Building Display Creatives for Your Audience

If you�re audience targeting (or considering it), customizing your ads for your audience can yield better performance. Here are the top tips for audience targeted creatives learned through the collective experience of hundreds of Google AdWords account teams.

1. Make your ads a helpful step in the user experience

Make audience specific recommendations, differentiate yourself from the competition, and provide new information. For example remarketing ads could show complementary products that an existing customer may need. If you�re targeting new users, feature positive testimonials and reviews to highlight your good reputation.

Make better use of audience targeting by addressing different stages in the buying cycle within your ad.

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2. Be Transparent

This is particularly important if you�re using remarketing. Your audience may wonder how you knew they were on your site or interested in specific products. Be upfront; link to a description of why they�re seeing your ads and how they work from your landing page. Showing a variety of ads helps minimize overly-specific targeting and repetition.

3. Tailor ads to your user

To drive better performance: personalize ads based on the product or service your audience would be interested in. If you�re remarketing to a user who browsed your site, match your ads to content they viewed. For example, if a user viewed a variety of smart phones, you could show ads promoting individual phones, phone plans, or phone accessories.

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4. Landing Page Relevance

Seamlessly link your audience-relevant creative message to a landing page on your website with content pertinent to the product or service the audience is interested in.

To improve your audience campaign performance, ensure that your landing page is optimized for conversions. Tools like Website Optimizer or Google Analytics can make optimizing your landing pages much easier.

Creative and its relevant landing page

5. Call-to-Action

A compelling call-to-action is crucial for any targeting type or advertising goal. Use your knowledge of your audience to match your call-to-action to the user in both content and style.

Phrases like �See Offers� perform double duty by communicating next steps and highlighting a promotion or benefit in clicking.

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6. Use All Ad Formats & Sizes

Not every site will offer every ad size and format � if you�re missing ad sizes you could be missing out on thousands of impressions. Remember, you want to reach your audience wherever they are online. Maximize your opportunity to reach your audience anywhere on a network and increase volume by utilizing all ad formats, text ads, and display ad sizes available.

We�d love your feedback. Let us know if this was helpful or how it can be improved at better-ads@google.com.

Posted by Katie Miller, Inside AdWords crew

Check out your new image ads from the AdWords Display Ad Builder

Image and video ads on the Google Display Network can have a strong impact on the success of your online marketing campaigns. These ads convey your messages in more engaging and memorable ways, enticing viewers to buy what you�re selling.

The Display Ad Builder tool within AdWords already lets you easily create image and video ads for free and gives you the flexibility to customize these ads to suit your needs. Check out these image ads for examples of what you can create:

But today we�re announcing a new feature that essentially builds your image ads for you.

The Display Ad Builder now automatically creates suggested image ads, using the existing text ads in your campaign.

• Click on the suggested ad that you like best.
• If necessary, customize any fonts, text, or colors that need tweaking.
• Then incorporate the ad into one of your ad groups. It�s that simple.

Check out your suggested ads now>>

You don�t even have to be in the Display Ad Builder tool to use this new feature.

• If you�re in one of your ad groups, you can select an existing text ad and under �More Actions,� choose �Generate Display Ad.�
• AdWords will create an image ad based on the text ad you selected.

If you want to create your ad from scratch, you can always choose from hundreds of template designs.

• Add your text and customize the fonts, colors, and background.
• Choose images from the AdWords stock gallery, from your computer, or straight off your website.
• Review the ad in all formats to make sure it looks right, then add it to your campaign.

For more information about Display Ad Builder, visit the Display Network website.

Posted by Lauren Barbato, Inside AdWords crew

Think With Google�s December Adventure: Display and 2011 Trends Recap

Think With Google's�December Adventure�finished its third week with a focus on display and trends from 2011.

Here are the five insights and tips we covered this week:
Click on the titles to view the original posts and comments.

#1. Monday: Rich media ads are 2.7x as effective in driving purchase intent vs. basic Flash

• Be sure to make video a core component of your display advertising mix to maximize holiday sales.

#2. Tuesday: 96% of people visiting a website leave without completing a transaction

• Use remarketing to follow-up with targeted shoppers who browsed your products and left, or abandoned their shopping carts part-way through the purchase process.

#3. Wednesday: Rich media ads grew 66% last year and are predicted to be over 50% of all display ads by 2015

• Browse our Rich Media Gallery or our new ad formats for mobile to check out some of our "best of" examples to get your creative juices flowing.

#4. Thursday: Use Google Zeitgeist 2011 to see the hottest gifts and trends for holiday shopping lists

• Our year-end Google Zeitgeist launches today, and it's chock full of fascinating tidbits about what's been burning up the search queries this past year

#5. Friday: The search for holiday gifts is on!

• Find out what's burning up the search charts as we approach the holidays with this week's top shopping queries.

To learn more, follow�Think with Google on Google+�or add this�helpful holiday calendar�to automatically see these tips on your Google Calendar.

Posted by Andrew Truong,�Inside AdWords�Crew

+1 button in DFP for direct sold ads

In March, we introduced the +1 button on search results to make it easier for people to get recommendations from the people they trust right when they�re searching. Then in early October we expanded that to include Google Display Network ads across the web on both desktop and mobile.

Today, we�re excited to expand this capability to publishers who sell their ad space directly to advertisers using a new creative template available in DART for Publishers and the new DFP. Using the Image or Flash with Google +1 custom creative template, publishers can now add the Google +1 button to their ads so that people can share your offers with others across the web.

If you�d like to learn more about how publishers can integrate the +1 button on your direct-sold ads, please visit the DART or new DFP help centers.

Posted by David Flinner, Product Manager.

+1 button to start appearing on display ads today

Starting today, if you�re running display ads through the Google Display Network, you may begin seeing the +1 button and annotations with your ads. Now, with a single click, people can recommend your ads� landing pages to their friends and contacts.

As we explained in our initial announcement several weeks ago, we believe that incorporating personal recommendations into display ads has the potential to change the way people view advertising. A display ad becomes much more powerful when people can see which of their friends and contacts have chosen to endorse it.

We�re working to add the +1 button and annotations to all eligible inventory over the next couple weeks. So while you might not see them immediately, we�re working hard to roll them out to all advertisers as quickly as possible.

To learn more, you can read our initial announcement or visit the AdWords Help Center.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords Team

Display creative checklist: building direct response ads

If you�re designing display ads and have direct response goals, your ads need to catch the user�s eye, convey key information, and encourage them to click and explore your website. To get you started, we�ve put together the top ten tips learned through the collective experience of hundreds of Google AdWords account teams. These ten tips will help drive effective direct response marketing campaigns.

1. Call-to-Action
A call-to-action phrase or button encourages users to click on your ad and clearly lets them know what is coming next. While direct call-to-actions such as �Buy Now!� may be common, they can also be too insistent. Using indirect call-to-actions like �Explore Now� or short phrases such as �Travel Your Dream� help encourage action without demanding a strong commitment.

2. Call-to-Action in Every Frame

Include a call-to-action & key message in every frame of your ad � especially the final frame. This ensures that you get across these two very important points no matter when the user's attention is drawn to your ad. When your animation stops, your ad will continue to compel action from users.

3. Company or Brand logo
Keep your brand or product logo in front of users in all frames. This will highlight your brand and can heighten credibility and increase your click-through rate. If this isn�t possible, include your logo in the final frame of animated ads to ensure your brand shows after animation has ended.

4. Pricing and Promotion
The more information on pricing that a user can gain from your display ad, the better. Consider providing promotional pricing to the audiences your ad is reaching. Discount offers supported by discount codes can help attract attention. If users don�t like the price or terms of your offer, they won�t click on your ad. Pre-qualifying users can save you the cost of that click.

5. Clear Value Proposition
Include a clear, compelling message highlighting the benefit of your product or service. If your ad is animated,

consider presenting a value proposition in each frame. Users should feel as though they are missing out on something by not clicking.

6. Sense of Urgency
Create a sense of urgency in your ad. Referring to deadlines or limits in quantity and availability can persuade users to give your message consideration right away.

7. Coordinate Colors & Images
Customize the color scheme of your ad to match your image or logo, and use easy-to-view colors for backgrounds and fonts. Extremely bright colors can be unpleasant and difficult to read. Using transparent PNG-format images can greatly improve aesthetics within your ad.

8. Balance Text & Images
Take advantage of both text and images to convey your message. Text and images are processed by different parts of the brain. Integrating both into your ad � harmoniously � can help you influence viewers cognitively and emotionally. Complementary text and images may help viewers remember your ad long after they have seen it.

9. Relevant Landing Page
Direct users to the most relevant landing page where the product or service is described in detail. The message on the page should match the message or promotion in your ad. This can have a positive impact on your users, conversion rate, and quality score. Remember to match the look & feel of your ad to the landing page.

Display Ad

Landing Page

10. Cast a Wide Net

Create your ad in every standard size or format to ensure that it reaches all of the highest performing corners of the Google Display Network. Some sites only accommodate specific formats and ad sizes. A full suite of ad sizes will improve your ad�s chances of appearing on those sites.

You can find these ten tips on the Display Creative Checklist website here.

Posted by Lauren Barbato, Inside AdWords crew

There�s a perfect ad for everyone

On Thursday, June 9th, Neal Mohan, Google's VP of Display Advertising, delivered a keynote at the Interactive Advertising Bureau�s Innovation Days @ Internet Week. The talk is entitled �There�s a perfect ad for everyone,� and during it Neal made six predictions about how display advertising will change for the better by 2015.

You can view the recording at google.com/watchthisspace.

The talk was about the new technologies in display advertising that are resulting in better user experiences, better advertiser results and incredible growth for the industry. We�re investing significantly to help improve display advertising for advertisers, publishers and users. But we�re poised to make even greater advances in the years ahead. We�re at the beginning of a user-focused revolution, where people connect and respond to display ads in ways we�ve never seen before.

If you watch the talk, let us know what you think by following us and sending us a note.

Posted by Lauren Barbato, Inside AdWords crew

Significant advances for Display Ad Builder

On the Google Display Network, we've been working hard to make display advertising accessible to everyone, no matter what your size or budget. In 2008, we launched Display Ad Builder to help you design display ads in minutes for free. Now, 100 new advertisers try Display Ad Builder every day.

Today we are announcing a number of improvements to Display Ad Builder to help you achieve all your marketing goals, from driving conversions to building your brand.

Quickly manage hundreds of ads with bulk copying and editing
With the newest version of AdWords Editor, you can now copy your Display Ad Builder ads across campaigns and make basic bulk edits, including ad names, destination and display URLs, and ad statuses. AdWords Editor makes it easier to customize your display creatives. For example, you could create an ad for marathon training tips, make multiple copies of the ad, then go into Display Ad Builder to customize the creative to mention the Chicago marathon for users in Chicago and the Philly marathon for Philadelphia.

Sample Display Ad Builder ad copied using AdWords Editor and then customized based on user location.
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If you're already using AdWords Editor, you'll be prompted to upgrade automatically. Just follow the instructions to keep your unposted changes. If you�re not using AdWords Editor, visit our website to learn more and download it.

Drive engagement with social and expandable templates
Display Ad Builder also can help build your brand and engage users with our new social and expandable templates. We are testing social templates, which include the latest tweets from your Twitter account in the creative. Social templates are really useful if you want to run timely promotions that change daily. You can run a new tweet, instead of creating an entirely new creative. Social templates can also help you build your Twitter follower base.

An ad created using one of Display Ad Builder's social templates.
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We've also released expandable templates, which encourage more interaction from interested users by increasing your ad�s real estate on the page. When a user clicks on your expandable ad, it expands to twice its width or height, depending on the format.

Create the perfect ad by customizing your templates
We're also launching template customization to give you greater flexibility to create the ad you want. You can now move text boxes and images where you want within the template. Also, text boxes can be resized, so you can include more content. Combine these new features, with 180 templates, nearly 100 fonts, and unlimited color options to chose from.

Now you can move around text boxes and pictures and re-size text boxes to customize templates to fit your needs.
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Never tried Display Ad Builder? Try our free demo to see how it works. To start creating your ads, go to your �Ads� tab in a new or existing campaign in your AdWords account. Then, click �New Ad� and select �Display Ad Builder.�


Posted by Nathania Lozada, Inside AdWords crew

Expand your business - Chrome fast

Editors note: This is a guest blog post from the Chrome Web Store team, presenting you a new opportunity to grow your business on the web.

Growing revenue and traffic are important goals for most online businesses. The Chrome Web Store that we made available a few days ago can help you with both.

By distributing your web content and applications through the store, you can connect with more than 120 million people who use Chrome regularly. You can also earn revenue both by selling your apps to Chrome users and by showing ads within them. And the best part? Creating an app is quick and easy.

To learn more about how to take advantage of this opportunity and how you can build your app, check out our new website at www.google.com/chrome/CreateAnApp or watch the video below.



Posted by Nathania Lozada, Inside AdWords crew

Display ads on Google Images trial

As part of our Google Images redesign this July, we introduced Image Search Ads, which include a thumbnail alongside your ad text. We learned that on Google Images, image-based ads provided great results for our advertisers. They are also a highly useful format for users because they show commercial content directly related to the user's query.

Today we're expanding the image ad formats available on Google Images by testing rich media leaderboard units that appear above Google Images search results and invite you to try new products and services. With the introduction of this display ad format on Google Images, you now have a great opportunity to reach users with engaging ads, whether your goal is to build brand awareness, or to drive clicks and conversions.

Ad by Converse on Google Images, designed to gain awareness about their new shoe model.
Ad placed by Range Online, an iProspect Company.

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Advertising on Google Images allows you to reach hundreds of millions of users around the world who use the site to find relevant photos and images every week. Today display ads on Google Images are available on a small fraction of queries in the US and UK only. Over time, we hope to make display ads on Google Images available on more queries globally.

Display ads on Google Images work the same as they would on other sites in the Google Display Network. They're triggered by the content on the page - in this case, that�s defined by the category of the search term that the user enters. If, for example, you target your ad to appear on Google Images on travel-related content, your ad may appear on Google Images if a user searches for related terms like [travel], [vacation], [beach] or [summer holiday].

It�s easy to start running display ads on Google Images. Just use the AdWords placement targeting tool to target Google Images like any other site on the Google Display Network, and choose the type of content you want to advertise alongside. You can upload your own leaderboard format ad or create one using Display Ad Builder. Pricing can be either CPM or CPC, depending on your goals. If you want more information about the advertising options on Google Images, visit the Help Center.

We�re invested in making display advertising work better for both users and advertisers. We look forward to introducing new, innovative placements and formats on the Google Display Network to help you reach your advertising goals.


Posted by Nathania Lozada, Inside AdWords crew

YouTube Homepage: Promoted Videos advertisers can get it while it's hot

Cross posted from the�YouTube blog.

For big advertisers on YouTube, the YouTube homepage is often seen as the holy grail. It's the highest-profile placement on YouTube, providing marketers with the ability to deliver a big impact and drive attention to content, trailers or advertising. To give you an idea of the scale we�re talking about, the homepage has been delivering nearly 45 million impressions per day and 18 million unique visitors a day in the U.S. � that's the equivalent to the ratings of several top-rated prime-time television shows combined. While impressions and unique visitors are never guaranteed, users who visit the homepage are actively looking for the next video to watch, so advertisers naturally want to be part of the action.

A little known fact is that a few days each quarter, we open up the YouTube homepage to�Promoted Video�advertisers. These companies end up getting a bit of extra exposure from their campaigns. There are a couple of ways to make sure your ads show up on the homepage, should the opportunity arise. First, log into your AdWords account, and under "Campaign Settings," consider the following:

• In order for Promoted Videos ads to appear on YouTube browse pages, watch pages, and on the homepage, select "Display Network"
• To appear *only* on YouTube placements, select "Relevant pages only on the placements I manage" and add youtube.com as a managed placement.
• To appear *only* on the homepage, select "Relevant pages only on the placements I manage" and add youtube.com::pyv-top-right-homepage as a managed placement
• Set a specific bid for the homepage and keep in mind that it is a more competitive placement
• Please note: this feature is only available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K., and The U.S.

Because the dates we run Promoted Videos on the YouTube homepage vary, we unfortunately don't have a set schedule for you. However, we typically know about 48 hours in advance. If you have a managed account, you can ask your Google representative to let you know when these opportunities arise so that you can increase your bids to improve your chances of showing up.

Several advertisers � large and small � have found great success showing Promoted Videos on the homepage. One YouTube advertiser,�Dynomighty Design, grew their entire business by using Promoted Videos and getting placements on the YouTube homepage. Founder Terrence Kelleman says: "YouTube helps us sell our product, learn about our audience and build a strong brand image. And as a small company with a limited advertising budget, YouTube has become our main advertising strategy. Not only are costs low with Promoted Videos, but healthy conversions also make YouTube our #1 referring site in terms of traffic and revenue." To read more about Dynomighty's story, check out�their original YouTube video�and�their feature on the Official Google Blog.

The YouTube homepage has a captive, engaged audience and it's our goal to let advertisers understand how best to reach customers that would be interested in hearing from them. For more information about advertising on YouTube, visit�youtube.com/advertising, and for more information on Promoted Videos, check out�ads.youtube.com.

Posted by Mark Sabec, Product Marketing Manager, YouTube

Get design tips to boost the impact of your display ad

While the right text and placement of your display ad are always crucial, you should also make sure that your ad is well designed. But how exactly can you ensure that your ad stands out on a web page, looks professional and is consistent with your overall brand message?

On Thursday, September 2nd, we�ll be holding a short one-off live course on effective display ad design. The session will give you a set of practical design tips including key insights on using color, font and images. The focus will be on the Display Ad Builder tool, although the tips are applicable to display design in general. The course is suitable for anyone interested in display advertising.

The course will be held on Thursday, September 2nd at:�3pm - 4pm BST / GMT+1 (London), 10am-11am EDT (New York), 7am-8am PDT (San Francisco).

Sign up here�to attend.

Posted by Miles Johnson,�Inside AdWords�crew

Google Display Network series: Measure everything. Optimize relentlessly.

In the last three weeks, we showed you tools to�effectively plan�your display advertising campaigns,�develop compelling ads, and�target your ads�to reach precisely the right audience across millions of both popular and niche sites in the�Google Display Network�(GDN). In today�s final post, we�ll dive into measuring and improving your online display campaigns with powerful, free tools that bring accountability to your display advertising investment.

Campaign reporting and optimization

On the GDN, you have real-time reporting for every site and URL where your ads ran. You can view basic metrics like impressions, clicks, clickthrough rate (CTR) and cost, or, by implementing our free�AdWords Conversion Tracking, you can measure conversion metrics to determine your campaign�s return on investment (ROI). We also recently introduced�viewthrough conversion reporting�to provide a more complete picture of your display campaign performance.

With rich site- and URL-level data like this, you can see exactly what�s working and respond on the fly. This means you can increase bids for sites generating lots of sales or decrease bids for, or�exclude, poorer-performing sites.

With Conversion Tracking enabled, you can also unleash our bid management tool,�Conversion Optimizer, to help increase your conversions while decreasing your cost-per-acquisition (CPA). One of the most powerful bid management tools available, the average campaign using Conversion Optimizer sees a 21% lift in conversions with a 14% lower CPA*.

Web analytics and optimization

Your campaign�s performance is heavily influenced by the experience visitors have on your site.Google Analytics�is a free tool that helps you measure user behavior on your site, providing metrics like time spent on your site, page views, traffic sources, bounce rate, and more. Using this information, you can identify areas on your site you need to improve to increase conversion rates and ultimately, your ROI. Although Google Analytics works independently of Conversion Tracking, it�s possible to�automatically import�your Analytics data into Conversion Tracking, enabling you to consolidate reporting and optimization across these measurement tools.

While Google Analytics tells you what�s happening on your site,�Website Optimizer�empowers you to change it. You can show your visitors multiple versions of a page or elements on a page to test which are most effective, thereby getting more of your visitors to convert into customers.

Measurement beyond the click

Finally, research shows that the impact of display ads extends beyond immediate clicks and conversions. After seeing display ads, many users search for the advertised product or brand, or visit the advertiser�s web site days or weeks after having seen a display ad, even if they didn�t click on it.�

Recently, we launched�Campaign Insights�to help you measure the impact of your display campaigns beyond immediate clicks and conversions. Campaign Insights calculates the incremental lift in both online search activity and website visits that result from a display ad campaign. By comparing a data set of thousands of advertisers who saw a particular display ad with an equivalent group that did not see the ad, we can determine the incremental change directly attributable to the display campaign. With this insight, you can establish your display campaign performance, beyond just immediate clicks.

This post ends our series on the Google Display Network. Over the past four weeks, we hope you�ve discovered new ways Google can help you run successful display campaigns. For more on the GDN, please visit our�microsite.

Posted by Miles Johnson,�Inside AdWords�crew

* Analysis compares performance of Conversion Optimizer campaigns over the course of a year with a control set of campaigns and represents the average impact of Conversion Optimizer. Actual impact may vary form campaign to campaign.

Introducing the Google Display Network

Over the past year, we�ve been focused on investing in display advertising, and we�ve seen great momentum from the increasing number of you running display campaigns with Google. We�ve rolled out new features and targeting options and more precise measurement tools. To provide more places for you to run display ads, we�ve added more publisher sites (through Google AdSense and DoubleClick Ad Exchange) to our ad network of over one million sites. Meanwhile, many of you have continued to run ads on YouTube and our own properties. In an effort to make our display media offerings clearer to advertisers like you and agencies, we�re creating a new umbrella name for all these properties, the Google Display Network.�

The Google Display Network will comprise all of the sites (apart from search sites), where you can buy ads through Google, including YouTube, Google properties such as Google Finance, Gmail, Google Maps, Blogger as well as over one million Web, video, gaming, and mobile display partners (our display partners include all of our AdSense and DoubleClick Ad Exchange partner sites that allow text and/or display ads). The Google Display Network offers all ad formats - �text, image, rich media, and video ads - enabling you to unleash your creativity and engage potential customers across the Web.�

You can run ads on the Google Display Network the same way you always have. Either place bids through AdWords or make reservations on YouTube and Google Finance with the help of a Google account team.

In the upcoming weeks, you�ll see a change in the AdWords interface reflecting this new term, and you�ll see Google Display Network where you might have seen Google Content Network mentioned. We�ve also launched a new website showcasing the sites and benefits available to you on the Google Display Network.�

We�re working hard to offer the best display advertising solutions and we look forward to introducing new features on the Google Display Network that help you reach your advertising goals.�

Posted by Neal Mohan, Vice President of Product Management

Reminder: Upcoming webinar on display advertising opportunities

We wanted to remind you that this week we�re holding a webinar about our recent innovations in display advertising and how marketers are incorporating it into their strategies.

Join us on May 20, 2010 at 11:00am PST / 1:00pm CST / 2:00pm EST.

Specifically, we�ll discuss:

• Google's vision and recent innovations in display advertising
• How to best take advantage of our offerings, from planning to improving your campaigns
• How advertisers are incorporating the Google Content Network into their marketing strategy

Hope to see you there!

Posted by Katrina Kurnit, Inside AdWords crew

Now available: Reach the right audience through remarketing

Imagine you�re a travel company, and you�re trying to excite users during the holiday season about deals to tropical Caribbean destinations. Users may come to your website, browse the offers and think about booking a trip, but decide that the deal is still not cheap enough. Then, they continue to browse the web. If you later decide to offer discounted deals to the Carribean, how do you reach these users who have already expressed interest in travelling there?

To help you do this, this week we're rolling out a new feature called remarketing. Any AdWords advertiser can use remarketing to reach users as they�re browsing the web on sites within the Google Content Network. Remarketing is a simple way to connect with users, based on their past interactions with your website.

We opened a trial of remarketing last March as part of our interest-based advertising beta. We�ve received a tremendous response from the hundreds of advertisers who�ve been using it in recent months, across all industries - including automotive, retail, local and finance. We�ve seen that remarketing has worked well for many different kinds of advertisers - whether they�re looking to boost brand awareness, or drive clicks and sales, and whether they use display or text ads. For example, if you�re a search advertiser, you can use remarketing to create an integrated campaign strategy. After driving traffic to your site with search ads, you can then remarket to those users who reach your site by showing them tailored ads on sites throughout the Google Content Network.

You can easily set up and create a remarketing campaign through the new �Audiences� tab in AdWords. A remarketing campaign allows you to take advantage of the same features and reports you can use today in AdWords - it�s just a new way to reach the best audience for your ad.

(click for full size image)

Here�s an example of how it works. Let�s say you�re a basketball team with tickets that you want to sell. You can put a piece of code on the tickets page of your website, which will let you later show relevant ticket ads (such as last minute discounts) to everyone who has visited that page, as they subsequently browse sites in the Google Content Network. In addition to your own site, you can also remarket to users who visited your YouTube brand channel or clicked your YouTube homepage ad.

You can also run a number of remarketing campaigns at the same time. For example, you could offer discount game tickets to users who�ve previously visited your tickets page, advertise VIP hospitality packages to users who clicked on your �How to get to the arena� page, and advertise a sale on team merchandise to users who previously visited your YouTube brand channel.

Remarketing is a great way for businesses to reach users who are likely to be highly receptive to their ads and special offers. It helps advertisers and websites get higher returns. For example, Intercontinental Hotels Group has used remarketing to reach potential customers who have visited one of their hotel websites:

Ad by InterContinental Hotels Group using remarketing to offer incentive to users

(click for full size image)

It also means more relevant and useful ads for users, and more opportunities for your customers to receive special offers and discounts that may be of interest to them. As we announced when we launched our beta of interest based advertising, we want to put users in control of the ads they see, so anyone can opt-out of remarketing by using the Ads Preferences Manager. Our remarketing product complies with industry standards developed by self-regulatory groups such as the NAI and IAB and IAB UK.

To get started with a remarketing campaign, check out the information we�ve put together.

Posted by Aitan Weinberg, Product Manager

Opening up YouTube to new display advertisers

One of our goals is to democratize access to display advertising and make it accessible and open -- like search advertising -- so new advertisers can participate easily. We launched Display Ad Builder in 2008 to help you easily set up and run display ad campaigns.

Display Ad Builder is a self-service tool within AdWords that helps you choose from dozens of professionally designed templates to run ads across the 1 million sites that make up the Google Content Network -- including YouTube -- in a matter of minutes. Over 20,000 advertisers have used Display Ad Builder to create display ads quickly and simply, and over 80% them had never run a display ad campaign before.

Since we launched Display Ad Builder, we�ve added more templates and fonts to help you design display ads quickly. Today, we're announcing a new feature in Display Ad Builder that lets you use simple templates to create InVideo and companion ads on YouTube.

An InVideo ad is an animated flash overlay that appears at the bottom part of a video that a user is watching. It�s been one of the most effective ad formats on YouTube. With people watching over 1 billion videos a day on the site, overlays are an easy way to get your ad directly in front of a huge audience.

Building overlays has always been difficult for small advertisers, who often don�t have access to the resources needed to create these animated ads. That�s where Display Ad Builder in AdWords comes in.

(click for full-sized image)

Now, any advertiser can use Display Ad Builder to turn their image ads into overlays and run a campaign on YouTube in minutes. Depending on the type of campaign an advertiser wants to run, overlays can be bought on a CPC (Cost Per Click) or CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) basis, and can be matched to YouTube videos based on numerous criteria, or even on a video by video level.

With this new format, Display Ad Builder will enable more advertisers to run display advertising campaigns on YouTube. For example, if you�re a small business that sells beauty products, you can quickly use a template in Display Ad Builder in AdWords to create an overlay ad and then run it on popular fashion and beauty videos.

If you're interested in creating your own InVideo ad, or any other type of display ad, click here to get started.

Posted by Emily Williams, Inside AdWords crew

?New tool for brand advertisers on the Google Content Network

Two types of advertisers run campaigns across the Google Content Network. The first group, direct response advertisers, measures the success of their campaigns by looking for clicks, traffic to their sites, and sales. In contrast, brand advertisers typically use display ads to raise awareness and purchase consideration for a product or service a person might buy down the road. Other advertisers are looking to achieve a combination of these goals.

On the Google Content Network, we've been focused on building new capabilities that make it a great place for brand advertising of all kinds. For example, last year we introduced frequency capping to enable advertisers to manage how often their campaign reaches the right users. We've also developed new innovative tools to measure the impact of brand campaigns. Today, in response to feedback from brand advertisers, we're announcing a new feature that allows these advertisers to reach their advertising goals more easily.

This feature, which filters out "below the fold" inventory, enables brand advertisers to be more selective about where ads appear. The new filter gives you the ability to show ads only in places that appear on the user's screen when the page loads, without requiring them to scroll down. Learn more in the Help Center.

With a host of different web browsers, monitor sizes, and screen resolutions, it�s hard for advertisers to predict where an ad will land, since the same placement may appear differently on each user's screen. To simplify the process for you, Google has implemented a statistically driven solution to determine which ads are above and below the fold. The statistically driven model only considers ads "above the fold" if they are completely on-screen when the browser window loads.

Our goal with this release is to give brand advertisers greater control over where their ads appear, and make the Google Content Network an even more powerful, controlled environment for running high performing brand campaigns.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew