12 Types of Display Ads You Need to Know PDF

Display digital marketing, also known as display advertising, is a type of online advertising that uses visuals to promote products and services. Display ads are often used on websites, social media, and mobile apps. Display ads are a type of marketing that can appear on websites and mobile platfor...

Display digital marketing, also known as display advertising, is a type of online advertising that uses visuals to promote products and services. Display ads are often used on websites, social media, and mobile apps. Display ads are a type of marketing that can appear on websites and mobile platforms. There are many types of display ads, including banner ads, video ads, and native **The 12 types of display ads you need to know** Display ads are sort of like the digital equivalent of print ads found in magazines. But these ads give you, the marketer, much more flexibility and interactivity to engage with your audience. So let's break down the 12 types of display ads you need to know about.  Banner ads Banner ads are the display ads that nearly everyone is familiar with. This is because they have been a staple of internet advertising for decades. Banner ads come in different shapes and sizes. We're talking skyscraper ads, leaderboards, and more. They are typically static graphics, but can feature some dynamic elements and transitions.  Regular display ads appear on websites, blogs, and other online properties and often include a call-to-action that encourages viewers to click on them. Many advertising platforms, such as Google Display Network, let you position these ads on third-party properties to increase awareness about your brand and products.  Some of the most popular reasons for using banner ads include: - Building a brand identity - Reach a specific target audience - Lead generation - Lead nurturing - [Retargeting](https://funnel.io/blog/retargeting) campaigns Social media display ads These display ads fit neatly into the feeds of your favorite social media platforms. They work just like display ads, but can include additional content areas that are specific to each platform (like captions and special calls to action).  While they may be designed to look exactly like a regular user post, they are ads with a strategic purpose. Whether you're promoting a product or just trying to build brand awareness on a platform, social media display ads can help you quickly reach your target market thanks to powerful algorithms that serve ads on most platforms.  Since they often look like regular social media posts (we have more on native ads below), they can result in more engagement and higher consideration rates when clicking on the ad or visiting a resulting landing page. Interactive display ads Interactive ads are one of the most popular display ad options right now. They incorporate an interactive element to engage the person viewing it. For example, this display ad format might let the viewer hover over different parts of the ad to access additional information. Or an interactive ad might enable someone to drag or scroll to view information. Interactive display ads can be more expensive to produce than regular display ads. However, they can generate a return on your advertising investment. According to [research from Ion Interactive](https://www.unum.la/blog/21-interactive-content-stats-to-boost-your-business-in-2021#:~:text=(Content%20Marketing%20Institute%20and%20Ion,their%20brand%20from%20their%20competitors.), 88% of marketers believe that interactive content differentiates their company from their rivals. Display ads containing video Display ads with video use dynamic visual content to grab your audience\'s attention and quickly tell a story. These ads might also contain audio that enhances the visual experience. Typically, this type of ad will display a short video with text encouraging the viewer to click on the ad. The viewer can find more information about the company that created it on its website.   Native display ads Native display ads match the design of a website or app. Unlike conventional display ads, native ads are more subtle and provide a unique experience for visitors. Similar to social media display ads, many people might be unaware they are viewing a native ad and presume it\'s just another piece of content. However, these ads often contain a label such as \"sponsored\" or \"promoted\" next to them. There are three different display ad types for native advertising: - In-feed / in-content units - Content recommendation ads - Branded / native content In-feed units blend seamlessly into a website or app's design, while content recommendation ads might be inside a box or separate section. That's what differentiates them from other content on a page. Branded content looks similar to news content on a website or app and might look like an original article. Retargeting display ads Retargeting or re-marketing display ads specifically target an audience already familiar with a product or service. Say someone visits a company's online store from Google and then hits the \"back\" button on their browser. A couple of days later, they might see a display ad from the company on a different website. The ad reminds the person about the product they viewed, which could result in a conversion. This technology was often made possible by dropping cookies from your website onto a user's browser --- allowing your ads to target that user across various ad networks. However, with stricter privacy standards being applied across the world, many brands are shifting to other strategies like [server-side tagging](https://funnel.io/blog/what-are-the-benefits-of-server-side-tagging). Mobile display ads These ads target consumers on mobile devices. You can create display ads for apps or mobile-optimized websites and tell the world about your products and services. Mobile display ads load better on mobile devices, ensuring you deliver your message to the right people. They are custom-made for smaller screens, so people won't have trouble viewing them. That makes this ad type well worth the investment. With [more than 6.92 billion mobile users](https://www.bankmycell.com/blog/how-many-phones-are-in-the-world) worldwide in 2023, according to BankMyCell, mobile display ads can target customers who might not see your digital marketing on desktop computers.  One specific form of mobile display ads are so called interstitial ads. These are full-screen ads that cover the interface of their host application. They\'re typically displayed at natural transition points in the flow of a mobile app, such as between activities or during the pause between levels in a game. Rich media display ads Rich media display ads incorporate audio, video, or other multimedia elements to provide an immersive experience. These ads differ from static ads, which solely include text and images. Display video ads fall under the category of rich media ads. Because rich media ads encourage interactivity from your audience, you can use them to: - Stand out from competitors that use static ads - Grab the attention of your audience as it scrolls pages on the internet, and, ultimately, increase engagement - Increase view rates For example, you can film a video of a customer trying one of your products and turn it into a rich media display ad. The video might include slide and scroll options that allow the viewer to interact with the ad via their mouse. Video pre-roll ads These ads play before video content on platforms like [YouTube](https://funnel.io/blog/youtube-ads-best-practices). They might last anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. Video ads are effective, because a viewer will likely sit through an ad to watch their desired video. That can guarantee views for your video advertising and increase brand awareness. YouTube and other streaming platforms match your ads to the video the viewer wants to watch. You can, therefore, target specific audiences interested in your products and services. For example, you can advertise fishing equipment before a video with fishing tips. Programmatic display ads Spending on programmatic display ads [increased by 41.2%](https://www.insiderintelligence.com/content/us-programmatic-digital-display-ad-spending-2022) from 2019 to 2020, according to a case study by eMarketer. This display ad type uses real-time bidding (RTB) to specifically target audiences interested in your offerings. That lets you focus on prospective customers you can easily nurture and convert. The RTB process involves bidding on ad inventory so you can advertise your products to a specific type of consumer. The highest bidder will win the chance to display their ads to their target demographic.   Pop-up and pop-under ads Pop-up advertisements display on top of a user's browser window, while pop-under ads display under their current window. Adblock software and major internet browsers block most of these ads from appearing on most peoples' devices. While you need to know about these types of ads, you don't want to use them. You'll want to stay as far away from them as possible. This is because they are intrusive and harken back to an older age of digital advertising --- both of which you probably don't want to associate with your modern brand.  Contextual display ads Contextual ad placement means that display ads show up on websites that are directly related to the product or service being advertised. It considers a website's content and keywords to deliver personalized user experiences. For example, someone viewing a fitness website might see a contextual display ad about new training shoes.  [Contextual advertising](https://funnel.io/blog/behavioral-contextual-targeting) differs from behavioral advertising, because it doesn\'t use cookies to track user data. This allows you target consumers on browsers that prevent you from collecting third-party information. Paying for ads Display ads are typically paid for using either a cost-per-click (CPC) model or a cost per mille (CPM) model. With the CPC model, you, as the advertiser, pay a predetermined fee to the ad network each time a user clicks on your ad. This model is particularly effective when the goal is to drive direct responses or actions from the audience. Conversely, the CPM model charges you for every 1000 impressions or views your ad receives, regardless of whether the user interacts with the ad or not. This model is often used when the primary objective is to increase brand awareness or visibility.  Types of display ads at a glance As you can see, \"display ads" encompasses many different types of ads --- each with their own advantages, strategies and drawbacks. The type of display ads you use depends on your use case and how you want to target your audience. However, you can incorporate multiple ads from the list above into your effective display advertising strategies and increase engagement, awareness, **Getting Started with Display Ad Management** If you find it challenging to get the desired outcomes from your display ad campaign, ask yourself the following questions: **1. Is the copy simple and comprehensive?** A majority of the audience viewing your ads will have limited time and attention. They are consuming a lot of content already, so your ad needs to be crisp and direct. Display ads let you identify and target specific demographic and psychographic profiles of users, so make sure to formulate the copy accordingly. **2. Is the color scheme and design in sync with the brand image?** The design and color scheme selected during display ad management can make a lot of difference. There are incredible psychological links between colors and audience behavior. You can study them and use it to your advantage while designing the graphics for your display ads. It is advisable to keep your campaign clutter-free, and the textual content should be clearly visible. **3. Am I using too many formats for my ad?** Remember, less is more when it comes to display advertising management. With so many options to choose from, you might just be tempted to mix and match formats to get better results. A successful campaign, however, is minimal, direct and crisp. Be it the copywriting or the images you use, make sure to not go overboard in a bid to grab attention. **Benefits of Display Ads: Key Takeaways for Marketers** Display ads are now a marketing staple, taking center-stage in most ad campaigns and letting you reach a vast global audience. Despite having been around for a while, the technology shows no signs of slowing down. This is because of the following benefits: **Visually appealing -- **Since these ads are usually graphic/visual, advertisers can experiment with different designs, shapes, sizes, and formats to identify what works and what doesn't.\ **Diverse options -- **You can be as traditional or as out of the box as you wish to be when it comes to display ads.\ **Effective targeting -- **The display advertising targeting lets you reach audiences as per diverse parameters, ensuring optimum engagement.\ **Enables retargeting -- **The retargeted display ad that you show them acts as the slight push they needed to come back to your website.\ **Analytical insights --** Using a tool like Google Analytics for display advertising management, you can track how your ads are performing.