Display ad
Also called display advertising, display ads
What is a display ad?
A display ad is a visual advertisement, such as an image, animation or video, shown on websites, apps and video platforms rather than in search results. Display ads are usually bought through networks like the Google Display Network or programmatic exchanges, which place them across many publishers and charge by impression or click.
Display covers several formats: banner ads in fixed sizes, responsive ads that the network assembles from your images and headlines, native ads styled to look like the surrounding content, and video ads. Social feed ads are technically display too, but marketers usually treat paid social as its own channel.
Display is mostly an interruption: people did not search for you. That makes it better for awareness and retargeting than for capturing ready-to-buy demand, which search ads do better.
Why a display ad matters
Display ads reach large audiences at low CPM and keep your brand in front of people who visited your site but did not buy.
They also bring risks: ads can appear next to content you would not choose, so brand safety settings and placement exclusions matter.
How to run display ads
- Decide the job: awareness, retargeting or prospecting.
- Prepare images in the standard sizes plus square and landscape assets for responsive ads.
- Write short headlines and descriptions the network can mix.
- Set placement exclusions and brand safety controls.
- Measure by conversions and view-through results, not just clicks.
Display ad FAQ
What is the difference between display ads and search ads?
Search ads are text ads shown to people searching for something. Display ads are visual ads shown while people browse sites and apps, whether or not they were looking for you.
Are social media ads display ads?
Technically they are visual ads, but most marketers call them paid social and manage them separately from display networks.
Related terms
A banner ad is a rectangular image or animated ad shown on websites and apps, in standard sizes like 300×250, 728×90 and 320×50.
Retargeting shows ads to people who already interacted with your business, such as site visitors or video viewers, to bring them back to buy.
CPM, or cost per mille, is what an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions. It is the standard way to compare the price of reach across platforms.
Brand safety is protecting a brand's reputation by keeping its ads and content away from harmful contexts and its own content free of risky claims.
Paid social is advertising on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and LinkedIn, where you pay to show posts to a chosen audience.