Do you know those ads you see all over the internet? Some are banners, some are text-based or use video clips. These ads are called "display ads", which is what we'll talk about now, and explore what they are, how they work, and how they can help you attract more customers.
What are display ads?
Simply put, think of display ads as the digital version of billboards, or the print and TV ads you see offline. In real life, businesses pay money to whoever owns the ad 'space'; Hoping that the right categories of people will see their ads, and then convert them into customers.
In the digital world of display ads, the advertising space is not on banners or TV channels, but on the websites we visit; Display ads give businesses the opportunity to bid for their ads to appear when the right type of people visit the right kind of Pages, and there are plenty of ways to do that.
How display ads work
For example, you can make deals directly with the owners of a website, or you can use networks that connect businesses to many different websites that have advertising space for sale.
You may choose to display your ads on specific pages on the Internet, in front of specific groups of people, or both.
Let's imagine that you are passionate about movies and you have created a podcast on which you review movies, and now you want to market to them.
You first have to think about who might be interested in a movie-critic podcast, and what they might also watch on the Internet, such as movie websites, official movie websites or movie forums.
Where your customers are is where you have to be.
How display ads can help you attract more customers
Of course, your customers will not spend all day looking at websites about cinema, and this is where display ads come in; You show your ads to them while they browse other things.
So you can target people with specific interests, such as cinema, while they check the weather, read the news, visit blogs and browse all kinds of other websites that they might want to visit, even if those sites are not in the cinema industry.
This means that display ads give businesses the ability to reach relevant audiences all over the Internet.
This is actually quite amazing, which is one of the reasons why display ads are a great way to raise awareness of you and your business.
For example, if you just finished an podcast to criticize a movie, you'll need to let people know about your new product.
With display ads, you can be noticed by the exact people you want to reach.
But display ads aren't just about getting your name out there, they're also a great way to drive traffic to your site, build engagement with your visitors, and win new customers. How's that?
You may choose to show your ads to people who have visited your site but haven't subscribed to your podcast yet, and when they're browsing the news, checking the weather, or watching videos, your display ads can remind them to sign up, with special triggers or promotions tailored to them.
This is known as retargeting, and we'll cover it in detail later.
Summary
We now know that display ads allow you to be present wherever your customers are, and support many marketing goals.
Later, we'll explore how it differs from search advertising, how the different elements of a display ad campaign work, and then move on to ways to find your ideal audience using different targeting options.
Finally, we will learn a little bit about using retargeting to reach people who have interacted with you.
So we hope you're ready, it's time to explore the exciting world of display ads.