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Making the Google Display Network(GDN) work

by navi11
4 replies
  • PPC/SEM
    • |
Been using the Search function of Adwords for many years which works great.

However, when we have tried the Google Display Network it has just never worked.

Any tips on getting a good campaign going?

Should I have seperate campaigns for Managed Placements/Keyword Placements?
#display #google #making #networkgdn #work
  • Profile picture of the author ppcmanager
    You can do this at different ad group level as well. Expand to separate campaigns later on once you start seeing results.
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  • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
    Originally Posted by navi11 View Post

    Been using the Search function of Adwords for many years which works great.

    However, when we have tried the Google Display Network it has just never worked.

    Any tips on getting a good campaign going?

    Should I have seperate campaigns for Managed Placements/Keyword Placements?
    Run separate campaigns for any number or variety of display campaigns to target and manage budgets better.

    With the wide range of options available like contextual, managed placements, remarketing, in market, affinity, youtube and display select you really need to think about what ones will deliver the results you are chasing.

    Remarketing would be probably the one I would start with if you have already driven traffic via search and want to increase results.

    There is a lot of control over the bidding you can make when you combine various durations of audiences you have gathered.

    With images it is best to run lots of tests in the most popular size of 350 x 250px.

    The best results from these come from including some or all of the following: hand drawn elements, include a button, use the word "FREE", include people and places, Show the product, include prices and show the result.
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    • Profile picture of the author dburk
      Hi navi11,

      The Display network can work very well, you just need to understand that it is a completely different form of advertising from Search. Many people, that have done Search campaigns exclusively, have difficulty transitioning to GDN, mainly because they try to set it up similar to search and use the same strategies, tactics, and metrics that are used in Search.

      In the GDN you are not targeting keyword searches, keywords do not work the same way they do in Search campaigns. In Search we use keywords to precisely target user's search intent. In Display campaigns there is no search, therefore no search intent is available to target. Instead, in Display campaigns we target web pages using contextual targeting and managed placements, or audiences based on prior behavior or interests.

      In Search we typically limit the number of keywords in an ad group to a small number of keywords to achieve precise targeting. However, with Display we need a larger list of keywords to increase precision, that is because Display ads are not triggered by individual keywords, instead they are triggered by the context expressed by a group of keywords, more keywords will increase the precision of the contextual targeting. That fact, alone can trip up a lot of experienced Search marketers making their first attempt to use the Display network.

      Another powerful feature of the Display network is that you can combine 2, or more targeting methods to get very precisely targeted audiences. You can get so precise that your audience may be limited to a very small group of people of your choosing.

      We write ads for the Display network with a completely different goal in mind. In Search the goal is to write ads that match the intent of the search terms as closely as possible, however with the Display, there are no search terms to match. Instead, we write ads with a goal of diverting the user from their current activity. Display ads need more creativity than you find in the typical Search Network ad text. That is one reason that image ads often outperform text ads on the Display network.

      Depending on the goal of your campaign, and the strategy and tactics used, it is often possible to outperform the Search network using Display campaigns. For Branding and Awareness campaigns the Display network is often more cost effective than Search. For Direct Response campaigns Remarketing on the Display network can often outperform Search campaigns.

      The Good news is that you do not need to choose one over the other, you can use both networks simultaneously, and you can achieve the highest overall performance when you do so effectively.
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      * Get Results - Outsource Your PPC Management |
      *       Don Burk Advertising & Marketing - www.donburk.com

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  • Profile picture of the author GarrettThalamus
    Key thing is, you can't expect the Display network to perform or convert as well as search. People doing searches are generally lower in the funnel and are expressing 'intent' as to what they are looking for / what they want to buy. Buying on the display network (other than doing just retargeting) should be seen as a more mid-upper funnel tactic, and measured as such.

    Not to say it can't be performance-based, but you may have to consider a 'view-through' window of a few days to give the user a few days to see the ad (click, or not click), and then finally convert. If you are not doing affiliate stuff and have your own brand, then you may see a lift in branded search terms of just traffic in general as people search for your website after seeing the ad.
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