Display ads and Google Merchant ads yield widespread and targeted exposure across the web. They help consumers get familiar with and more easily recognise your brand, and retargeting with any of these ads have a high ROI. It’s pretty much impossible to find a successful business not utilising Google Display Ads and Google Merchant Center, but it goes beyond just your average ad set. Step away from your tried and tested methods, and explore how you can make the most of Display Ads and Google Merchant.
The Google display network is undoubtedly the largest display network out there. With the ability to target over 90% of online traffic, many advertisers have turned to display networks in the hopes of boosting their sales. But making a successful display ad campaign isn't as easy as it looks. Display ad CTRs are but a fraction of search ads at an average of 0.46 percent, which is about 1/10th of the click-through rate (CTR) of the average search ad. This makes them a challenging marketing strategy to execute, but when done right, the benefits of display advertising are pervasive and long-lasting.
On another note, if you are an eCommerce store or any online retail shop, your product or service must be on Google Merchant. Why? Simple, Google Merchant accounts for nearly 65% of all clicks on Google Ads including 89% of non-branded ad clicks on Google Search. As an online eCommerce store, you can no longer avoid listing your products on Google Shopping Ads that have transformed online retail search marketing in recent years.
Besides being listed on popular eCommerce sites like Amazon, your online store can now generate valuable ad clicks through this Google platform. Essentially, Google Merchant acts as a platform that displays all your products and prices and your online campaigns to shoppers even before they land on your website.
So, how are you supposed to use Display Ads and Google Merchant simultaneously? Well here’s how;
Get customers who don’t know you
Instead of bidding on expensive keywords in Google Ads and Display Ads, try to find customers who aren't searching for you. Your business likely has a list of targeted keywords on Google Ads that are related to your products or services, but you should also consider tapping into your competitor's market. Try bidding on competitor names for your AdWords and disrupt your competitor's customers by being featured in their search results for their own customers. You can even take this a step further by bidding on your competitor's products or services that you have a variation of. Everyone has a specific product or service that overlaps with one another – having a share of their market can lead to more customers. Driving traffic through these methods is a creative way to be seen by a whole new audience.
Another way to make the most of Display Ads is to know who your customers aren't. Most companies have a good understanding of their own limitations. Instead of potentially driving customers who you can't service via your Display Ads, negatively target keywords that you don't want your company to appear in. If you only service a particular geographical area, then consider negatively targeting the areas outside of that key zone in your adwords. This is a great way to improve the conversion rate of your Google Ads, and not pay for ads that won't yield a return.
Promote your products online
Not enough businesses are aware of the functionality of promotions in Google Merchant Center. Google Merchant allows you to opt-in to promotions, upload catalogues, and advertise your products making them stand out to customers via a tag on the ad. Customers will immediately know that the product is either on special for a certain period of time or that your product is relevant to their search which would pique interest. Your products will begin featuring in front of customers with a new sense of urgency for purchase and can be harnessed during low and peak seasons in line with your business needs.
Like any platform, due diligence is needed to familiarise yourself with the platform so you can best leverage its functions. Experiment with different ad sets so you can best optimise your activity and wield the dynamic power of Google Display Ads and Google Merchant together.
Don’t make a boring Ad with vague CTAs
Many companies make the mistake of making their ads to plain. If you want to engage and interest your audience, you need to add a compelling design to your Google Display ads. This doesn't mean your design has to be outlandish or over the top. You want a design that looks clean and modern, but it shouldn't be too monotone.
Aside from that, your CTA is one of the most important elements of your ad. It can make or break whether your audience clicks on your ad or keeps scrolling. It's essential that you create an interesting and engaging CTA to get your audience to click on your ad.
Don't stick to generic CTAs like "Click here." This doesn't tell your audience what happens if they click on your CTA. You want to keep your audience informed and tell them exactly what happens if they click on your ad. Use CTAs like "learn more" and "sign up today." These CTAs tell your audience that if they click on your ad, they'll learn more about your product or service, or be taken to a sign-up page to input their information.
Maximise your Google Merchant efforts on popular products
If your brand has already established sales numbers, you would want to allocate your maximum resources on products that impact your business performance the most. By increasing your bids on the most successful products (or product ads), you can improve their visibility, that way, most users will see your best product ads.
At the same time, you can save costs or resources by decreasing your bids on your least successful product ads. This also eliminates any budget waste. By backing your most successful products, you can raise your advertising campaign’s impact along with your investment returns.
Merchant promotions are also known to influence buying habits and increase CTRs for your ads. Including merchant promotions in your Google Merchant ads can help in differentiating your products from other promotions. With Google Merchant Center, you can easily add promotion codes for sale discounts, offers, or free shipping that can garner more clicks from online shoppers.
Investing in your future
In today’s times, online advertisers can no longer ignore the advantage that Google Display Ads and Google Merchant’s immense potential in gaining more visibility and user clicks. These simple tips can help you set up the right Ad campaigns that you need for either platform and will get you a head start on most of your competition.
If you found this article informative or helpful, why don’t you schedule a call with our team at Nonstop Agency so we could dive deeper into the many technical advantages of Display Ads and Google Merchant? Our team of professionals is second to none when it comes to the New Zealand market and you’ll soon find out why.