Google Search Ads vs Display Ads: Which Should You Run?

Yes — specifically for remarketing. Cold prospecting display ads have low CTRs (0.1–0.3%) but build brand awareness at very low CPM cost. Remarketing display ads (showing ads to previous website visitors) have CTRs of 0.3–1.0% and consistently deliver 3–5x lower CPA than equivalent cold prospecting campaigns. Start display with remarketing.

Performance Max (PMax) is Google's fully automated campaign type that serves ads across all Google channels (Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover, Maps) from a single campaign. Unlike Search Ads (keyword-targeted text ads only), PMax uses AI to find converting audiences across all placements using your creative assets. PMax requires good conversion data (30+ monthly conversions) and high-quality creative assets. Search campaigns still provide more control and transparency; PMax provides scale. Most advertisers run both.

A responsive display ad is an adaptable Google Display ad format where you provide multiple headlines, descriptions, images, and logos, and Google automatically tests combinations to find the best-performing creative for each placement. This replaces static image ads with a dynamic format that adapts to any ad size across the GDN. Best practice: upload the maximum allowed assets (5 headlines, 5 descriptions, 15 images, 5 logos) to give Google the most combinations to optimise.

Display Network placement exclusions are critical for brand safety and ROI: (1) Exclude App categories (mobile apps often have accidental clicks — exclude Games, Tools, and Entertainment apps unless relevant), (2) Exclude specific low-quality sites from your placements report, (3) Add placement exclusion lists (Google provides some by default — enable them), (4) Use Target and Observe setting to prioritise known converting placements. Review the Placements report monthly and exclude any site with high clicks but zero conversions.

Google Ads is the platform advertisers use to create and run ads — you pay to show ads. Google AdSense is the platform publishers (website owners) use to earn money by showing Google ads on their site. The relationship: advertisers use Google Ads → Google places those ads on publisher sites via AdSense and YouTube. As a business marketing your products, you use Google Ads. If you own a website with traffic and want to monetise it, you apply for Google AdSense.