What is Display Advertising?

Display advertising uses visual ads, such as banners, images and video, shown on websites, apps and platforms to build awareness and bring people back.

When people think of online ads, they often picture the banners on a news website or the image ad inside a mobile game. That is display advertising. It is the digital version of a hoarding or a magazine ad, but with far better targeting and measurement.

Display ads are visual. They use images, logos, short text and sometimes animation or video. Unlike search ads, they reach people who are not actively looking for you at that moment.

Where display ads appear

The Google Display Network, which covers a very large number of websites and apps, plus Google sites such as YouTube and Gmail
Meta's Audience Network of partner apps
Premium publishers and news sites, often bought through programmatic advertising
Ad networks inside mobile apps and games

What display advertising is good at

Display works best for two jobs. The first is brand awareness, putting your name in front of the right people often enough that they remember you. The second is retargeting, where you show ads to people who already visited your site.

For example, imagine a real estate developer launching a new project in Navi Mumbai. It can show display ads with project photos to people interested in home loans and property in that region. Then it can show more detailed ads, like floor plans and site visit offers, to those who visited the project page.

Display can also find new prospects through custom segments, where Google builds an audience from the kinds of searches or websites your ideal customers are interested in.

How it is priced

Display ads are commonly bought on a CPM basis, meaning cost per 1,000 impressions, though you can also pay per click or let the platform optimize for conversions. Click-through rates on display are usually much lower than on search ads. That is normal, because people are reading or playing, not searching.

For example, at a CPM of ₹40, a budget of ₹20,000 buys 500,000 impressions. If 0.5% of those impressions lead to a click, that is 2,500 visits at ₹8 per click.

What to check in a display campaign

Placements: review where your ads actually showed, and exclude sites or apps that do not suit your brand.
Viewability: an ad that loads at the bottom of a page nobody scrolls to is not really seen.
Creative sizes: responsive display ads let Google adapt your images and text to different spaces.
Frequency: showing the same banner too often can tire people out.
View-through conversions: some people see an ad, do not click, and come back later. Count these carefully, not generously.

A simple, clear design usually works better than a crowded one. One message, one product, one button is enough for a small banner. Google's automation can also mix and match your headlines and images for each placement, so give it several good options to work with.

Simple takeaway

Display advertising is not about instant sales. It is about being seen, remembered and recalled at the right time. Pair it with clear creative, careful placement choices and realistic expectations, and it becomes a steady supporting player in your marketing mix.