Display Ads vs. Search Ads: What’s the Difference?

Apr 21

Search and display ads are two of the most common, accessible types of paid advertising available to small businesses. Both paid channels offer a diverse range of targeting options and low costs, and they can be used together for a more comprehensive paid strategy.

Not all marketers have the time or budget to manage two paid campaigns effectively, and it can be difficult to determine whether paid or search is the best fit for your organization. In this comparison, we’ll help you decide when to use display ads, when search is the way to go, and the basics of using search and display together to maximize effect.

Search and Display: Two Flavors of the Same Dish

Paid media is a big slice of the marketing pie—a really big pie. Digital ad spending is expected to grow 4.6% YoY in 2024, with Google capturing the lion’s share of paid media revenue. Digital advertising topped $600 billion worldwide in 2023 and is expected to hit $870 billion by 2027.

Much of that spending is divided between display and search ads; let’s get into the details.

What Are Display Ads?

Display ads are paid banners, videos, and other ad types on websites, blogs, social media platforms, and apps. Display ad networks give marketers access to more digital properties, with Google representing the largest display network by sites and revenue. Think of display ads as buying targeted billboards at strategic points around a city or state’s highway system.

The first display ad was launched in 1994 as a simple banner ad. Today, seven types of display ads provide a more comprehensive, sophisticated approach to display. With the right assets, businesses can deploy any of these display ad types:

Traditional banner ads - A square or rectangle ad reminiscent of a print ad.

Responsive display - A banner ad that deploys several text, image, and headline options to improve results.

Retargeting display ads - Shown only to users who have previously visited your website or a particular set of pages on your website.

Native ads - These appear as news stories or headlines and don’t resemble traditional banner ads.

Social ads - Display networks tap into social networks, too, placing responsive display ads on social sites or apps like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Discovery ads - These are a form of native ads that display a mix of image assets based on machine learning.

What Are Search Ads?

Search ads are shown on the search engine results page, or SERP. These are the blocks of sponsored links that appear at the top of the SERP above organic results. Paid search ads are text-only and have three elements:

Headline - A short sentence to explain the product or service.
Description - Text that explains the promotion or value proposition.
Display URL - The website address where users clicking the ad will land.

Google also lets you create ad extensions, which include call buttons, pricing information, and specific product features. These extensions vary slightly by industry, so work with a pro to see which are available and how to use them effectively.

Display Ads vs. Search Ads: The Showdown

Both types of paid ads have pros and cons, and it’s important to remember that they aren’t exclusive. Many paid media campaigns allocate a budget to both display and search ads based on each channel’s strengths.

Search Ad Benefits

Based entirely on user intent based on a targeted search query
Text-based and easy to deploy without a big media library
Can’t be blocked by ad blockers
Have an average conversion rate of 4.2% (compared to just 0.55% for display)

Display Ad Benefits

Shown to users with at least some interest or past behavior
Served by an ad network and requires minimal management
Much less expensive than search, with an average cost per click of $0.59 compared to $2.41 for search (remember, your CPC will vary!)

How We Use Display and Search Ads

We vary paid media spend by client, season, and intent to improve return on ad spend. This is often a weekly or daily effort to improve efficiency, but we have some basic tenets.

During periods of increased demand, we allocate more budget to search to drive conversions while consumers are ready to buy. For our bike shop clients, for example, we move toward search in May, targeting bike rental, bike repair, and bike sale keywords to capture clients from qualified users.
During periods of low demand, we push budget toward display to build brand awareness. Depending on the client, remarketing display ads can be an exceptionally effective tool to move customers through the sales funnel.

Digital marketing is never one size fits all, and what worked last year doesn’t guarantee success right now. Whether you’re running paid in-house or working with a PPC vendor, keep testing new approaches and see what drives results!

Need Paid Media Help? We’ve Got The Chops

Paid media is just one digital marketing channel, and small businesses know that success requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. Align paid, SEO, social, and email marketing with Sovis Media. We’re a local-first marketing company that connects marketing to your business objects. See what over 12 years in the marketing game can do for your organization; get in touch today.

Cody Sovis