If you’ve started running a PPC campaign, whether in-house or with PPC services from an agency, you may be considering running a display ad. Leveraging display ads as part of your PPC campaign can enhance your visibility and engagement with potential customers. As you look into these ads, you will see that there are many display ad sizes available to your business.
So, how do you know which size is the best for your business? In this post, we’ll discuss different display ad sizes and seven best practices for using Google display ads. Let’s get started!
What are my options for display ad sizes?
There are numerous styles of display ads you can use for your campaign.
Here are some options for your business:
| Display Ad Type | Display Ad Size (in pixels) |
| Square | 250 x 250 |
| Small Square | 200 x 200 |
| Banner | 468 x 60 |
| Leaderboard | 728 x 90 |
| Incline Rectangle | 300 x 250 |
| Large Rectangle | 336 x 280 |
| Skyscraper | 120 x 600 |
| Wide Skyscraper | 160 x 600 |
| Half Page Ad | 300 x 600 |
| Large Leaderboard | 970 x 90 |
| Mobile Leaderboard * | 320 x 50 |
*Mobile leaderboard is only available on smartphones, not tablets or desktop devices These are some of the display ads sizes that are available to your business. You can use any of these formats to run your display ad. So, which formats are best for your business? Most companies use the following display ad sizes:
- Medium Rectangle
- Large Rectangle
- Leaderboard
- Half Page
These are the most common display ad sizes that companies use for their campaigns. They drive the best results for businesses, so many companies use them to get a good return on investment.
7 best practices for using display ads
Want to create display ads that engage your audience and boost your return on ad spend (ROAS)? We’ve got you covered with this list of best practices!
Once you choose your display ad size, there are specific regulations you’ll need to follow.
The display ad size you choose will influence some of these best practices.
1. Watch your file size
It’s crucial that you keep your ad file size small. According to Google’s regulations, your file size should be 150KB or less. If your ad is any bigger than 150KB, Google won’t approve it.
Google doesn’t want to have a file that’s too big because it will take too long to load. The focus is on delivering content quickly to your audience, so a large file size prevents people from accessing content fast. This is something to keep in mind when you use bigger display ad sizes.
When your ads take up more room, it’s easier for the file size to get bigger. As you look at different display ad sizes, ensure that you’re keeping track of your file size.
2. Choose the Right Colors for Your Google Display Ads
Color selection plays a critical role in the success of your Google Display Ads. Your ad should stand out visually on a webpage—but not to the point where it becomes overwhelming. Choosing colors that align with your brand identity is key to creating a seamless user experience.
Consistency in branding matters. If your ad uses one color scheme and your website uses another, it can confuse users and weaken your brand recognition. Make sure the colors in your display ad match the look and feel of your website to reinforce your brand image.
Google also has specific design requirements for display ads:
- If your ad uses a white background, it must include a clear border to define its space and differentiate it from the webpage content.
- Your ad’s background color must be noticeably different from the background of the website it appears on. For example, if your ad shows up on a site with a black background, avoid using black as your ad’s background.
By keeping your color choices intentional and compliant, you’ll improve both user experience and campaign performance.
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3. Check text restriction rules
When you’re creating a Google display ad, it’s important to note if there are text restrictions. For some ads, you can only fill a small percentage of space on your ad with text. In some cases, you are only allowed to fill 20 percent or less with text.
This is something to keep in mind with different display ad sizes. With bigger display ads, you’ll have more room to use text because you have bigger ad space. A smaller ad will allow for less text space for your ad.
When you choose your display ad size in Google Ads, it’s important to note how the size will affect the amount of text you can put on your page.
4. Have a clear call to action (CTA)
Your call to action (CTA) is one of the most critical parts of your Google display ad. If you’re trying to attract people to your business, guide them on how to proceed next. Tell them exactly where they are going or what will happen if they click on your ad.
When you create a CTA button, it should take up a sizeable part of your ad. You want to ensure that your audience sees it, but you don’t want it to take over your entire ad. It should stand out on your ad, too.
You want to ensure that your audience doesn’t miss it when they see your display ad on the page. It’s important to keep the Google display ad sizes into account, too. If you’re running a smaller ad, you don’t want to have an enormous CTA button that takes up the majority of your ad.
You must scale your CTA button to fit the display ad size.
5. Choose the right images
When you’re creating a Google display ad, it’s essential to choose the right images for your ad. You want to provide your audience with a compelling image that gets them to engage with your ad. You want to choose imagery that will connect with your visitors and provoke the emotions you are trying to convey.
Align your imagery with the message of your campaign. It’s your opportunity to engage your audience and compel them to click on your ad. Generally, the image should align with your campaign.
You want to showcase your product or service in your imagery. Your Google display ad size will affect the type of imagery you use in your ad. That’s because you want to ensure that you have images that scale well with your ad.
For instance, a leaderboard-sized display ad will need an image that’s more horizontal, while a skyscraper-sized display ad requires a more vertical image.
6. Make sure to add your logo
It may seem like common sense, but many businesses forget to add their logo to their ad. Google requires that you add your logo to your display ad. If you don’t, they won’t approve your display ad.
Adding your logo is better for branding, too. More people will be familiar with your business and get to know your brand better. When you choose your Google display ad size, scale your logo to fit on the image to avoid letting your logo take over the entirety of your ad.
7. Test your ads
With any advertising campaign, test your ad to verify that you’re putting out the best version of it. This ensures that you spend your money running an advertisement that will drive results. You can conduct A/B testing to ensure that you’re putting out the best version of your ad.
You can test different elements of your ad to see how it will perform on the display network.
Start choosing the right display ads size for your campaign
When you see the available options for your Google display ads sizes, you will see that you have many options to choose for sizing. This gives you many opportunities to create an impactful Google display ad for your business. If you want to learn more about creating impactful display ads, contact us online to see how we can help.
