[Must-Set] Use Display Ads to Reach "Worried Customers" and "Someday Customers" [Body Blows]

From ACIDHOUSE, INC., this is Tetsuya Ashida.

I sometimes get questions like this from small business owners who have websites.

We run web ads, but the only ones we focus on are keyword ads and Facebook ads.
I haven't really paid attention to them, but should we put effort into display ads too? I don't really understand display ads in the first place...

This article answers that kind of question.

They are effective for gathering "worried customers" and "someday customers"

So you should run them.

Currently, the tactic of aiming for SEO with owned media has become so much of a red ocean that it may be hard to get results or may take far too long.

If you're willing to pay, you can raise awareness quickly. If possible, it's good to start running them as a set with keyword ads.

Keyword ads are, by nature, well suited to acquiring customers who intend to apply or inquire right away: "buy-now customers".

Display ads, on the other hand, can't be expected to bring immediate applications or inquiries, but they work like body blows on "worried customers" and "someday customers" who are likely to buy later.

Running display ads alone won't show easy-to-see effects, but over the long term they make a big difference.

Types of display ads

Many providers offer display ads, but the following are the main ones.

And in each, the ads that play the role of raising awareness are:

*There are many others, but it's fine to remember these three first.

Let me briefly explain each.

Search targeting

You can deliver ads by targeting based on the keywords users have searched.

The keywords can be common nouns (for example, "web customer acquisition") or proper nouns (competitors' company names or service names).

Being able to show your own ads when someone searches for a competitor's service name is especially powerful for "someday customers."

In-feed ads

These are ads displayed between pieces of content in Yahoo! Japan's content (mainly article) listings and in social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) timelines.

They carry an "ad" credit, but because they blend into article listings and timelines, they can attract many visits from a wide range of users.

Retargeting (remarketing) ads

These are ads that track users who have visited your site once and are displayed with the aim of getting them to visit again.

Today there are so many websites and services that it's rare for users to bookmark a site they've visited once.

Asking people to sign up for a newsletter or LINE@ sets a high bar, since they need a clear benefit and enough trust, but if you do nothing, there's no trigger for a return visit.

Retargeting is a very efficient way to get people to return.

Also, psychologically, liking is also influenced by the number of contacts, so it is very powerful in that respect as well.

Which should I do?

Among "search targeting," "in-feed ads," and "retargeting ads," if you're deciding which to start with, or choosing just one, it would be retargeting ads.

I'd like to dig into retargeting ads in a separate article.

Separately from that, judge whether a medium is worth advertising on for your company from these two viewpoints:

*For judging whether it's worth placing ads, please refer to the following article.

[Common Question] Should You Focus Web Ads on Google? Should You Also Run Them on Yahoo!? [Media Potential and Intensifying Competition] February 21, 2019