Everything You Need To Know About The Ad Words Display Network

The Google Display Network, or GDN as it is often called, is often not used in AdWords. It’s complex, overwhelming, with lots of bells and whistles. AdWords Search is so much simpler. But done well, the GDN can produce strong supporting results to a robust AdWords search initiative.

Search vs Display Before you get started with a Display Network strategy, it is critical to understand the differences between search (or what is most commonly referred to when talking about AdWords advertising campaigns) and display. Search is the most familiar of paid online advertising and the ads appear directly in a search results page – above and below the organic results. Display ads are ads that are shown (displayed) on web sites that are not search engines. These ads are often referred to as banner or image ads, although text ads are also part of display advertising. Both avenues have their advantages and places in a solid PPC strategy. Search ads are most often used because of their placement on search results pages where user intent is hotter. If someone searches for something and your ad is shown to them right after that query and it is relevant to the query, chances are pretty good that they may not only click on your ad, but possibly also convert. On the search network, users are in a seeking mode when they are actively searching, which makes their intent to find information about a particular topic, product or service much more direct display, on the other hand, represents a more passive role, as the person being shown the ad did not see it as a result of entering a query into a search engine. Rather, they’re seeing ads on external web sites that they are visiting for some other specific purpose.

Exposure to advertising on external, or non-search engine sites, is more like the experience of seeing advertisements in a newspaper or magazine – you are more likely to scan around them or flip past them to access the content you were actually seeking. This being the case, display advertising requires a different mindset and performance goals than search advertising, due largely to the differences in the state of mind of the user when they interact with the advertiser’s ads.

It’s best to think of it this way when evaluating adding GDN advertising into a your mix: Search Advertising reaches people who have shown an interest in something you’ve designated as a good match to what your ads are selling, in the moment immediately prior to viewing your ad. Display Network ads are more like background players – they are shown on external or non-search engine pages where a person is engaged in some other type of activity. Depending on the targeting you choose, there may or may not be any type of recognizable connection between your ads and the site being viewed.