Google, glorious, Google! Whether your business is product or service based, and your audience broad or super-niche, the opportunities are endless.
We break down the difference between each ad type to help you determine the right placement for your business’s goals and strategy.
1. Search Ads
These are one of the most ‘tried and tested’ digital ad formats on the planet! Since 2000, Google Search Ads have been the go-to for advertisers wanting to get in front of people searching for solutions like theirs.
Search ads are text ads located at the top of Google’s search results with the label ‘Ad’ at the top of the listing. These text ads are based on the keywords you select that describe your product or service.
The example on the left is what a Search ad looks like when the search term is ‘Google Ads’.
When customers search for your product or service using a keyword, having an ad that corresponds to their search at the top of the results page increases the likelihood of them clicking on the ad to learn more and hopefully make a purchase. And you only pay if someone clicks on your ad.
It is a targeted and fast way of getting your website, brand, product or service in front of people actively searching for what you offer. So a great option for boosting exposure and conversion during short-term promotional or sale campaigns.
2. Display Ads
Want to target people who are interested in businesses like yours but may or may not be in the market for your offer (just yet)? Display ads allow you to target people based on their interests, online behaviours, and previous engagements with your brand.
Display ads are visually engaging on the Google Display Network, consisting of 35 million websites and apps and Google-owned properties such as YouTube and Gmail. It allows you to expand your reach beyond Google Search as people browse websites and apps.
You can use visually engaging images, headlines and call-to-actions to drive traffic or conversions. You can also run a brand awareness campaign to keep your brand, product or service at the forefront of your prospects’ minds.
There are two types of display campaigns: standard display (pick your campaign settings, targeting and bidding strategy) and smart display (automated ad creation, targeting and bidding). Depending on where they show on the network, the ad sizes will look different: square and rectangle, skyscraper, leaderboard or mobile banners.
According to WordStream data, the average cost-per-click (CPC) on the Google Display Network is $0.63. The average CPC on the search network is $2.69—more than four times greater. That’s because search network clicks are generally more valuable.
3. Video Ads
Video campaigns enable you to show ads in videos on YouTube and websites and apps running through Google video partners. You can target people based on topics, keywords, demographics etc., to get more website traffic, build awareness or get conversions.
There are 5 video ad formats that you can choose from for a campaign. Skippable in-stream ads play before, during or after videos that can be skipped after 5 seconds.
Non-skippable in-stream ads are 15 seconds or less and are designed to play the entire message.
Bumper ads are a short video ad format with a memorable message of just 6 seconds or less that cannot be skipped.
In-feed video ads only appear on YouTube and reach people where they are discovering content.
Outstream ads appear on websites and apps running on Google video partners and are available only on mobile and tablet.
4. Shopping Ads
Shopping ads appear on Google’s search results and shopping tab and are visually engaging listings that promote products for sale.
This is an excellent way for retailers to promote their online and/or shopfront product inventory to get people to buy online or sign up for more.
To set up a shopping campaign, you must have a Merchant Center account with Google, where you can upload your product inventory.
5. App Ads
App ads are a great advertising option for businesses that need to promote their app online to find new app users and increase sales within the app.
App campaigns enable you to use information from your app to automatically optimise ads across Search, Play, YouTube, Discover and over 3 million sites and apps.
You can focus your ads on getting people to download your app, get existing users to take action in it, or promote pre-registration for apps before they are released on Google Play.
6. Performance Max Ad Campaign
Suppose your advertising objective is to drive sales, leads, local shop visits, and promotions. In that case, Google recommends their new goal-based campaign type, Performance Max, to advertise your product or service across the Google Network by creating one easy-to-manage campaign.
Performance Max campaign is designed to be easy to launch – you just have to enter your business information and create a few ads. Google will automate your ads and targeting to drive the best performance possible. Automation will also optimise your budget and bids across channels to help capture new conversion opportunities. And you can get more in-depth insights on your campaign’s results and how to improve it.
Want to set up one of the Google Ad Campaigns, but dont know where to start?
As certified Google Ads and Meta Business specialists, we have a proven track record in helping business grow their sales and lower their cost of acquisition.
Whether your objective is generating leads, increasing sales, building brand awareness, or building trust and connection with your audience, we can work collaboratively with your team to develop a marketing strategy and an ad campaign to meet those objectives and your bottom line.
To learn more and enquire visit https://victorandflo.com/services/digital-advertising/