Online Display marketing is a very interesting practice. It is enabled by the Google Display Campaigns program that allows you to place an advertisement on more than two million websites and 650,000 apps. It is a tool that harkens back to the old days of the internet, when advertising networks (instead of targeted search engine campaigns) were the norm. Nowadays, with search engine advertising, you can place an order for an ad campaign, and you’ll be able to reach people who are explicitly looking for your products or services. Display marketing, on the other hand, targets users who may not be interested in your products or services at all! So, is it really worth the investment?

How does Milwaukee Online Display Marketing Work?

Display marketing generally targets users who are higher up in the sales funnel—these are the users that are not even aware that they could benefit from your product or service. As such, you can purchase display ads at a much lower cost. Once a user clicks the ad and reaches your landing page, you’ll have to get creative. You must have a strong understanding of the user profile and provide relevant information that will leave an impression, or encourage further curiosity for your brand, product, or service. Such a landing page would not work with someone who reached you through a search ad. These latter users know what they are looking for, and they are probably looking for a more direct path to purchasing your product or service.

There three main types of display ads:

  • Direct site placement ads: Here, marketers will choose the exact sites they wish to advertise on.
  • Contextual ads: These ads are placed on websites that have content related to the products and services that you offer.
  • Remarketing ads: Technology today allows a website to track user behavior through cookies. On display advertising networks, sites or apps will link this cookie information to each other so that when a user leaves your site without making a purchase, or after they’ve made a purchase, you can use remarketing ads to re-engage the user.

Is display marketing worth it?

Display marketing requires a different approach than you might use with search ads, but it does open up a new segment of the market. If you feel like you’re getting the most out of search ads, and you’re reaching the point of diminishing returns, it might be time to give display ads a try.

Display ads are ‘pay per display’ rather than ‘pay per click’, and there is an average click-through rate of around 0.07% worldwide. While this may sound abysmally small, it should be noted that display ads grew by 13.1% in 2017, while search ads grew only 12.8%.

Display ads can definitely provide a high ROI, but they have to be approached in the right way. This includes having measurable goals for your campaign, compelling ads, and consistent tracking of results in order to ensure maximum efficiency.

Making the most out of Milwaukee online display ads

Display marketing can play a big role in your overall online marketing strategy. For the right kind of business and initiative, this type of advertising can provide an attractive ROI. However, it is generally not a great starting point for most companies because the target user base is so high up on the sales funnel. Instead, it should be used as an extra appendage to your more targeted marketing efforts. If you would like to know more about display marketing, or if you would like to add it to your SEM strategy in Milwaukee, contact us today!