Leveraging Google Display Ads for Brand Awareness

While Google Search Ads are fantastic for capturing customers who are actively searching for your product, how do you reach people who might not even know that your brand or your solution exists yet?

This is where the Google Display Network (GDN) comes in.

The Google Display Network is a massive network of over two million websites, videos, and apps where your ads can appear. Display ads are the visual, image-based ads (often called "banner ads") that you see on these sites.

Unlike search ads, which are a "pull" channel, display ads are a "push" channel. You are pushing your message out to an audience based on their interests and demographics. Because of this, the primary goal of a display ad campaign is usually to build brand awareness.

Why Use Google Display Ads?

• Massive Reach: The GDN reaches over 90% of internet users worldwide, giving you an incredible opportunity to get your brand in front of a huge audience.
• It's Highly Visual: Display ads allow you to use compelling images, colors, and branding to capture attention in a way that text-based search ads cannot.
• Powerful Targeting Options: You can target your ads to a highly specific audience based on their interests, their demographics, or the specific websites they visit.
• It's Cost-Effective: The cost per click (CPC) on the Display Network is often significantly lower than on the Search Network.

Key Targeting Options on the Display Network

The key to a successful display campaign is your targeting. You need to get your visual message in front of the right people.

• Affinity Audiences: Target people based on their long-term interests and hobbies (e.g., "foodies," "travel enthusiasts").
• In-Market Audiences: Target people who are actively researching and are "in the market" for a specific product or service (e.g., "in the market for a new car").
• Custom Audiences: You can create your own audience by entering the keywords people search for or the websites they visit.
• Placements: You can choose to have your ads appear on specific, individual websites, YouTube channels, or apps that you know your target audience frequents.
• Remarketing (Most Powerful): This is one of the most effective display strategies. Remarketing allows you to show your ads specifically to people who have already visited your website. This is a fantastic way to stay top-of-mind and to bring interested prospects back to your site.

Best Practices for Creating Effective Display Ads

1. Keep Your Design Simple and Bold

You only have a fraction of a second to capture a user's attention. Your ad design needs to be simple, clean, and visually striking. Don't try to cram too much information into it.

2. Use High-Quality Images

Your imagery is the most important part of your ad. It needs to be professional and eye-catching.

3. Have a Clear Value Proposition

Your ad should have a single, clear headline that communicates the main benefit or message.

4. Include Your Logo

Your logo should be clearly visible to build brand recognition.

5. Have a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA)

Your ad needs a clear CTA button (e.g., "Learn More," "Shop Now") that encourages the user to click. The button should use a contrasting color to stand out.

6. Use Responsive Display Ads

This is the default ad type on the GDN. You provide Google with a set of assets—multiple headlines, descriptions, images, and your logo—and Google's AI will automatically mix and match them to create the best-performing ad combination for each different ad slot. This saves you the time of having to manually design dozens of different banner ad sizes.

When to Use Display Ads

Display ads are a "top-of-funnel" marketing activity. They are best used for:

• Building brand awareness for a new business or a new product.
• Running a remarketing campaign to re-engage past website visitors.
• Promoting a special offer or a piece of content to a broad but relevant audience.

Conclusion

The Google Display Network is a powerful tool for building brand awareness at scale. While it may not drive the same level of direct conversions as a search campaign, it is an essential part of a holistic digital marketing strategy. By using its powerful targeting options to get your compelling visual ads in front of the right audience, you can introduce your brand to a huge number of potential new customers and build the top-of-mind awareness that will fuel your other marketing channels.