12 Google Display Ads Best Practices & Strategies

Check out our video and article below to discover the top Google Display Ads strategies. There is a ton to learn when it comes to the Google Display Network and Google Display Advertising, so our goal is to give you some of the best tips when you are setting up campaigns. You can create successful and profitable Google Display campaigns by utilizing some of our strategies below.

You can watch the video below, or watch it directly on YouTube. In addition, check out our free Google Display Ads tutorial on our website.

12 Google Display Ads Best Practices Video

You can start by viewing our video below and then read the corresponding article below. We spend a lot of time using Google AdWords, so we listed 12 of our favorite display ads strategies you can use for your campaigns.
 


12 Google Display Advertising Strategies

We listed some of the top Google Display Network strategies and best practices for your campaigns.


free google ads training

  1. Conversion Tracking and a Smart Bidding Strategy – Incorporate Value
  2. You need to utilize conversion tracking along with a smart bidding strategy that optimizes for conversions. If you can optimize for conversion value, then you can improve your ROAS.

    If you click on ‘Tools & settings’ in your Google Ads account, you can click on the Conversions link to create a new conversion action. You can also see your existing conversions and their conversion value.

    conversion actions google ads

  3. Target Your Data (Remarketing) segments to improve your ROAS
  4. You will see the best results with Google Display Ads when you utilize Remarketing. Google Ads has updated the name of Remarketing Audiences to Your Data Segments. If you target your website visitors, app users, YouTube viewers, and customer lists, you will see the best results with Google Display Ads. You can watch my Google Display Ads Remarketing tutorial below.

    your data segments google ads


  5. Target Similar segments, Custom segments, and In-Market segments
  6. The three segments I target the most beyond my Remarketing audiences are Similar Segments, Custom Segments, and In-Market Segments. They are all very relevant audience segments that are likely to be in the market for the products or services you are selling.

    As an added bonus, if you create buyer segments using Your Data, then you can have a Similar segment that matches your actual customers.

    audience segments google ads


  7. Incorporate Demographics Targeting
  8. If your ideal customer is a 30-year-old parent, then you can make sure you target them with your demographics. If your ideal customer is over 50 with a high net worth, you can target them as well with your ads. You can layer demographics targeting with your audience segments.

    optimized targeting google ads


  9. Optimized Targeting
  10. One of the newer features available through Google Ads is Optimized Targeting. If you opt-in to Optimized Targeting, then Google Ads will use your audience targeting, your landing page, your ads, and your assets to find more people who are likely to convert. Since our audience segments can’t target every single person who will convert, you can use the Optimized Targeting feature to reach more converters.

    optimized targeting google ads


  11. Dynamic Remarketing
  12. If you incorporate a product feed, you can actually target people who have visited specific product or service pages on your website. For example, if I look at 3 pairs of running shoes on your website, you can serve me a Dynamic Remarketing ad with those 3 pairs of running shoes. You can use the Google Display Network to retarget to people with the actual products they were researching.

  13. A/B Test your Responsive Display Ads (Headlines, Images, Videos)
  14. If you create 1 Responsive Display Ad, you can duplicate it and use different images for your 2nd Responsive Display Ad. Since Google Ads serves your top-performing advertisements, you can continue to run tests every two weeks. Some of the things you can test include images, videos, headlines, description lines, and even your offer.

    test responsive display ads google ads


  15. A/B Test your Landing Pages
  16. Let’s say you created 2 Responsive Display Ads like the example above. You can duplicate those advertisements as well and then update the Final URL for your 3rd and 4th Responsive Display Ad. Then, you can test your advertisements and allow Google Ads to serve your top-performing ads. If you only run 1 landing page, then it can be difficult to know if it is dragging down your campaign without testing another landing page.

  17. Improve Your Offer & Highlight Your USP
  18. If you aren’t driving conversions, your offer and your Unique Selling Proposition likely need to be improved. Are you offering a limited time offer? Are your products better than your competitors? Are your prices competitive? If you are simply running brand awareness or product awareness ads, they may not convert through the Google Display Network. Either offer an incentive or give people a reason to buy from you today.

  19. Narrow targeting to relevant content using Topics or Keywords
  20. You can layer your audience segments with demographic targeting. In addition, you can limit your targeting to specific topics, to specific types of websites using Display keywords, or to specific websites, YouTube channels, and Apps using Placement targeting. If you can reach people in a targeted audience while they are browsing relevant content, it can improve your conversion rates.

  21. Remove Non-Converting Audience Segments & Placements
  22. Your ads are going to show to specific segments on specific placements. You can look at your results to see if there are segments that are not converting as well for your campaign. In addition, you can see where your ads appeared and remove placements that aren’t converting. If your audience targeting or content targeting is not driving results, then exclude them from your campaign altogether.

  23. Optimize Ad Rotation and Set Frequency Management
  24. You can rotate your ads evenly if you are testing new Responsive Display Ads or uploaded Display Ads. Once you get enough data, you can set your ad rotation to show the top-performing ads. In addition, you can set frequency capping, so the same people aren’t seeing your ads all day. Sometimes, I will set my frequency management at 5 impressions per user per day to avoid ads following the same users around all day.


In Summary

If you are trying to drive conversions with Google Display Advertising, these are some of the best practices to follow with your campaigns. You can incorporate different Google Display Ads strategies and tips to find your ideal audience segments, create high-quality responsive display ads, and drive sales and leads for your business.