Knowing what type of ad is effective is an important component of advertising strategy. Certain types of ads fit certain type of goals. For instance:

Search ads are very effective for products that are already established, and are focused on creating conversions. That is, people need to know something about the product or service to search for it. Search ads are successful for marketing services like accounting, plumbing, or a drivers education course, but not as effective for a product or service that is totally novel or relatively rare. Search is a "bottom of funnel" strategy, most useful when people already know what they are looking for.

Shopping ads are a very effective variant of search ads that showcase products users can engage with immediately. Because of this, they are effective in conversion campaigns for products suitable for eCommerce.

Display ads are typically designed to increase awareness, particularly for increasing visibility of a brand or cultivating interest in a new product. Within an established brand (e.g., McDonald's), display ads are used effectively to introduce a new product (e.g., the McPlant). Display ads are also very effective for retargeting campaigns, especially in combination with search ads. If someone visits your site but doesn't make a purchase or engage in ways you want them to, you can send a display ad to them to remind them of your value, and bring them back to your site. Display ads are typically less expensive than other types of ads, so using them to increase conversion rates on more expensive ad types (like search or video) is smart budgeting.

Video ads are effective for grabbing people's attention and cultivating interest. Humans are inherently captivated by things that move or tell a story, and video does both well. However, videos tend to have lower rates of conversion, so we consider it more of an awareness strategy. When paired with a display/retargeting campaign, video can be a powerful tool for drawing people in and bringing them back.

Social ads can be effective for all goal types. Certain types of products and services are more appropriate than others for social, and of course social media outlets can have very different audience profiles. We often recommend social ads in addition to other ad types, as social advertising can be costly.

Other ad types are typically deployed when advertisers are looking for specific audiences (e.g., gaming ads) or people in specific places (e.g., digital out of home ads at a bus stop or ball game) or engaged in a specific activity (e.g., navigation ads).

Humming is happy to discuss which ad types are most suitable for your goals.