Display Advertising

What Is Display Advertising? 

A popular and effective format of digital advertising is display advertising. It is completely driven by the visuals it uses to attract attention and spread brand awareness across the internet. Display ads are a lucrative method of advertising for marketers looking for ways to reach and acquire customers. They make generous use of visual media in the form of texts, images, or even videos to catch people’s attention. You can usually spot display ads in designated corners of webpages and social media platforms, and they are usually showcased in the form of a banner ad (graphic or text). All campaigns ranging from the ones using simple text to those with attractive videos can be grouped under display advertising. Most successful display advertising campaigns use a clever combination of images, text, gifs, and videos to stand out on the internet and send their message across to the targeted audience. Marketers can play around with language, design, shapes, and sizes of banners to create engaging display ads.

The Display Advertising Targeting Process

One of the most vital features of display advertising is its ability to target specific sections of the audience that match parameters based on the advertiser’s requirement. The display advertising targeting feature ensures that your ad reaches the right audience, and ad spend isn’t wasted on a demographic that isn’t interested in your product/service. The multitude of options available when it comes to display ad targeting can be overwhelming; it is important to have clarity about the kind of demographic that you want to cater to, and accordingly choose from available targeting options. Display advertising targeting is a complex process – here’s a look at some of the steps you can take to maximize this feature:

• Define your demographic: You can segment the audience based on their basic demographic details like age, gender, interests, etc.
• Identify target keywords: This allows you to reach the target demographic based on selected keywords as per your product or service. The display ad network will match your keywords with words/phrases present in the publisher’s site where your ad will be displayed.
• Zero-in on the topic: This feature lets you choose a group of websites that fit a specific topic/category within which your business operates.
• Formulate the ideal placement: You can choose the website you want your display ads to run on. For example, if you’re targeting customers of a specific car variant, you can display the ads on articles related to that model, or even on a product review page.
• Show ads based on interest: Google collects data on its users’ behavior, and depending on what users are searching for, you run display ads that resonate with specific interest areas. For example, a car enthusiast may be researching tires, car stereo systems, etc. Interest-based display ad targeting will place your ad on all relevant webpages.
• Retarget based on past behavior: Also known as retargeting, this display ad targeting feature lets you target users who have already visited your website, thereby reinforcing the brand’s impact and recall.

Types of Display Advertising

Banner ads
Banner ads are the most common display advertising format, as they clearly stand out on any webpage. They are named after their shape, which is banner-like. They are nothing more than hyperlinked, image-based ads in the shape of a strip. They are usually placed on the top of a webpage to immediately draw the user’s attention. 

Rich Media 
Considering that roughly 30% of Internet users find traditional banner advertising distracting, advertisers are exploring more innovative ways to display their ads. Use of rich media is one such new tactic that involves using interactive elements such as video, audio, and clickable elements to make the advertisement more engaging. 

Interstitial ads 
These are ads that appear as a separate webpage before you are directed to the original page that you wanted to visit on the internet. They are effective in capturing the user’s attention as they take up the entire screen. 

Video ads 
When it comes to display advertising costs, video ads are slightly more expensive but worth it. Platforms like YouTube and Instagram have made it convenient for marketers to run video ads and attract a lot of attention and engagement.

Managing Display Advertising

1. Reach
Measuring the reach of your ad accurately means obtaining figures on how many users saw the ad. This is reflected as the unique number of views on your display ad. You can monitor the reach of your ad and assess the effectiveness of your display ad management and targeting effort. If ads are not reaching the desired audience, it is advisable to readjust your targeting parameters. 

2. Impressions
Simply put, an impression is the number of times an ad has been “served” to a user on a website or placement. Every time an ad is displayed, it counts as an impression. Once you have successfully quantified this, you can map ad performance against the conversion rates. If it seems that your impressions are growing but your conversion rate isn’t, you may need to rethink your display ad management plan. 

3. Click-through rate
A crucial indicator of engagement, click-through rate indicates the number of people who have clicked on your ad. Mathematically, it is the ratio of impressions to clicks. For example, if your ad receives 2,000 impressions and you generate 200 clicks, that’s a click-through rate of 10%. Low CTRs are indicators of the need to adopt a new display ad management strategy or relook at targeting formulas. 

4. Conversion rate
This is the most important metric to consider because, at the end of the day, conversion is the main objective of running ads. This rate is a quantification of the number of people who click-through to your landing page and perform a definitive action such as downloading your app, opting-in to a newsletter, or buying a product.

Advantages of display advertising

• Visual – you can use eye catching imagery or rich media to get your audience’s attention.
• Awareness – you can build brand awareness and promote your products and services.  While search advertising reaches an audience with an intention to purchase, display can create an initial interest. Display ads have a high reach and can be seen by large numbers of people.
• Targeted – there are certain targeting options that aren’t available through search marketing. These include topic and interest targeting and remarketing. You can also reach specific demographics such as gender and age.

Disadvantages of display advertising

• Lower click-through rate (CTR) – display ads typically have a lower CTR than search ads.
• Lower conversions – a lower CTR also means lower conversions, such as sales and registrations. When users see your ad they aren’t actively looking for your products or services, so they may not be ready to buy. Display ads are more suitable for long sales processes than for selling high volumes. 
• Ad avoidance – while your impressions may be high, you can’t guarantee that users paid attention to your ad. Ad blocking tools can also stop users seeing your ads.

Best practices for display ads

As with any form of advertising, the effectiveness of a display ad depends on its design. Here are a few guidelines that will help you stay on the right track.

Be respectful of your audience’s experience
Avoid autoplay video ads, pop-ups, and any ads that your viewers can’t get rid of by scrolling away. These tactics will certainly get people to notice you, but not in the way you’d like. Instead, try placing a static ad near the edge of the screen or within the site’s text. Another rule of thumb is to make sure that your ad doesn’t cover more than one-third of the screen. High ad density can irritate users by blocking the content they came to see, especially if they’re on mobile devices.

Use a simple design
Your brand story is important, but display ads are often too small to include every detail. To avoid overwhelming users, stick with a simple design and use as few words as you can to get your message across.

Go for quality over quantity
Because you’re only including the essentials, make sure everything looks good. Use high-resolution images, easily readable type, and a logo that’s clear and bold. Remember to preview every image after you export it.

Include a strong call to action
Your call to action, or CTA, is the most important part of your display ad. An effective CTA will encourage users to click through to your site’s homepage, a specific product page, or a special promotion. It can be tempting to create a simple CTA like “click here” or “continue,” but getting specific will make it much more effective. Here are some tips for creating a strong CTA.

• Make your CTA benefit-oriented. CTAs like “Download Our Free eBook” or “Find Out More” let viewers know that they’ll receive something of value if they click through.
• Use persuasive language. Entice your viewers with promotional items or potential discounts.
• Create urgency. Convince your audience that they’ll lose out if they navigate away from your ad.
• Make the button the focus. Your CTA button shouldn’t just be easy to find, it should be impossible to miss.