Google Display Ads: place ads, ads, agency, strategies

Do you want to present your brand where your customers are every day? Google Display Ads give you access to the largest advertising network in the world. While traditional search (SEA) intercepts users at the moment they want to solve a problem, display ads proactively accompany users throughout their digital lives – on news sites, blogs or YouTube. The goal is absolutely clear: generate massive reach, collect qualified leads, increase sales in the store and ultimately scale your company’s turnover sustainably.

Google Display Network (GDN): What is it actually?

The Google Display Network is an association of millions of websites, apps and video platforms (such as YouTube) on which Google markets advertising space. In contrast to Google Search, which is dominated by text ads, the focus here is on visual formats. You don’t buy keywords, but target groups, interests and placements. It is the digital form of billboard advertising, but with the precision of performance marketing.

The different ad formats

Google offers a variety of ways to package your message visually. Responsive display ads are particularly efficient. Here, we upload various images, logos and texts and the Google AI automatically combines them into the format that works best on the respective website. This saves time in photo and video production and optimizes performance through constant testing.

Classic image ads (static banners)
Responsive display ads (AI-optimized)
Video ads (integration in YouTube & apps)
Engagement ads (interactive formats)
Gmail ads (placement directly in the mailbox)

Why Google? Advantages

Compared to other platforms such as Bing Ads or the specialized marketplace environment of Amazon Ads, the Google Display Network (GDN) offers unparalleled coverage of over 90 % of all Internet users worldwide.

“Although we can also highly recommend Amazon Ads at the moment.”

Agency strategies: Prospecting vs. remarketing

Successful Google Display campaigns are based on two pillars. First: “Prospecting” – finding new customers who do not yet know your brand but fit perfectly into your target group profile. Secondly, remarketing – retargeting people who have already visited your store but have not yet made a purchase. While providers such as Adroll Ads offer strong competition here, Google impresses with the seamless integration of all data streams.

Customized target group targeting

We use Google data to target people based on their habits. “Ready-to-buy target groups” are users who, according to Google’s algorithm, are about to make a purchase decision. In an individual marketing consultation, we analyze which segments offer the lowest CPC (cost-per-click) for your product with the highest conversion probability. In this way, we avoid wastage that is otherwise often found in traditional TV or print advertising.

And then? Check the results!

Place advertising
Check results, optimize
Continue to place good ad sets

Zack! Sale!

The perfect funnel: What happens after the click?

Clicking on a banner is just the beginning. As a full-service agency, we ensure that the user lands on a highly optimized landing page. The design of the ad and the message of the page must harmonize perfectly. If mistakes are made here, your budget will be wasted. We also implement web push notifications to retain visitors without an email opt-in.

Lead generation and newsletter marketing

With display ads, users often do not buy immediately (impulse purchase), but must first be convinced. That’s why we integrate smart hooks for your newsletter marketing on the landing pages. Once in the system, we guide the contact through an automated email funnel to the conclusion. This chain of visibility (display) and completion (email) is the gold standard in e-commerce.

Optimization of the user experience (UX)
Building trust through UGC content on the site
Fast loading times for mobile users
Clear call-to-action (CTA)
Integration of testimonials

Step 1: Collect e-mails

Step 2: Use emails for remarketing

Google Display Ads in the cross-channel mix

A modern user sees your brand on many channels. They scroll through TikTok Ads, search on Google and read the news in the evening. Google Display Ads act as a “glue” here, connecting the various points of contact. If a user has seen your product in an Instagram ad, they should find it shortly afterwards as a display banner on their favorite news site. This omnipresence creates authority and trust.

Synergy with YouTube advertising

As YouTube is part of the Google universe, we can perfectly coordinate video ads and display banners. Anyone who has seen your video will later be shown a matching banner. In our YouTube consultation, we show you how to use this combination to tell your brand story consistently across all devices.

Costs and budget planning for display ads

How much does Google Display Advertising cost? The beauty of Google Ads is that you have full control. You can start with €5 a day or invest millions. Billing is usually based on CPC (click price) or vCPM (cost per 1,000 visible impressions). Prices are often significantly lower in the display network than in search, as the competition at placement level is more widespread here. We use professional bid management to ensure that you get the maximum “share of voice” for your budget.

Use of AI and smart bidding

We use state-of-the-art AI marketing to adjust your bids in milliseconds. Google learns which users convert and prioritizes your ads to these people. This massively reduces the cost per lead (CPL) and makes your marketing scalable. We combine the power of the machine with our years of experience from hundreds of cases.

Full budget control in real time
Transparent evaluation of all clicks
A/B tests of different banner designs
Exclusion of inappropriate websites (brand safety)
Geographic targeting down to city level

Prices: Advertising prices on Bing Ads?

Bing is an unbeaten champion in the B2B sector in particular, as Microsoft Edge and Bing search are pre-installed as standard on millions of office computers. If you don’t have a presence here, you leave the field to the competition without a fight.

With our expertise as an SEA agency, we help you to establish Microsoft Advertising not just as a supplement, but as a real performance driver. Use our cost calculator for Google, Bing & Co. to get a feel for the potential in advance.

Google Ads – high reach, CPC usually higher (approx. 1-3 € depending on industry)
Bing Ads – lower reach, CPC often 30-50 % cheaper than Google
Amazon Ads – users close to purchase, CPC often €0.30-1.50
AdRoll Ads – retargeting-based, costs mostly via CPM or CPA

Conclusion: reach that sells

Google Display Ads are the backbone of any serious online marketing strategy. They provide the necessary visibility among the masses and bring potential customers back to the store through intelligent remarketing. Those who do without this presence today are leaving the digital space to their competitors. In combination with sound Instagram advice and technical funnel know-how, Google Display becomes the most important engine for your growth.

Your Google Ads agency & contact

Why choose Social Media One as a partner for your Google Display campaigns? As a specialized marketing agency and advertising agency, we are always “cutting edge” thanks to our numerous cases and own brands in the double-digit million range. We know exactly which visual stimuli and texts work to turn a fleeting glance into a paying customer. An agency saves you a huge amount of time in the technical setup and graphic creation of the ads. We optimize your campaigns daily to get the most out of every euro.

Ready for maximum visibility? Let’s develop your Google Display strategy together and make your brand present everywhere on the web.