Lead generation using Google Display Network (GDN)

Property marketing specialist Nelly Berova looks at Google Display Network – what is it and how can estate agents use it to their advantage?

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In the current financial climate, there’s something most agents can probably agree on – the need to get maximum value from your digital marketing spend. If you’re looking to boost the efficiency of your digital advertising, Google Display Network (GDN) has plenty of advantages, allowing you to target specific audiences and geographic areas in a way that gets results. Not sure what exactly GDN is and how you can use it to in your estate agency? We delve into the benefits of the network and the ways you can choose to use it.

What is GDN?

GDN is a collection of millions of websites, apps and videos where your advertising can appear. Its coverage is vast, with an estimated reach of 90 per cent of global internet users. In other words, whenever you see a banner or display advertisement on a website, YouTube video or other platform, you’re looking at part of the GDN.

Are GDN ads better than paid search?

Advertising on the GDN has plenty of advantages over search, particularly for anyone looking to build brand awareness. With paid search, there can be intense competition for certain core keywords. This means that, although search advertising is better at targeting customer intent, you’re operating in a very crowded marketplace.

One advantage of GDN is volume, as your ads can appear on literally millions of websites within the network, meaning you have many more opportunities to target your campaign to your desired audience.

GDN is a collection of millions of websites apps and videos…

GDN also allows you to define your audience in a way that search can’t – you aren’t restricted to keywords, so you aren’t restricted to what appears on the search results page. And there are opportunities within GDN to target websites by audience preference, segment and intent – you can even choose particular websites that fit your target buyer persona.

Which type of campaigns work best?

There are two main ways in which you can use GDN advertising – remarketing and geo-targeting. You can take either of these approaches, or both, depending on your marketing goals, whether you are looking to convert the already-interested into signed-up customers, or whether you are looking to grow awareness of your brand.

How can I use remarketing with GDN?

We’ve talked about remarketing a lot in these articles because it’s a highly effective way to target warmed-up audiences. As a brief reminder, remarketing works by placing cookies on your website so people who visit your pages and blogs can be followed as they navigate the web. You can then place advertisements right before their eyes, reminding them why they visited your site and drawing them back in. We’ve all experienced remarketing in our everyday online lives – how tantalising ads for products or services follow us around the web urging us to click and ultimately buy.

And when should I use geotargeting?

The second sort of campaign, geotargeting, is about making your advertising visible to a certain geographic area. This approach is good for increasing awareness of your brand in target locations. The downside is that you will be showing your advertisement to people who have no interest in selling their home or signing up to your property management service. But by getting your ads seen by a large number of people, your brand is exposed to the local vendors, buyers or even landlords who previously didn’t know you exist.

Great for brand building – for putting your name in people’s minds as the go-to local agent – it also assists conversion by driving traffic to your website. We like to think of it as the digital equivalent of ‘for sale’ boards around a local area.

How can GDN target specific audiences?

There are a few ways you can segment your audience using GDN. These include in-market segments – in other words, broad categories defined by Google, based on users’ historical views, clicks and conversions. Real estate may be one such segment with further sub-categories – types of property to rent, for example. Another way of segmenting your audience might be by customer intent; Google can show your ads to people who are ‘likely to be interested’ in your content, based on keywords in your previous searches.

In conclusion, with a lower cost-per-click than paid search, GDN advertising can help you get the most from your marketing budget. But remember, digital marketing is an increasingly complex area. If you’re new to such marketing strategies, we’d recommend talking to a company with solid experience in this area. They will help you maximise the impact of your spend – something we’re all looking to do right now!

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