A complete guide to the Google Display Network (GDN)

The Google Display Network (GDN) is Google’s display advertising network that lets brands show image, video, and interactive ads across more than 3 million websites and 600,000 apps. Reaching over 90% of internet users worldwide, GDN helps businesses increase brand awareness and reach new audiences beyond Google Search. In this guide, we’ll explain how GDN works, its formats, targeting options, benefits, drawbacks, and how Cinema8 helps you get better results.

What is Google Display Network (GDN)?

Google Display Network (GDN) is Google’s network of partner sites, apps, and YouTube channels where advertisers can show visual ads. Unlike Google Search, where ads appear after users enter specific keywords, GDN advertising appears as people browse websites, read emails in Gmail, or watch videos on YouTube. For brands running video campaigns, choosing a secure video hosting platform is essential to ensure that ads and content are delivered reliably and with the right level of audience control. This makes GDN a powerful tool for brand visibility and remarketing campaigns.

How does GDN work?

The Google Display Network works by placing your ads across websites, apps, and video platforms that your target audience uses. Advertisers can choose from multiple targeting options, including demographics, interests, devices, and geo-location. For example, a fitness brand could remarket to users who visited its online store, while a local café might target audiences within a few kilometres of its location.

GDN campaigns can run on either a cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) model, giving advertisers flexibility in how they manage budgets. Combined with Google Analytics, advertisers can track impressions, clicks, and conversions to refine their campaigns over time.

Understanding the ad formats available in GDN

The Google Display Network gives advertisers flexibility by supporting several ad formats that can be tailored to different campaign goals. Choosing the right format depends on whether your objective is brand awareness, lead generation, or customer engagement. Below are the main formats and how they work in practice.

Image ads

Image ads are banner-style creatives that can appear in multiple sizes across millions of websites and apps. They can be static graphics or dynamic HTML5 versions with motion and interactive elements.

Well‑designed image ads are effective for building visual recognition of your brand and products.

Responsive display ads

Responsive ads automatically adjust their size, layout, and appearance to fit the space available on a website or app. Advertisers upload several headlines, descriptions, logos, and images, and Google’s system tests combinations to find the best performing variation. This reduces manual optimisation and ensures your ads look consistent across devices.

Gmail ads

Gmail ads appear directly in a user’s inbox under the promotions tab. When expanded, they function almost like a mini landing page with images, text, and clickable elements. Users can save these ads for later or they can forward them, which makes them useful for offers, newsletters, and product launches.

Engagement ads

Engagement ads run across YouTube and the wider Display Network in the form of rich media or video. They are designed to encourage user interaction, such as hovering over an expandable unit or watching a video.

These ads work well when the goal is to capture attention quickly and immerse the viewer in your message.

Benefits of Google Display Network

The Google Display Network provides advertisers with a wide range of advantages that make it an attractive choice for campaigns aimed at awareness, engagement, and conversions. By reaching audiences in the right context, it can deliver results at lower costs than many other digital channels. Some of the key benefits include:

• Broad reach: With millions of websites and apps, GDN gives you access to a massive global audience, making it easier to scale your campaigns.
• Lower costs: The average cost-per-click (CPC) is generally lower than Google Search ads, allowing you to connect with more users without overspending.
• Multiple pricing models: Advertisers can choose between pay-per-click (PPC) or cost per mile (CPM), which charges per 1,000 impressions. This flexibility helps align costs with campaign objectives.
• Remarketing opportunities: GDN makes it simple to show ads to people who previously visited your site, giving you another chance to convert them into paying customers.
• Visual appeal: Unlike text-based search ads, GDN supports image and video ads. This means you can use tools like Cinema8 to design interactive content that captures attention and improves campaign performance.

Disadvantages of Google Display Network

Despite its advantages, GDN has limitations that advertisers need to manage carefully. Some challenges include:

• Limited control over placements: Ads can appear on irrelevant or low-quality websites unless exclusions are managed carefully in campaign settings.
• Brand safety concerns: Ads may display on harmful or controversial sites, which can negatively affect your brand image if not monitored.
• Targeting precision: Accuracy can be weaker than search-based ads, as Display campaigns reach users who are browsing content rather than actively searching for your product.

GDN audience targeting methods

One of the greatest strengths of the Google Display Network is the variety of targeting options available. Advertisers can reach people based on intent, behaviour, demographics, or the specific content they consume. Choosing the right mix of these strategies is essential for creating efficient advertising campaigns that maximise budget and relevance. Key targeting methods include:

In-market segments

These audiences consist of users actively researching products or services in broad categories such as real estate, education, or fitness. Because they show high purchase intent, in-market segments are particularly effective for generating leads and conversions.

Topic targeting

With topic targeting, ads are displayed on websites that match chosen themes, such as travel, technology, or finance. This approach helps advertisers reach audiences when they are consuming relevant content, which increases the likelihood of engagement.

Affinity audiences

Affinity audiences are built around users with long-term interests and lifestyle habits, such as sports enthusiasts, food lovers, or frequent travellers. They are most valuable for building brand awareness and staying top-of-mind with people likely to have an ongoing interest in your sector.

Placement targeting

Placement targeting allows you to specify exact websites, YouTube channels, or mobile apps where your ads should appear. This method provides a lot more control and is useful for advertisers who already know which platforms their audience engages with.

Demographic targeting

With demographic filters, you can refine campaigns by age, gender, income bracket, parental status, or location. This ensures ads are shown to people who fit your customer profile and prevents wasted impressions.

Interest targeting

Interest targeting uses browsing patterns to place ads in front of people likely to be interested in certain topics. For example, a travel company could reach users who frequently read articles and watch videos about holiday destinations or flights.

Custom intent audiences

Custom intent audiences use Google’s machine learning to build lists of users based on recent searches, site visits, and defined keywords or URLs. Advertisers can specify the topics and domains most relevant to their products, and Google identifies audiences actively exploring these areas.

Unlike standard interest targeting, which is broader and long-term, custom intent focuses on users closer to making a purchase decision.

How to build the right GDN audience

Building the right audience is critical to ensuring your GDN campaigns reach people who are most likely to engage with your ads. Instead of casting a wide net, advertisers should narrow their targeting to focus on the devices, demographics, and contexts that matter most. This helps reduce wasted spend and improves overall campaign performance. To achieve this, advertisers should:

1. Select the right devices for ad display (desktop, mobile, or both) depending on how customers interact with your product or service.
2. Use demographics and geo-targeting to refine audience groups so ads appear to people most relevant to your campaign goals.
3. Exclude sensitive or irrelevant website categories to protect brand safety and avoid wasted impressions.
4. Continuously track performance in Google Analytics to identify high-performing audience segments and adjust your strategy accordingly.

How to set up Google Display ads

Setting up a GDN campaign is straightforward if you follow a structured process. The key is to configure your budget, targeting, and creatives correctly from the start so your ads reach the right audience at the right cost. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.
2. Click “+ Campaign” and select “Display Network Only.”
3. Name your campaign and enable “All Features” to unlock advanced settings.
4. Set your daily budget and bid strategy. Manual CPC is recommended for beginners because it provides more control over costs. Once you gain experience, you can test automated strategies.
5. Create an ad group, choose targeting options (such as demographics, topics, or placements), and set bids according to your goals.
6. Add your creatives, including headlines, descriptions, images, or videos. Upload multiple variations so Google can test and optimise the best-performing combinations.
7. Save and launch your campaign, then monitor performance through Google Ads and Analytics.

How Cinema8 helps you create better GDN campaigns

While GDN offers strong reach, your creative quality determines performance. Cinema8 helps you design interactive video ads that drive higher engagement and conversions. You can add lead-generation forms, clickable CTAs, and booking widgets directly inside your ads, which can improve the effectiveness in comparison to standard banner advertisements. Cinema8's video hosting platform also provides detailed real-time analytics, so you can track performance and optimise campaigns quickly.

Visit Cinema8 to explore advanced video marketing tools that make your Google Display Network campaigns more impactful.

Final thoughts on the Google Display Network

The Google Display Network is one of the most versatile tools available to advertisers, offering access to billions of impressions across websites, apps, and YouTube. When used effectively, it can increase brand visibility, nurture potential customers, and complement search campaigns by keeping your business top of mind. Success depends on smart targeting, compelling creatives, and consistent optimisation.

If you want to make your GDN campaigns stand out, Cinema8 gives you the tools to design interactive video ads that drive engagement and conversions. From lead-generation forms to detailed analytics, Cinema8 helps you get more from every impression. Explore Cinema8's plans today and take your display campaigns to the next level.