5 Paid Ad Types You Should Know
Paid search advertising mixes search and display ads to enhance companies’ bid and quality scores. They are typically shown above or below organic search results with a headline, display URL, and description text persuading users to click on the ad. Depending on the type of paid advertisement, the ad will contain information on a product or service a user was searching for, and it can appear on the side of a website or even before a YouTube video. As technology advances, marketers must adapt to new ways of reaching their audience. Online advertising is a beneficial option for marketers of all industries, especially those who don’t have astronomical budgets. Paid advertising can come in a variety of styles that give your brand the visibility it needs while saving you money.
Display and Native Ads
Display ads can reach up to 90% of Internet users world wide with targeting, keywords, demographics and remarketing features.
A display ad traditionally appears in the form of a banner ad, text ad, static image, video or billboard. However, software has evolved to where companies have the option to also promote their brand using display ads designed as floating banners, wallpapers, popup ads or flash text. These kinds of paid ads work through third-party websites reserving specific spaces for companies to pay to advertise their brand for a quick conversion.
Companies format their ads to create a campaign under their set budget to reach the most responsive audiences using interests or demographics. Display ads can reach up to 90% of Internet users world wide with targeting, keywords, demographics and remarketing features. Native ads are very similar to display ads but have one distinct difference; native ads appeal to users and try to not disrupt viewer experience by matching the content on a website to seem more genuine. They tend to be placed discreetly to avoid bothering users with ads popping up or in between paragraphs that force them to block advertisements on the website.
AdWords
Google AdWords is Google’s PPC advertising system where companies bid on keywords to increase their SERP (Search Engine Results Page), so their clickable ads can be seen by viewers. If your ads contain relevant and useful information for users, it will increase both ad rank and click through rate. Attaching ad extensions to your best performing campaigns can improve your CTR percentages by giving users additional information as to why they should choose your business. If your company’s keywords relate to your ads, landing pages and offerings, your quality score will go up, increasing cost-efficient clicks and decreasing your cost per click. With AdWords, you can review your keyword performance to know your high, low and nonperforming keywords on ads to optimize your overall keyword quality and ensure a successful campaign.
SEM (Search Engine Marketing)
Search Engine ads are the most dependable paid ads because they are shown when a user is searching for a certain product or service. With this type of paid ad, companies only pay for when users engage with their ad, like calling or visiting the website. While keywords are essential to search ads, avoid a keyword dump at all costs! A keyword dump can make your ad irrelevant to what the user is searching for, decreasing your business’ CTR. You want to bid on keywords associated to what users search for to find your company in order to increase conversion rates and be listed at the top of the SERP. Additionally, while it is recommended to be the third or fourth position on the SERP, that’s not always true for some businesses. Experiment with different ad positionings to find which works best for your company.
Retargeting/Remarketing Ads
Retargeting displays ads based on a user’s history with a company’s website. For brand awareness, pixel-based retargeting is designed to where a cookie notifies retargeting platforms to display ads based on the pages a lead visited on your company’s website, whereas list-based retargeting focuses on previous customers. After receiving contact information from a customer’s purchase, emails can be sent to advertise new products they’d be interested in. List-based retargeting ads are tailored to fit a customer’s behavior to increase the chances of conversion. If retargeting ads are done right, they can be more effective than a PPC because they communicate to people who recognize your business as they surf the web, increasing the chances of conversion.
Social Media Ads
“FACEBOOK PROVIDES FEATURES WHERE COMPANIES CAN SPECIFY AGE, REGION, INTERESTS, EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND, OR MORE TO BETTER TARGET AND INFLUENCE THEIR AUDIENCES.”
Platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter grow exponentially every year, making social media marketing a leader in efficient and effective advertising. Like display ads, paid advertising on social media can be done with promoted posts like simple banners, images, Facebook carousal or auto-play videos to reach specific people and increase conversion rates. Facebook provides features where companies can specify age, region, interests, educational background, or more to better target and influence their audiences. However, as valuable as social media marketing is with all its features and audiences, it is extremely competitive. Companies must design quick and creative ads that catch users’ attention instantly in order to run a successful campaign and surpass their competitors.