Display Ads: Definition, Benefits Beyond the Banners

The digital landscape right now is massive and overwhelming, to say the least. It’s a vast and endless ocean of information and interactive opportunities pulling users in all directions, so attracting the eyeballs (and clicks) of your target audience can feel especially challenging. While search engines help focused users find what they’re actively looking for, what about capturing their attention during passive browsing, app use, or gameplay? That’s where display advertising comes in and can be enormously helpful, directing people to your product, site, app, or business.

As a copywriter and content writer for nearly two decades, I’ve seen the evolution of display ads and what they’re capable of, and the clever ways advertisers work around their limitations (more on that here). On the surface, some of them may still look the same as the early 2000s — just a rectangle rotating through slides — but the work that goes on behind it is completely different, and would be disorienting to even think about 20 years ago.

For those just starting out learning about display ads, or for people even older than me: If this were the pre-internet days, think of display ads as the digital equivalent of billboards or magazine ads, only much more strategically placed, and zeroing in on the right audience as much as possible. The results speak for themselves: In 2024 alone, spending on display ads topped over $300 billion, and made about 14 billion impressions. Display ads, especially nowadays, have gone beyond proving themselves as a useful tool for building brand awareness, driving website traffic, and generating leads.

So, what exactly are display ads in detail, how do they work, and most importantly, why should marketers care? I’ve taken a deep dive into the ins and outs of display advertising, its history, various forms, and overall potential, as well as how they can help your business. I’ve also enlisted the help of two experts for this piece: Rodrigo Cesar, digital marketing specialist/CEO at SSInvent, and Mimi Nguyen, founder and head of marketing of Cafely.

What Are Display Ads?

At their most basic core definition, display ads are a type of online advertising that combines visuals like images, videos, and animations along with text to share a carefully crafted marketing message. But, unlike the text-only ads that pop up next to search engine results based on specific keywords, display ads usually appear on websites, apps, and videos through various ad networks. These networks, one of the biggest being the Google Display Network, link advertisers to a wide range of websites to showcase their ads to users.

“As the CEO of a digital marketing agency, I spend a lot of time helping clients grow their visibility online, and display ads are one of the foundational tools I often use to make that happen”, says Cesar. “They’re essentially visual ads — banners, squares, pop ups, even video — that show up across websites, apps, and platforms. If you’ve ever seen an ad at the top of a news site or in the sidebar of a blog, you’ve seen a display ad in action.”

“They work by targeting you in a variety of ways,” says Nguyen, “like who you are, where you’re located, or what websites you’re browsing — even showing you things you’ve already looked at before. As soon as you click on one, you’re taken straight to the advertiser’s page.”

For a real-world example, let’s say you’re reading an article about the best running trails in your state. A banner ad for a new brand of running shoes catches your eye at the top of the page. That’s a display ad doing its thing, cleverly using the context of your browsing to show you a product that might just pique your interest. They know you’re already reading about running, specifically looking at trails, and the next logical step would be some good shoes, so a captivating display ad is designed to draw you in.

It’s not a guaranteed win for them, though: You may already have running shoes you’re happy with, tune out the ad, and keep reading the article. Still, if the display ad gets in front of the eyes of multiple thousands of runners, there’s a good chance some are going to hit that combination of needing new shoes, clicking through, and ultimately buying a pair — or may in the future as the ad follows them around the web.

“What makes display ads powerful is their reach,” Cesar adds. “They’re not about waiting for someone to type something into Google. Instead, they help brands show up where their potential customers already are.”

How Do Display Ads Work?

“These ads are placed through networks like Google Display Network or Facebook’s Audience Network and are often targeted based on behavior, interests, demographics, or past website activity,” says Cesar.

Though a banner ad may look simple (it was, after all, one of the earliest forms of internet advertising), a display ad has quite an epic journey from advertiser to your screen, involving both technology and marketing strategy. “I use them to raise awareness, build familiarity, and retarget people who may have visited a client’s site, but didn’t take action,” Cesar continues. “It’s like giving your brand a second or third chance to be remembered.”

Here’s a brief breakdown of the process:

Advertiser Creation

First, the advertiser designs their display ad, which can be an image, animated GIF, video, or some other sort of creative interactive element. They also clearly define their target audience based on factors like demographics, interests, browsing behavior, and website visits.

Ad Network Connection

The advertiser uses an ad platform, such as Google Ads, or an advertising service to link up with an ad network. These networks collaborate with endless websites and apps that have set aside space for showing ads.

Bidding and Matching

When a user visits a website within the ad network, an ad auction often takes place in milliseconds. Advertisers bid on the opportunity to show their ad to that specific user based on the targeting criteria they’ve set. The ad network’s algorithm then determines the winning bid and the most relevant ad to display.

Ad Delivery

The winning ad is then served and displayed in the designated ad slot on the website or app that you’re currently viewing.

User Interaction

If the user finds the ad compelling and clicks on it, usually they’ll be directed to the advertiser’s landing page, where they can learn more about the product or service and potentially make a conversion (generally a purchase, sign-up, or download).

It’s a fascinating process, and not just for us marketing nerds. The whole experience is frequently automated via programmatic advertising, where technology manages the buying and selling of ad space instantly, using sophisticated algorithms and data insights. Tools like Realize leverage a dedicated performance AI to simplify this process, ensuring your display ads target the right audience and are tailored on the fly to enhance performance. Realize, in fact, analyzes vast amounts of first-party data to understand user intent and engagement patterns, allowing advertisers to craft ever more relevant and effective display ad experiences.

Types of Display Ads

Display ads come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and formats, each designed to capture attention in different ways. “There are several types I work with, depending on a client’s goals,” says Cesar. “Traditional banner ads are still widely used, but responsive display ads — which automatically adjust in size and layout depending on where they appear — are becoming more popular because of their flexibility. I also rely heavily on retargeting ads, which follow users who have previously engaged with a site or product.”

Here are the core types of common display ads you’ll most likely encounter:

Banner Ads

Probably the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words “display ad,” these are the classic horizontal ads that typically appear at the top or bottom of a webpage. They come in various standard sizes, the most common ones being:

• Skyscrapers: Tall, vertical ads that run along the sidebars of websites.
• Square and Rectangle Ads: Versatile ad units that can be placed in various locations within a website’s content.
• Leaderboards: Wide banner ads that are often placed at the very top of a webpage.
• Half-Page Ads: Vertical ad units that can take up a lot of space and be visually impactful.
• Mobile Banner Ads: Smaller ad formats generally optimized for display on mobile devices.

Rich Media Ads

These ads go beyond static images and incorporate interactive elements, animations, video, or audio to create a more engaging experience. They’ve evolved a lot over the years and provide opportunities to play around with the format and make it more fun, innovative, memorable, and even viral.

Video Ads

These are short video commercials that can play within or alongside website content, or within video players. “Video display ads have gained a lot of traction, especially on platforms like YouTube and in mobile apps, where video performs extremely well,” says Cesar.

Interstitial Ads

Full-screen ads that appear between page loads or app interactions.

Native Display Ads

While closely related to native advertising (which blends seamlessly with surrounding content — more on that later), native display ads are still served through display ad networks, but are designed to match the look and feel of the website they appear on.

Pros and Cons of Display Ads

Like any marketing tactic, display advertising is going to have its ups and downs. “Display ads come with both advantages and challenges,” advises Cesar. “On the positive side, the visual nature of display advertising means we can create eye-catching creative that sticks in people’s minds. The reach is massive, and when used for retargeting, display ads can be incredibly efficient at bringing back potential customers who need a little nudge. On the downside, users have become very good at tuning out ads.”

“Another issue,” he continues, “is that people aren’t always in a buying mindset when they see display ads, so conversions may be lower compared to search ads. And, of course, ad blockers can limit visibility altogether, depending on the user.”

Here’s a breakdown of the benefits and setbacks:

Pros

Broad Reach and Awareness

Display networks can have an extensive reach, allowing advertisers to connect with a wide audience across a whole multitude of websites and apps. This makes them an excellent option, not just for building brand awareness, but also reaching potential customers who might not be actively searching for your products or services (yet).

“Reach would be the number one upside — you just can’t beat being in front of 90% of all internet users,” says Nguyen. “Smart targeting is another good one, as you can zero in on exactly who you want to reach. As someone who loves playing around with picture and video editing, I love the creative freedom I get with working on Cafely’s own display ads.”

Visual Storytelling

One of the big benefits of display ads is showing instead of just telling. Rather than shoving slides in front of users’ eyes, these allow for more compelling storytelling, and the showcasing of products and services in a more engaging way. Using capabilities like images, videos, and animations can capture attention and convey key points faster, not to mention being more visually stimulating than text alone. It can be a powerful, memorable way to make an impression, and one that creates a positive connection to your product.

Precise Targeting Options

One of the biggest ways modern display advertising differs from the early days is how platforms offer more sophisticated targeting capabilities. Advertisers can now reach increasingly specific demographics to pinpoint the audience they want. It’s not just the basics like age, gender, and location, but interests, behaviors, even retargeting users who previously interacted with their website. This helps ensure that your ads are shown to the most relevant audience, especially if the ad platform you’re working with uses AI that allows for targeting by intent, rather than just identity.

Cons

Banner Blindness

“‘Banner blindness’ means that if the ad isn’t truly relevant or engaging, it’s likely to be ignored,” Cesar points out. Over time, users (myself included) have become incredibly skilled at tuning out banner ad placements. Banner blindness can significantly reduce the effectiveness of display ads if they aren’t visually compelling and strategically placed.

Potentially Lower Click-Through Rates (CTR)

Compared to search ads, display ads often have much lower CTRs, often between 1% and 3%, and even that’s considered really good, as it’s usually less than 1%. Users browsing content may not be in a buying mindset at the moment they see your ad, and the visual distraction of ads can sometimes be more of a pain than an invitation to click. It’s the same feeling as trying to have a conversation with someone who’s engrossed in a book — you might need a really compelling opening line or they’re going to ignore you, or get annoyed and form a negative association with your product.

Ad Blocking Software

“Banner blindness is a real challenge,” says Nguyen. “But, there’s also ad blockers, so there’s a decent chance some people will never see your ads at all. Plus, placement problems could mean your ad might show up next to content you don’t want.”

While ad blockers were once just an application that your tech-savvy friend had, it’s now become extremely common. A significant segment of users have ad-blocking software running all the time, which can be a huge hurdle for advertisers to get around, as ad blockers prevent display ads from even being shown. Needless to say, this can severely limit the reach of your campaigns, and force you to look at alternative strategies to connect with your audience.

How to Create Display Ads: Best Practices

“As someone who creates display ads for clients daily, I always start with the basics,” says Cesar. “Make it visual, make it fast, and make it clickable.”

Size

“I usually stick with the most effective and widely supported formats like 300×250 (medium rectangle), 728×90 (leaderboard), and 160×600 (skyscraper),” says Cesar. “Responsive display ads have become a go-to because they adapt to the screen size — essential for today’s mobile-first browsing behavior.”

Nguyen agrees, and says that “there are a few golden rules to keep in mind: First is that size matters, literally. Best to stick to standard sizes, because they show up in more placements and tend to perform better.”

Copy

This is the area that’s been the center of my working life for a long time, and one thing I can say with absolute confidence is: Keep it short and simple.

“You have about one to two seconds to make an impression,” agrees Cesar. “I write headlines that speak directly to a pain point or a desired outcome. Something like ‘Tired of Slow Wi-Fi?’ or ‘Grow Your Business 3X with SEO’ works better than generic slogans. The body text supports the headline with a benefit or value proposition, not fluff.”

“It needs to be ultra-clear,” adds Nguyen. “No need to try to be clever. I go for ‘scannable and strong,’ like ‘Bold flavor, zero crash’ because that tells you exactly what to expect from our coffee.”

Call to Action (CTA)

This is what wraps it up, and is the final push to drive a user to click. “Your CTA should be clear and action-oriented — ‘Get a Free Quote,’ ‘Shop Now,’ ‘Learn More,’ or ‘Claim Your Offer,’” suggests Cesar. “I always test different CTAs to see what resonates, but the golden rule is, don’t make the user think. Make it obvious what they should do next.”

“It should pop,” says Nguyen, “both visually and contextually. Saying something like ‘Try Now’ or ‘See Flavors’ will perform better than the generic ‘Learn More’ buttons.”

How to Target the Right Audience With Display Ads

Casting the widest net possible may feel like a logical first instinct, particularly on a limited budget. But sometimes, less is more. Though the number of eyes on your ad may be smaller with increased targeting, it’s often much more efficient, and worth it in the long run.

“We’ve had moderate success using contextual targeting — placing ads on sites that already attract coffee lovers, wellness readers, or busy professionals,” says Nguyen. “It’s not just about who they are, though, but what they’re doing in the moment. Behavioral targeting is another go-to: Showing our ad to someone who’s already visited our site or searched for similar products.”

“For a health food brand,” says Cesar, “we targeted users reading fitness blogs and nutrition forums using affinity and in-market audiences. We combined that with keyword targeting for paleo and keto diets. The CTR increased by 40% once we aligned the creative with the content they were already consuming.”

Tools to Use

With the evolution of display ads and ad networks, there’s a lot of tools to choose from. That can be daunting for a newcomer, but it’s best to break it down by what your specific goals and needs are. “I worked with a SaaS company that wanted to reach startup founders,” recalls Cesar. “We used LinkedIn’s Audience Expansion tool in combination with Google Display placements on business news sites like TechCrunch and Fast Company. By narrowing the audience to specific job titles and interests, we tripled conversions compared to a broader campaign.”

How to Retarget With Display Ads

Didn’t get someone to click through and make a purchase the first time? All hope isn’t lost. With retargeting, you get a second (and often third) opportunity to present your product again, from a new angle, with altered copy and images.

“Though retargeting might seem redundant to some, it’s been one of our consistently effective tools,” says Nguyen. “There was one particular time when we did a campaign targeting people who left items in their cart — just a simple nudge with a limited-time discount as incentive — and our CTRs nearly doubled.”

Adjusting Your Ad

“Retargeting is where display ads really shine,” says Cesar. “We helped an e-commerce brand recover 22% of abandoned carts just by showing users dynamic product ads of the exact items they left behind. We also added urgency with copy like, ‘Only 3 left in stock!’”

“We showed display ads to visitors that had already browsed our site but didn’t buy,” recalls Nguyen. “We showed them the exact blend they were looking at and it gave our conversions a significant boost.”

Utilizing the Retargeting Funnel

Cesar provided the following example for making the best use out of a retargeting funnel. “For a B2B client, we created a three-stage retargeting funnel: Visitors who didn’t fill out a form saw a reminder ad within three days, a testimonial-based ad a week later, and a time-sensitive offer ad at the two-week mark. This layered approach led to a 54% increase in lead quality.”

How to Measure Display Ad Performance

Metrics are your guiding light through this entire process, and tracking the right metrics is absolutely crucial to understanding the effectiveness of your display campaigns.

“When I’m running a campaign,” says Cesar, “I always pay close attention to several key metrics to gauge how things are going. Click-through rate is important — it tells me if people are even engaging with the ad at all. But, I also look at conversion rate to see if those clicks are actually turning into sales or leads. Cost-per-click and cost-per-acquisition also help me understand whether we’re getting the results we want for the budget we’re spending.”

Some other key metrics to monitor:

Impressions

Cesar notes that “this refers to the number of times your ad was displayed to users, and provides a basic measure of your ad’s reach.”

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

“This is, like the name suggests, the percentage of impressions that resulted in a click,” says Cesar. “CTR is an important metric since it indicates how relevant and engaging your ad is to the audience it’s being shown to. A higher CTR generally suggests a more effective ad, and that you’re doing something right.”

How to Optimize Display Ad Performance

“When it comes to optimizing display ads,” says Cesar, “I always remind clients that good creative gets you in the game, but testing is what wins it. Optimization is all about iteration — tweaking headlines, testing CTAs, refining imagery, and making sure the right message is reaching the right person at the right time.”

“The most successful display campaigns I’ve run all had one thing in common: Relentless testing,” Cesar continues. “We don’t just launch ads — we study how people interact with them. That means A/B testing headlines, experimenting with imagery, rotating CTAs, and constantly refining based on what the data tells us. The best-performing ad creatives almost never start that way — they’re built over time.”

I asked Cesar to provide a real-world example of this from his career: “I ran a campaign for a travel gear brand where we tested four variations of the same ad, each with a different headline and image combo. One version said, ‘Built for Adventure,’ while another leaned into social proof: ‘Used by 500,000+ Travelers.’ After two weeks, we found that the social proof ad had double the CTR and a 30% lower cost per acquisition. We immediately scaled that variation and paused the rest. Without structured testing, we would’ve kept spending on an underperforming version.”

Here are some tools you can use to optimize your ads:

• Google Ads Experiments: Good for A/B testing ad variations at scale.
• Canva Pro/Adobe Express: Helpful for rapid visual iterations across different sizes.
• Google Optimize: Primarily for landing pages, this is useful for aligning ad creative with site variations.
• AdCreative.ai: A tool that uses AI to generate ad creatives with performance scores based on past winners.
• Semrush Display Advertising Tool: Handy for seeing what your competitors are up to, as well as benchmarking ad creative ideas.
• Hotjar/Microsoft Clarity: Good for seeing what users do after clicking your display ad.
• Realize: Great for A/B testing creative and retargeting at scale, in real time.

Budgeting and Bidding for Display Ads

This can be a tough one, especially for businesses just launching, when budgets are low and the pressure to succeed is high. But, with the right test budget amount and targeted efficiency, it’s possible to make it work (and even end up spending less than you planned).

Where to Start

“For most clients starting out, I recommend a test budget of $500–$1,000 a month,” says Cesar. “I usually begin with manual CPC bidding to stay in control, then shift to automated bidding like Target CPA once we’ve got enough conversion data. One client cut their cost per acquisition by 28% after making that switch.”

Targeted Spending

“When I managed a campaign for a regional law firm, we used geo-targeted bidding to prioritize cities with the highest caseload potential,” says Cesar. “That simple geographic tweak, combined with device bid adjustments (we bid more for desktop), helped reduce wasted spend and improved overall ROI.”

“I usually set a daily cap to avoid surprises,” advises Nguyen. “We start small, test creatives, then scale what works. For cold audiences, CPM bidding helps us build awareness affordably. For warm leads, I switch to CPC or even CPA — more performance-based. The magic is in testing, tweaking, and trusting the data!”

Conversions

Conversions track the number of desired actions taken by users after clicking on your ad — things like making a purchase, filling out a form, or signing up for a newsletter. “View-through conversions are another one I track,” says Cesar. “That’s when someone sees an ad but doesn’t click, then later visits the site on their own and converts. It shows that the ad still made an impression.”

Beyond the Banner: Alternatives to Display Ads

Display ads have been a constant presence since the internet took off. While they’re still a powerful tool, they’re not the only one: Marketers nowadays have a range of alternatives to consider.

“When a client is focused on capturing high-intent traffic, I often recommend search ads because they reach people actively looking for something,” says Cesar. “Social media advertising can also be incredibly effective, especially on platforms like Meta, TikTok, and LinkedIn, where targeting is hyper-specific and engagement is high. Native advertising is another great alternative — it blends into the content of a site, so it feels less like an ad and more like useful or entertaining content. Depending on the business, I’ve also seen email marketing outperform other channels in terms of ROI, when done right.”

Nguyen agrees. “Search ads typically convert better, since people are actively looking for what you’re selling,” she says. “Native ads seamlessly blend into content so it’s less intrusive. Influencer collabs (our current favorite!) is like word of mouth, but at scale.”

Here’s a closer look at each one of those:

Search Ads

These text-based ads appear alongside search engine results when users search for specific keywords related to your business. They’re not as flashy as images, but they’re excellent for targeting users with a clear intent, often leading to higher conversion rates.

“Search ads are intent-driven. They show up when someone is actively searching for a solution, product, or service, which usually means they’re closer to making a decision,” says Cesar. “Display ads are more passive — they’re great for brand awareness and retargeting, but they don’t always catch people at that decision-making moment. I use them together strategically, depending on where a customer is in the funnel.”

Native Advertising

Native ads are designed to camouflage with the content of the website or platform they appear on. They often take the form of articles, videos, or social media posts that are less invasive and overt to the user, while subtly promoting a brand.

Social Media Advertising

Sites like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer tons of advertising options that allow you to target users based on their interests, demographics, and behaviors, all within the social media space. These ads can take various forms including images, videos, text, and lead generation.

Key Takeaways

“Display ads are a critical piece of a well-rounded digital marketing strategy,” says Cesar. “They work especially well for brand awareness, retargeting, and reaching people across a broad network of sites and platforms. But, to be truly effective, they need to be thoughtfully designed, well-targeted, and supported by strong creative. I always tell clients that display ads won’t work in a vacuum: They’re most powerful when used alongside SEO, social media, and email to guide potential customers along their journey from awareness to action.”

Even with real challenges like banner blindness and ad blocking, the use of strategic planning, compelling creative, precise targeting, and careful performance measurement are the key to unlocking the true potential of display ads.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Display ads vs. native ads: What’s the difference?

In its simplest terms, display ads are a traditional form of online advertising that uses visuals and text in designated ad slots on websites and apps. They’re generally different from the surrounding content, not just to be eye-catching, but because they weren’t designed with the platform they appear on in mind. Native ads, on the other hand, are made to match up with the look and feel of their surroundings, even resembling editorial content or social media posts.

Native ads tend to be less invasive and can sometimes achieve higher engagement rates due to their integrated nature, but can also annoy readers if they discover that the article they’re reading is really an ad halfway through. For a deeper dive, check out our article on native ads versus display ads.

Display ads vs. search ads: What’s the difference?

Display ads are visually based, and shown on websites and apps within ad networks, targeting users based on their browsing behavior, interests, and demographics. Search ads are a bit different: These are text-based ads that appear alongside search engine results when users search for specific keywords. The advantage is that search ads target users with explicit intent, while display ads can reach users who may not be actively looking for your product or service, but might be interested based on their online activities (plus you have the advantage of using eye-catching art and design).

What are examples of display ads?

There’s a near-zero percent chance you’ve never seen a display ad, even if you’re just learning about them right now. You’ve likely encountered at least one of these:

• Banners at the top of news websites showcasing a new product or promotion.
• Square ads within the sidebar of a blog featuring a relevant service.
• Video ads that play before or during online video content.
• Animated GIFs promoting a sale on an e-commerce site.
• Rich media ads with interactive elements that you can engage with directly on the webpage.
• Retargeting ads showing you products you recently viewed on an online store as you browse other websites.
• Mobile banner ads at the bottom of your screen while using a mobile app.

Are Carousel ads a type of display ad?

Carousel ads are an interactive format of online advertising that displays multiple images or videos (cards) within a single ad unit, allowing users to swipe through them. Each card can feature its own headline, description, link, and call to action. While both aim to capture user attention with visuals, the key difference lies in the carousel’s interactive and multi-asset nature compared to the often static single visuals of traditional display ads.

Carousel ads are predominantly used on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok, as well as some ad networks. They are considered a type of display ad because they utilize visual elements to convey a marketing message and appear within the display inventory of these platforms. However, their unique swiping functionality and ability to showcase multiple products or tell a story in sequence often lead to higher engagement and click-through rates than standard display formats.

What are RDAs?

RDAs, or Responsive Display Ads, are a type of ad format available on Google Ads (not Facebook advertising). The difference with these is that they automatically adjust their size, appearance, and format to fit pretty much any available ad space across the Google Display Network.

Instead of creating multiple fixed-size display ads, all you have to do with RDAs is provide the system with various assets like images, headlines, descriptions, and logos. Google’s machine learning does the rest, combining and optimizing everything into professional-looking ads across different websites, apps, and devices. It’s a huge time-saver and can improve reach, too.

Is it better to use automated bidding for display ads?

The short answer is yes: Automated bidding can absolutely be a good starting point for display ads, especially for beginners. This option saves time by letting algorithms automatically adjust your bids to maximize results within your budget and minimize the stress, pressure, and uncertainty that comes with a new campaign. Simple strategic settings like “Maximize Clicks” or “Maximize Conversions” can help you achieve initial goals without requiring extensive, and tedious, manual bid management.

That’s not to say that manual bidding has no value, though. As you gain more experience and confidence in creating ads, consider manual bidding for more specific controls. But, for newbies to display advertising, automated bidding is an efficient way to optimize performance, and learn how the platform even works, before diving into more complex strategies.

What do I do when my display ad isn’t approved?

This is something you’ll probably encounter eventually. It happens, and while annoying, it can often be easily remedied. The first step is to review the disapproval reason — and review it carefully. Find out the specific policy violation your ad was flagged for. After that, re-examine your ad copy, visuals, and landing page to catch and change what might be causing the issue. After making the necessary corrections, resubmit your ad for review within the platform. If you still experience disapproval despite making changes, contact the platform’s support team directly.

Why is my ad spend so low on the display campaign?

There are a few potential reasons this could be. The most obvious one is that your budget might be set too low, or your targeting could be too narrow, limiting the scope of your potential audience. Low bids in manual bidding mode, or aggressive target CPA/ROAS (Cost Per Action and Return on Ad Spend) goals in automated bidding can also end up restricting spending, too.

Other reasons might include a small overall audience size for your criteria, low ad quality leading to fewer impressions, website or placement exclusions, or a limited campaign schedule. Reviewing your campaign’s settings and performance metrics within the ad platform and playing around with it can help pinpoint the specific cause.