Google display ads: A guide for small businesses in Ireland

Google display ads allow businesses to reach potential customers while they browse websites, use mobile apps, watch YouTube or check Gmail. 

Unlike Google Search ads, which mainly appear in response to an active search, display ads can reach people before they search for a specific business or service.

They can be used to:

• Build awareness

• Reach new audiences

• Re-engage previous website visitors

• Promote products or services

• Support seasonal offers

• Generate enquiries or sales

• Stay visible during a longer buying process

Display advertising can give small businesses broad reach, but low-cost impressions and clicks do not automatically make a campaign effective.

The audience, creative, landing page, bidding strategy and conversion tracking must all support the same objective.

Google display ads are visual advertisements shown across the Google Display Network and eligible Google-owned properties. Advertisers provide images, logos, videos, headlines and descriptions, and Google can combine these assets to fit different placements.

Key takeaways

• Google display ads can appear across websites, mobile apps, YouTube, Gmail and other eligible Google properties.

• Display advertising reaches people while they browse content rather than only when they actively search.

• Google began moving standalone Display campaigns into Demand Gen in June 2026.

• Responsive display ads automatically combine and resize images, logos, headlines and descriptions.

• Audience targeting and content targeting serve different purposes and should not be treated as interchangeable.

• Prospecting and remarketing should have separate objectives, audiences, messages and reporting.

• Optimised targeting can expand beyond the audience signals you select.

• Strong display creative uses clear imagery, concise messaging and one relevant call to action.

• Frequency should be monitored so that the same users are not shown the same advertising excessively.

• View-through conversions require careful interpretation because the person may not have clicked the ad.

• Campaign performance should be evaluated against the original objective, not click-through rate alone.

• Display advertising works best as part of a clear acquisition, remarketing or awareness strategy.

What are Google display ads?

Google display ads are visual advertisements delivered through the Google Display Network and other eligible Google inventory.

Depending on the campaign and ad format, they can contain:

• Images

• Logos

• Headlines

• Descriptions

• Video

• Product information

• A business name

• A call to action

Google states that its display inventory includes more than three million websites and over 650,000 apps, alongside Google properties such as Gmail and YouTube.

Display ads can appear in several forms, including:

• Banner advertisements

• Square or rectangular image ads

• Native-style ads that match the surrounding page

• Responsive display ads

• Uploaded static image ads

• Animated HTML5 ads

• Dynamic product or service ads

• Video-supported responsive ads

The available format depends on the campaign type, inventory and assets supplied.

How do Google display ads work?

A display campaign connects five main elements:

1. The campaign objective

2. The audience or content being targeted

3. The advertisement

4. The available advertising placement

5. The landing page and conversion action

When an eligible advertising space becomes available, Google evaluates which campaigns can enter the auction.

The system considers factors such as:

• Targeting eligibility

• Bid or bidding strategy

• Predicted performance

• Ad quality

• Available creative assets

• Campaign budget

• The person’s context

• The website, app or content

• Existing exclusions

• Frequency settings

If your ad wins the auction, Google displays it in an available format.

Responsive display ads can automatically change their size, appearance and format to fit different placements. A single responsive ad could therefore appear as a small native-style ad on one website and a larger image advertisement elsewhere.

Where do Google display ads appear?

Google display ads can appear across eligible:

• Websites

• Mobile apps

• YouTube placements

• Gmail placements

• Google Display Network inventory

• Other surfaces supported by Demand Gen

Google’s 2026 transition means display inventory is increasingly managed through Demand Gen, which can include YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Maps and the Google Display Network. Channel controls allow advertisers to choose which eligible surfaces to use.

You do not automatically appear on every website or app.

Actual placements depend on:

• Campaign settings

• Audience targeting

• Content targeting

• Channel selection

• Bid and budget

• Inventory availability

• Brand-safety settings

• Placement exclusions

• Google Ads policies

Placement reports should be reviewed regularly, particularly when the campaign is using broad targeting or optimised targeting.

What is changing with Google display ads in 2026?

Google began moving Display campaigns into Demand Gen in June 2026.

Eligible advertisers can voluntarily migrate campaigns using the tool available in Google Ads. Google has stated that, at a later stage, new Display campaigns will only be created through Demand Gen and remaining eligible campaigns will be migrated automatically.

The Google Display Network itself is not disappearing.

Instead, its inventory is being incorporated into the wider Demand Gen campaign structure.

This change provides access to:

• Google Display Network websites and apps

• YouTube

• YouTube Shorts

• Discover

• Gmail

• Maps, where available

• Image and video formats

• Lookalike segments

• Channel-level controls

• Demand Gen experiments

Businesses with existing Display campaigns should not assume that every setting will transfer without review.

After migration, check:

• Campaign status

• Budget

• Bidding

• Conversion goals

• Audience targeting

• Content targeting

• Channel controls

• Creative assets

• Business name and logo

• Exclusions

• Frequency settings

• Landing pages

Google notes that migrated campaigns may experience short-term performance fluctuations and that ads created through migration must be submitted for approval again.

What are Google display ads used for?

Building brand awareness

Display ads can introduce your business to people who have not searched for it before.

This can be useful when:

• The business is entering a new market

• The service has low search demand

• Customers need education before buying

• The purchase decision takes time

• Visual presentation matters

• Brand recognition influences later decisions

An awareness campaign should be assessed using metrics such as reach, frequency, viewable impressions and relevant website engagement.

It should not be judged solely by immediate form submissions.

Reaching potential new customers

Display ads can target people based on characteristics, interests, recent research behaviour or the content they are viewing.

This allows a business to introduce an offer before the person searches for a specific provider.

For example, a commercial fit-out company could reach people researching:

• Office relocation

• Workplace design

• Commercial property

• Office refurbishment

• Facilities management

The campaign still needs a clear reason for those users to engage.

Broad reach without a strong proposition can generate a large number of impressions without producing meaningful commercial results.

Re-engaging previous website visitors

Display advertising can show ads to people who have already interacted with your website or app.

Google now refers to these groups as your data segments, although the process is still widely known as remarketing or retargeting. These segments can include previous visitors, product viewers, cart abandoners or other users who completed selected actions.

Someone who viewed a high-value service page may be more valuable than someone who visited the homepage for several seconds.

Remarketing lists should therefore reflect user intent rather than treating every visitor equally.

Supporting seasonal campaigns

Display ads can support:

• Christmas offers

• Summer promotions

• Event campaigns

• Product launches

• Recruitment periods

• Time-limited services

• Industry exhibitions

• Awareness dates

• Fundraising campaigns

The creative, audience and landing page should make the timing and offer clear.

Do not continue serving expired promotional creative after the offer ends.

Generating leads or sales

Display advertising can generate direct conversions, particularly when:

• The audience has demonstrated relevant intent

• The campaign uses strong first-party data

• The offer is clear

• The landing page is effective

• Conversion tracking is accurate

• The product or service has a short decision cycle

• The campaign has enough budget and data

Cold display traffic is less intentional than a relevant Google Search click.

A person searching “commercial cleaning company Dublin” is actively looking for the service. A person reading an office-management article may be relevant but not ready to make an enquiry.

The expected conversion rate and acquisition cost should reflect this difference.

What types of Google display ads can you use?

Responsive display ads

Responsive display ads are created from separate assets, including:

• Images

• Logos

• Videos

• Short headlines

• A long headline

• Descriptions

• A business name

Google combines these assets and adjusts the format to fit available advertising spaces.

Responsive ads offer:

• Broad placement coverage

• Automatic resizing

• Native-style formats

• Multiple creative combinations

• Easier asset management

• Support across mobile and desktop inventory

Every asset should work independently because Google controls which elements appear together.

Responsive display ads can use up to five short headlines, one long headline, five descriptions and multiple image and logo assets.

For the current image sizes, aspect ratios and file requirements, see my guide to Google display ads dimensions.

Uploaded image ads

Uploaded image ads are complete advertisements created outside Google Ads and uploaded at a fixed size.

They provide greater control over:

• Layout

• Typography

• Branding

• Image placement

• Button design

• Supporting text

However, each advertisement only fits placements that support its exact dimensions.

A campaign relying only on uploaded image ads may therefore have less available inventory than one also using responsive assets.

Uploaded ads work well when:

• Brand control is strict

• The design needs an exact layout

• Legal wording must appear in a defined position

• The business has professional design resources

• The campaign requires specific banner formats

HTML5 display ads

HTML5 ads can include animation and interactive creative elements.

They require more specialist design and must comply with Google’s technical and policy requirements.

They can be useful for:

• Product demonstrations

• Interactive storytelling

• Animated offers

• Rich visual sequences

• More advanced brand campaigns

They are not automatically better than static or responsive creative.

The format still needs a clear message and conversion objective.

Dynamic display ads

Dynamic display ads use a feed to personalise the products or services shown.

They are most commonly used by:

• Ecommerce retailers

• Hotels

• Travel businesses

• Property businesses

• Recruitment platforms

• Education providers

• Businesses with large service catalogues

For example, a retailer can show someone products related to items they previously viewed.

Dynamic campaigns require:

• A suitable product or service feed

• Accurate website tagging

• Correct item identifiers

• Relevant audience segments

• Current prices and availability

• Suitable landing pages

Automation cannot compensate for poor feed data or broken tracking.

Video-supported display ads

Responsive display ads can include video assets uploaded through YouTube.

Video can help explain:

• A product

• A service process

• A customer outcome

• A location

• A business story

• A complex proposition

Keep the message understandable without relying on sound.

Many placements are viewed with the sound muted or while the user is focused on other content.

Responsive display ads versus uploaded image ads

Using both can provide broader inventory coverage while retaining controlled creative in priority placements.

How does Google display ads targeting work?

Google display advertising offers two broad targeting approaches:

1. Audience targeting

2. Content targeting

Audience targeting focuses on who the person is.

Content targeting focuses on where or alongside what content the ad appears.

Google distinguishes between these approaches within its targeting tools.

Audience targeting options

Your data segments

Your data segments contain people who have already interacted with your business.

They can include:

• All website visitors

• Visitors to a specific page

• Product viewers

• Cart abandoners

• Previous customers

• App users

• People who completed or did not complete an action

These audiences are valuable because the users already have some familiarity with the business.

Avoid relying only on an “all visitors” segment.

Create groups based on meaningful behaviour, such as:

• Viewed a high-value service

• Visited the pricing page

• Began a booking process

• Added a product to the basket

• Purchased within the last six months

• Existing customer due for a repeat service

The message should reflect what the person already knows.

Someone who abandoned a basket should not receive the same introduction as someone who has never visited the website.

Custom segments

Custom segments allow you to provide signals based on relevant:

• Search terms

• Interests

• Websites

• Apps

These signals help Google identify people with related interests or purchase intentions.

Custom segments should reflect the customer’s actual research behaviour.

A B2B campaign should not simply target broad terms such as “business” or “marketing”. It should use the problems, tools, competitors and topics connected to the service.

In-market segments

In-market segments are designed to reach people Google identifies as actively researching or considering products and services within a category.

They can provide a useful starting point where the available category closely matches the offer.

A broad category may still include many users who are not suitable customers.

Review lead quality rather than assuming that every in-market user has strong commercial intent.

Demographic targeting

Google Ads can use estimated demographic information, including:

• Age

• Gender

• Parental status

• Household income, where available

• Detailed demographic characteristics

Restricting demographics can reduce campaign reach. Use exclusions only where there is clear commercial or regulatory justification. Google notes that demographic information may be estimated from Google profiles or publisher data.

Customer Match

Customer Match allows eligible advertisers to use first-party customer data to reach or exclude known users across supported Google properties.

This can support:

• Customer retention

• Cross-selling

• Reactivation

• Excluding existing customers from acquisition campaigns

• Reaching high-value customer groups

• Building more relevant audience signals

Customer data must be collected and used in accordance with Google’s policies and applicable privacy requirements.

Content targeting options

Topics

Topic targeting places ads alongside content related to selected subject categories.

For example, an Irish gardening supplier could target content related to:

• Gardening

• Landscaping

• Home improvement

• Outdoor living

Topic categories are broad.

Use placement reports and exclusions to check where the ads actually appear.

Placements

Placement targeting allows you to select specific:

• Websites

• Apps

• YouTube channels

• YouTube videos

• Other eligible placements

This provides greater control where you know that particular sites or content are relevant to the audience.

A selected placement does not guarantee impressions. The placement must have eligible inventory, and your campaign must still compete in the auction.

Display keywords

Display keywords help Google identify content related to selected themes.

They do not work like Search campaign keywords.

They are used for contextual matching rather than matching an active search query.

For example, keywords around “office interior design” could help a commercial fit-out advertisement appear alongside content discussing office renovations and workplace design.

How combined content targeting works

Google states that ads can appear on content matching any of the topics, placements or Display keywords you target.

Adding a topic and a keyword does not necessarily mean the page must match both criteria.

This is important because advertisers sometimes combine several content settings expecting them to narrow the campaign.

The result may instead increase the number of eligible placements.

What is optimised targeting?

Optimised targeting allows Google to look beyond the audience segments or targeting signals you selected and identify additional users considered likely to convert.

Google states that optimised targeting is turned on automatically and can be disabled in the ad group settings. It may also reduce or stop traffic from the original signals if other audiences perform better.

This means the selected audience is not always a strict boundary.

Use optimised targeting when:

• Conversion tracking is reliable

• The campaign has a clear conversion objective

• The business wants to find new customers

• There is enough budget to test beyond the initial audience

• Lead or sales quality can be assessed

Consider turning it off when:

• The campaign must reach a tightly defined group

• The budget is very limited

• The offer is highly specialised

• The campaign is remarketing only

• Audience expansion would create compliance issues

• Conversion data is weak or misleading

Do not assume that Google will remain within the audience signals you entered.

What I commonly see in Irish small business display campaigns

One of the most common problems I see is a campaign launched because display clicks appear inexpensive.

The business compares a €0.30 display click with a €5 Search click and assumes the display campaign offers better value.

The two clicks represent different levels of intent.

A Search user may be actively looking for the service. A Display user may have been reading an article, checking an app or watching a video when the ad interrupted their activity.

The lower-cost click is not automatically the better commercial result.

Another recurring issue is combining cold audience targeting and remarketing in the same campaign.

These users require different messages:

• A new audience needs an introduction and reason to care.

• A previous visitor may need reassurance, evidence or a stronger offer.

• A cart abandoner may need product-specific messaging.

• An existing customer may need a repeat-purchase or cross-sell message.

I also see businesses rely heavily on view-through conversions without checking whether those conversions would have happened anyway.

A display ad may have contributed to a sale without generating a click, but the attribution window and the user’s previous relationship with the business must be considered.

Finally, many accounts use one image, one generic headline and an “all visitors” audience. This gives Google little useful creative or strategic information.

How to plan a Google display ads campaign

Define one campaign objective

Start with a specific objective.

Examples include:

• Reach 50,000 relevant people in Dublin

• Generate consultation requests from previous service-page visitors

• Re-engage cart abandoners

• Promote a seasonal sale

• Introduce a new product range

• Increase repeat purchases

• Generate leads from a defined B2B audience

Avoid vague objectives such as:

• Get more exposure

• Increase visibility

• Drive traffic

• Promote the business

The objective determines the targeting, creative, bidding and measurement.

Separate prospecting and remarketing

Use separate campaigns or clearly separated structures for:

• New audiences

• Previous website visitors

• Cart abandoners

• Existing customers

This allows you to control:

• Budget

• Frequency

• Creative

• Offers

• Landing pages

• Bidding

• Reporting

Combining these audiences can make performance look stronger because familiar users often convert more easily than cold prospects.

Choose locations carefully

An Irish business should target the areas it can actually serve.

Depending on the offer, this could include:

• Dublin

• Selected counties

• The Republic of Ireland

• A radius around the business

• Ireland and Northern Ireland

• Selected international markets

Do not target all of Ireland merely to increase reach.

A local clinic, tradesperson or professional service should focus on commercially realistic areas.

Set a budget that can test the strategy

The campaign needs enough budget to reach the audience repeatedly and produce useful data.

The right budget depends on:

• Audience size

• Campaign duration

• Geographic coverage

• Creative formats

• Expected cost per thousand impressions

• Expected cost per click

• Conversion rate

• Value of the conversion

• Remarketing-list size

• Frequency objective

For more detail on campaign costs, see my guide to how much Google Ads cost.

Do not divide a limited budget across too many audiences, locations and offers.

Select the right bidding objective

Your bidding strategy should match the campaign goal.

For example:

• Awareness campaigns may focus on viewable impressions or reach.

• Traffic campaigns may focus on clicks.

• Lead-generation campaigns may use Maximise conversions or target CPA.

• Ecommerce campaigns may use Maximise conversion value or target ROAS.

Do not use conversion-focused automated bidding before confirming that the conversion action is accurate and valuable.

An automated strategy will optimise towards whatever you define as success, even if that action is only a weak button click or contact-page view.

Add suitable exclusions

Depending on the campaign, consider:

• Content exclusions

• Placement exclusions

• App-category exclusions

• Geographic exclusions

• Audience exclusions

• Existing customer exclusions

• Converted-user exclusions

• Sensitive-content settings

Brand-safety controls reduce unsuitable placements but do not eliminate the need to review placement reports.

Monitor frequency

Frequency measures how often the same person sees your advertising.

High frequency can lead to:

• Creative fatigue

• Annoyance

• Declining engagement

• Wasted impressions

• Negative brand perception

Google Ads allows Display advertisers to set frequency caps at campaign, ad-group or ad level over a day, week or month.

There is no universal ideal frequency.

The appropriate level depends on:

• Campaign duration

• Audience size

• Buying cycle

• Creative variety

• Offer

• Brand familiarity

• Awareness versus direct-response objective

Review average impression frequency per user and performance over time.

How to create effective Google display ads

Use clear, relevant imagery

The image should explain the offer or create a clear connection to it.

Suitable images could show:

• The product

• The service being delivered

• A customer outcome

• The business location

• A completed project

• A staff member

• The product in use

• A relevant professional setting

Avoid generic imagery that could represent any business.

A photograph of people shaking hands says little about an accountant, consultant, software platform or construction company.

Create multiple aspect ratios

Responsive campaigns need assets that work across different shapes and devices.

Provide:

• Landscape images

• Square images

• Vertical images where supported

• Square logos

• Landscape logos

• Video where relevant

Do not use one image and rely on automatic cropping for every placement.

The current specifications and fixed banner sizes are covered in my Google display ads dimensions guide.

Keep the message concise

A display ad is often seen while the person is focused on something else.

The message should quickly explain:

• What is offered

• Who it is for

• The main benefit

• The next action

For example:

Headline: Commercial cleaning in Dublin
Description: Flexible cleaning plans for offices, clinics and shared workspaces.

This is clearer than:

Headline: A cleaner future starts today
Description: Discover a new world of possibility with our trusted team.

Creative language should not obscure the offer.

Use one clear call to action

Suitable display calls to action include:

• Request a quote

• Book a consultation

• Shop now

• View the collection

• Check availability

• Download the guide

• Register today

• Learn more

“Learn more” works when the campaign is educational or awareness-led.

For a high-intent remarketing campaign, a more direct action may be appropriate.

Make every asset work in combination

Google can combine responsive assets in different ways.

Do not rely on one headline to complete another.

Avoid assets such as:

• Headline 1: Save 20%

• Headline 2: This weekend only

• Headline 3: On selected products

Each line may appear without the others.

Use complete assets:

• Save 20% on selected products

• Weekend sale now available

• Shop selected products online

Refresh creative based on evidence

Creative fatigue can reduce performance as the same audience repeatedly sees the same advertisements.

Review:

• Frequency

• Reach

• Click-through rate

• Conversion rate

• Cost per conversion

• Asset reporting

• Performance by audience

• Performance by placement

Replace creative when the data indicates deterioration, not simply because a calendar reminder says that four weeks have passed.

Match the ad to the landing page

The landing page should continue the message introduced in the advertisement.

It should match:

• The product or service

• The audience

• The offer

• The location

• The visual style

• The call to action

A person clicking an ad for a free website audit should arrive on a page explaining that audit.

They should not arrive on a general homepage listing every service.

A strong landing page should include:

• A clear heading

• A concise explanation

• Relevant benefits

• Supporting evidence

• A visible call to action

• Mobile usability

• Fast loading

• Appropriate consent information

• Accurate conversion tracking

Improving the landing page can have a greater effect on the campaign’s conversion rate than making minor adjustments to banner colours or button wording.

Set up conversion tracking before launch

The conversion action should reflect a meaningful business outcome.

Depending on the campaign, this could include:

• A completed enquiry form

• A qualified phone call

• A confirmed booking

• A purchase

• A registration

• A download

• A product trial

• An offline sale linked back to the campaign

Do not treat every interaction as a primary conversion.

Actions such as these may be useful for analysis but should not automatically drive bidding:

• Contact-page views

• Email-link clicks

• Short website visits

• Video plays

• Scroll depth

• Add-to-basket events without purchase

• Form starts without completion

Test the conversion before allowing automated bidding to optimise towards it.

How to measure Google display ads performance

The correct metrics depend on the campaign objective.

Awareness campaigns

Review:

• Reach

• Unique users

• Impressions

• Viewable impressions

• Frequency

• Cost per thousand impressions

• Relevant website engagement

• Branded search changes

• Assisted conversions

Traffic campaigns

Review:

• Clicks

• Click-through rate

• Cost per click

• Engaged sessions

• Landing-page engagement

• Bounce or engagement rate

• Quality of website visits

• Subsequent conversions

Lead-generation campaigns

Review:

• Qualified leads

• Cost per qualified lead

• Conversion rate

• Lead quality

• Sales opportunities

• Closed revenue

• Audience performance

• Placement performance

Ecommerce campaigns

Review:

• Purchases

• Revenue

• Return on ad spend

• Cost per purchase

• Average order value

• New customer revenue

• Repeat customer revenue

• Product-level performance

Clicks and click-through rate are diagnostic metrics.

They do not prove that the campaign is profitable.

What are view-through conversions?

A view-through conversion occurs when someone sees a display or video ad, does not click it, and later completes a conversion.

These conversions can help identify the influence of visual advertising where users do not immediately click.

However, the result depends on the selected view-through conversion window. A longer window normally records more view-through conversions.

Review view-through conversions separately from click-through conversions.

Ask:

• Was the person already familiar with the business?

• Were they also exposed to Search, social or email activity?

• Did they visit the website before seeing the display ad?

• How long is the attribution window?

• Is the campaign reaching existing customers?

• Would the conversion probably have happened anyway?

View-through reporting is useful, but it should not be treated as proof that every attributed conversion was caused by the display impression.

Google display ads versus Google Search ads

The two formats support different stages of the buying journey.

A small business should not replace a profitable Search campaign with Display solely because display clicks cost less.

For businesses capturing active demand, Google Ads Search campaigns often remain the stronger starting point.

Display can then support:

• Remarketing

• Awareness

• Product launches

• Longer sales cycles

• Audience development

• Seasonal activity

Google display ads versus paid social ads

Both formats allow businesses to use visual creative and audience targeting.

Google display ads can reach people across websites, apps and Google-owned inventory.

Paid social ads reach people within social platforms and use the behaviours, interests and content available within those ecosystems.

The right channel depends on:

• Where the audience spends time

• The quality of available targeting

• Creative format

• Campaign objective

• Available conversion data

• Product or service category

• Audience intent

• Budget

The same image and message should not automatically be copied across every advertising platform.

Each channel has different formats, environments and user expectations.

Are Google display ads suitable for every small business?

Display ads can work well for:

• Ecommerce retailers

• Travel businesses

• Hotels

• Events

• Charities

• Training providers

• Clinics

• Property businesses

• B2B services with long sales cycles

• Businesses with strong visual products

• Businesses with enough website traffic for remarketing

• Businesses launching new products or services

They may be less suitable when:

• The budget is too limited to test the campaign properly

• There is no clear target audience

• The business lacks suitable creative assets

• The website does not generate conversions

• Conversion tracking is unreliable

• The service has strong existing search demand but Search is not being funded

• The campaign objective is simply to generate cheap traffic

• The business cannot assess lead quality

• The audience is too small

• The landing page does not match the advertisement

Display advertising should solve a defined marketing problem.

It should not be added simply because the campaign type is available.

Common Google display ads mistakes

Google display ads checklist

Before launching a campaign, confirm that:

1. The campaign has one defined objective.

2. Prospecting and remarketing are separated.

3. Location targeting reflects the areas the business serves.

4. Conversion tracking has been tested.

5. Primary conversions represent meaningful outcomes.

6. Audience and content targeting have been reviewed.

7. Optimised targeting is configured intentionally.

8. Placement and content exclusions are in place.

9. Landscape, square and mobile-friendly assets are available.

10. Headlines and descriptions work in different combinations.

11. The landing page matches the offer.

12. Frequency will be monitored.

13. View-through conversions will be reported separately.

14. Lead or sales quality can be assessed.

15. Display or Demand Gen migration settings have been reviewed.

Frequently asked questions about Google display ads

What are Google display ads?

Google display ads are visual advertisements shown across websites, mobile apps, YouTube, Gmail and other eligible Google inventory.

They can use images, logos, video, headlines and descriptions.

How do Google display ads work?

Advertisers define a campaign objective, targeting, budget and bidding strategy, then supply creative assets.

Google enters eligible ads into auctions for available placements and displays the winning advertisement in a suitable format.

Where do Google display ads appear?

They can appear across the Google Display Network, which includes websites and mobile apps, as well as eligible placements across YouTube, Gmail and other Google surfaces.

The exact placements depend on campaign type, targeting, exclusions and inventory.

Are Google display ads moving to Demand Gen?

Yes.

Google began allowing eligible advertisers to migrate Display campaigns into Demand Gen in June 2026. Google has stated that new Display campaigns will later be created through Demand Gen and remaining eligible campaigns will be migrated automatically.

What is the difference between Google display ads and Search ads?

Display ads reach people while they browse content and use visual creative.

Search ads primarily reach people who are actively entering relevant searches on Google.

Search normally reflects stronger immediate intent, while Display is useful for awareness, prospecting and remarketing.

Can Google display ads target website visitors?

Yes.

You can create your data segments containing people who previously visited your website or completed selected actions.

You can then show these users relevant advertisements across eligible Google inventory.

Do Google display ads use keywords?

Display campaigns can use keywords for contextual targeting.

These keywords help Google find relevant content and placements. They do not work like Search campaign keywords and do not require someone to enter the phrase into Google.

How much do Google display ads cost?

There is no fixed cost.

The amount depends on:

• Audience

• Locations

• Placements

• Competition

• Campaign objective

• Bidding strategy

• Creative

• Conversion rate

• Available budget

Campaigns can be billed and optimised using different approaches, including clicks, impressions and conversions, depending on the campaign and bidding settings.

What is a good click-through rate for Google display ads?

There is no universal target.

Click-through rate varies by audience, format, placement, objective and industry.

A high click-through rate is not valuable if the clicks do not become qualified leads, sales or meaningful website engagement.

Are Google display ads effective for small businesses?

They can be effective when the campaign has a clear objective, relevant targeting, suitable creative, a strong landing page and accurate tracking.

They are less effective when they are used only to generate inexpensive traffic.

How often should display creative be changed?

Change creative when performance and frequency data show fatigue or when the offer becomes outdated.

Do not replace ads according to a fixed schedule without reviewing actual campaign evidence.

Should I use responsive display ads or uploaded image ads?

Responsive display ads provide broader placement coverage and require fewer fixed designs.

Uploaded image ads provide greater control over the exact composition.

Using both can balance reach and creative control.

Reach the right audience with Google display ads

Build awareness, reconnect with previous visitors and reach potential customers beyond Google Search.

If your display campaigns are generating impressions and clicks but not enough qualified leads or sales, I can help you identify where the budget is being wasted.

Book a free consultation and I will review your campaign structure, audience targeting, creative assets, placements, landing pages and conversion tracking. I will identify the main issues and show you what to prioritise first.

About the author

Alessandro Boscolo Conway — Hello Digital

I'm a Dublin-based freelance SEO and digital marketing consultant with over 20 years of experience, including time on Google Ireland’s Search Quality team.

I run Hello Digital, a consultancy that helps startups and small businesses across Ireland grow online through clear strategy, expert delivery, and practical support.

I've worked with over 50 Irish companies to improve their visibility, generate better leads, and grow sustainably through SEO and digital marketing.

I'm a certified Google Partner and a trusted advisor to e-commerce brands, local services, and fast-growing startups.

• Based in Dublin, 20+ years of experience
• Former Googler, certified Google Partner, SEO strategist, and performance marketer
• Trusted by 50+ Irish startups, e-commerce brands, and local businesses
• Learn more about Hello Digital