In recent years, the marketing world has progressed by leaps and bounds, and the digital landscape has become a big part of that change. Thanks to online advertising, businesses can now reach consumers on their phones or laptops in almost any location, making it easy to connect with potential customers even when they aren’t in the store or shopping online.

Google Display Ads effectively target your customers with banner ads on websites with similar interests to your website visitors. For example, if you were Google and wanted to advertise how to create great Google display ads, you could run your ad on sites like Facebook or YouTube. If people browsing those sites also liked creating banners, Google would have a better chance of converting them.

Before taking advantage of Google Display Ads, you’ll need a website with at least 1,000 visitors per month. Creating an effective ad that people want to click on will be hard if your site doesn’t meet this requirement. It’s also worth noting that you can run ads on niche sites with lower traffic amounts with Google’s new Automated Placements program. Just keep in mind that if your website doesn’t already receive a decent amount of traffic, your ad campaign will likely not be as successful as it would be with automated placements.

This article will go over the best google display ad dimensions, what form of advertisement is best for each size, what industry is best for each size, and the benefits of having varied options within your ads.

***How has Google search volumes changed over the years? Check out these stats…

• 81,000 searches per second in 2020, up from 63,000 searches in 2016.
• 4.9 million searches per minute in 2020, up from 3.8 million searches in 2016.
• 292 million searches per hour in 2020, up from 228 million searches in 2016.
• 7 billion searches per day in 2020, up from 5.5 billion searches in 2016.
• 212 billion searches per month in 2020, up from 167 billion searches in 2016.
• 2.55 trillion searches per year in 2020, up from 2.00 trillion searches in 2016.

Finding the best strategy to optimize your Google search game is VITAL for your online presence.

Top Performing Google Display Ad Sizes

This section will explore what Google display ad dimensions are the best. All you need to do is test them out and see which ones generate more clicks for your business.

(Image Credit: MonetizeMore)

Square (250×250)

This ad size displays both above and below organic results, making it highly visible and easily clickable. It’s a strong ad type because it’s seen by a wide range of users and shows up in both regular SERP positions and in Google image searches. The only downside to a square ad is that if you click on it from a mobile device, it will take you directly to your site instead of opening a new window.

However, given how many more people click on mobile ads than desktop ones, that isn’t necessarily bad. Use these square ads for products where you have a high level of brand awareness – like apparel or cars – that users are already familiar with or are interested in.

Small Square (200 x 200)

This ad takes up one square inch, so it’s very eye-catching. Depending on your industry, you can utilize a small square (1×1) to run a special sale or display pictures of products in action. For example, if you own an apparel store, you could use your small Square (1×1) space to showcase a popular summer dress with super-cute sandals, showcasing your brand and product. If you’re in real estate and want something affordable and effective – try posting pictures of homes you’ve sold or are currently selling that have quickly sold because they were displayed on mobile media.

Banner Ad (468×60)

A Google ads banner size is the most shared ad size and is generally a rectangular image often hosted on a web page. The most significant benefit of these ads is their reach, especially when placed above a website’s content. Visitors do not have to click on a banner ad to view it; they can see it from the homepage or anywhere else on a website. This means that your ad will be seen by those who may not feel they need your business but eventually do. There are some disadvantages to banner ads as well. If you create an advertisement that is too intrusive or distracting, users may accidentally click away from your site instead of viewing your content. Here is an example of a banner ad:

(Image Credit: Moonlight Creative Group)

Leaderboard (728×90)

This ad unit will appear above Google search results and on the right side below. It’s a great way to have your brand seen by people in a very high-traffic location on Google while also getting your ad seen by searchers looking at nearby businesses. The leaderboard can be run as a single or double-column display ad. These ads are best suited for companies looking to advertise with local intent, such as restaurants, gyms, and stores that need to get their brand name out into a very targeted area. Other good options might include products or services that make sense to have a lot of copy on your ads, like home builders or plumbers.

Inline Rectangle (300×250)

Inline rectangles are an excellent option for advertisers looking to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to a website or generate leads. Since they can easily fit into any content stream and deliver creative assets at almost any size, they’re easy to integrate into many campaign strategies. Medium-sized rectangles tend to perform best in industries with a natural affinity with online advertising like finance and insurance, but they work well in just about any vertical. Creative-wise, these ads look best when you showcase your brand personality with an image or video asset paired with your message. Additionally, each ad must look unique to avoid confusing users who see multiple ad units from a single advertiser within a day.

Skyscraper (120×600)

The skyscraper ad features a large image that takes up most of the real estate at 120×600. This ad can draw attention to specific products or services and is perfect for retail sites or content-heavy sites with many images. Although these ads seem compelling at first glance, they’re not very widespread compared to other types of display ads because people rarely click on them. Because these images are large and eye-catching, however, skyscraper ads can be an effective way to capture your potential customer’s attention. Most skyscraper ad clicks happen above-the-fold—meaning within their first impression when they look at their computer screen—which means there’s no time wasted on getting them interested in your product or service! For instance:

(Image Credit: Digital Media Kit)

Wide Skyscraper (160×600)

This ad unit is best used for entertainment-based businesses or businesses that want to grab their users’ attention and keep it long enough to gain a click. It offers excellent visual appeal yet loads very quickly. Because this ad is meant to stand out, you might also want to use color and imagery when designing your ad. The quick load time means advertisers get a lot more bang for their buck with CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) pricing than they would if they were using a more extensive ad unit that took longer to load. Display networks, like Google Display Network, offer targeting tools that allow users to target demographics and interests so advertisers can further increase their engagement rate with potential customers.

Half-Page Ad (300 x 600)

This size ad is optimal for small businesses, particularly those with a limited budget and multiple products or services to advertise. These ads are similar to print newspaper ads and can also be positioned above or below organic search results. They allow users to click on individual elements (such as images or captions). These text links lead directly to your website’s home page, which gives you more control over how consumers interact with your site and business. Large companies with fewer products or smaller budgets may want to place their ads here since it provides high visibility while keeping costs low.

(Image Credit: Mail Metro Media)

Large Leaderboard (970 x 90)

You can use this ad size across many different industries. Since it’s so large, it grabs a visitor’s attention immediately and makes an impact when they see it on their screen. Leaderboards are usually placed at eye level to encourage engagement. One benefit to a leaderboard advertisement is that it typically draws in more clicks since it commands more attention than smaller ad sizes. Another benefit to leaderboards is that they can contain multiple ads, and there’s room for your logo if you want to include one in your ad. Since a box shape doesn’t confine leaderboards like other sizes, you have more freedom with how your product appears in your display ad.

How To Create Great Google Display Ads

In this section, we will cover the basics of how to create great Google Display Ads for business. The best part about it is that if you do an excellent job at creating your Google display ads, you’ll be able to save time and resources instead of hiring someone else to do it for you.

Step 1: Come Up With An Idea

The first step when creating display ads is to develop the idea you want to advertise. If you already run a website, Google display ads are a great way to promote more products or get more sales on the products that already sell well.

You also need to choose what type of ads you want to run. Google Display Ads offers several different options for running your ad campaigns. These include:

• Text Ads – These ads show a small snippet of text, typically with an image and link to your website.
• Image Ads – These ads display large images that catch the reader’s attention. They typically have a headline above them and a link where they can learn more about the product or service you are advertising.
• Flash Ads – These ads use flash animation to get attention. They don’t show any text; however, they have a link where people can learn more about the product you are selling.
• Rich Media Ads – These ads are similar to image ads that display images and text. However, they animate or do something that will catch the reader’s eye.

Once you’ve decided which type of ad to run, it’s time to create the actual ad.

Step 2: Create A Headline

Once you’ve decided which type of ad to run, the next step is to develop a headline that will catch people’s attention. You can experiment with different headlines until you find one that works. These include:

• Headlines with a number in them – Readers love numbers and statistics, so why not try writing a headline that includes one of those to make it stand out?
• Create curiosity – Try using words like ‘how,’ ‘why,’ or ‘what’ in your headline. For example, instead of having the headline read ‘How To Make Money Online’, you could have it say, ‘How You Can Make $3,000 in 30 Days’. This will create more curiosity as people want to find out how they can make money online.
• Create urgency – The word ‘now’ or any other word that creates urgency in the reader will work great for this type of headline. For example, if you were selling an ebook about losing weight, you could use the headline ‘Lose 10 Pounds Now’.

Once you’ve come up with a great headline, it’s time to create the body of your ad. The purpose here is to get people interested in learning more about what you are advertising. This means that you need to choose which type of image you will use. If you are promoting an ebook, it’s best to choose a book icon as the image. You should consider using your company’s actual product or logo for items sold on your website.

Once you’ve created an image for your ad, it’s time to write a copy of the words displayed below the image. Try to use compelling words and phrases such as ‘first,’ ‘fastest,’ or other similar words. Remember that you also need to create a link where people can learn more about what you are advertising, so make sure there is space for this.

Google recommends using less than 60 characters when writing copy for your ads. This ensures that you have enough space to create a link. Once you are done with the main body of your ad, you can finish by adding a sub-headline describing what’s included in the product or service you are advertising.

Step 3: Budget

Now comes the step where you decide on a budget for your ads. Google recommends setting a daily budget to ensure that you don’t overspend on advertising throughout the month. Once you’ve established a daily budget, it’s time to start deciding which keywords you want to use to target people interested in the product or service you are advertising. This is an essential step, as the keywords you choose will determine how much traffic you receive.

Step 4: Set up Google Analytics

Once you’ve finished creating your ad and have decided on a budget, the next step is to set up your website with Google Analytics. This will help make sure that your ads are effectively running as they allow you to see how many people are clicking on each of your ads. For example:

(Image Credit: Ghost Marketing)

The last step to setting up Google ads is choosing a format for your ad and how you would like it to be displayed on the page. You can select ‘standard text ads’ or ‘product listing ads’. Once you’ve decided, it’s time to set up your account and start running those ads.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the best Google display ad sizes?

There isn’t an answer to this question based on your circumstances. The best google display ad sizes will be the one that converts the most traffic for you. As you can see, there are plenty of options to choose from, so you should test them out and see what works.

How do I target my Google display ads?

When creating your ad, Google recommends using keywords that will allow people interested in your product or service. The more targeted traffic you receive, the better chance you can convert them into customers.

Can I run Google display ads on mobile devices?

Google recommends that you only select the ‘mobile’ option if your website is mobile-friendly or you can advertise your product or service through a mobile device. If this is not the case, choosing the desktop version of your ad is best.

Diib® Digital: Review Your Google Display Ads Metrics Today!

Creating a great Google display ad is much easier than you think. If you follow the steps outlined above, you should have no problem creating a successful campaign that will bring plenty of traffic to your website or business. Diib® Digital allows you to see exactly how your ads are doing complete with full metrics. A customized dashboard gives you alerts and objectives designed to improve your ad performance and your overall success. Here are just some of the features of our dashboard you’re sure to love:

• Bounce rate monitoring and repair
• Social media integration and performance
• Broken pages where you have backlinks (404 checker)
• Keyword (including snippets), backlink, and indexing monitoring and tracking tools
• User experience and mobile speed optimization
• Technical SEO monitoring, including Google display ad metrics

Click here for your free 60-second site scan or simply call 800-303-3510 to speak to one of our growth experts.