Skip to main content

Google Ads Search Network Vs Display Network

Today I'm going to talk about the search partners and the display network when you are setting up your campaign. Quite a few of you get confused. We use this, should we not? Why should we use them? When to use them? Hopefully, the next few minutes are going to demystify these two networks. Whenever you go into your account, setting up a new campaign, you will get this right? Whether you want to include the search partners and also display network.

Let me explain first. What are the search partner and display network? Search partners, they extend the reach of Google search ads to hundreds of non-Google websites, YouTube, and other Google. 

Obviously, the display network is, what we call the GDN, Google display network. A collection of very high-quality web sites and apps with 2 million placements where you can place your website. When you choose this option, your campaign will run on the GDN with no additional setup. Your ads will appear only when they are predicted to be effective and you aren't using your budget on search. Obviously, this is the display which, I'm sure most of you know about. Okay. The type of ads you can place on these channels: text, dynamic search ads, call-only ads, shopping ads, image ads, and videos.

Here's a little tip. The CTR, click-through rate is usually lower than the search network and it won't affect your qualities. You are concerned that your quality score may go down because of a low CTR. It won't and always keep the search partner and display network campaign separate from your search network because they got different goals, different metrics and you don't want to muddy them together by putting them with your search network. 

Search network, you always keep them separate. You run these two separately. Should you, or should you not use them? Well, as I always say, test it for yourself. Don't listen to me or to anybody else. It may work for me. It may not work for you. It may work for you. It may not… Try and test it.

When you are setting up your campaign, you can either include or exclude these two networks by checking two boxes, as simple. You don't need to do anything else with regards to the setup. That's all you need to do. Okay. I did a little test to see what happens. Here's my campaign set up and you can see that you will get the data for the display network and for the google search separately. To get this under your campaigns, what you need to do is first go to your icon segment. When it pops up, go to network, and then you will find that these two appear here and you will find that search has so many clicks impressions... and the display network. You can separate these out and you'll be able to see, because of the Google display networks being so big, it’s not surprising that it has got so many impressions compared... and same again, over here, the CTR is very low.

Let's see what we get. Now, in this campaign, I physically can't bid more than pay and if I pay more, my campaigns will not be profitable. What happens is ... As you can see over here, all of these keywords are below the first-page bid of £11.24, £19.76, £24.28, £30.05, £19.24. Pretty much almost double or more than double than what my allowable maximum is. Now you can see here in this Max CPC column and I'm putting up £10, but even though I enhanced it, I know I'm paying a little bit more. I wanted to see whether I can traffic or not at such a lower CPC. It was quite difficult to get, you know, the volume of impressions metrics we want to get. I tried these two..., What I got... so the target CPA. I was working towards was £50. That's my target.

I was getting 85.30 conversions and an average CPC of £4.21 so how did we get over here when these were so high and how you can scale these?

As I've said before, you know, until you don't try and do different tests, you'll never find out what is going to work and what's not going to work. Again, on most of the internet and most of the gurus will say, don't run on search partners...

These are the 2 networks. This one has got 77 clicks, 254 impressions, 11K, 350K, CTR. Now the average CPC here, £9.69, and the display network £2.75. there's a huge difference. Yeah, the cost, similar. I let it run for a little while to see what happens. ... 3 conversions at £212 each, 4.62% conversion rate, and over here 12 conversions at £53.55, which is very close to my target CPA of 4.82%. Now the good thing which I have found from here is I know Google display network is massive. I really scale it and I'm happy with CPC and I'm happy with that conversion rate as well. Obviously, I would like to improve it as we go along, but the most important thing is the cost per acquisition.

Then how do you scale this? Once you start to get the results? What you want to do is, if you keep them in the same campaign, the search network is not going to get the budget. The display network is going to eat up and the partners, so what you do is then separate them out. As you can see, this is my main campaign, which you had the data in there. These are all brand new because they haven't run yet. What I, or we as a company does, we separate these out by the computer and the mobile so we will have a separate budget for the same and then display network, I keep them separate. Again, computers and mobile so each one with its own budget.

Then we see now, how the devices are performing, whether the mobile is performing better than the computer or vice versa. Tablets, don't run a lot of traffic on them. We usually found tablets not to work so now we just run on pretty much on these two networks, and this is how you can scale it. If you find campaigns where it's a small campaign in a local area, there's not a lot of search volume and you are not spending your budget, not getting any impressions or clicks, try the display network and the search partner. See what happens and get some movement, get the name out of your brand, service, product in the local community, and then you are going to get that brand awareness go higher and run a brand campaign as well after that to see whether you are getting the brand campaign. This is how I would build these.

If you enjoyed this article, you may also like:

Join in YouTube Live stream every weekday at 1600 hrs. Set your reminder here

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SEO for Attorneys: How to Rank Locally and Get Enquiries Every Week

Are you a skilled attorney, yet your phone isn’t ringing with new clients? Many law firms struggle to connect with their ideal local audience despite offering top-notch legal services. In today’s digital landscape, simply having a website isn’t enough; you need a robust strategy to ensure potential clients find you when they need legal help the most. What if you could consistently attract  qualified leads  right in your geographical area, turning online searches into tangible weekly enquiries? This comprehensive guide will demystify the world of SEO for attorneys, providing you with actionable strategies to dominate local search results. We’ll explore how to optimize your online presence, build authority, and convert browsers into paying clients. Prepare to transform your firm’s digital footprint and secure a steady stream of new business with effective law firm SEO. Unlocking Local Dominance: Essential SEO for Law Firms Why Local SEO is Crucial for Lawyers in a Competitive Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Customer Avatar Exercise That Makes Copywriting Almost Too Easy

What if there was a secret weapon that could make your marketing messages resonate so deeply, they almost felt telepathic? Imagine cutting through the noise and connecting directly with the hearts and minds of your perfect customers. This isn’t magic; it’s the power of understanding your  ideal customer  on a profound level. It’s a skill that can transform your copywriting from generic to genuinely irresistible, making sales almost automatic. Many small business owners and copywriters struggle, often hearing crickets despite hours of effort. Without understanding your audience, your words float aimlessly. The customer avatar exercise becomes your most potent marketing tool, simplifying persuasive writing. This guide demystifies the  customer avatar , showing you how to build a detailed ideal client profile. It’s a fundamental shift in your marketing strategy. You’ll gain a framework to write copy that feels like a conversation, leading to stronger connections and improved...
Post a Comment
Read more

Your Customers Aren’t Cold: Your Message Is: The Art of Authentic Connection

Imagine pouring your heart into a sales pitch, crafting the perfect email, or spending hours on a marketing campaign, only to be met with silence. Does it feel like your potential customers are simply “cold” or uninterested? What if their indifference isn’t a reflection of their buying intent, but rather a symptom of miscommunication? What if the problem isn’t them, but the way you’re speaking to them? This isn’t about blaming your efforts, but empowering them with a new perspective on customer engagement and effective communication. Understanding the Myth of the ‘Cold’ Customer The term “cold customer” is often a misnomer, a convenient label for when outreach isn’t yielding results. It implies a lack of interest, but often, this perceived coldness isn’t deep-seated rejection; it’s a superficial reaction to messaging that doesn’t resonate. For small business owners and non-technical readers, understanding this distinction transforms their entire approach to sales and marketing communic...
Post a Comment
Read more