There are so many ways to advertise a product or service in today’s marketplace, that it can be completely daunting to select the most appropriate and effective channel. Text and display ads are some of the most common types of online advertisements, and they are extremely valuable marketing resources in their own rights.

We want to help you identify the one (or ones) that best suit you and your business. We’ll go over a few of the key characteristics of each, then list their most prominent advantages and disadvantages.

Both text and display ads are strategically positioned within a website, intended to attract visitors’ eyes and mouse.

Text Ads

Text advertisements are simple lines of promotional text, generally hyperlinked to an online store or a company’s website. They are most commonly available through search engine advertisers like Google.

Advantages:

• They are extremely easy to produce, implement and update for ongoing optimization. A little consideration of placement strategy and some keyword and audience research will successfully target a specific market.
• They are one of the cheapest forms of online advertising.
• Free of audio and video, which can be overbearing, they are very easy to consume. Of course, high-quality, creative copy is key to a text ad’s success in these areas.

Disadvantages:

• Not all websites accept them, as offering display ads is far more lucrative to the site.
• They are often limited to a certain number of characters.
• They provide very little information.

Display Ads

Display advertisements consist of images, videos, text, flash and/or audio, and generally link to an online store or a company’s website. Unlike text ads, display ads do not appear on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Advantages:

• They can be formatted and styled in many different ways, offering the brand’s designer more creative control.
• They are fairly inexpensive compared to other forms of advertising.

Disadvantages:

• They can appear in undesirable and/or inappropriate locations, harming the brand’s reputation.
• They are often ignored by consumers, due to their overexposure.

The disadvantages of text and display ads can be eliminated entirely with some strategic planning, a team of experienced creatives producing high-quality work and close attention to ongoing digital ad optimization.

Send us a note to get started on your text or display ads today!