Let’s begin with a hypothetical scenario.
Dave is happy to have controlled an impulse purchase of a new release of sneakers from his favorite brand.
He just looked it up online on the website and then closed it.
The next day while browsing the internet, Dave starts seeing ads on those sneakers on different platforms and while watching Youtube videos.
Dang! It’s impossible to resist any longer and he’s made the purchase. All while blaming those ads.
Have you ever been in the same situation?
Or at least witnessed the same scenario where you just viewed a website and then the same product ads start showing up everywhere you go on the internet.
Welcome to the world of Google display ads that advertisers use to grow their marketing revenue!
Everyone has fallen prey to Google Display Ads now and then by ending up making online purchases through those ads. Google display ads are part of marketing strategy and if pulled off right can help grow the online marketing results for advertisers.
In this article, we discuss what are google display ads, how they work, and how does google display ads grow marketing results for advertisers?
What are Google Display Ads?
Google display ads are different from Google search ads and are shown on applications, websites, videos, and platforms that are part of the Google Display Network (GDN). The ads are targeted to users based on their online activity and over 2 million of these websites are part of GDN including Google-owned websites such as Gmail and Youtube.
Here is an example of a Google Search Ad:
Whereas this is what a Google Display Ad looks like:
The basic difference between both is that Google search ads are those that appear in the search results on Google, whereas, Google display ads are shown on only the websites and applications that are part of GDN.
Google display ads are shown to nearly 90% of all internet users. GDN is one of the largest advertising networks in the world to display text ads, video ads, and banner ads.
How Do They Work?
Google display ads allow you to reach your target audience all over the world at a relatively low cost. You can learn about your target audience early on in their buying cycle when they may not even know they need a product you sell or are just researching a product and weighing their options.
When you are signed in on the internet, data about your browsing history is being collected through cookies. Display ads use this data as signals from Google to help you reach your target audience.
The most common method used is retargeting, in which ads are displayed to users who have previously visited the website. It works well as advertisers spend the most money on showing ads to users who have just recently visited their website, thus keeping their brand at the forefront in their minds.
There are other kinds of audiences as well that advertisers can target and these include:
In-Market Audience
In-market audience refers to users who display different than usual search behavior online. It signals to Google that they are in the market looking for something.
For example, someone usually browses real estate and sports websites but they suddenly start looking at pets websites. This difference in search pattern can signal them as potential customers for pet websites and Google can start displaying the ads to them for the same.
Affinity Audience
Affinity audience can be defined as the opposite of in-market audience. They are shown ads based on their usual search results. These audiences are pre-defined by Google based on their usual pattern of search and are shown ads they have the most affinity towards in their normal browsing pattern.
Custom Intent Audience
Custom intent audience involves those target audience for your brand that you exactly tell Google to target. This requires brainstorming on the advertiser’s part to find out keywords and landing pages to target based on their audience’s behavior. Users in this category are considered qualified and willing to make a purchase.
How Does Google Display Ads Grow Marketing Results for Advertisers?
Google display ads allow advertisers to narrow down their search by targeting the audience that is most likely to be interested in their product or services. This can be achieved through the following ways:
Placement Targeting
Through placement targeting, advertisers can choose the websites where they want to display their ads on the GDN to reach their target audience. This allows them to target websites closest to the interest of the audience. It is a preferred method to use when advertisers would want to target a special demographic.
Audience Targeting
In the audience targeting approach groups of users are targeted based on their interests, search history, and online behavior. These ads show up on any websites in the GDN and not just those that are related to your product or service.
Contextual Targeting
Contextual targeting uses keywords to display the ads. Advertisers create a keyword list that is closest to the product or service they offer and then Google ensures displaying the ads on websites most relevant to the keyword list provided. It is the most common targeting type, which is used.
Topic Targeting
If you go for topic targeting to grow marketing results then your ads will show on pages related to the topics you have selected from a pre-defined list. This type of targeting doesn’t allow you to niche down as some topics can be broad enough that your ad ends up displaying at unrelated sites to your product or service. To ensure topic targeting is fruitful it is advised to use it with another targeting method.
This is what Google display ads are and how they work to grow marketing results for advertisers. For any brand to grow its sales it’s important to know its target audience, track its brand mentions, and make targeted efforts to get leads and convert them.
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