Display marketing involves the use of display ads, with the aim of reaching potential consumers on the internet who may one day be interested in buying certain products and using services offered by companies.
Display ads themselves are pretty simple. There isn’t much that needs to go into them. After all, they aren’t meant to be large and overtly obtrusive, otherwise every internet user would install ad blocker. These ads are the slender displays that lurk on the sidelines of webpages in skyscraper-like shapes, banners snuck between text, or squares in corners.
Unlike native ads, which mimic regular content on websites or social media platforms, display ads are unmistakeably ads upon first glance; however, standard practice dictates that display ads should not ruin the user experience of people browsing sites. As a rule, they can’t take up more than three-quarters of the screen and they can’t function like pop-ups. They’re only ever allowed to fill empty available spaces on webpages—and there often isn’t much of this, so everything in display ads has to count. Generally, there should only be three components in a typical display ad: brief text/copy in a crisp, easy-to-read font; high-quality imagery, video, or GIF combined with a company logo; and a call to action button that contains a link to one of the company’s webpages where they can complete a purchase or learn more about the company’s offerings.
These are the basic elements of display ads, and every display ad will contain these elements, but their raison d’être will be different depending on the profile of the consumer or the nature of the website.
These are the reasons display ads may be in front of any particular consumer:
- Remarketing
Some display ads are attempts to bring a consumer who was already interested in a product or service, as evidenced by time spent on the company’s webpages, back into the fold. These display ads are reminders of the company, so interested consumers won’t forget about them.
- Personalized Ads
Personalized ads relate to the demographic description and interests internet users have previously given up online. Personalized ads target potential customers by sending them ads that might appeal to them based on qualities like age, gender, race or based on what they’ve searched for across the web.
- Site Placement Ads
Site-placed ads are ones the advertiser or marketer has personally selected to be displayed on relevant websites of their choosing.
- Contextual Ads
Contextual ads are placed on webpages where the context of the page is directly related to the context of the advertisement. For example, an ad for lipstick on a beauty advice blog. Since people reading beauty blogs are most likely to be interested in lipsticks, advertising lipstick in this case would be appropriate.
The Advantages of Display Marketing
Now that we’ve covered the basics of display ads and display marketing, what are the benefits of using this advertising technique? Here are the reasons why a business owner might consider attracting new buyers and clients with display ads.
- Always Around
Though display ads aren’t entitled to take up much space, they aren’t easy to miss either. Being perfectly optimized for webpages, display ads will fit right in the middle of web content or beside the content, or they will be the first thing consumers see when opening a webpage. It doesn’t help that they’re often boldly coloured and flashy with calls to action like discount offers. The downside, however, is they may be perceived as annoying if advertisers take things too far, which prompts users to install ad blockers on their browsers.
- Easy-Peasy Creation
Since only three elements are necessary to end up with a standard final display ad, they can be whipped up within mere hours. A display ad can be as simple as a catchy sentence and a logo on a bright background colour accompanied by a button linking to the company’s website.
- Long-Term Value
Display ads may be a surefire way to put the idea of a product or service into internet users’ heads, but unfortunately the data tells us that display ads don’t generate a lot of instant conversions, like sales and sign-ups. If the users aren’t specifically seeking out a company’s products or services, they’re not likely to click on display ads. However, display ads are an efficient way to gradually introduce consumers to goods and services as well as continuously remind them of companies or products over a continued period of time.
Luke Miles | Contributing Writer
