Should You Do Paid Search Or Display Ads?

Paid search or display ads – which is the better alternative in the PPC world? Many online marketers were taken by surprise when recent studies showed that more marketers are willing to set larger budgets for display ads. You see, paid search has been long upheld as a leading method of online advertising, and it has triumphed in many areas when compared with display ads. Today, the tides seem to have changed, and everyone is left thinking whether that change is really worth it. Let’s find out if you should do paid search or display ads.

What is Paid Search?

Paid search is a type of contextual advertising where site owners pay an advertising fee, every time their ads (usually shown on the top of search engine result pages) are clicked or viewed. Major search engines like Google make it easy for search users to determine which results are paid and which are natural. Another name for paid search is sponsored search.

Benefits of Using Paid Search

Paid search can be used by almost all types of businesses that want to rank for a particular keyword. If you use paid search, your ads will be displayed to search users when they search for terms related to the ones you are bidding for. Since you get relevant traffic, there is a higher chance of conversion. Let’s take a look at some benefits of paid search:

• Great for targeting local markets

People, who search for specific results in their search engines, are often seeking immediate responses and results.  That’s why local businesses like dry cleaners, plumbers, hotels, etc., benefit the most from paid search.

• Greater ROI

Paid search is known to have a greater return on investment value. Studies have shown that the ROI value of paid search can be as high as 300%.

• Higher click-through rates

When it comes to creating paid search campaigns, marketers can easily create search engine campaigns that are highly segmented and based on demographics, location, keywords, and more. These ads also appear above the fold in search results, and are more likely to be chosen by search users.

What are Display Ads?

Display advertising or display ads are a type of advertising that conveys a commercial message visually with the aid of photographs, videos, animations, logos, text, etc. In addition, display advertisers are known to regularly target search users with certain traits to enhance the effect of the advertisement.

Benefits of Using Display Ads

Creating awareness about a new product or company with display advertising produces stellar results. The awareness a display ad campaign creates can fuel demand. What’s more, you can place display ads on websites and blogs of a particular niche or industry you want. That’s why display ads are great for older companies that want to generate brand awareness and recall. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of display ads:

• Cost-effective alternative

Compared to paid search, display ads are definitely more cost-effective solutions. Each click for display ads are usually 30% lower than paid search ads. New businesses and startups that can only afford low-budget brand awareness campaigns will benefit the most from display ads.

• Allows retargeting

Display advertising enables dynamic content optimization, customer personas, behavioral targeting, and retargeting. These are the things that make display ads become more important than ever. Since there is little chance that individuals will make a purchase the first time they visit your site, you can use retargeting to stay in your visitors’ memory. This can also increase conversions in the near future!

• Keeps brand recall value high

Long after paid search ads help a business bring in conversions, something needs to be in place to maintain brand recall and customer loyalty. That’s why bigger and older brands like Coca-Cola use display ads to keep their customers coming back to them. If you want to retain your presence and keep your recall value high, display ads best suit your needs.

The Bottom Line

If you prefer simplicity, continuing to run and manage paid search ad campaigns is a good choice. Today, display ads have shown the ability to produce good results as it allows you to use retargeting and other segmenting techniques. So, you can consider giving this form of advertising a shot too. Your choice ultimately depends on your online marketing needs, so make use of whatever that works in your advantage!