Articles in The 'google-display-network' Tag

Avoid These 3 Common Mistakes to Unlock the Power of the Google Display Network

by Max Braglia

The Google Display Network (GDN), which reaches more than 80% of unique Internet users around the world, including 92% of all Internet users in the U.S, has quickly become the world’s #1 advertising network.

Once known as the “poor cousin” of paid search and looked down upon as “secondary” by online advertisers, the Google Display Network has now reached maturity as a powerful way for businesses of all sizes to generate awareness for their brands, connect with their audiences, and ultimately increase their ROI.

Unfortunately, notwithstanding the massive inventory available, most advertisers fail with display marketing. Most of the time, online advertisers simply don’t know how to leverage the power of all the targeting options that the Google Display Network offers.

Here are three of the most common mistakes that inexperienced advertisers make when running a Google Display Network campaign. Just by avoiding these three common mistakes, you’re almost certain to turn around an under-performing display campaign.

Mistake #1: Not Separating Search and Display Campaigns

Here it is, the capital sin of display advertising. Unfortunately, I see this often when auditing AdWords accounts, and it always makes me cringe. Remember, on the Google Display Network you are targeting people who are not actively searching for your products or services, and therefore your strategy must be completely different than the one you would use for Search, where users are actively searching for products, services, or information.

Mistake #2: Not Using All of the Targeting Methods Available

Google offers a lot of targeting options for display, and the task of targeting the right websites for your audience can be intimidating and extremely time consuming, to say the least. Don’t make this your excuse. Understand and test all of the targeting methods available, including keywords, placements, topics, interests, and remarketing. Then take it to the next level with “flexible reach”, where the real magic of display targeting comes into play. (Don’t know what “flexible reach” is? Give us a call today.)

Mistake #3: Not Using a Variety of Banner Sizes

In order to get as much exposure as possible, it’s important to make sure that you have a large variety of banner sizes and types being used in your Google Display Network campaigns. Some online advertisers skimp on creative and end up creating just one or two banner types thus severely limiting their online exposure. Google accepts many banner sizes, so make sure to create a few ads for each size available. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to include a text ad to your display campaign.

In conclusion, the Google Display Network is a great opportunity to get your ads in front of prospects so that they can learn about your business as they consider their options. By avoiding the 3 common mistakes I have outlined above, you’ll be one step closer to unlocking the power of the Google Display Network.

To learn more about how the Google Display Network can help your business to increase brand awareness and earn a higher ROI on marketing dollars spent, contact one of the qualified Marketing Professionals at MoreVisibility.

Reach Your Ideal Customer with Google Adwords Affinity Segments

by Max Braglia

One of the biggest challenges that brand advertisers face online is to be able to reach the audience that matters most to their brand. To help advertisers simplify and consolidate the task of engaging with their target audience, Google has recently announced the launch of Affinity Segments in AdWords and YouTube.

Structured with TV-style audiences in mind, Affinity Segments are new ways to bid on Interest Categories in the Display Network. Composed of 80 unique lifestyle segments based on interest categories and demographics, Affinity Segments makes it easier for Brands to reach their target audience at scale, based on their interests.

In order to understand someone’s affinity, Google’s system takes into consideration a variety of factors, like the types of pages a user visits, the frequency of the visits, and the time spent on such pages.

To use Affinity Segments, you would simply add interest categories to your ad group, in order to reach people interested in products or services that are similar to the ones that your business is currently offering, even when those people are not browsing websites directly related to such products.

In conclusion, you can effectively use Affinity Segments to expand your online reach and focus on engaging with the audience that matters the most to your business. – To learn more about this exciting new Google feature, and how you can earn a higher ROI on your online marketing efforts, contact one of the qualified Marketing Strategists at MoreVisibility.

Find Targeted Audience Lists by Targeting Similar Users in AdWords

by Anne Garcia

A new targeting option is available to advertisers that engage in Remarketing which allows advertisers to reach qualified new customers who are ‘similar’ to their website visitors and customers, even if they have never been to the website before.  This new feature is called Similar Users and is a targeting option available on the Google Display Network (GDN) through Google AdWords.

The advertising platform uses the current audience remarketing lists within your account to identify other users who have similar browsing activity on the GDN and automatically finds a larger or smaller audience based on similar traits or your remarketing lists. The more diverse your remarketing audience lists are, the broader and deeper the opportunity will be.

To implement Similar Users, create a new campaign targeting the Display Network and in the new Display Network tab, select Interests and Remarketing. Next, click Change Display Targeting and select Remarketing Lists. Click the box next to “Show Similar Audiences” and from there you will be able to select various Similar Users lists based on your current Remarketing lists.

Google says that the cost per acquisition (CPA) for Similar Users tends to be range between the CPA of your Remarketing and contextual keyword campaigns.