The Power of Display Advertising and Why You Should Use It

Display Advertising
  • Post category:Monetization
  • Reading time:18 mins read

Website and app monetization with ads has recently been a leading practice for publishers. While many publishers nowadays have VOD content they can monetize, display ads are still the most prominent in the industry. As a more cost-effective and flexible route for generating revenue, display advertising has certain advantages and drawbacks that may impact a publisher’s decision on whether and how to implement these ads into their website.

What Is Display Advertising?

Display advertising is a form of online advertising that uses text-based or visual ads that usually include a CTA (in some form) to prompt a specific action or increase brand awareness. They are most commonly used in programmatic advertising, as they are easy to customize and have excellent retargeting capabilities. 

Types of Display Ads

Display ads come in all shapes, sizes, and formats, both static and interactive. The most common types of display ads include:

  • Banner ads
  • Interstitial ads
  • Native ads
  • Rich media ads
  • Video Ads

Banner Ads

display advertising Banner Ads
Banner Ads

Likely the most common display ad format, banner ads usually appear in the form of a graphic or an image. They often show up at the top or the sides of a web page (but can be placed in any available ad slot). They get their name because they resemble banners.

Banners ads come in various different shapes and sizes due to their flexibility. The most common standard banner ad formats are:

  • 468 x 60 (banner ad)
  • 728 x 90 (leaderboard ad)
  • 250 x 250 (square ad)
  • 120 x 600 (skyscraper)
  • 320 x 50 (mobile leaderboard)

Interstitial Ads

Interstitial Ads
Interstitial Ads

A popular in-app ad format, interstitials appear before the user can access a site’s landing page, i.e., between content transitions (moving between pages, articles, or levels in an app). They are more frequently used on mobile devices and are known to be disruptive, as they cover the entirety of a user’s screen.

Interstitial ads can be static image/text-based ads or dynamic videos. The user can click out of the ad and continue their browsing activities after a predetermined number of seconds or after the ad has finished playing. These ads come in formats suitable for various screens:

  • 320 x 480 / 480 x 320 (for phones)
  • 1024 x 768 / 768 x 1024 (for tablets)

Native Ads

The main characteristic of native advertising is that it doesn’t look like advertising at all. Instead, it allows advertisers to promote their products or services in a more organic-like manner. The ad itself will resemble the look of the rest of the website or app. Native ads are especially good for raising brand awareness.

Since native ads have to fit in with their surroundings, they don’t really have standardized sizes and formats. Instead, you may recognize a native ad as a sponsored post on a blog or an in-feed ad on a social media platform such as Instagram.

Rich Media Ads

Rich Media Ads
Rich Media Ads

Highly interactive rich media ads can engage users in different ways. Some if the most common examples of rich media ads include:

  • Gamified ads
  • Expendable banner ads
  • CTA button
  • Pushdown ads
  • Slider ads

The main discerning quality of rich media ads is that they encourage user interaction. Whether they allow the user to play an in-ad game or react to the movement of the cursor, they are interactive and engaging, making them quite a high-paying ad format for publishers.

Video Ads

Lastly, as one of the most widely used ad formats, video ads are a favorite both among publishers and advertisers. They offer a lot of freedom in terms of ad placement and customization. Video ads may be associated with existing video content (as is the case with instream ads) or standalone (outstream ads). They can be skippable or unskippable, muted or unmuted, play in a banner or a video player, be behaviorally or contextually targeted, etc.

Display Ads vs. Video Ads — Which One Should You Use?

Publishers usually choose between these ad types based on their resources, available ad inventory, and audience preference. However, including both video and other display ads on a website helps diversify their revenue streams. For instance, incorporating multiple banner ads on a website alongside outstream video ads or instream video ads (within the publisher’s video content) is a great way to maximize ad yield

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Benefits of Display Advertising for Publishers

There are several reasons why publishers should incorporate display advertising into their strategy. Display ads are:

  • Cost-Effective — With video advertising, publishers need to employ a quality video player, consider different video sourcing options, and, if they want to distribute self-produced content, they have to pay production costs. In contrast, display advertising is far more affordable and time efficient. 
  • Easy to Implement — Display ads are generally less complex to integrate. The process usually involves using code snippets or tags provided by ad networks or programmatic platforms, which can be easily integrated into websites or apps. 
  • Flexible — Display advertising offers a large variety of ad formats and sizes (standardized) to publishers, allowing them to choose the most appropriate ones that fit the available ad space on their website. This way, publishers can incorporate ads that align with their site design and won’t interfere with the user experience.

Drawbacks of Display Advertising for Publishers

Publishers who wish to implement display ads on their websites might face the following issues: 

  • Ad Fatigue & Banner Blindness — Overexposure to display ads can lead to ad fatigue and banner blindness among users. Ad fatigue occurs when users are tired of repeatedly seeing similar ads on a website. It can heavily impact user engagement. Similarly, banner blindness refers to users purposefully ignoring display ads on a website due to their prevalence. While the goal is to serve more ads on a website, and while display ads give more room for this, there is a limit to how many display ads a publisher should implement.    
  • Ad Blockers — Due to ad fatigue, more and more online users are using ad blockers. Ad blockers prevent ads from appearing on a web page or app, directly impacting the publisher’s earning potential, as they cause a decrease in ad impressions. Some publishers try to cushion the blow by asking their website visitors to allow ads. 

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FAQ

1. What is display advertising?

2. What is an example of a display advertisement?

3. How much does display advertising pay?