Display Ads Best Practices: 13 Ways to Boost Performance

The top-performing display ads  have a clear value proposition, use high-quality visuals that stand out, and include a strong call-to-action. Here are the best practices for display ads to help you get the highest ROI.

Want to reach potential customers across 35 million websites and apps?

Google Display ads help you do just that by showing your visual banner ads to relevant users on other websites, mobile apps, social media, and other platforms across the Google Display Network.

But like any type of advertising, it’s important to understand best practices for display ads to get the best results.

We’ll cover all the basics and dive into display ad best practices with expert insights from our very own Rachel Corak, associate director of SEM at HawkSEM.

13 best practices for display ads to boost performance

From our first-hand experience, here are 13 best practices for display ads to boost performance:

1. Choose the right audience and contextual targeting
2. Create ad visuals that stand out
3. Make the value proposition clear in ad copy
4. Use a strong, clear CTA
5. Explore rich media formats
6. Create a sense of urgency
7. Optimize landing pages
8. Ensure ads are mobile-friendly
9. Take advantage of remarketing
10. Focus on brand authenticity
11. A/B test your banner ads
12. Explore mobile gaming display advertising
13. Understand display ad sizing

1. Choose the right audience and contextual targeting

“One of the biggest mistakes I see people make with their display ad strategy is audience targeting… or lack thereof,” Corak says.

With the Google Display Network, you can target specific audiences or reach users based on the content and context of the webpages they’re visiting.

The goal is to get your ads in front of people most likely to be interested in your brand and offer.

Common audience targeting options include:

• Remarketing: Show ads to people who previously visited your brand’s site or interacted with your business.
• Affinity audiences: Target people based on their interests, even when they visit a page about something else.
• In-market audiences: Target people actively researching or considering buying products or services like yours.
• Demographic targeting: Reach people based on demographics like age, gender, household income, or parental status.
• Customer Match: Upload your customer data to show ads to existing contacts across Google platforms.

Contextual targeting is another targeting option. Instead of targeting users directly, this method places ads on webpages with content related to your chosen keywords or topics.

To do this, Google analyzes the webpages in the Display Network and identifies a central theme for each website. When your keyword or topic matches the central theme, your ad may show up on that page.

Pro tip: Align your messaging with your display ad targeting. Create tailored messaging for separate campaigns, ad groups, and target users.

2. Create ad visuals that stand out

Eye-catching, high-quality images that convey a strong message can help elicit an emotional response from your ideal audience.

“Display ads are visual, so you want to think in terms of creative that will stand out and capture the audience’s attention,” says Corak.

Make sure the image is relevant to your offer and helps to clearly communicate what your business is about. Here’s a great example from Agape Animal Rescue:

The ad uses a touching image paired with a powerful call to action to appeal to the reader’s emotions.

Pro tip: Use A/B testing to see what elements your audience responds to most, whether it be a white background over a black one or the font you use for your text overlay. You can even test different images to see which resonates most.

3. Make the value proposition clear in ad copy

Your value proposition explains how your product or service will improve your target audience’s life. This clear, concise statement makes people more likely to click on your ad and convert.

Here’s a great example from Oracle. The ad’s value proposition is to “Unlock the Daily Checklist of Top CFOs,” which is exactly what they get when they download the guide.

(Image: Screenshot)

4. Use a strong, clear CTA

The call-to-action (CTA) is the desired action you want your audience to take — such as making a purchase, getting a free trial, or downloading a lead magnet. Using a strong CTA makes it clear what will happen after someone clicks the ad.

“It’s best to incorporate text overlays with strong CTAs,” says Corak. “Because display ads are notoriously low converting, try to mitigate this by being very clear within the CTA.”

Use specific action words like “buy now,” “download,” or “sign up.” And make sure the CTA button stands out from the rest of the ad so it attracts attention. You can do this by using contrasting colors, adding an icon, or using a different font.

5. Explore rich media formats

Unlike traditional static display ads, rich media features an element of interaction. This could be in the form of audio, video, Flash, or the ability to expand when a mouse cursor hovers over the ad.

Rich media formats can better capture the attention of your audience and keep them engaged.

When designing media for your display ads, make sure it provides sufficient information (such as captions or copy overlaid on the visual) without sound needed.

This is critical because 75% of people say they often keep their phone on mute — even while watching a video.

6. Create a sense of urgency

Time-sensitive and scarcity-driven ad copy urges users to take immediate action through the fear of missing out (FOMO).

Often, we create urgency in our marketing with limited-time offers, limited quantities, and impending price increases. But the urgency should be real (i.e. not made up just to improve conversion rates).

“An effective method in display is to use retargeting audiences for ecommerce brands and activate ads during sales periods,” says Corak.

“You can create a sense of urgency in these types of ads by including verbiage detailing the dates, using urgency copy like ‘limited time’ or even planning for different imagery depending on the day.”

“For example, the final day of a sale would benefit from custom ad creative that messages ‘Last Day,’ ‘Last Chance,’ ‘Final Hours’ etc.”

7. Optimize landing pages

When a user clicks on your ad, the landing page should fulfill the promise made in the copy and be properly optimized.

This includes:

• An enticing call to action (CTA)
• A design that’s consistent with the ad
• Quick page load speed
• An easy-to-complete form
• A mobile-friendly experience

“Make sure the landing page experience post-click is CRO optimized. Visually, you want the display ad and the landing page to have a lot of synergy to minimize confusion post-click,” says Corak.

8. Ensure ads are mobile-friendly

Making your ads mobile-friendly will enable you to reach a wider online audience. In fact, Statista reports that an average of over 60% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices.

Designing your banner ads with smaller screens in mind will provide a great user experience for people who access the internet through hand-held devices.

To do this, use:

• Responsive display ads
• Concise ad copy
• Large fonts
• Powerful, high-quality images

9. Take advantage of remarketing

Remarketing is the method of targeting users who previously interacted with your brand online.

By displaying visual display ads to people who have already shown an interest in your business, you can stay top-of-mind (and remind them to finish what they started).

You can create remarketing lists based on specific behaviors, such as:

• Visiting a product or service page
• Adding items to a cart
• Viewing certain pages (like pricing or contact pages)
• Spending a certain amount of time on your site

10. Focus on brand authenticity

To make your ads feel seamless and professional, it’s important to prioritize brand consistency. Ads that mirror the look and feel of your website and landing pages will make it easy for users to connect them with your company.

When both your brand and products are easily recognizable every time a user encounters your ads, you can create trust, promote brand recognition, and foster loyalty.

11. A/B test your banner ads

A/B testing different ad formats will help you identify, optimize, and serve the most effective ads to your target audience.

You can A/B test things like CTAs, images, and ad copy — just make sure to test only one element per A/B test.

Be sure to set up proper tracking at the beginning of your display advertising campaigns and have established KPIs to measure against. Use metrics like impressions, reach, click-through rate (CTR), and conversion rate.

You can then use the data you collect to regularly optimize your targeting and ads to improve overall performance.

Pro tip: Experts suggest spending about an hour a week analyzing ad performance. Don’t have the time? Partnering with an agency might be your best bet.

12. Explore mobile gaming display advertising

Display ads can be placed within mobile games in formats like banners, interstitial ads, and rewarded ads.

They can appear during natural breaks in gameplay, like between levels or when users opt to watch an ad in exchange for in-game rewards.

The formats of in-game ads are similar to regular online advertisements. They include static ads, video ads, image ads, and audio ads.

These ads can be especially effective to build brand awareness because players often spend extended periods within apps.

However, ads that interrupt games too frequently or feel irrelevant to the user can lead to frustration and lower engagement. So ensure the experience feels natural rather than disruptive.

13. Understand display ad sizing

Whether you’re leveraging RSAs or static image ads, knowing how each renders will streamline the campaign creation and launch process.

As Google explains, image ads appear just as you upload them. That means they won’t modify or adapt to different ad slots.

RSAs, on the other hand, will automatically adjust to fit in the ad space where they’re featured. Since these ads are more controlled by Google’s machine learning features, the Display Network adapts these ad assets for the best possible performance.

What are Google display ads?

Display ads are visual ads that appear across websites, apps, and social media platforms within the Google Display Network.

Also known as banner ads, display ads typically feature a photo or designed graphic along with ad copy. The ad encourages users to take an action like make a purchase, visit a landing page, or fill out a lead form.

Display ads vs. search ads

Display ads are visual ads that use interest-based targeting to reach users while they browse other sites, social media, or apps. The ads show up based on topics that interest the user.

Search ads are primarily text-based ads that appear on search engine results pages (SERPs) and target users based on their search queries. These ads show up based on terms the user types into the search engine, and they appear at the top of the search engine results page.

Here’s an example of a display ad from Mailchimp at the top of a Time article.

And here’s an example of a Mailchimp search ad that appears at the top of the Google SERP when you search for “email marketing software.”

These differences mean that display ads and search ads are generally used for two different purposes. Display ads nurture long-term brand recognition, and search ads are used for immediate conversions.

Benefits of display advertising

The visual nature of display ads helps capture attention in ways text-only ads often can’t. By placing your brand in front of a wide network of websites and apps, display ads can significantly increase brand awareness.

Display ads also help you reach a targeted audience. Advertisers can target users based on demographics, location, interests, and behaviors, helping ensure ads appear in front of the people most likely to be interested in the product or service.

This more precise targeting can lead to more efficient ad spend.

Display advertising also has a lower cost per impression than other types of ads. You get to choose your budget and pricing model, giving you control over your ad spend.

Common types of display ads

Here are the different display ad formats for Google Ads:

• Banner ads: Ads that appear in a specific location on the website, mobile app, or social media platform. They can be static or animated banners (image formats like GIF or HTML5 that involve motion or transitions).
• Interstitial ads: These pop up to cover the entire page or app screen. Users need to interact with the ad to proceed further by closing the ad or clicking the CTA. Ad types include text, images, videos, and rich media. (Google restricts certain interstitial ads on mobile pages because they interfere with satisfactory user experience.)
• Lightbox ads: These ads appear small at first but expand on the screen once the visitor engages with them. They’re great for improving user experience without the frustration of aggressive ads.
• 360–degree video ads: Ads that provide an immersive experience by responding to mobile phones’ gyroscopes. A user can interact with the ad by rotating the phone or moving.
• Text ads: Text-based display ads that appear across websites, apps, and social media.

The takeaway

With the many opportunities display advertising offers, it’s worth trying different techniques for your marketing strategies to see which ones perform best. You may be surprised by the ROI you can achieve.

Need support with your display ad campaigns? HawkSEM is a top digital marketing agency that specializes in building effective display ads for our clients.

Book a free consultation with us to improve your visibility and performance today.

This article has been updated and was originally published in July 2020.