Professional-quality ad creative is the biggest obstacle standing between you and Display advertising success.
WordStream’s Smart Ads technology (launched last November) automatically turns assets from your website and business page into eye-catching ad creative, eliminating the need to outsource design work to expensive (or unreliable) freelancers.
Initially, this feature only streamlined ad creation for Facebook and Instagram. But today, I’m here to tell you that smart ads just got smarter.
They’re now available for the Google Display Network, too!
Today, we’ll take a look at how WordStream Smart Ads can help you reach prospects on more than 2 million websites. But first…
What exactly is the Google Display Network (GDN)?
And more importantly, why should you advertise on it?
While there are other display advertising options, none of them even come close to the GDN in terms of reach. According to Google, ads on the GDN are eligible to appear on over two million websites and 650,000 apps.
It unlocks the potential to reach over 90% of global internet users, and is the perfect tool if you…
- Want to introduce your brand to a ton of people
- Have a lengthy sales process and need to ensure your product or brand stays top-of-mind for prospects in research mode
- Already possess a visually compelling offering and have the ad creative to show it off
Plus, display clicks are less costly than those from search, especially if you leverage some of the network’s more advanced targeting methods.
Bottom line: there’s no better way to expand your online presence without breaking the bank.
Google Display Network Ad Formats
With the GDN, you aren’t limited to two headlines and a description (though text ads are totally viable here, too). In fact, there are multiple ad formats available to help you reach net-new prospects and move existing ones further down your marketing funnel.
Today, WordStream Advisor enables the creation of text, responsive, and image ads.
With text ads, you operate as you would with the creative you’ve been using on search results pages. For responsive ads, you simply input a handful of variables (copy, brand assets, and image) and allow Google to determine which size and style of ad is best; they’re incredibly versatile, but you’re trade off some control.
Of the three, image ads are by far the most engaging, rewarding, as well as complex.
Aside from requiring compelling copy and a clickable CTA, image ads also require high-end creative to make sure your ad captures and holds attention on the often-crowded sites on which ads are served.
Now, there are a handful of image ad formats:
- JPG – a static image file type commonly used for photographs.
- PNG – a static image commonly used for diagrams, illustrations, etc.
- GIF – a simple animated image.
- HTML5 – used for code-intensive animated and interactive images.
Among the four, HTML5 ads—those that leverage some form of animation—are easily the most eye-catching. They allow you to advertise across the most common ad sizes on the Google Display Network, using the power of motion to increase engagement.
Unfortunately, they also require several hundred lines of code. That means it you want to use HTML5 ads to engage prospects, you’ll need serious coding chops or a designer/developer on your payroll.
If only there was a tool that could help…
Using WordStream’s Smart Ads for HTML5 Ad Generation
WordStream’s Smart Ads technology for the Google Display Network uses machine-learning to turn your existing images, copy, and brand collateral into animated, multi-sized, ready-to-go ads.
Yup, that’s right: WordStream creates display ad creative, even HTML5 ads, FOR YOU in minutes.
Here’s what an HTML5 ad created using WordStream Advisor might look like:
Miriam Ash, head of marketing for Alt Legal, recently tried out the beta version of Smart Ads for Display. To say she loved them would be an understatement:
“Do you have any idea much easier this makes my life,” she said. “This would take me 3 weeks normally. You guys hit a home run.”
How WordStream’s Smart Ads for Display Works
Once you provide your website or business page URL, WordStream Advisor’s Smart Ads technology will automatically generate the seven most common display ad sizes for you, in animated form, to use on the Google Display Network.
We crawl the URL you provide, surfacing your best quality images and proposing ad copy. Our Smart Ads technology for Display Ads also:
- Recognizes your color palette – Your ads will match your existing website, ensuring that your dynamic creative stays on brand.
- Identifies and implements your logo – So everyone remembers your name.
- Pulls high-quality images – Only the best images on your site will be harvested, resulting in crisp ads regardless of sizing. Quality here is determined by resolution, lack of text, and key focal points, among other aspects.
- Leverages relevant copy – Smart Ads clips snippets of text from your website so you don’t have to create more marketing copy!
Getting started with Smart Ads in WordStream Advisor
If you’re already a WordStream customer and you’d like to give Smart Ads a go, here’s how!
Navigate to your Manage AdWords section, select the ads tab, and click the create a new ad button.
From there, the ad creation wizard will walk you through the 3-step process of pulling creative, copy, and brand assets from your site, selecting the appropriate visual theme, and, finally, pushing your new, engaging ads live on the Google Display Network.
“That’s it?”
Yup. It’s that simple.
Not a customer? No problem. See how it works for yourself with a free trial of WordStream Advisor.
More to Come
Whether you are trying to decide if Google Display Network advertising is right for you or looking for a single software solution to help you manage all your online advertising needs, our experts are here to help. We LIKE giving demos! Contact us here to set one up.
Do you have product ideas and feedback? Send them to [email protected]!