Display Ad Builder Templates

Display Ads Builder has dozens of templates to help advertisers achieve the best performance. There are format-specific templates, such as video and rich media templates, to help advertisers specializing in those formats. Seasonal templates are good for a season or holiday-specific promotion. See an example of a seasonal ad template here. There are several vertical templates, for finance, education, retail, etc advertisers. And advertisers can also find the most popular and highest CTR templates, based on advertisers that have used templates before them.

Each template enables you to select a headline, headline font and color, and then include product descriptions and URLs, with the option to upload accompanying images. Users can then select from among dozens of background colors and provide display and destination URLs. Lastly, you can apply the chosen design to all ad sizes or to just a chosen subset by checking and unchecking selection boxes.

To see all the templates, go to the Ads tab in your account, and then New ad and then select Display ad builder from the drop-down menu. Scroll down and you'll all the template categories on the left side of the page. Click on any to see more templates within that category.

Display Ad Builder Best Practices

Select and Preview Ad Sizes

Since publishers for sites across the Google Display Network are able to select which ad formats and sizes they allow on their pages, it's recommended that advertisers create versions for their display ads in all possible sizes. This is to ensure that the ads will fit in all placement options across the Display Network, as some publishers may not permit certain sizes to appear on their pages. Due to the different placement options and inventory available across publisher sites, Google will automatically create your ad in most of the standard IAB ad sizes.

Each template within the display ad builder may allow you to insert one or more related images and a business logo. The recommended size for each image slot and associated template will be displayed during the ad creation process. Images that are over the file size limit or that don't meet the specifications for the template you select may appear distorted, misaligned, or not appear at all. You should review and resize your images as needed before creating a display ad so that your ad appears properly.

Consider the following best practices when selecting and previewing ad sizes:

•Display ad previews: You can preview how your display ad will appear while you're creating it. Be sure to click Update preview whenever you add an image to see how it will appear within your ad.

•Review all selected ad sizes: When you create your ad, you'll have the option to select the ad variation sizes we create for your ad. In some cases, these ad sizes may not work well with the size of the image you provided, so be sure to check that your image displays properly in each case. Deselect those sizes for variations where the images won't display properly.

•Image editing: Use photo-editing software to edit your image size and format. Transparent 24-bit PNG files look more professional because they match the background of both the image and the ad itself.

Choose Images and Colors

One of the key benefits of the Display Ad Builder is the freedom to easily and quickly customize how your display ads look and feel. Doing this can help you reach your target audience more effectively, generating results more quickly. It's important to carefully choose the images and colors for your display ads, ensuring that your selections compliment both the content of your ad and the sites on which your ad appears.

Refer to the article Experiment with Images, Colors, and Fonts for specific best practices on selecting images and colors for your display ads.

Create Multiple Ad Variations

Display ads offer so many options that you may need to experiment with different templates, colors, and content to get the best results. Creating multiple ad variations can help you identify the combinations that work best for your campaign.

•Change color schemes: Changes to the background and font colors of display ads can dramatically increase clickthrough rates (CTRs), which can lead to more impressions and more conversions. Set up your ad, then choose that same template again, change colors, save it in the same ad group, and then let the variations compete against each other. You can then pause the ads that are doing poorly, leaving the best color combinations to lead your campaign.

•Try new templates: Performance can vary widely by template. Consider trying out templates with images, no images, various types of animations, and no animations. Minor differences in layout and animations can have large impacts on clickthrough rates (CTRs), depending on your product or service.

•Call-to-action: The differences between "Buy it now" and "Learn more" for example, can significantly impact the users propensity to click. Consider trying out several variations, keeping in mind that the call-to-action phrases that you're used to using for text ads may need to be altered for display ads.

Best Practices For Display Creatives

Preview and Refine

You should regularly preview your display ads as you work with the display ad builder to make sure that they produce a resultant ad that you are satisfied with.

Refer to article Select & Preview Ad Sizes in the earlier part of this lesson for additional details and best practices.