The Google Display Network

Haven’t you ever dreamt of being able to instantaneously show your creative advertisements to millions of potential customers from the comfort of your own office?

There are several methods available to the online marketer to target internet users. With Google, the first method is to directly target users when they carry out a web search. This method also concerns Google’s search partners, a series or search engines that use Google search within their own interface such as skynet.be, ask.com or aol.fr.

Google also lets you target your ads to specific categories of online content, or to specific audiences. This content and these categories are accessible through the Google Display Network (GDN). The GDN comprises Google owned websites (such as Gmail, Youtube, …) as well as millions of partner websites on which it is possible to advertize. These websites are for the most part independent from Google, but their owners allow advertisements to appear on their web pages. This is how the GDN reaches more than 70% of unique internet users around more than 100 countries and in over 20 different languages. Note that the search partners and the GDN’s partner websites are two different things.

How is the Google Display Network organized?

The millions of partner websites are filed into specific categories so that your ads can appear next to the most appropriate content possible. Users are also categorized, based on their interests and browsing history. It is therefore also possible to accurately target users interested in a particular topic, regardless of the content they are viewing.

Advantages of using the Google Display Network

Advertising with Google is not only a great direct marketing solution (online sales, registrations, sign-ups, or simple visits) it is also an excellent branding solution.

A variety of ad formats can be used on the GDN. Text-ads, images, videos, and several kinds of dynamic content can be used complementarily to each other. This has the advantage to be engaging with the user, for branding purposes for example.

The GDN allows the advertiser a great amount of control. Countries, regions, languages, interest categories, websites and web pages can all be precisely targeted. Advertizing costs can also easily be managed.

The GDN is complementary to search marketing in that it reaches the potential customer at different stages of their buying process.

Illustration of the Google Display Network’s value

Let’s imagine how a user can come to purchase his car insurance on Joe’s Insurances’ website. On Google search, the user could simply Google “car insurance”, click on Joe’s ad and convert. On the Google Display Network, the user might come to purchase Joe’s insurance in several different ways. Here are four examples:

1. The user looks at used cars classifieds websites and sees Joe’s ad next to a photo the used DeLorean that he plans to buy. (Topics and/or Contextual Targeting).

2. The user regularly views specialized automobile websites. Several weeks later, he sees Joe’s ad while browsing a completely different website. (Interest Targeting).

3. The user visited the Joe’s Insurances website previously but didn’t buy anything. A few days later, he sees Joe’s ad while browsing the Internet and remembers that he has yet to buy a car insurance for his recently purchased DeLorean. (Remarketing).

4. The user visits a popular used cars website where Joe’s ad is strategically placed. (Placement Targeting).