Google AdWords

Chapter 9. The Google Display Network

Introduction to the GDN

Google Search works splendidly when a searcher knows what she wants. Her search query identifies what she wants to find, so you have a chance to present your offers on the search results page. But what about the searcher who wants what you sell but doesn’t know it yet? You might have the greatest product in the world, but if the searcher doesn’t know it exists, how can she find it?

Or what if your product is extremely visual? A searcher might pass by a text ad, but an image or video has a much greater chance of catching her eye.

Enter the Google Display Network. This network is made up of millions of “placements,” locations where AdWords ads are eligible to appear. Placements are websites, online games, web feeds, and online video sites like YouTube. Ads are contextually targeted. In other words, you specify keywords or themes (called topics) and the AdWords system identifies relevant placements to show the corresponding ads. You can hand-pick placements, called managed placements. Unlike Google Search, the Display Network offers many ad formats, including text, image, Flash, and video ads.

If the differences between Search and Display are not yet clear, consider this scenario.

A searcher visits Google because her pet bearded dragon has outgrown its terrarium. After researching options, she searches for “Exo Terra PT 2613” to find sellers. In this case, the search query identified what she wanted at that moment ...