Display Advertising: What It Is And How to Do It

Display advertising refers to banner ads on specific areas of social media platforms or a website. The ads appear when you’re doing research, shopping, or even watching videos. Typically, the advertisement is conveyed using animations, logos, text, and other graphics. And because most advertising campaigns are charged on a cost-per-click basis, the amount you pay will depend on the bidding strategy. According to the latest statistics, Google Display Network reaches about 90% of all internet users. With that being said, display advertising is an effective strategy.

Why Choose Display Advertising?

Many people wonder if they should choose display advertising for their marketing strategy. As mentioned above, it is very effective and reaches a significant number of people. This is how display ads give you an incredible chance to place your brand in front of prospects. They also bolster your marketing efforts and enable you to retarget the people who have visited your website in the past.

Another great thing about display ads is that you can add graphics. This is where you incorporate illustrations and photography to add value to your brand. Graphics can be an excellent way to show off your brand and your offer. An eye-catching graphic on a display ad can be just what you need to drive more sales.

How Display Advertising Works

Display advertising is set up to drive website traffic to a specific webpage. Depending on the target audience, you can use image, text, or video advertisements that encourage the user to take action. We highly recommend using an optimized landing page to encourage more conversions on your website. This way, you will have a higher ROI and you have a designated sales page.

You can assemble your image elements using the HTML5 ad builder tool. Make sure you use relevant, high-quality images that inspire the right emotion. Unlike normal text ads, display ads appear in different sizes and formats. Secondly, you should scale out your ads. Unlike some other forms of advertising, display advertising can work across multiple devices. This is not a simple task – each ad must be made separately. Some free tools, such as Canva, are available with templates for your ads, so you can size them perfectly.

Also, responsive display ads can be used. These ads respond to the size of the platform they’re shown on. So, this way, they always look great on every website. To create a responsive display ad, you need to upload the assets (images, logos (optional),  headlines, descriptions, business name, and Google will automatically generate ads to be shown on the Google Display Network.

The next step is publishing. Now that the banners are created for different sizes, most devices will display them correctly. If you use a creative management platform to create display ads, you can publish them at a push of a button. However, the campaign doesn’t end here. Make sure you analyze the effectiveness of your campaign by measuring the campaign costs and rates. This will help you determine what type of imagery works for your brand.

How to Reach Your Target Audience With Display Advertising

Display ads can help expand your brand and give a hefty boost to your site traffic. It gives you an amazing opportunity to generate website traffic from your target audience. Considering these are people who you want to reach, your leads will be qualified and high-quality. With that being said, there are some best practices for reaching your target audience through display advertising.

Contextual Advertising

Contextual advertising takes place when ads show up on related websites. For example, if you have ever been on a website and seen an image and a blurb of text as an ad, that is likely contextual advertising. A popular contextual ad is an image of an organ that says, “Drink this every day to clear out your digestive system.” This form of advertising uses keywords to show ads on relevant websites. In this example, the ad might show up on health, dieting and fitness websites. Be sure your website or landing page is designed well and very clearly communicates why someone should proceed through your marketing funnel. If the page they land on isn’t quality, you’ll likely be unable to convert the website visitor, which would probably result in a wasted ad spend.

Target by Website Placement

Website placement display advertisements are where you choose the websites in which your ad is on. Because Google doesn’t necessarily always choose the best site for you, this is the safest and the most effective option to take. This way, you can avoid your ad showing up on spammy websites, and ensure it’s only high-quality ones.

Let’s say you sell sports equipment. If you want to reach out to potential buyers, then you should select a site related to sports. You can choose the specific sites that Google has placed ads on and exclude those that are not related to your business.

Remarketing

This type of display ad allows you to reconnect to the past visitors on your site. The service uses cookies to track visits from users. Then, it displays your ads to them. This is more effective, as the user is already aware of your website. When users visit your site, they can see your brand which builds trust. The latest stats show that 70% of visitors who are retargeted on display ads will end up on retailers’ websites.

How to Set Up and Manage a Display Advertising Account

Setting up a display ad is a straightforward process. If you want a strong marketing campaign, you should advertise on Google’s Display Network. Since it can reach many internet users, you can easily connect to potential customers through apps, videos, websites, etc.

First, you must give the basic information about your business. Next, enter the Google account on the Google Ads website. Then, you will want to add anyone who you want to assist with your Google Ads management. Thirdly, enter the address for the business you wish to advertise. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll find instructions to confirm your new account. Here are some simple steps on how to manage your account:

Select Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

You need a sound strategy to increase website traffic, raise brand awareness, and lead generation. The typical KPIs for display ads include the ad cost-per-click (CPC), click-through rates (CTR), and conversion rates. For instance, if you want to build brand awareness, the KPI is the number of impressions. In case it helps, you may want to take a look at our blog post titled “Online Marketing Terms Every Marketer Should Know.” It gives more information about various expressions like CPC, CTR and KPI.

Tracking and Optimization

The main advantage of display ads is that you can track performance and optimize them in real-time. If your campaign is not meeting your benchmark, you should be creative. Make sure the ad is compelling enough and resonates well with the target audience. Another strategy is to make changes to your landing page.

 

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How Do Advertisers Know Who to Target?

Today, online advertisers use cookies to identify which ads they need to serve a specific consumer. They often show what the user has been doing on the site even if they left without buying anything. That way, they can know the products or services that suit them best. Display ads can also be personalized based on geographic location. The advertiser can even use IP addresses to identify the user’s location using their phone’s GPS.

How to Measure the Success of Display Advertising

There’re some key metrics you can use to measure your ad’s success, based on the engagement process. This may include the bounce rates and click-through rates. This type of information will give a better picture of your online performance.

Click-Through-Rate (CTR)

Click-through-rate (CTR) refers to the rate in which people click on your ad. So, if 20 people saw your ad, and 10 people clicked on it, your CTR is 50%. This is very high, as most CTRs for display ads are under one percent across all industries. However, knowing your industry’s average is a good thing to figure out, when deciding if your ad was effective or not. Here’s a good article that gives detailed statistical data about various industries.

Reach

Another way of measuring the success rate of your ad is by checking its reach. This is done by analyzing the number of people who visit the network that you want to use. Your advertising platform will tell you this in the results panel. Reach is excellent if you are trying to increase your brand awareness. However, if no one clicked on your ad to visit your website, this may be a sign the ad was ineffective.

Bounce Rate

The bounce rate shows the number of people who visit your website but are not intrigued enough to make a purchase. Many factors contribute to the bounce rate. Maybe your website has design issues, or the user can’t find what they want. This is why we recommend using a landing page that intrigues the website visitor and gives them all the information they need.

Conversion Rate

The conversion rate refers to the number of people who visit your site and end up completing the goal that you desired. This could be anything like registration of a newsletter, purchase made online, or requesting for more information. The conversion rate of your advertisement is an excellent way to know if your ad was successful or not.

Return on Investment (ROI)

When brands engage in display advertising, there are so many costs involved. All of these costs are known as your advertising investment. This is where the return on investment (ROI) comes in. In its simplest form, this is how much you get for every dollar spent on the ad. You want the highest ROI possible, that way you’re making a profit from your ad.

The ROI of your advertisement can be difficult to calculate. Perhaps the easiest way to calculate your ROI is by using a UTM tracking link that follows the user throughout the site. This way, you can tell if they made a purchase. Or, you can estimate how many people clicked on your site from the ad, and how many more purchases you receive during the duration of the ad. Ultimately, you should strive to have your profits equal more than the cost of your advertisements.

The Bottom Line

Display advertising is a very effective form of paid advertising. Your key performance indicators will tell you whether you’re on track in meeting your goals. When you get the basics right, you can improve your ROI from your brand’s online activities.

As always, feel free to contact us if you need any assistance setting up your display ads. Our team is highly skilled and experienced, and we would love to help you.