First things first, let’s define what display ads are all about. Display advertising is a precise method for attracting a specific audience on a website, social media platform or other digital medium. Display ads are typically text, image or video advertisements that encourage consumers to click-through to a landing page or take a specific action — make a purchase, visit a website, download an app, make an enquiry, etc. The critical thing to note is how display ads are charged. Most online advertising campaigns are set on a “cost per click” (CPC) basis. Meaning that you, the seller, only get charged every time the user on a search engine clicks on your ad. This is economical as you don’t get charged for merely showing your ad to prospective shoppers, they have to take a defined action for you to get billed. How much you’ll be charged per click depends on your bidding strategy. The other unique thing about display ads is that they can also be used in highly targeted retargeting campaigns. You might not know what these are by name, but undoubtedly you have come across them in your own life. Retargeting is when online users are specifically shown an ad for your product/brand because they already visited your specific website (but for whatever reasons did not complete their action). And, thus, the aim of “retargeting” said shoppers is to subtly encourage them to return to the website and continue further down the purchasing funnel (hopefully to completion!).
Types of Display Ads
Now that we know what display ads are, let’s explore the different types of display ad formats available to marketers. Believe it or not, they come in a vast array of different shapes and sizes to suit different purposes and budgets.
Banner Ads:
One of the most classic and well-known forms of display advertising is banner ads. As the name would suggest, these usually appear at the top of websites in a banner-type format. They are ubiquitous across any and everywhere website on the internet, as well as on Google Search (here they can be along the top or in the sidebar).
Video Ads:
These types of ads are particularly prevalent on social media sites, such as YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. Since they burst onto the scene a few years ago, they have opened up an exciting new avenue for marketers. Videos ads are shown to have higher engagement and click-through rates than static text/image ads.
Interstitial Ads:
These ads are interactive, full-screen ones that cover the interface of their host site or app. What that means is that they are shown to users before they are directed to the page originally requested. They are very popular as a mobile ad format because they generally gain high impression rates and increased downloads.
Rich Media:
Rich media ads, as the name evokes, are an amalgamation of rich visuals, text, audio, video, animation, and so forth. These ads are fully dynamic, whereby they can adjust themselves to each users’ on-device / on-screen movements and interests. The overall intent is to deliver a better, and more engaging, user experience.
Conclusion
And, thus, the aim of “retargeting” said shoppers are to subtly encourage them to return to the website and continue further down the purchasing funnel (hopefully to completion!). However, for retargeting to be successful, you need to use a healthy variety of content, not to show repeating ads to your audience. This strategy will help you avoid ad fatigue that can make even the most promising campaigns fail.
