Finding the perfect Google Ads network for your business can feel like a high-stakes game, especially with a limited budget. You want to invest in the platform that will deliver the most impactful return on your investment, much like choosing the right car for its long-term value. Opting for the wrong network can feel like being stuck with an undesirable vehicle, leaving you eager to minimize losses.
Choosing the right network is especially important when you’re on a tight budget. It’s crucial to select the platform that aligns with your campaign goals and maximizes your return. This guide delves into the four primary Google Ads networks: Search, Display, Shopping, and YouTube. We’ll explore how to effectively utilize each network to achieve specific campaign objectives and demonstrate how strategic planning and experimentation can help you discover the optimal budget allocation across networks.
This comprehensive guide will help you determine the ideal Google Ads network for your business. Each network offers distinct advantages and ad formats. Let’s take a closer look:
Google Search Network: Connect with Prospects Ready to Convert
Whether you’re new to search advertising or a seasoned marketer focused on ROI, the search network is an excellent starting point. Compared to Display, Search offers some compelling advantages. The most significant advantage is its higher conversion rates. Our Google Ads industry benchmarks, derived from extensive client data, reveal intriguing insights into Search vs. Display performance across industries. Average conversion rates clearly favor Search:
Across all industries, the average conversion rate on the search network is 3.75%, significantly surpassing the display network’s 0.77%. This difference stems from the active intent of search network users.
Users turn to Google’s search bar seeking immediate and relevant answers to their queries, regardless of whether they’re looking for paid or organic results. This makes it advantageous for businesses offering products or services that provide instant solutions to immediate needs. For instance, a homeowner with a burst pipe might search for a plumber, or a parent preparing for the SAT might search for a tutor.
Even if you’re not in a high-converting niche like Dating & Personals or Legal, you can still position your offering as an essential solution.
The search network’s primary strength lies in its ability to target high-intent keywords, displaying your text ads to users primed for conversion. If your keyword research uncovers high-commercial-intent keywords relevant to your niche, and your product or service aligns with those searches, the search network is a promising avenue for your budget.
Google Display Network: Engaging the Passive Searcher
The display network reaches a vast audience—nearly 90% of online consumers—spanning over 100 countries and 30 languages. This extensive reach, coupled with the network’s passive search behavior, positions it as an ideal platform for building top-of-funnel brand awareness.
We’ve established that Search outperforms Display in terms of conversions. Furthermore, Search boasts a substantially higher click-through rate (3.17% vs. 0.46%):
This disparity, similar to the conversion rate difference, arises from the contrasting search behavior on each network. Despite the availability of visually appealing image and video creatives, eliciting click-throughs and conversions on the display network is inherently more challenging. This is because users are not actively seeking solutions to specific pain points. However, this doesn’t render Display ineffective; it simply requires adjusted expectations and a strategy tailored to its strengths.
Since display network users aren’t actively looking for your product or service, it offers a unique opportunity to generate leads at the awareness stage of your sales funnel.
If your sole focus is driving conversions within a specific campaign, you might choose to forgo Display. However, keep in mind that while clicks are harder to come by on Display, they come at a significantly lower cost compared to Search ($0.63 vs. $2.69).
Leveraging the display network allows you to expand your prospect pool by enhancing brand visibility on a larger scale at a comparatively lower cost. This increased brand affinity can, in turn, positively impact click-through and conversion rates in campaigns running on other networks.
Remarketing is a highly effective tactic on the display network. It enables you to target users who have previously visited your site with ads across the web, keeping your brand top-of-mind as they progress through the sales funnel. We’ve observed that remarketing display ads have a higher tolerance for frequency compared to standard display ads, and their conversion rates tend to improve over time. Therefore, remarketing on Display minimizes the risk of ad fatigue and “stalking” potential customers.
If your goal is to expand your audience and build brand affinity broadly, the display network is a worthwhile investment. The recent introduction of responsive display ads has also simplified display ad creation and optimization for advertisers with limited creative resources.
Google Shopping: Drive More Qualified Clicks
Shopping is experiencing phenomenal growth and shows no signs of slowing down. Google recently rolled out a suite of new Shopping features, retired Smart Shopping, and introduced shoppable image ads. Currently, U.S. retailers allocate 76.4% of their Google Ads budgets to Shopping, generating over 85% of their clicks from this channel:
These figures are even more impressive on mobile, reaching 79% and 87.9 %, respectively. While blindly following the crowd isn’t always wise, these statistics certainly warrant attention.
Google Shopping’s effectiveness is evident in its results. The average cost-per-action for a mobile shopping ad is $45.26, significantly lower than $97.71 for a standard text ad, $81.04 for an expanded text ad, and $98.29 for a standard display ad.
Like any booming market, there will come a point of saturation and diminishing returns. Until then, if you sell physical products, it’s worth exploring the potential of Shopping. Here’s why: 1. Reach. Shopping ads appear across Google Search, Google Shopping, and Google Search Partner sites like YouTube and image search. They don’t just appear on Google Search; they occupy prime real estate at the top of the SERP, above organic results and text ads. Additionally, your shopping ad can appear alongside your text ad or another shopping ad, multiplying your chances of earning a click from a single query. 2. Format. Shopping ads are not only larger than text ads…
…but they also allow you to incorporate visually appealing image creatives to attract potential customers. This brings us to the next advantage… 3. More qualified clicks. Shopping ads display specific product information, including visuals and pricing, allowing users to pre-qualify themselves before clicking. This results in more qualified leads further down the sales funnel. 4. No keyword management. Shopping shares similarities with SEO. It directly integrates with your product listings in Google Merchant Center. Instead of relying on keyword bids, your ad placement is determined by the optimization of your product listings for Search, much like writing effective meta titles and descriptions. 5. Better reporting. Shopping provides granular reporting capabilities. The Bid Simulator is a valuable tool for determining bid adjustments.
The Shopping network offers numerous benefits. If your product can be effectively showcased in a shopping ad, consider leveraging this powerful channel.
YouTube: Maximize Meaningful Impressions with TrueView
The past two years have witnessed a has doubled in the number of small and medium-sized businesses advertising on YouTube. This trend is driven by businesses recognizing the massive daily video consumption and the projected dominance of video in internet traffic (80% by 2019). Additionally, creating video and visual assets has become more accessible for advertisers with limited resources, skills, and time.
TrueView, YouTube’s default ad format, addresses the fear of creating content that goes unseen. With TrueView, you only pay when viewers choose to watch (for 30 seconds) or engage with your video. This eliminates wasted spend on impressions lacking genuine interaction.
There are two types of TrueView ads:
- TrueView in-stream. These ads play before or during regular YouTube videos. Users have the option to skip the ad after five seconds; you are only charged if they click an element within the ad or watch for 30 seconds (or until the end, whichever comes first).
- TrueView video discovery. These ads appear alongside other YouTube videos, within YouTube search results, or across websites on the display network.
You can also utilize product listings from your Merchant Center to create TrueView for shopping campaigns. This allows you to showcase a shopping listing for your product alongside your TrueView video ad content.
Another noteworthy YouTube ad format is bumper ads. These are six-second (or shorter) ads that play before, during, or after YouTube videos. Their unique appeal lies in the fact that users cannot skip them, and they operate on a CPM (cost-per-thousand impressions) bidding model. This means you pay each time your ad is displayed 1,000 times. Bumper ads are ideal for reach campaigns, and 70% of brands utilizing them have reported increased brand awareness.
Currently, 51% of marketers are leveraging YouTube video ads, with this number expected to more plan on getting involved in the coming years. If you have the capacity to produce video content and aim to maximize meaningful ad impressions, YouTube presents a highly advantageous channel for your advertising investment.
Identifying the Right Google Ads Channel for Your Needs
As we’ve explored, each channel possesses unique strengths. Most businesses can benefit from strategically utilizing a combination of these networks. The key is to align your channel selection with your objectives. If brand awareness is a challenge, the display network or the reach of YouTube bumper ads could be beneficial. If quality clicks are a priority, Shopping might be the answer. For niches like Dating & Personals, where engaging creatives are effective, Display could be a top performer.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Experimenting with different channels is crucial to determine the optimal budget allocation for your specific needs. Embrace the diverse options available and leverage them to your advantage!