4+1 Tips for the Google Display Network (GDN)
What is Google Display Network?
Google’s Display Network (GDN), is an advertising channel that lets businesses show to potential customers using ad banners.
According to Google, the Display Network (GDN), is in contact with over 90% of internet users worldwide, in over 2 million pages. For those who are not aware of the difference between Google Search and Google Display Network, here is a small review. The Google Search Network (GSN), is targeted at users who are searching directly on the search engine or on the Google partner pages.
On the other ‘’hand’’, think of Google Display Network (GDN), as a more passive media ad. Most likely, you’ve seen plenty of display ads today, for example while you were reading your favourite blog, electronic magazine or newspaper. You may have also noticed some big and small boxes that promote some product or service, above and side by side of the articles you are reading. These are the display ads.
Tips for Google Display Network: 4+1 Basic Principles
Do you feel ready to take the next step in advertising your business? It’s time to make use of the GDN. Read some tips for Google Display Network below and… Prepare yourselves!
Tip #1: Start with Remarketing
It is commonly accepted, that remarketing is the starting point when it comes to using the Google Display Network. Remarketing is basically the advertising medium that allows a business to follow ex visitors of their website through cookies, by showing them ads of different kinds. Initially it sounds a little bit creepy, but think about this… these people have already shown some initial interest in your business (because they visited your page)!
Remarketing is used to keep in touch with your former visitors. Most likely the majority of those who read the article, have successfully became a victim of remarketing. A while ago, i was looking for cheap airline tickets in Italy and ’’even though i had quit the search’’, airfare ads in Southern Europe just didn’t give me a break. They appeared on several pages i visited during the week, until i finally decided to give it a shot. Had I not been part of this remarketing strategy, would I have booked the trip to Italy? Most likely yes, because it was something i really wanted, but the chances of booking my trip from this particular agency would surely be much lower. This is just an example of the power of remarketing, which can be applied to a wide variety of industries.
Tip #2: Take advantage of managed placements
Google offers you different targeting methods. The two main that are primarily used, are targeting your potential customers based on their interests (interest targeting) or based with the topics of the websites they visit (topic targeting). In both cases, based on the features you’ve chosen, Google determines which pages your ads will be shown based on their relevance.
The topic- based targeting method, allows the advertiser to tailor its ads to the Google Display Network on pages that contain and develop a specific topic. Topic targeting is similar to the managed placements listed below. It gives, however, much more freedom to advertise and display to a wider audience, which can, to a large extent, be set by the advertiser.
For example, you have an online shop that provides hair care products. Using topic- based targeting, you choose Beauty and Fitness and, more specifically, hair care. So, your GDN ads will be displayed on pages with the themes you have set. This method will provide you with effective advertising on topics that you want to focus on.
The second targeting method is through interests. In practice, with interest- based targeting, one chooses to display their ads to potential customers who shown interest in some topics. With this method, you can contact new potential buyers, who are more likely to proceed to ‘’a transaction’’ – ‘’interaction’’ with your ad.
Based on the example above, you choose to set up an advertising campaign for hair loss and hair loss products. A man searches for a hair loss shampoo in the search engine and enters a related page. Besides the content of the page, they will see your own advertising banners for your products. So, you gain the targeted visibility of your ads to people based their interests.
On the other hand, managed placements, is the only targeting method that allows the advertiser to totally control the display of his ads. With managed placements, you can choose exactly which pages your ads want to show, that’s why it’s the surefire solution when you choose to expand on the Google Display Network.
The safest and most conservative method is the following. You initially indicate 5-10 websites that seem to be highly relevant to the product or service you provide and you start to run ads on those sites. If your ad response is limited, then you try to spread it on other similar sites. What do you do, however, when you don’t know which pages are relevant? The most secure solution is to search for top referral sites from Google Analytics.
In any case, however, depending on the goals and the data, the way of the approach and by extension, the combination of the targeting options vares, in order to meet the specific, specialized needs of each campaign.
Tip #3: Take care of your campaigns in Google Display Network the same as the Search Network
Those who run successful campaigns on the Google Search Network may be aware that setting up and adjusting the account is crucial for continued success. One can’t just rest upon the initial results. It takes several hours week in and week out to reassess the account, research on search data and adjust budget to keywords, place new negative keywords, reshape the campaign, edit inefficient ads… Should we mention more? The same thing goes for campaigns in the Google Display Network.
Check where your display ads show, navigate to the ‘’Display Network’’ page in AdWords and make sure that the campaign that interests you in Google Display Network is selected. Then choose the ‘’placements’’ category. If you want to exclude a particular page, choose it and use the dropdown to convert it to ‘’excluded’’.
Correcting your settings is important because you don’t want to show your ads to the wrong buyer. Give 15-30 minutes a day to your advertising campaigns in the Google Display Network for adjustments, changes and notifications and you will understand the difference in the results.
Tip #4: Use a small amount of your budget to run an experiment campaign
Google Display Network is HUGE, which means your capabilities are unlimited. Google also continues to publish new features and targeting methods to get in touch with new people, so if you don’t try some of these new choices, you might lose plenty of potential customers.
A smart move is to set 10-20% of your budget purely for trial purposes through a pilot campaign, to be able to create your ideal campaign in the Google Display Network. But don’t forget, the Display Network is chaotic. No advertiser can control it all and apply all of its techniques. So find the piece that best suits your business and based on your data, prepare for your next big campaign. To do this you only need one thing… to experiment!
iTrust Gift Tip: When to use GDN and when GSN?
And now that you understand the Google Display Network’s operation and methods of action, you must be wondering … When should I use Google Display Network and when the Google Search Network?
These two Adwords tools, in addition to their different modes of operation, also have different targeting results, when implemented.
The Google Search Network is used to promote products / services more quickly and to make transactions. You are targeting consumers that are actively searching for a product or service.It’s the main point of contact with your client. It works like a mail letter, direct and addressing someone personally and targeted. Generally, GSN is used when your budget is limited and you want immediate results, with more traffic to your page.
On the other hand, Google Display Network has longer-term action. It is a more indirect way to inform your potential customers about the services and products you offer at times that they are not actively searching for them. Compared with GSN, the GDN works similarly to a billboard on the side of a motorway. Almost no one is going to stop and call your number at that given time, but he gets familiar with your business and brand.
Google Display Network is basically used to build and consolidate a strong presence and an easily recognizable brand on the web & develop a form of communication with potential, future customers.
Remember, however … The above stated tips for Google Display Network can be applied in different combinations as well as methods, depending on your needs.
