PPCChat | Display Advertising – Is It Still Worth It? | 2nd April 2019

Posted by & filed under PPCChat.

Hosted by Julia F Bacchini, this week’s PPCChat session discussed about Network used by PPCers for Display Advertising, Is Display Advertising still worth to use  and more.

Q1: Are you currently doing advertising on any display networks? If so, which ones?

 

GDN and Crieto with clients. One client use to have Adroll and we stopped that. We’ve also run Quantcast in the past. @duanebrown

YES! GDN, Oath, Quancast, some premium and one of my clients LOVES criteo.@JuliaVyse

GDN. @jord_stark

None, just started ppc. @slidecoach

GDN and some Bing for me.@lchasse

The good old GDN . @amaliaefowler

Googly Display Network @jlash_digital

Yep, GDN, YouTube, Gmail (I count them), Bing Native and some secondary. @JonKagan

Yep same — GDN. @HayleyDeee

Depending on client – We do programmatic, Yahoo Native, GDN. @360vardi

 

Q2: What types of campaigns are you running on those networks?

 

 A mix, we do remarketing, lookalike, and keyword targets, 50% overlayed with specific placements, focus on brand awareness, but got one that converts a lot, which we just cant explain its success . @JonKagan

remarketing, responsive/smart display…trying to capture TOF and BOF . @jlash_digital

I should elaborate that with Display we’ve been testing static v.s. smart display and we tend to use custom intent audiences or in-market audiences. @amaliaefowler

I mostly run a variety of lead gen, remarketing, and responsive/dynamic for cart abandons.@jord_stark

We like to split things into 2 separate “types”. Demand Creation, and Demand Capture. Demand Creation will look like finding a “colder” audience and positioning the client brand. Capture will look primarily like Remarketing / Dynamic Product Remarketing.@PPCKirk

Placement, Gmail, Remarketing, YouTube, Topic and In-Market. @ValenciaSEM

Remarketing mostly. Sometimes some in-market based. Or if the client has a good view of their audience we do some audience + placement targeting at the top of the funnel. @StephanieErne

If a compnay doesn’t have solidified messaging, I like to test it out through GDN because it’s so cheap! For B2B you get a lot of crap leads so I usually transition to a more expensive platform i.e. LinkedIn when I feel I have messaging nailed down. @markpgus

Vast majority is remarketing. For many of my clients, the awareness role that display played in years past has been shifted into Facebook advertising.@NeptuneMoon

(1) Remarketing is the big one for me. (2) Prospecting and (3) Brand building for some fairly new brands to the market. @lchasse

Tested retargeting, lookalikes, pay-per-conversion, and some audience-specific camps in GDN. Some pockets of success, mostly with retargeting & audience targets.@SEM_PPC_MattV

All kinds of remarketing! Like we talked about last week, I like to keep “newsletter” nurture type content running just because it builds goodwill and helps give people the opportunity to see something outside of “our funnel” . @markpgus 

Q3: What is working well in display for you right now?

 

Custom Affinity (Targeting URL’s similar to those of competitors) and custom intent. (based on converting KW’s if you have enough.) @jord_stark

So this is different than what everyone else is saying but… Use the top performers from here https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/6002621?hl=en … and HTML5 ads FTW. @markpgus

Custom Affinity (Targeting URL’s similar to those of competitors) and custom intent. (based on converting KW’s if you have enough.) @jord_stark

Specific placements+Look A Alike or Remarketing Audiences. @JonKagan

Dynamic remarketing has been great with some ecom clients. All our ATC and up/cross sell campaigns are ROAS positive. Continue to test new opportunities and ideas.@duanebrown

Dynamic/responsive display tends to do better than static remarketing ads, and audience targeting has shown success…we are just starting to focus on display strategy more so we’ve got a long way to go! @jlash_digital

I can not think of anything specific. Display is more supportive than matched to KPI’s @StephanieErne

Remarketing of course. YouTube with placement targeting is also killing it on competitors. @ValenciaSEM

Audience targets showing some promise, waiting for post-conversion metrics to bake a bit. Time will tell! @SEM_PPC_MattV

Responsive ads are actually an improvement generally! For remarketing, using several ads that are part of a coordinated series is something I’m doing more and more of, and I like the results. @NeptuneMoon

Responsive ads vs. static is so much better. Also using a product feed is great. On the other side, having an actual testing/strategy plan for display has worked wonders with clients. @360vardi

Similar to @amaliaefowler we’re seeing much better CTR from responsive .@HayleyDeee

Remarketing to unconverted users but still drastically underperforms (Conv Rate & CPL) compared to search. So it’s basically a way of utilizing minimal budget to pacify clients that are a tad too excited about GDN’s image ads. ?‍♀️ @Nicole_Mintiens

Remarketing using the new responsive ads have been doing very well for me overall. @lchasse 

 

Q4: What is NOT working well in display for you right now?

 

Non placement specific without any audience targeting list is often a disaster. @JonKagan

Honestly, and I really hate to say it, YT & GDN pay-per-conversion. Post-conversion performance just wasn’t there. We really wanted it to scale! @SEM_PPC_MattV

Also no matter how I try to reframe it in my brain, I find it hard to justify spend for TOFU Display @amaliaefowler

Placement management is a giant PITA. Even with a “master exclusion” list and excluding undesirable categories, there are still an awful lot of terrible sites that run ads where you might not want yours running…@NeptuneMoon

Using “Smart” campaigns isn’t technically display, but it targets that as well. as everyone I’m sure, mobile apps are always big waster. Return on prospecting is not great, so for us it’s trying to see what the lift/impact. That stuff is always hard.@360vardi

Placement management, automated bidding is a challenge (tested tCPA pay for conversions & performance just tanked) @jlash_digital

Conversions. And can someone please let us see Google Analytics statistics like time-on-site in the report with the placements where my ad has been shown ?? @StephanieErne

I wish the placements were better thought out/I didn’t have to spend forever negative-ing out bad ones. I also wish that there was an easy way to explain it to clients who just think its easy to bring bounce rate for display down to 40% . @amaliaefowler

The pain of excluding mobile apps now… @HayleyDeee

Placements and mining for the ones to exclude. @adwordsgirl

Targeting apps in display has always been a money sucker for me. I always exclude those placements.@jord_stark

App and Youtube Placements lol. Managing placements in all honesty sucks… and also #BRINGBACKDISPLAYPLANNER. @markpgus

Honestly my pet peeve is managing placements constantly. Being careful your brand does not show up on sites they may not want to be on is sometimes quite painful.@lchasse

 

Q5: Has client interest in/desire for display changed over the past year? If so, in what ways?

 

My interest FOR clients has changed and we think about social after search before display. I just have such a low level of trust for the GDN. @SEMFlem

Less interest in display unless it’s performing well in terms of ROI, the “online billboard” effect has lost its sparkle & people want to be able to see direct attribution (ecomm at least). @jlash_digital

We’ve seen clients put a damper on Display, unless it’s retargeting or they have clear top-of-funnel objectives to reach, like with a new product launch.@heyglenns

There’s a fine line between not believing in it and over investing in it. Seems like more clients are starting to lean towards not believing in it as more attribution tools come through. @ValenciaSEM

Some clients still believe display is a great way to target BOFU #ppcchat I disagree – specially for b2b. @andreacruz92

I have seen a lot of clients shifting to less awareness and more conversion. Social media is picking up a lot of the display market as well. @lchasse

As I said in an earlier answer, I am seeing most resources that would have previously gone into display head on over to Facebook instead. Lone exception is remarketing on the GDN.@NeptuneMoon

Some clients still believe display is a great way to target BOFU #ppcchat I disagree – specially for b2b. @andreacruz92

Client interest for me is usually defined as “conversions”. So if it doesn’t lead to that, they don’t want to hear about it. That being said, I have gotten through that barrier with a couple clients! @amaliaefowler

I’m with @NeptuneMoon I think GDN resources have shifted to FB. I just think the platform has higher quality traffic…@markpgus

I feel like it depends on the client. Some clients want to be as visible as possible, while others see it as a waste. @jord_stark

We’re doing far less display than in years past. Certainly been pockets of success, but in agg the post-conv KPI performance mostly hasn’t been sustainable. @SEM_PPC_MattV

My interest FOR clients has changed and we think about social after search before display. I just have such a low level of trust for the GDN. @SEMFlem

Yes, ever since the emphasis on audience lists kicked in, the interest really began to increase. @JonKagan

No real change on the client end. Clients trust us to spend our money how we think is best to max revenue. @duanebrown

I feel people have the basic concept down now – “Retargeting” if not in name, then in practice is pretty well known. However, because of the game of telephone, price expectations are VERY low and focused on exceedingly high ROI. @ferkungamaboobo 

 

Q6: Do you wish you were doing more display? Why or why not?

 

Not really, they are just less doubtful of it. @JonKagan

I feel like there is a lot of opportunity for display as long as the targeting is good. I think I would do more if Google added more targeting options, especially those “life event” audiences that are available for YT. @jord_stark

Wish? Yes! The more open channels, the better. But we go where the DR-focused results are, which unfortunately is mostly in other places. @SEM_PPC_MattV

Its great for awareness, but hard to justify at times to backend metrics. So, yes and no. Bad answer I know, but at least I didn’t say “depends”. @ValenciaSEM

Doing more for sure… time and or budget makes this a balancing act. Plus some clients don’t have enough data to do anything beyond the basics. @duanebrown

Yes & No. I think GDN is prime for automated solutions since there is typically so much more volume, and it’s audience based so more averaged data anyway and that seems to work great for the machines. I’d happily use more automation in Display than in Search/Shopping. @PPCKirk

To be honest, not really. I find placement management to be such an unpleasant task that I don’t want to do more of it. @adwordsgirl

I feel like there is a lot of opportunity for display as long as the targeting is good. I think I would do more if Google added more targeting options, especially those “life event” audiences that are available for YT. @jord_stark

Custom intent has been a bright spot where we’ve seen decent performance, and I’d like to do more testing there. Outside of that, agree with general sentiment that social > display. @timothyjjensen

I don’t wish to do more display necessarily, but more strategic display definitely in terms of audiences/placements/dynamic. @jlash_digital

I would also say, for GDN, the best converting section for us will be gmail. That’s not surprising. Just another reason why advertisers shift spend to paid social and keep a smaller portion in GDN. @360vardi 

 

Q7: What is the best thing about running display campaigns, in your experience?

 

Price and I have found success driving users to my booth at conferences @andreacruz92

When you’re able to see attribution and the customer journey!! @ValenciaSEM

Discovering how different domains perform differently, and seeing how many just pointless/terrible monetized sites exist. @JonKagan

Get new net new audience using good visuals.@360vardi

Frankly, good old remarketing audiences are the best feature in display IMO . @timothyjjensen

The low cost is a definitely a big positive for Display. @adwordsgirl

(beyond the things that work well) Display is an inexpensive avenue for the exposure received. Great way to reach new potential customers. That being said, you do have to ensure your content is geared towards people who may have no idea who you are. @lchasse

I’m really against a lot of display, because I think the inventory is tainted and it’s far too easy. But if you can get that under control, the quality placements are a simple way to sorta tap on the customer’s shoulder to remind them you exist. @ferkungamaboobo

The CPC. @jord_stark

Yes. I would love if more clients would just set some budget apart for display. And also because being a small agency it helps with the google badge for display ? @StephanieErne

Besides me showing off all my creativity ?? I think it helps the client think about what message to send to the customer in what stage of the funnel. And that there should be a difference. Usually they have not jet thought about it and it helps develop their brand. @StephanieErne

Two things IMO –

1) The extensive reach can *sometimes* align with business goals.

2) Sometimes winners emerge that you’d never find otherwise. @SEM_PPC_MattV

Connecting brand to performance. Display can do a lot with top of funnel, awareness and amplification. If you expect it to generate direct traffic, you’ll be disappointed, but if you connect it to your direct response and build a system, you’ll succeed. @JuliaVyse

If you’re getting results…. IT’S CHEAP… Getting quality traffic can be tough though (more so in B2B) @markpgus

Benefits are remarketing – its irreplaceable as a strategy IMHO, especially when mixed with search campaigns as an audience. @amaliaefowler

2 main benefits I like about GDN:

(1) Significant amount of low cost, traffic volume at Top of Funnel…. IF you’re targeting the right people and non inundandated with fraud (?).

(2) Decent tracked ROAS at Bottom of Funnel with remarketing. @PPCKirk

No, I honestly think we should probably do less. @amaliaefowler 

 

Q8: If you could change anything about how display campaigns work, what would it be?

 

Easily eliminate mobile app traffic.@Mel66

I know I said this earlier but, better targeting.@jord_stark

I would change placements, how they are selected, the option to select them, etc. @amaliaefowler

For GDN the placement management is awful. I would love to see a better way to not have ads on low quality sites. It literally can make running campaigns not worth it due to time required to cull through placement reports. @NeptuneMoon

Bring the display planner back . @andreacruz92

I also very much miss the Display Planner for GDN. You listening @GoogleAds ? @NeptuneMoon

Better fraud/bot detection, and making it easier to exclude anything I like.@JuliaVyse

Display prices would be tough to beat if lead quality & post-conversion efficiencies were better. @SEM_PPC_MattV

The criteria to be an eligible placement would include stricter factors. @SEMFlem

Managing what content a brand’s ads will show up on. This is so key to ensuring we do not accidentally end up on some nefarious site or even a site that we just don’t want to be on as a brand. Oh and bring display planner back too. @lchasse

Better reporting and optimization in the interface. @360vardi

Somehow it would be nice if I, as an advertiser, could feedback on shitty placements. And Google would do something with the feedback (of course if reported a lot) so the network would have more quality placements as a whole. @StephanieErne

That perfect attribution simply does not exist (yet?). We have a lot of data, and can do a lot with the data we have, but even “data-driven attribution” has flaws. Particularly with ToFu/MoFu, attributing conversions may not actually be the most important thing.@akaEmmaLouise

Increased capabilities for healthcare/pharma. @JonKagan

Somehow it would be nice if I, as an advertiser, could feedback on shitty placements. And Google would do something with the feedback (of course if reported a lot) so the network would have more quality placements as a whole. @StephanieErne 

 

PPCChat Participants:

Related Links:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stop wasted ad spend with Karooya

Stop the wasted ad spend. Get more conversions from the same ad budget.

Our customers save over $16 Million per year on Google and Amazon Ads.

Start free trial Schedule a demo

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.