What is GDN? Steps to set up a Google Display Network campaign

I. What is GDN?

GDN stands for Google Display Network, which is a vast network of websites on the internet. GDN is a partner of Google that allows businesses to advertise their products or services via visual ads on Google’s Display Network, reaching over 90% of internet users.

Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) consists of two different advertising systems: Search Ads and Display Ads.

• Google Search Network is the most common type of paid online advertising. It places ads in prominent positions on Google, helping users easily spot your brand when they search for keywords. Your business’s ad will appear below organic search results, with a call-to-action (CTA) alongside regular organic results. Search Ads target users already interested in your products or services when they see the ad.

• Google Display Network (GDN), on the other hand, is a more passive advertising form. Ads are placed on selected websites where users can see them while shopping, browsing, or reading news. These ads are typically image-based, such as banners, media, and attention-grabbing text.

II. GDN Ad Placements

Google Display Network ads can appear on over 2 million websites, providing businesses with the opportunity to reach over 90% of internet users. Ads can appear on various websites, mobile apps, and videos. The ad placement will depend on how the marketer sets the campaign targeting:

• Searching for relevant keywords and topics.

• Choosing specific websites or pages.

• Targeting customers based on interests, demographics, and the history of websites they’ve visited.

Note: Depending on targeting settings, businesses can choose ad placements that are related or unrelated to the ad’s content.

III. Types of GDN Ads

1. Text Ads: The simplest form of ads, consisting of a headline, a destination URL, and two lines of content.

2. Image Ads: These are colorful banner ads that many businesses use for visual impact.

3. Multimedia Ads: Includes interactive elements, animations, or other components that change depending on user interaction.

4. Video Ads: GDN also includes video ads, such as Google’s Outstream video ads.

See more products: Buy advertising accounts

IV. How Does GDN Work?

1. Contextual Ads
   This technique is based on the keywords or topics selected by the business. It increases the chances of ads being displayed on websites, apps, and pages with relevant content. Google analyzes the core subject matter of the hosting website based on factors such as content, language, and structure. If the website’s topic matches the business’s keywords or ad topics, Google will place the ad there.

2. Placement Targeting
   With Placement Targeting, businesses can choose specific websites, videos, and apps within the Google Display Network to display their ads, rather than allowing Google to automatically select websites based on keywords or topics.

3. Remarketing
   Remarketing, also known as retargeting, involves displaying ads to users who have previously visited the website, encouraging them to revisit and consider products or services. Remarketing Ads target users who have interacted with your ads, website, or app, showing ads to these users frequently.

V. Advantages and Disadvantages of GDN

1. Advantages:

• Helps you reach the right audience.

• Wide reach.

• Lower cost per potential customer.

• Showcase product images in ads.

2. Disadvantages:

Despite its advantages, businesses should be aware of a few drawbacks when considering Google Display Network:

• Lack of control over ad placement: While Google strives to place ads on relevant websites, it is not always accurate. Ads may appear on undesirable sites. Though you can block certain websites, manual filtering is required in campaign settings.

• Ads may not always be relevant to the website: Although Google constantly evaluates websites, ads might not always align perfectly with the content. Businesses will need to manually filter and exclude irrelevant sites or purchase banner ads from specific websites.

• Unable to target specific user behaviors: GDN faces challenges in targeting users with specific intentions. For instance, if a business sells books, they would prefer to target users actively looking for book-related content. Unlike Google Search Ads, GDN does not focus on users’ intent, meaning ads might appear to users who are not interested in purchasing books.

VI. 5 Reasons to Choose GDN

1. Reaches Users Broadly
The most obvious benefit of GDN is its extensive reach. With over 2 million participating websites, ads have the potential to be seen and clicked by a large audience. Google Display Network offers significant visibility, especially since users see your ads even when they’re not searching on Google.

2. Lower CPC Costs
Compared to Google Search Ads, the cost-per-click (CPC) on GDN is often lower. It’s an excellent choice for businesses looking to save on advertising costs.

3. Flexible Pricing Options
In GDN, businesses can choose to pay via Cost-Per-Mille (CPM), which is based on impressions (views), rather than CPC. This can help optimize costs and improve ROI.

4. Image Ads
With GDN, businesses can use interactive images, including animations, to make ads more engaging. If placed on the right website, image ads can significantly boost CTR (Click-Through Rate) and conversions.

5. Remarketing Ads
One of the most powerful features of GDN is Remarketing Ads. By showing ads to users who have already interacted with your website or ads, businesses can re-engage potential customers and increase conversions. This form of “follow-up” advertising helps businesses recover potentially lost leads.

VII. Targeting Methods in GDN Advertising

Set up targeting:
Keywords: If a business chooses to display ads on websites within the Display Network, Google Ads will use the business’s keywords to place ads next to content relevant to those keywords. Google’s technology scans the content and URL of a website, then automatically displays ads with keywords closely related to the theme or address of that site. If the business is targeting keywords for a campaign, there will be two options in the keyword settings: Audiences and Content.

• Audience Targeting: Allows businesses to target ads to people based on interests and needs related to the keywords.

• Content Targeting: Ads will be targeted based on context. Google will identify related websites or apps based on factors like content, language, link structure, and page layout.

Audience: Audience targeting allows businesses to direct their ads at specific customer segments, showing their ads to people based on interests, shopping habits, etc.
Demographics: Target ads based on age, gender, or parental status. Audience and demographic targeting are effective ways to pinpoint potential customer groups for businesses.
Topics: Choose from a large list of pre-defined categories that represent the business’s main topics and target landing pages. Ads will then be placed on websites relevant to those topics.
Placements: Define specific websites where you want your Google banner ads to appear.

VIII. Ad Formats in GDN

Many people mistakenly believe that GDN only displays image ads. In reality, GDN offers a wide range of formats and sizes, including text ads, numbers, images, media, and videos.

• Text Ads: GDN can run text ads similar to Search Ads, including a headline and two descriptions. Marketers can write various types of content to generate the most clicks.

• Image Ads: These ads use images to fill the ad space on websites. Businesses can add customer images, layout designs, and background colors to their ads.

• Media Ads: Interactive elements or ads that change based on the audience’s interaction with the ad.

Additionally, GDN offers over 20 different ad sizes for marketers to choose from. When registering ads on a website, Google will select the most suitable ad size based on the website layout. Therefore, if businesses want their ads to appear on multiple websites with different ad sizes, it’s best to design display ads in multiple sizes.

Ad Sizes:

• Square and Rectangle: 200×200 (Small Square), 240×400 (Vertical Rectangle), 250×250 (Square), 250×360 (Triple widescreen), 300×250 (Inline Rectangle), 336×280 (Large Rectangle), 580×400 (Netboard)

• Vertical Rectangle: 120×600 (Skyscraper), 160×600 (Wide Skyscraper), 300×600 (Half Page), 300×1050 (Vertical)

• Long Rectangle: 468×60 (Banner), 728×90 (Leaderboard), 930×180 (Top Banner), 970×90 (Large Rectangle), 970×250 (Billboard), 980×120 (Panorama)

• Mobile: 300×50 (Mobile Banner), 320×50 (Mobile Banner), 320×100 (Large Mobile Banner)

File Size: Less than or equal to 150KB.
Businesses must design ads that are compatible with all these ad sizes. If not, the ad may be limited or not displayed on some websites. Image or media ads typically generate approximately twice the click-through rate (CTR) of text ads, but with lower frequency.

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IX. Setting Up Google Display Network Campaigns

1. Starting a Campaign
   First, businesses need to have a Google Ads account. Ensure that the business name and other general information are available for creating the Google Ads account.
   Once the account is set up, log in to http://ads.google.com. On the Google Ads Overview page, click on “New Campaign” to begin the campaign setup process.

2. Setting Campaign Goals
   To start a new campaign, Google will ask, “What is your advertising goal?” There are several goal options:

• Sales: Aimed at driving sales and increasing revenue.

• Leads: Helps businesses acquire leads and increase conversion rates by encouraging customer actions.

• Website Traffic: Drives traffic to the website from targeted audiences.

• Brand and Product Consideration: Encourages users to explore and learn more about the business’s products or services.

• Brand Awareness and Reach: Expands reach and builds awareness of the brand.

• App Promotion: Increases app installations and interactions with the business’s app.

For each goal, Google will suggest several campaign types. For example, if a business selects a campaign goal of driving website traffic, Google will recommend various campaign types, such as Search, Display, Shopping, Video, or Discovery. The campaign type determines where customers will see the business’s ads and the available settings and options. For GDN ads, the selected campaign type will be Display.

3. Choosing the Sub-Campaign Type
   The sub-campaign type should be carefully considered, as it cannot be changed later. There are three options:

• Standard Display Campaign: This is the most commonly recommended option, especially for new accounts without access to Smart Display Campaigns. It gives advertisers control over the campaign.

• Smart Display Campaign: With this campaign type, many options like optimization, bidding, and targeting are handled automatically. While this reduces control, it saves time for businesses.

• Gmail Campaign: If businesses see potential in advertising through customer Gmail accounts, this is a good option.

Advertisers should carefully choose one of the three sub-campaign types since they cannot be changed afterward.

4. Entering Campaign Information

• Campaign Name: Name the campaign clearly and specifically to reflect its purpose, e.g., “Display Campaign for iPhone Visibility.”

• Location: Set the geographical location where the ads should be displayed. By default, Google sets the campaign to target the entire country. However, businesses can customize this to target specific areas.

• Language: Similar to location targeting, businesses can choose the language they want to target. Google determines the user’s language based on their settings and the websites they visit.

• Bidding: Bidding options will significantly impact the campaign’s performance. Google may suggest bidding strategies based on the campaign goal, but businesses can also customize bidding targets.

• Budget: Set an average daily budget for the campaign. The benefit is that businesses can modify the daily or monthly budget to be more effective.

• Other Additional Options: Campaign start and end dates, ad schedule, device selection, etc.

5. Creating Ad Groups
   Next, create ad groups for the campaign. To target more effectively, break the campaign into smaller, more relevant ad groups based on themes and messages. Ad groups help create more messages for each campaign type and keep the content relevant to the topic.
   The ad group name should be specific and reflect the purpose or theme of the ad. This helps businesses differentiate between various ad groups and maintain an organized campaign structure.

6. Setting Targeting
   Targeting is essential for online advertising success. It helps businesses reach the right audience at the right time and place, increasing the chances of success.
   Google Ads Targeting Recommendations:

• Audience Targeting: Google recommends automating audience targeting to ensure the right people see the message without much effort. Businesses can also customize targeting manually. Google will then ask for more demographic details, such as gender, age, parental status, and household income.

• Content Targeting: Google Display Network allows content-based targeting by matching keywords related to the business’s products or services with partner websites. Google then targets websites using similar keywords.

7. Creating Your Ads on Google Display Network
   With all campaign options, settings, and targeting optimized, it’s time to create the first ads on GDN.
   Display ads must include the following elements:

• Images

• Videos

• Headlines

• Long Headlines

• Description

• Business Name

After entering all the information for the ad campaign, the final step is to confirm the campaign details and click “Continue Campaign” to complete the setup process.
With Google Display Ads, businesses can display their ads to people even before they search for products or services. This is a crucial advertising form, an essential key to the overall marketing strategy. We hope this article provides useful information about GDN and how businesses can develop effective advertising strategies.