Responsive display ads can form part of a successful Google Ad campaign. The tactic allows you to input a few details that transform into adaptable and responsive advertising.
How do responsive display ads work?
Google Ads takes the assets that you upload to its platform and creates ads to display across websites, platforms, and apps. They will be cross-compatible, native ads that are perfectly suited to the platform where they appear. They have the best response performance out of all the display ad types and adapt to fit any available display placements on the Google Display Network.
The tool leverages machine learning. It analyses your past ad performance and ad history to create the best possible ads from a combination of your saved assets.
Google Ads will review your uploaded headlines, videos, images, and logos to create a combination that is designed to increase click-through rates, increase ad engagement, and generate new leads.
Creating a responsive display ad is simple. You upload the assets that you wish to appear in your responsive display ad into your Google Ads account, and it will show you a preview of the proposed ad.
You can save the ad if you like it to have it display across the Google Display Network in a fully optimized format. Google Ads will put together a combination of all your uploaded assets across its various sites, platforms, and apps. Each advert will display in the right format for the device of the user.
What is the Google Display Network?
GDN is a broad network that covers over 2 million websites worldwide and reaches nine out of 10 online resources across the globe. Google Ads has access to the full Google Display Network, and if you have run ad campaigns before via their network, Google will use those to determine the design of your responsive display ad. Additionally, your responsive display ad will appear on the most suitable available space on the Google Display Network.
What are the benefits of responsive display ads?
Responsive display ads have many benefits when compared to putting ads together yourself. Here are just a few of the benefits from Google Ads’ responsive display ads functionality.
1. It saves you time
Once you’ve uploaded your ad resources, the responsive display ad tool saves time in putting together a successful ad.
The more images, descriptions, logos, videos, and headings you put in there, the greater the combination of ads that will be available. You can preview and save each successful ad ready for display on the Google Display Network. The responsive ad tool saves time in agonizing over the success of your advert and displays the best combination available based on the machine learning of the tool.
2. It creates native and compatible ads
Native advertising refers to digital ads that fit properly onto each platform, website, and app on which they display. If you’ve ever seen an ad on your mobile that lurches across the screen and looks out of place, it is not a native ad. Responsive display ads sit nicely on whatever available space the Google Display Network presents, looking right at home wherever they appear.
3. It leverages the power of Google Display Network
Nine out of 10 online users are accessible via the Google Display Network, which makes Google Ads the best platform for your responsive display ads. Refining the targeting within the Google Display Network will allow you to reach a huge target audience across multiple channels, platforms, and apps. The moment a user searches for a product like yours, that user potentially could be presented with your ad. Google Ads can target further by age, interests, income and more, allowing you to further segment and reach your target customer.
4. It summarizes your performance history
The responsive display ad tool pulls from your most engaging ads, which means the combinations you see are based on previous campaign success.
The tool offers you insights into new ad creative simply by uploading the resources to Google Ads. Responsive display ads allow you to focus and automate your campaigns, setting you up for success.
5. It has design efficiency
If you’re trying to grow your business, previously you might have invested in a designer to create your ads. If you are a small company without the funds, the responsive display ads tool is a suitable alternative to investing in an expensive designer. It allows you to create advertisements quickly and effectively based on your previous successes, without relying on someone with software, insights and design expertise to help you.
6. You can use videos
Some display ads are not always compatible with video. This isn’t a limitation with responsive display ads. Google Ads allows you to upload five videos of 30 seconds or less for use in your ad creative, which can display anywhere across the Google Display Network. Finding a network that supports video might be costly elsewhere.
7. You get feedback on ad creative
The system provides you with feedback on the construction of your advertisement, along with suggestions on how to improve it. This is the equivalent of the tailoring stage of an ad, when you can improve the final design to get the best possible results and return on investment.
Are there any drawbacks to responsive display advertising?
Although responsive display ads are innovative, time-saving and cost-effective, as with anything there are a few drawbacks to consider.
1. Generic ads
Responsive display ads are pulled together by Google, which means you lose some control over the design. The final product might seem generic and lose some of the punch of a designed advert. While the algorithm is effective, it is driven by previous successes rather than the eye of a human designer, which could mean that you lose that edge over a carefully curated ad.
2. You may not stand out from your competitor
The tool will put together your ads in the same way as it would your competitor, meaning that your ad will not necessarily be any different from others on the market. The success of the ads will depend on the strength of the visuals and text you upload, rather than the formatting of the ad itself.
3. You will lose insight into campaign success
Google Ads will share how well the campaign performed but won’t show you which ad it was that offered the highest success rate. The data is fed back into the algorithm, but what it shares with you is comparatively limited.
This means you will have to keep trusting Google rather than gaining insight into which combination had the biggest return on investment.
Can LocalLook Network help me with responsive display ads?
Responsive display ads can benefit from marketing insights. At LocalLook Network, we help you leverage the best possible ads by providing:
- Insight into copy, images and video resources that will make your ad a success
- Knowledge of Google Ads with a Google Certified Partner
- Advice on the best way to target your customers on Google Ads
- Awareness of how to interpret the result of your responsive display ads
- Competitor insight to make your materials stand out on the Google Display Network
LocalLook Network can manage ad campaigns for you, or we can help you do it yourself with the LocalLook Network platform which delivers the full end-to-end advertising process. Get more transparency over what is working in your responsive display ad campaigns.
Want to find out more? Contact us for more information about how responsive display ads fit into the overall marketing mix for your business.
This post was adapted from an article published by Fluid Ads, London, UK