The first thing we need to know about the Google Search Network vs. Display Network is that the search network consists of the search engine and Google search partners. The display network includes a huge number of websites that have been associated with Google to show their ads.
Something very common in new advertisers is to leave the two networks activated in the same campaign. Using this method you can get a large number of impressions and clicks but we don’t recommend it since both networks have a different purpose and it would probably end up contributing to irrelevant traffic on your site. This will surely cause great disappointment and your first investment wouldn’t bring any results.
It is important to understand how your target audience behaves in each of them. People use the Google search engine in different circumstances: obtain information about a product, compare prices, find a store, etc.
Search Network
The Google search network is characterized by being demand-oriented, that is, the ads are shown to those people interested in a certain product or service related to what they are looking for in Google. Therefore, advertisers have the possibility of making their offer known to a target audience that is looking for it, which represents an advantage over other advertising media.
Another highlight of ads on the Search Network is that the advertiser only pays if the ad is clicked on (Cost Per Click or CPC), otherwise, they do not cost anything.
Taking it to the field of practicality, if someone is looking for “notebook service” and an ad about “Repair of notebooks” shows up, it’s very likely that the customer will click on the ad since you are showing just what the person is looking for.
Display Network
Unlike the Search Network, the Display Network is characterized by being oriented towards the offer; therefore, in order to capture the attention and interest of the users, the ads must have a commercial focus.
On the Display Network, the advertiser pays for impressions, that is, for the number of times your ad is published (Cost per thousand impressions – CPM), although you can also choose the cost-per-click (CPC) formula.
The display network has somewhat different behavior. Your target audience could be reading an article in a site about a particular topic and somewhere on the page, your ad will appear. Since they are focused on another task you must try to capture their attention with a very striking banner and a very attractive message. But even if you have the best banner this does not guarantee anything, since maybe the customer is not interested in your product or may not be ready to buy it at that time.
If your goal is to have a direct response (leave data in some way, download a file, make a purchase or reservation, etc.) and you do not have the experience, our recommendation is to start using only the search network. This way you can start in a much more controlled environment and get results faster and then move on to the difficult task of convincing those who are not looking for your product using the display network.
On the other hand, if your objective is to present a new product or a new brand, the display network is the ideal channel to achieve it more easily.
Where to start…
Don’t get caught up in the difference between the Search Network vs. Display Network. If your website is new and barely has any traffic, we recommend starting with a search network campaign to gain visits on your website. If your website already has some time and you receive visits of organic traffic we recommend that you start with a remarketing campaign to strengthen your brand and improve conversion rate.
Our Synapse Ads blog contains more information regarding this and other related subjects. We also have the amazing Keyword Mixer, which helps to find the right keywords to drive traffic to your website.
