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Display advertising has long been part of the marketing world. From roadside billboards to in-store signage, just about everyone has been exposed to display ads while going about their daily routine. It should come as no surprise, then, that display marketing is also a key component of many digital marketing campaigns.
From social media to search engine results pages, this important ad format can go a long way in building brand awareness and generating conversions with your target audience. Here’s a closer look at what makes this form of online advertising so important.
What Are Digital Display Ads?
There are several types of display advertising that are used in digital marketing campaigns.
Banner Ads
Banner ads are what most people think of when they think of display advertising. These ads feature a mix of imagery, logos, and text. They are usually either square or rectangular, and can appear at the top, bottom, or side of a web page. They also commonly appear in search results.
These ads appear on social media platforms as well, though not in a user’s feed. For example, on Facebook, banner ads will typically appear to the side of a user’s news feed.
Pop-Up Ads
Pop-up ads are relatively small banner ads that appear while someone is scrolling through a web page. Many websites actually use pop-ups to encourage visitors to sign up for their newsletter or to claim a special offer. Third-party pop-ups are less common, as they are often associated with spam and are easily blocked by an ad blocker.
Rich media ads are another form of pop-up ads. These display ads often appear as interstitials, which are interactive banners that interrupt the user experience as they are scrolling through a web page. Unlike regular pop-ups, these ads will often expand to fill most or all of the screen. Rich media ads also typically use video to be more engaging.
In-App Ads
Many smartphone apps allow display marketing so they can monetize their content. Different apps may allow different display ad templates. They’re a great way to reach a highly engaged and potentially niche audience.
Video Ads and Animations
Many modern display marketing ads strive to be more engaging than static images by using videos and animations. Research indicates that video banners typically have a higher click-through rate, though they can also be more expensive to run than standard banner ads.
Display Marketing vs. Content Marketing & Native Ads
It may also be helpful to define what display marketing is not. While content marketing gets a lot of buzz these days, display ads don’t really fall under the content marketing umbrella. Display advertising is almost always directly promotional, like a traditional billboard or magazine ad. Content marketing, on the other hand, tends to focus on methods like blogs or infographics that provide useful information to build SEO without directly marketing the brand.
Display ads also differ from native advertising, which is designed to blend in with the rest of the content on a web page. Native advertising could include a sponsored Instagram post by a social media influencer. Initially, such a post doesn’t look like an ad. With a display ad, viewers immediately understand they are seeing an advertisement — both because of its content and where it is placed.
The Benefits of Display Marketing
Regardless of the types of display ads you use for your campaign, there is no denying they can have a positive influence on your overall marketing efforts.
Display marketing is primarily used to increase brand awareness. While the click-through rate can vary based on the display ad’s position on the screen and its size, even the most successful types of display ads (large rectangles) only see an average click-through rate of 0.33%. Most banner ads see a CTR below 0.15%. Not surprisingly, the conversion rate for these ads is also low.
So why do marketers continue to make display marketing a key part of their campaigns? Because few marketing methods are more cost-effective for increasing brand awareness.
Display ads quickly convey your message using clear, recognizable images. By providing more visibility and exposure, your brand becomes more memorable to your customers. As long as the ads aren’t overly intrusive and are well designed, banner advertising can also help create positive associations with the brand.
While display ads may not directly lead to conversions, Google research has found that campaigns that combine search and display ads get 15% more conversions than search-only campaigns. With more impressions for your brand, users become more likely to buy from you when they are ready to make a purchase — even if they never clicked on a display ad.
How to Successfully Incorporate Display Marketing in Your Ad Campaign
Maximizing the effectiveness of your display marketing largely comes down to proper targeting and ensuring that the link takes potential customers to the right web page. The following tactics will ensure you reach the right audience and get them to take the desired action.
A Dedicated Landing Page
Generally speaking, your display ads should lead users to a dedicated landing page, though e-commerce ads can take users to the page for the specific product featured in the ad. You don’t want the people who click on your display ads to experience a mental disconnect when they arrive at a page that doesn’t seem related to the advertisement they just clicked on.
Optimize for Mobile Devices
It’s estimated that worldwide, over 90% of internet users go online with a mobile device. Ad delivery platforms can optimize your content so that it’s sized properly for the device being used, and it should influence how you design your display ads. Use a simple design with as few words as possible so the ad is easy to read and understand, even on a smaller screen.
Quite often, your best option is to only include text for your call to action. Persuasive language that creates a sense of urgency will make viewers more likely to click.
Targeting Through the Google Display Network
Just like search ads, targeting can go a long way in helping you get your display marketing in front of the people who are most likely to be interested in your brand. Google provides targeting options based on broad affinity groups (people who share similar interests, such as classic films, weightlifting, and so on), customers who are currently searching for products or services similar to what you offer, or people who are similar to individuals who already visit your site.
You can also target websites instead of users, based on criteria such as your ad’s topics, the browsing patterns of the website’s visitors, or the topics covered by the website itself. These targeting options allow you to target as broad or narrow an audience as you want, while also ensuring that you reach a relevant audience.
Retargeting
Retargeting or remarketing ads allow you to reach customers who have already visited your website with a more personalized ad experience. By collecting data on the pages or products they visited while browsing your site, you can then target them with display ads related to the items they viewed. This can serve as a powerful reminder that keeps your brand top-of-mind and persuades them to return to your site to complete a purchase.
Are Display Ads a Good Fit for Your Marketing Strategy?
A display advertising campaign can help put your brand and its products or services in front of a wide swath of internet users. While it shouldn’t be the only focus of your digital advertising efforts, this form of advertising can play an important role in boosting brand awareness alongside other online marketing efforts, such as working with influencers on social media or producing high-quality content marketing materials.
If you need help crafting a digital ad campaign that brings together display marketing and other valuable tactics, let Markerly help! Our integrated influencer campaign management does all the heavy lifting to create a personalized strategy that gets all these unique elements to work together for your unique campaign goals.
