10 Display Ads Examples & How to Create Them (+ Expert Tips)

Display ads are paid listings that appear on Google Display Network to help businesses gain more traffic. Learn from real-world examples, plus expert tips to drive more leads.

Businesses have several ways to make their brands stand out:

1. Use SEO to drive organic traffic from search engines, slowly
2. Pay for traditional advertising on television, radio, and billboards, expensively
3. Develop paid ad campaigns on search engines to drive qualified leads, quickly

If the third option sounds like your best bet, continue reading to learn from real-world display ads examples and our top tips on creating them.

What is display advertising?

Display advertising are PPC (pay-per-click) digital ads that use text, logos, animations, videos, photographs, or other graphics to promote a brand.

These first appeared in a banner ad on Wired.com in 1994,  evolving into a digital marketing tool businesses use to capture their audience’s attention.

Display advertising targets users with specific traits and demographics (why it’s important to know your target audience) to increase the ad’s effectiveness.

Brands often use display ads to promote products or services, attract attention, and increase brand awareness. Since 90% of the information we process is visual, display ads have a much higher chance of being noticed (and processed).

Benefits of display advertising

Here’s why display advertising should have a place in your digital marketing strategy:

• Boost brand awareness: Display advertising extends your brand’s reach by putting it in front of potential customers.
• Expand your reach: The Google Display Network’s reaches almost 275 million internet users worldwide. It’s like a digital billboard for your brand. This network spreads your message and maximizes visibility across diverse audiences.
• Effective targeting and segmentation: Effective targeting is what makes a campaign work. With HawkSEM, you benefit from both contextual and segmentation targeting strategies. You’ll tap into user interests, demographics, and online behavior to match your ads with those most likely to engage and convert. Even better, this will help improve your ROI, which is the magic word for stakeholder approval.
• Maximize returns with remarketing: Re-engage users already interested in your products or services. HawkSEM tailors remarketing campaigns to remind and incentivize prospects for higher click-through and conversion rates.
• Embrace creative diversity: Have freedom to use imagery, videos, or interactive content to create the perfect creative blend that speaks to your audience and brand message.
• Track and optimize: Monitoring online advertising campaign performance shows if your efforts are worth it.

HawkSEM’s proprietary tool, ConversionIQ (CIQ), identifies the highest-performing ads, most effective messaging, and how ads impact your bottom line. This ensures our optimization efforts drive clicks, impressions, and real results.

By implementing display ads strategy for our client, Opportume, we increased leads by 3,000% year-over-year. Learn how we did it here.

10 Examples of display ads

The best way to learn is by seeing. Here are some of the best display ads that grab users’ attention and drive results.

1. MailChimp display ad example

MailChimp, a top email marketing platform, keeps things simple with its color scheme and logo. The ad tells readers that it’s more than just an email platform; it also offers CRM solutions.

This ad works because the value proposition is clear and the CTA tells readers exactly what to do next. This ad can perform seamlessly across multiple devices, clearly adhering to the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle.

Pro tip: Make your call-to-action impossible to ignore by using contrasting colors so it pops from the ad’s background.

2. Ridge display ad example

Ridge knows the problem with traditional wallets and speaks directly to the biggest issue: size. The visual comparison shows the immediate result of using its wallet over another.

Pro tip: Use visuals to directly contrast the competition, demonstrating your product’s value proposition.

3. Chase display ad example

Chase’s compelling ad promises an immediate financial incentive (who doesn’t want that?) and promotes a bigger message of freedom and unlimited rewards. The green call-to-action button is an excellent psychological cue for ‘go,’ prompting users to learn more.

4. PayPal display ad example

PayPal uses this ad to show prospects that it’s more than just a payment gateway — it also allows users to accept payments from other platforms like Venmo.

A great strategy for bringing aboard people who already use a competitors’ payment portal.

Pro tip: Find ways to steal your competitors’ customers so that you can present your brand as a better alternative.

5. Samsung display ad example

Samsung is a technology innovator often associated with cell phones and basic computers. This ad appeals to creatives looking for flexibility to work anywhere. The high-quality hero image captures attention by focusing on the tablet and its pen, which artists will care about.

Pro tip: High-resolution images of the product can be more effective than text.

6. Pods display ad example

Nobody likes to move. And figuring out where to put your stuff in the midst of it all can be problematic. Pods recognizes this and paints itself as the obvious solution with this ad. It’s straightforward, relatable, and offers an answer to the problem.

Pro tip: Keep the message relatable and focus on how your service makes life easier.

7. Shopify display ad example

Shopify’s display ad is a great example of simplicity and brand recognition. The offer of a free trial is a powerful draw, especially for those on the fence or unfamiliar with its expanded features. And who doesn’t want everything they need in one platform?

Pro tip: Use free trials as a low-risk proposition to attract new users.

8. Progressive auto insurance display ad example

Progressive taps into the universal desire to save money with a straightforward offer to its readers. The ad invites users to take immediate action, with the potential of big savings (using numbers is effective).

Pro tip: Make the path to savings direct and apparent to convert viewers into leads.

9. Microsoft display ad example

Microsoft’s ad emphasizes the rewards of using its advertising platform, placing the focus on customer growth. The added green is a safe choice that’s welcoming and positive.

Pro tip: Use colors and imagery that align with the emotions or actions you want to evoke.

10. Disney Plus display ad example

Disney Plus has it all. But many aren’t aware of how much the platform offers. This ad showcases its variety without using words. The logos are easy to recognize despite geographic and language barriers. The images show recognizable characters for an immediate connection with a broad audience.

Pro tip: Showcase variety to appeal to a wider audience, using imagery that resonates across demographics.

How to create display ads

Follow these steps and incorporate the examples provided above to learn how to create display ads that drive results:

1. Define your audience
2. Partner with the right publishers
3. Identify and use highly targeted keywords
4. Find the perfect ad placement
5. Take advantage of remarketing
6. Choose the right platform

1. Define your audience

Understanding your audience is the foundation of any effective display ad campaign. You can use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools and analytics to dive deep into your audience, breaking them down by age, gender, location, interests, and online behavior. The more detailed you are, the better your ads will attract qualified leads.

For example, if you’re selling eco-friendly cleaning products, you may target individuals who visited sustainability and eco-conscious blogs or products.

2. Partner with the right publishers

Collaborate with publishers whose content aligns with your industry to get more eyes on your ads (from the people who want to see them). For example, placing an ad for financial planning software on a financial advice blog can result in higher-quality leads than on a general news site.

3. Identify and use highly targeted keywords

Choose keywords to align your product ad with the publisher’s content. Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to find the keywords your target audience uses to search for your products or services.

For example, a boutique hotel, may use keywords like “luxury stay,” “boutique accommodation,” and “unique hotels in [Location].”

4. Find the perfect ad placement

Ad placement needs strategic thought — it’s about more than just the website itself. Look into the specific pages and content your ads will display. You want your ad to complement the existing content and not disrupt the user experience.

For example, placing an ad for professional resume writing services on a career advice page would be more effective than on a homepage or entertainment section.

5. Take advantage of remarketing

Remarketing is a powerful way to reconnect with people who’ve interacted with your website or shown interest in your products. Customize these ads to reflect the user’s previous behavior on your site to increase their chances of converting into paid customers.

For example, a user who left a pair of shoes in their online shopping cart may see an ad for those shoes as they browse other websites, reminding them to complete the purchase.

“We’ve seen that the best-performing display ads are remarketing ads since the people you are showing these ads to have already visited your site and are familiar with your service/product,” shares Rambod Yadegar, President of HawkSEM. “Having said that, you want to make sure your display ad strategy is generating valuable conversions and is increasing the ROAS on your overall marketing campaigns.”

6. Choose the right platform

Where you place your ad is just as important as the content of the ad. Evaluate platforms like the Google Display Network for its extensive reach or Facebook Audience Network for its social targeting options.

For example, if your target audience heavily uses social media, Instagram and Facebook may be better than a broader network like Google Display Network.

Types of display ads

There are many types of display ads to choose from, including:

• Static ads: Have images and text that rely on a great design to attract clicks
• Animated ads: Use movement, often through GIFs or short video snippets
• Interactive ads: Invite users to click using quizzes, surveys, or mini-games
• Video ads: Tell a compelling story in a short time frame
• Hover ads: Have an element of surprise by hiding content until a user hovers over it

Other categories include:

• Traditional display ads: Have the typical image-plus-text format seen across the web
• Responsive ads: Change style and details based on the audience
• Retargeting/remarketing ads: Appear to users who previously interacted with your site
• Native ads: Blend in with the hosting site’s content to provide a non-intrusive or “native” experience
• Social display ads: Appear on social platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn, using different formats

What makes a great display ad?

Great display ads also typically feature:

• Your logo: To establish brand identity and recognition
• A visual representation: An attractive image or video of your product
• A value proposition: To compel users to click on your offering
• A call to action (CTA): A clear, standout button or text guiding the user’s next step

Balance these elements to highlight your value proposition and CTA. These factors will either draw in a potential customer or push them onto another brand. Poor design choices, unclear value, or a weak or confusing CTA will turn your ad into a wasted effort. Your goal is to stop the scroll, show your value, and get the reader to click using a CTA that’s hard to avoid.

If you decide to work with an ad agency, make sure they don’t rely on automation.

“We don’t use automated tools to create display ads,” explains Yadegar. “ Rather we implement a human touch to these campaigns — we understand the target audience, service/product offered, and customer pain points to create relevant and enticing ads that will get potential customers to click through to the site.”

We also tie in CIQ to track results of these campaigns to identify the top-performing ads and messaging to those ads AND track conversion data to understand which ads led to revenue.

Best practices and expert strategies for launching display ads

Follow these best practices and tips to ensure your display ads launch on the right foot:

• Clarify your creative vision: Attention is hard to gain. Your display ad must communicate its value proposition within seconds. Center your design around a straightforward message and a clear, compelling call-to-action (CTA). Use your logo to boost brand recognition, but avoid visual clutter by ensuring every element supports the core message.
• Optimize your ad sizes for maximum impact: Not all Google ad sizes perform equally. Larger ads can be more engaging but also more intrusive, while smaller ads may blend in too much. Use platform-specific insights to determine which ad sizes yield the best engagement and visibility for your target audience.
• Maximize reach with display networks: Leverage the full potential of major display networks like Google Display Network and YouTube to enhance your brand’s visibility. These platforms can help you reach a broad audience or reach a specific demographic.
• Refine your targeting technique: Make your targeting even stronger by using options like affinity groups, in-market segments, and demographics to ensure your display ads reach the right audience at the right time. This can increase the relevance of your ads and improve conversion rates.
• Leverage A/B testing: Use the power of A/B testing to fine-tune your ad campaigns. Compare different ad formats, designs, and messaging to identify which elements resonate most with your audience. Finding the best approach will lead to higher engagement and improved conversion rates.
• Craft impactful ad copy and SEO-driven taglines: The text on your display ad, from the headline and body copy to the call-to-action (CTA) button, is crucial for conversion. Write concise, compelling ad copy that speaks directly to your audience’s needs and desires. Your tagline should be memorable and SEO-friendly, incorporating keywords that align with your campaign goals to improve visibility. Ensure your CTA button is clearly visible, using action-oriented language that encourages users to take the next step.
• Re-engage with remarketing: Tailor your ads to past site visitors to increase familiarity and trust, not to mention ROI. Take advantage of Google RLSA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads) to tailor your campaigns to users who have previously interacted with your website, increasing the chances of re-engagement.
• Prioritize mobile-friendly designs: Cell phones aren’t going anywhere, so your ads need to be as mobile-friendly as possible to ensure they are successful. They should be easy to read, flow with the user experience, and be functional across all screen sizes.
• Maintain brand consistency: Create a streamlined brand narrative through consistent use of voice and visual elements in your ads. This will help readers recognize your brand and create a better connection.
• Create a cohesive landing page journey: Your landing page needs to mirror the design and messaging of your display ads. If someone clicks on an ad, they expect to see a similar experience on the next page. This includes font type, coloring, graphics, and overall messaging.
• Stay on top of your KPIs: Make it a habit to continuously monitor KPIs like impressions, CTR, and conversion rate to understand how your ads are performing. This gives you an inside view into how things are working and where you can make adjustments to drive the most impact.
• Diversify your media formats: Mix up your ad formats to include video and interactive elements. People get bored easily, so give them multiple ways to view your ads to keep things interesting for them. Try experimenting with different media types to see which best engages your target demographic.
• Allocate your budget wisely: Smart budget allocation is crucia to prevent overspending. Break down your budget across your campaigns and various platforms so that they can be adjusted based on the performance data you collect.
• Infuse creativity into your ads: Ads are everywhere. Which is why being creative is so important. A creative approach can make your ad memorable and effective whether it’s through humor, emotional storytelling, or compelling visuals.
• Optimize ad design and rich media: The visual appeal of your display ad can make a huge difference in performance, especially when it comes to ad banner blindness. Design your ad with a bright color palette that aligns with your brand identity and resonates with your audience. This will help make your ad eye-catching without being unrecognizable. Use rich media elements like animations, videos, or interactive features to engage viewers and encourage interaction.
• Work with a Google Ads consultant: Consult with a Google Ads consultant who can offer personalized expertise in leveraging Google’s numerous ad features. This will help you get the most out of your display ad efforts.
• Use all Google has to offer: Use Google callout extensions to highlight unique selling points directly within your ads. Implement Google ads automated rules to manage your campaigns efficiently and quickly respond to changes in performance. Generate Google ads custom reports to gain insights tailored to your specific objectives and make informed decisions based on data. Regularly check your Google ad settings to maintain control over targeting, budgets, and bidding strategies, ensuring they align with your campaign goals.

Learn more about Google display ads best practices.

KPIs for a successful display ad campaign

How do you know when your ad campaign is working or needs adjustment? Here are the metrics to watch for:

• Impressions: A high number of impressions without corresponding clicks or conversions may show a need to improve ad relevance or design.
• Reach: Monitor reach to ensure your ads are not repeatedly shown to the same uninterested users, which could lead to ad fatigue.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): A key metric for gauging how well your ad engages users. A low CTR can mean you need a more compelling ad creative or offer.
• Conversion Rate: This is crucial for measuring the effectiveness of your ad. What good is an ad that doesn’t convert? A low conversion rate may signal issues with the ad or the landing page.

The takeaway

Building a successful display ad campaign is a journey, not a sprint. At HawkSEM, we know that while the basic rules of good display advertising apply to everyone, the real magic happens when those rules are tailored to your unique needs.

It’s all about attention to detail, being open to trying new things, and using a strategy shaped by top-notch experience to get real results. This is where teaming up with an experienced agency like ours makes a big difference.

Ready for better outcomes and a stronger return on your investment? Reach out to HawkSEM for a free chat.