Digital display advertising has evolved over the years but remains an important tool for your marketing strategy toolbox. According to eMarketer, digital display ads accounted for over half of all global ad spending in 2021. If you’re wondering why brands invest in display ads, it’s because it offers a cost-effective way to put your advertisement in front of your target audience.
What is digital display advertising?
Digital display ads use visuals (banners, images, videos, and rich media) to deliver brand messages to a targeted audience. These ads appear on websites, social media platforms, and apps, usually in the form of banner ads or pop-ups.
The primary goal of display advertising is to raise brand awareness and interest in your product or service. As opposed to search advertising, where the targeting occurs when people search for specific keywords, display advertising targets consumers based on their browsing behavior and interests.
How do digital ads work?
Digital display ads are targeted using a range of factors, including demographics, interests and behaviors, location, and keywords. To be most effective, you want to start with a strong understanding of your customer persona. These ads can be placed on relevant websites and apps through ad exchanges, programmatic advertising, or direct purchases.
Purchasing and placing digital ads can be complex, so working with a marketing expert to facilitate these campaigns can be helpful. Typically, marketing professionals have expertise that helps optimize these campaigns and can also get a better price for placement.
Why is display advertising important?
Display ads allow you to reach a larger audience, increase brand awareness, and create demand for your products or services. You can target people based on interests, behaviors, and demographics and utilize dynamic ads that offer different creatives based on the user’s data, making the ad more personal.
Digital display ads can also be used as a remarketing or retargeting tool to engage with users who have already shown interest in your products. Retargeting can boost conversions, generate new leads, and drive website traffic.
Who are Display Ads For?
What types of businesses will benefit the most from a display ads campaign? A lot of different companies utilize display ads and see success from their campaigns. Display ads are highly adaptable to industries and audiences. They work best for businesses looking to increase brand awareness, reach a specific audience, or drive conversions. Before you start a digital ad campaign, consider the budget you’re willing to spend, the offer you want to promote, and the goal of your campaign. This will make sure you receive the highest ROI from your efforts.
Best Practices for Digital Display Ads
Start by crafting visually appealing and mobile-friendly designs. Most people will see your ads on a mobile device, so ensure your ads and the landing page tied to the ads are mobile responsive.
A strong and clear call-to-action will entice users to click on your ad and go to your landing page. In addition, optimize the landing page so it’s relevant to the ad. You don’t want people to expect one thing after seeing a display ad and be confused on the landing page they are brought to.
Don’t forget to measure KPIs like click-through rate, impressions, and conversions to analyze the success of your display ads. A/B testing can help find the optimal formula for your audience.
Display Ads in Action
I’ve been working with Chinn GYN for a few years now on their paid search and Meta ads. When they first came to me for support, they were struggling with brand awareness. They relied heavily on referrals and word of mouth but wanted to expand their reach in the Skagit Valley.
I helped them build a high-converting landing page and ad creative, then leveraged Google Ads and Meta Ads for lead generation. I update their ad creative every quarter to test new strategies and track how the conversion rate is improving. They’ve seen incredible results from our efforts. You can read my case study on them here.
Digital Display Ads as Part of Your Holistic Strategy
Digital display ads are an important part of a full-funnel marketing strategy. Display ads are an awareness tactic that is not likely to drive big conversion numbers alone. However, when leveraged as part of a complete marketing strategy, digital ads can be one of many touch points that work together to bring a potential customer into your funnel for conversion. So, it’s important to look at your strategy as a whole and not lean on one or two isolated tactics.
When you work with us, your ads are built by Google-Certified professionals who specialize in these tactics. Reach out for help building a marketing strategy that converts your target audience into customers.
