Display Network Notes

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Module 1: About the Google Display Network

The Google Display Network has over 2 million sites, and reaches over 90% of internet users worldwide.

It consists of all Google AdSense publisher sites, DoubleClick Ad Exchange publisher sites and several Google sites except for Search, such as Google Finance, Blogger, Google Maps and YouTube.

Accepted ad types on the Display Network:

- Image ads - Rich media ads - Video ads - Note that text ads are deprecated by now!

Added advantages of Display AdWords campaigns:

- Contextual Targeting => finds appropriate locations all across the Display Network, based on keywords with the Content setting enabled

- Managed Placements => actively choose locations where your ad is shown

- Remarketing Campaigns => find already interested users based on past behaviour

Contextual Targeting

Contextual targeting finds appropriate locations all across the Display Network, based on keywords/topics with the Content setting enabled. The system chooses these locations based on the target web page's text, language, link structure and page structure.

Ad Rank and ad quality

The Ad Rank (position in the auction) is based on the Max. CPC bid and the quality of the ad. The 1-10 Quality Score shown in the interface is not actually used during the auction; it is only an approximation of the actual quality of the ad. The ad quality rating is based on the expected clickthrough rate, the relevance of the ad itself, the landing page experience and the possible influence of ad extensions. Note that each individual position on any page may have a minimum Ad Rank threshold, which can keep any ads from showing if all offerings are sub-par.

Max. vs. Actual CPC

For any clicks that are not incremental, you pay as much as the person below you in the auction.

For any clicks that are considered incremental, you pay one cent more than the person below you bid.

Incremental clicks are based on the relative clickthrough rate per position; any clicks beyond the expected number for the position below you are considered incremental. Note that, therefore, all non-incremental clicks precede the incremental clicks for any position.

If an ad is displayed in the lowest position, where a bid exists that didn't place, every click is considered incremental.

Actual CPC is determined by averaging the CPC from all clicks performed.

Search Network with Display Select has automated bidding and selective placements for your Search Campaigns.

Best Practices for Mobile Sites:

- Reduce large blocks of text - Compress images for site loading

- Reduce required transaction steps - Keep forms short and make data entry easy - Use click-to-call for phone numbers

- Minimize navigation scrolling and keep it vertical - Use clear menu hierarchies - Use clear back and home buttons - Use <=7 links per nav. page

- Present address/locator on landing - Include maps/directions/GPS - Allow local stock checks - Have the site indexed for search

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Module 2: Setting up a Display Network Campaign

AdWords Account Structure:

Account (unique login and billing info) > Campaign (budget, settings and placements) > Ad group (similar ads and keywords)

The AdWords Ad Gallery allows you to create ads in various formats (image/dynamic/engagement/video) for any campaign. The Ad Gallery has the following advantages:

- Images, colors and customizable logos that match your brand; - Visual media have more effect;

- Ads can have multiple styles; - Free industry-standard templates.

Display Network bidding features:

Default Bids (at the ad group level) > Custom Bids (per targeting method) > Bid Adjustments (at the campaign and ad group level, after init. bid, not for keywords)

Bid Adjustments can be used to further increase or decrease the bid, based on the following factors:

- Device used - Location - Ad scheduling - Top content (advanced; popular materials) - Targeting methods (advanced; topics/placements/etc.)

- Remarketing lists for search ads (advanced) - Call interaction ads for mobile

Bid adjustments do compound onto each other, and the maximum range for adjustments is between -90% and +900%.

Clickthrough rates are often lower on the Display Network, and it is advised to wait a few weeks before making too many changes.

Ads are viewable when 50 percent is shown on-screen for one second (display ads) or two seconds (video ads). The associated bid strategy is viewable cost per thousand impressions (viewable CPM). This strategy is not available for campaigns targeting mobile apps (partially). For very large images, 30% might be considered enough!

Automated flexible bidding strategies:

- Maximize clicks (for a given budget) - Target search page location (first spot/page for Search)

- Target outranking share (outrank other specific domains) - Target return on ad spend (aims for average specified returns)

- Conversion Optimizer - Enhanced Cost-Per-Click

Enhanced Cost Per Click vs. Conversion Optimizer

Both: - require conversion data/Google Analytics data - predict a conversion rate - adjust your bids to help win promising clicks

ECPC: - works with all campaign settings and max. CPC bids - can raise/lower by up to 30% - works with third-party bidding systems

CO: - is based on a target CPA - has full freedom to set max. CPC - may not work with third parties - automatic Target CPA is recommended at first - usually needs approx. 15 conversions in the last 30 days - compare CPA and conversion rate before and after to gauge effect - change Target CPA once every few weeks at most

Tips to increase conversions

- Increase budget - Increase CPC for ad groups that don't hit the budget - Move the conversion code - Combine campaigns - Change ads/landing page - Add more relevant keywords

Types of Ad Extensions

Manual: - App (redirect to app (store)) - Call (allow calls) - Location (help people find you) - Review (show reputable third-party reviews)

- Sitelinks (deep links) - Callout (descriptive text)

Automatic: - Consumer ratings (based on survey data) - Previous visits - Social (number of Google+ followers)

- Dynamic structured snippets (landing page details) - Seller ratings - Dynamic sitelinks - Automated call - Automated message

Mobile app installs campaigns are custom install ad campaigns that run exclusively on tablets and phones. The possible formats are App installs ads, Image app installs ads, Video app installs ads and TrueView app promotion ads (only on YouTube). Special targeting options are:

- installed app categories (people with similar apps) - new mobile devices - specific app categories

Responsive ads are based on provided assets, which are automatically transformed into a fitting native format. Although you can preview certain standard formats, there are too many spatial variations across the Display Network to preview them all.

Lightbox ads are expandable, rich media display ads that require specific campaigns and CTAs describing the type of interaction. They consist of video galleries, with or without additional photos. Templates exist under the name Ready Lightbox Ads. They must be family safe.

Editorial requirements:

- Must use the ad unit as intended - Cannot use Google-inconsistent styling - Must use commonly accepted spelling, grammar, spacing and caps

- No gibberish - No mimicking text ads with images - Do not exceed double-width character languages' limits - No unnecessary repetition

- No incorrect punctuation or emoji - No "click here" - Must name the business - Must have high-quality images/videos - Cannot encroach

If you get disapproved, this means you have to fix it.

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Module 3: Showing your ads on the Display Network

Targeting can either be restricted to only specifying bids for given audiences, or be set to keep non-eligible customers from viewing the ad.

Managed placements determine specific sites where you want your ad shown/your bid to be increased/decreased.

Topic targeting allows automatic broad selection of websites across the Display Network to target. It is better suited for those with flexible or unrestricted budgets. It tends to grow rather quickly.

Negative keywords can help with excluding uninterested visitors. Note: close variations can still show ads!

Language targeting automatically detects the language for the displaying site and only places if matching. This is set at the campaign level.

Custom ad scheduling specifies either showing hours/days, or bid adjustments for given times. Don't forget time zones!

Device targeting, beyond just mobile app install campaigns, allows you to further target specific device types.

Demographic targeting allows you to select genders/age groups/etc. to target.

Display Planner has the following features:

- Provides ideas for keywords/placements/etc. - Provides impression estimates and historical costs - Allows you to share the plans

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Module 4: Reaching your audience on the Display Network

Different types of audiences:

- Affinity audiences - Custom affinity audiences (free form interests/URLs as bundles) - Life events (college/moving/marriage)

- In-market audiences - Custom intent audiences based on keywords/URLs - Auto-created custom intent audiences

Similar audiences compose a list of new possible interested customers based on a previous remarketing list. (Not based on sensitive categories.) Requires at least 5000 visitors, and not always available. This simplifies audience tareting and may attract new potential customers.

Demographic targeting, the values of which are determined based on behaviour, can target age rangers, genders and parental status.

Remarketing, targeting users that have already visited your website or used your mobile app, can take the following forms:

- Standard remarketing shows ads to past visitors as they browse the Display Network;

- Remarketing lists for search ads specifically targets searches for what the user needs;

- Video remarketing shows ads to people interested in your YouTube Channel;

- Customer list remarketing is based on uploaded lists of contact information;

- Dynamic remarketing shows specific products/services that were previously viewed in the ads. The information is based on a provided data feed, which can be in any number of formats, or uploaded to the Google Merchant Center. You will require an associated tag on your website. This service also selects the right products, as well as the highest-performing layout, and optimizes the bid.

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Module 5: Measuring and optimizing performance on the Display Network

For driving sales and generating leads, the advice is:

- Run keyword-based campaigns on both the Search and Display Networks

- Apply contextual targeting on the Display Network

- Use text ads with clear CTAs and rich-media ad formats

- Use cost-per-click bidding

For brand-engagement campaigns, the advice is:

- Use placement targeting to select the appropriate locations, allowing the Display Planner to provide suggestions

- Rich-media ads are more effective

- CPM bidding is generally fitting

Evaluating ad performance on the Display Network:

- Check your ad is showing, if so, where, and the number of impressions and clicks

- Utilize the Report Editor to see your data in tables and charts

- Identify the chosen placements and the demographics that view your ads

Optimizing your Display Network ad campaigns:

- Organize campaigns by theme - Group keyword lists - Write great ads - Use keyword insertion - Use effective targeting

- Choose the right keywords - Exclude irrelevant keywords - Select placements and topics (or exclude) - Remarket

- Focus on CPA - Be explicit about the call to action - Employ the templates - Include prices, promotions and exclusives

- Provide a relevant landing page - Test different ad sizes - Go mobile - Use transparent 24 bit PNG images

Targeting optimization, at either the conservative or aggressive level, can broaden your customer base automatically at potential additional costs (the more aggressive the method is).

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Glossary

Impression share: The actual number of impressions divided by locations you can be eligible for if you make some changes (estimated)

Actual cost-per-click: The charged cost, after the auction has actually taken place

Delivery: either standard or accelerated, distributes the budget throughout the day

Ad relevance: judges how closely the keyword matches the ad text

D-U-N-S number: a worldwide unique business identifier

Deep link: a type of destination URL that takes people to a specific page inside an app

Error sites: typesquatting websites for those lost on the internet, apparently Google is there too

Monthly charging limit: the average number of days in a month (30.4) multiplied by your average daily budget

Portfolio bid strategies: bid strategies (basically all of them) that combine campaigns, ad groups and keywords