Many advertisers complain because they believe that the cost of Google Adwords advertising is much more expensive than it was a few years ago. This might be true, but it is also true that Google gives advertisers a lot more options than they did in the beginning. By leveraging different advertising options effectively, many advertisers continue to profit from the large number of searches and affiliated websites that might display their ads. Google still runs very popular advertising systems. In case you aren't familiar with the search engine's basic advertising system, it allows advertisers to purchase either search or website display advertising. Search advertisements are displayed on the page when a Google user performs an Internet search. Display ads are shown on websites that have signed up to be part of the system and insert the display code on their sites. Most advertisers pay for their advertising clicks, but some choose to pay for a number of displays. Of course, all advertisers want to maximize both their clicks and conversions, so they can make the highest possible profit from their advertising dollars.
Understanding Display Advertising
When companies purchase display advertising, they choose an advertising format within the Adwords system. This might be text or graphical. They can also choose from a variety of sizes, and most serious advertisers test several different formats. Typical display advertisers will choose to have their ads appear when users enter relevant searches. They might also have their ads displayed on relevant websites. For example, a business that sells plumbing supplies or tools might have their ads shown on websites about home repair. They hope that the type of home handyman who visits the website might also be interested in their products, and these ads will increase their business website's visitors and eventual sales.
What Is Remarketing?
Also called retargeting, this type of advertising relies on a different principal than search or display does. Instead of showing adds in response to searches or a page topic, this type of display system shows ads in response to previous visits on the advertiser's website. Google has millions of registered viewers for a variety of different services. These services include email, social networking, document handling, and more. Once these users are logged in with their ID, they can be tracked. This might be a little bit sneaky on Google's part, but it can really benefit their advertisers.
A Remarketing Example
Most consumers do not respond to an advertising message the very first time they see it. But let's say that a home handyman happened to click through to your plumbing business when he was browsing his favorite home repair site. He might have browsed your website, but he decided not to buy anything at the moment. For this example, let us also say that this same gentleman was reading the news on his favorite news site the next morning. Since his Internet browsing habits have been tracked, there is a very good chance that he might see your plumbing supply website advertised again. This accomplishes a couple of things.
- It reminds the potential customer of your business.
- It gives you credibility because your advertisement was shown on a popular site
This particular individual will not just see your advertisements. He might also be exposed to other display ads as well. But he might see your ads several times again when he checks his Google email account, reads messages on a popular Internet forum, or maybe even when he watches a video about plumbing repair. You increase your chances that he will remember your website, and you even increase your chances that he will click through to become one of your customers.
Are Google Display or Remarketing Advertisements Better?
Every business is unique, and every population of potential customers is also different. Any experienced AdWords advertiser will tell you that the only way to find the best mix of advertising is to test out different formats and strategies. Your controlled advertising tests can help you find the best advertising strategy for your business. However, it is good to know that you have a variety of options available to you.
