Are display ads worth it? The short answer is, it depends.
There are a number of things to consider before making a decision on using display ads.
Often, display ads are seen as wasted investments because they have a low click-through rate; however, they are extremely effective at growing brand awareness, and creating demand for products and services.
So, you need to take into account factors like the amount of experience you have in using display ads, what your advertising goal is, and what network you are using, among other things. Here is a short checklist of things to consider.
Experience with these types of ads
If you don’t have any experience using display ads, it’s not a good idea to cut your teeth with them. They are often more complicated to put together and measure than other types of ads. And now, there are many other options open for advertising.
Your timeframe
If you don’t have a lot of time to get up to speed on targeting your ads, it’s not a good idea to use display. Yes, it’s easy to throw something together if you’re not very concerned about the ad’s effectiveness.
But if you want to make the most of display ads, you need to take the time required to learn about all the different alternatives that are available with these types of ads, among them an array of targeting and creative choices.
Is your company behind it?
Before you dive into a display ad campaign, you need to make sure company management is behind the effort of using display ads as a way to grow the business.
Use a reputable display network
To make sure your ads are directing the traffic that you want, you need to go with companies that have the best technology for advertising, places like Google, Yahoo, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
Third party ad networks that are just out of the startup gate may not get you the qualified leads that you need.
Are you an ecommerce or B2B company?
These types of companies stand to benefit most from display ads. Targeted display ads give ecommerce marketers more opportunities to catch the attention of customers.
B2B companies can use display ads to target customers who may be in the market to buy their product.
Consider your goal
Display ads are most effective if your advertising goal involves nurturing leads and raising awareness. They are a great way to boost awareness and generate a demand for your product.
While it’s always best to target your ads toward a specific audience, display ads also have the advantage of providing a much broader reach. They can enable a company to raise brand awareness very quickly.
Nurturing
Display ads are effective in nurturing leads and prospects along the advertising funnel. They are especially effective with nurturing when using strategic targeting or topic targeting.
However, they are not the best for lead generation or eliciting a certain response from a customer, like completing a form. If you want to use these ads for lead generation, you should target only the audience most likely to respond to the ads.
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