Search Ads and Display Ads: Strike the Right Balance

You know that your potential customers are out there scrolling on their devices, and you’d like to connect. Enter Google’s display ads, which are designed to help promote your business when people are doing what they love most – device-based browsing. When combined with search ads, you can significantly increase your advertising reach.

Search Ads vs. Display Ads: Game On

Search ads are the ads that pop up when potential customers type into their search bars. For example, if you run a local business and a consumer in your vicinity is looking for what you have on offer, you’re likely going to connect via search ads.

Display ads, on the other hand, are less direct but have considerable marketing power, nonetheless. Display ads show up on the screens of people who are not necessarily in the market for your brand of service of consumer goods, but they can, nonetheless, spark an interest. We’re all pretty suggestible, and the power of a well-crafted ad on the screen of someone in serious scroll mode shouldn’t be underestimated.

How Display Ads Work

Display ads allow you the flexibility to determine when and where your ads will appear based on features that you choose. This flexibility can include specifying sites that relate to your business or specifying the age, gender, or personal interests of the customers you’re targeting.

Interest Targeting

Display ads allow you to reach scrollers by tapping into their interests in a range of ways.

Affinity Audiences

Affinity audiences refer to groups that already have a strong interest in the products or services you sell – or in products or services that are similar. In this category, you’re looking for those who are enthused about what you do, and you can choose them according to categories like the following:

• Fashionistas
• Gamers
• Sport fans
• Car enthusiasts, which can be broken down further to performance car enthusiasts and beyond
• Luxury travelers
• Action movie lovers, horror movie lovers, and beyond

Affinity audiences can be further customized to narrow the focus to an even more specific audience.

In-Market Audiences

In-market audiences allow you to identify those potential customers who are already actively searching for the kinds of goods or services you offer, which is a great place for your ads to land. Scrollers who are on the hunt for whatever it is that you sell are scrollers that you want to connect with.

Targeting in Relation to Demographics

You can also target audience members in relation to demographics, which includes age groups from 16-24 to 65 or older. Additional demographics include:

• Gender
• Status, in terms of being a parent or not being a parent

Both affinity and in-market audiences can be combined with demographic targeting to refine your intent further. The more specific your targeting, the smaller your audience. When you target the right audience, however, it’s not a bad thing.

Where Display Ads Show Up

While search ads are limited to showing up only during online searches, display ads take their star turn across the entire Google Display Network, which reaches more than 90% of online users. They can show up in lots of places, including:

• Natively in social media news feeds
• As banner ads either above the main content or to its right
• To the side of the main social media feed
• Arriving in personal email inboxes that expand into images when opened

Search Ads and Display Ads Working in Tandem

You have a marketing budget, and the goal is to maximize its potential, which makes exploring both search ads and display ads a good plan – they work well in tandem. The primary metrics for measuring how well your advertising dollars are working for you are conversion rates and cost per click – let’s take a closer look.

Conversions Rates

There is no denying that the conversion rates for search ads are considerably higher than for display ads. Intention is the driving force here – search ads are targeted at customers who’ve shown an active interest in your line of business.

Cost per Click

To help offset the conversion differential, the average cost per click for the average search ad is considerably lower than for display ads.

In other words, striking a fine balance between search and display ads in your campaign is the name of the advertising game.

When Search Ads Are the Way to Go

Search ads are a marketing workhorse. There are certain instances when they are the obvious choice, including:

• When you’re interested in supplementing the organic traffic that you bring to your site
• When you’re catering to a local clientele
• When your sales cycle is abbreviated
• When the goal is to generate high-quality leads
• When the services you provide are predicated on immediate need, such as locksmiths, plumbers, electricians, and tow trucks
• When your overall advertising budget is very limited, and you can’t afford to diversify

When Branching into Display Ads Makes Sense

Including display ads in your budget makes sense when any of the following apply:

• What you’re selling lends itself well to visuals
• You’re interested in generating greater awareness with those who have more passive intent
• Your sales cycle is longer, which means there isn’t an immense rush
• You’re interested in reaching a niche market – good old Google will match your ads with relevant web pages over its impressive network

Turn to a Digital Marketing Pro to Maximize the Potential of Your Ad Spend Today

The digital marketing pros at The Web Guys appreciate that you want to spend your advertising dollars wisely and well, and we have the marketing savvy to help you prioritize your goals and develop your advertising strategy accordingly. Your potential customers are out there, and the right balance of advertising approaches can help you reach them. To learn more, please don’t wait to reach out and contact or call us at (317) 805-4933 today.