are converting and which aren't.
Also, make sure to dismiss all duplicate placements that don’t bring in any results. Carefully review the websites, and pay close attention to whether they have made any conversions. If they didn’t, remove them so you don’t spend the money on an ad that won’t serve its purpose.
All in all, Google Display Network is handy for raising brand awareness. Even if the ads don’t make any conversions immediately, it will be worth it in the long run.
By using Google Display Network, you can reach an immense number of people at an affordable price. They help you to break the ice and become known on the market.
Now that you understand what is the Google Display Network, you can learn how to advertise on Google by setting up a GDN campaign.
Or if you're looking for a SEM Singapore agency to run Google campaigns, feel free to reach out to us.
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