You’ve seen it everywhere—those eye-catching visuals you see while scrolling through websites, watching videos, or playing games on your phone. Digital display advertising is integral to modern marketing and designed to grab attention and get you to visit a website. For marketers, understanding how to leverage digital display advertising is critical. Whether you’re new to the world of display ads or looking to refine your strategy, this guide can help you use digital display advertising to boost your brand's visibility and results.

What is digital display advertising?

Digital display advertising uses visuals like images, videos, banners, or animations to promote your product or service on websites, apps, and social media. Unlike text-heavy ads, display ads rely on graphics and design to capture the audience’s attention.

These ads typically appear in specific sections of a webpage, like sidebars, headers, or in between articles. Think of them as the digital billboards of the internet—but way more targeted and interactive.

How does digital display advertising work?

Digital display advertising is a well-oiled machine that benefits both advertisers (businesses like yours) and publishers (websites or apps that offer ad space).

1. ‍Ad networks and Demand side platforms (DSP)
   Ad networks such as Google Display Network and programmatic platforms like The Trade Desk DSP act as middlemen, connecting advertisers to publishers.
2. ‍Audience targeting
   One major strength of display advertising lies in its superior targeting capabilities. Instead of throwing your ad into the void, you can gear it toward a specific audience by targeting factors like:
   
   • ‍Demographics: Age, gender, location
   • ‍Interests: Hobbies, shopping habits
   • ‍Behavior: Past website visits (also known as retargeting)
3. ‍Pay for performance
   Digital display ads operate on two main pricing models:
   
   • ‍Cost-per-click (CPC): You pay only when someone clicks your ad.
   • ‍Cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM): You pay based on ad visibility—each time 1,000 users see your ad.

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The benefits of digital display advertising

Why invest in display ads? These benefits highlight why a digital display advertising strategy is worth your attention.

1. ‍Eye-catching visuals
   A well-designed display ad stops people mid-scroll. It’s your chance to grab attention with bold images, vibrant colors, and powerful messaging.
2. ‍Massive reach
   The Google Display Network alone has access to millions of sites and apps, giving display advertising the ability to reach a massive, global audience. Whether you’re targeting local customers or expanding internationally, display campaigns can scale to meet your goals.
3. ‍Retargeting magic
   Have you noticed ads “following” you after you browse a product online? That’s retargeting— one of the most effective strategies in digital display advertising. It serves as a nudge to bring back users who may have left your site without converting.
4. ‍Affordable flexibility
   Unlike traditional advertising, display ads are highly scalable—allowing marketers to adapt budgets and campaigns at any point to fit their specific goals.

Types of digital display ads

Display ads are available in various formats:

1. ‍Banner ads: These are the classic ads that sit at the top or sides of a webpage. Despite their simplicity, well-designed banner ads remain highly effective.
2. ‍Native ads: These ads blend seamlessly with the website’s content, making them feel less intrusive and less like ads. For example, sponsored articles on a news site feel more organic but still serve as strategic advertising.
3. ‍Responsive ads: Responsive ads automatically adjust to fit various screen sizes and placements, making them a smart choice for marketers seeking widespread visibility without creating multiple versions.
4. ‍Video ads: Using dynamic visuals and on-screen text for those who have their sound turned off, help capture attention and encourage viewers to click to learn more.
5. ‍Interactive display ads: While more expensive to produce, these ads give viewers an option to hover over certain elements to learn more and engage with the content of your ad.

How to get started with digital display advertising

Follow this step-by-step guide to launch your campaigns confidently.

1. ‍Define your goals: What do you want to achieve with your campaign? Whether it’s driving web traffic, boosting brand awareness, or increasing sales, clarify your objective before you begin.
2. ‍Understand your audience: The success of your campaign relies on knowing who you’re speaking to. What are their interests? Where do they spend their time online? Make sure your media buyer has access to the latest media research and information. Use these insights when choosing targeting options.
3. ‍Design ads that stand out: Invest in high-quality visuals and write clear, compelling copy. Make sure your creative works at all sizes.
4. ‍Use analytics to optimize: Keep an eye on your ad performance. Run A/B tests, analyze performance data, and continue to tweak your ads to see what works best.

FAQs about digital display advertising

What is the difference between display ads and search ads?
Search ads appear on search engine results pages when users search for specific keywords, while display ads appear on websites, apps, and social media platforms.

How do I measure the success of a display ad campaign?
Use metrics like impressions, click-through rates (CTR), conversions and cost per acquisition (CPA) to gauge your campaign's performance. Just make sure you send users to a well-designed, strategically structured landing page with clear calls to action.

Is GA Creative experienced in digital display advertising?
Yes! Our team has years of experience developing media plans and designing and managing display ad campaigns that deliver real, measurable results.

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