Which Google display ad sizes work best
Whether you’re new to using the Google Display Network or are a pay-per-click (PPC) gaming veteran, using the Google Display Network (GDN) is a key driver for overall growth and performance. from your Google Ads account. and your business in general.
The Google Display Network is one of the largest and most extensive outreach tools within the digital advertising universe, with over 2,000,000 websites, videos and apps where your display ads can appear. . With massive reach, display campaigns have become a leading strategy to expose your brand profitably.
Besides their extended reach, another benefit of display campaigns can be a lower cost of entry. You can choose between cost-per-view (CPV) and cost-per-click (CPC) bidding, depending on your campaign objectives. For campaigns using CPC bidding, display campaigns typically have a lower cost per click than the Search Network, especially in more competitive industries. A click on a display ad can cost an average of $1.00, while the CPCs of campaigns on the Search Network of the same account can exceed $5 on average.
In some industries, the average cost of a click can even cost up to $100 or more, depending on the keywords being bid on. Metrics vary depending on campaign targeting (remarketing or prospecting), but overall display ads are a much cheaper method of getting more attention to your product or brand at a much lower cost.
Knowing the reasons for using the Google Display Network, the next questions would be: how to create these ads and which ads are performing the best?
There are two types of ads to load into Google:
- Responsive Display Ads: Ads created dynamically by giving Google titles, descriptions, logos, and images/videos, and they create combinations that are better suited to the user. RDAs are considered responsive because they can fit any dedicated display ad placement on a page.
- Uploaded Display Ads: Created outside of Google Ads and providing full control over the appearance of the ad; 20 standard ad sizes.
If you want to control the appearance of your ads to match your brand guidelines, 20 ads can seem daunting. Do you really need to create ads in all these sizes, or are some just a waste of time?
I analyzed over 2,300 Google Display ads collected from campaigns run by JumpFly. Our data set comes from the last two years of data (April 2020 – April 2022) and shows clear differences in the distribution of different ad sizes.
I created a Flourish chart with the data, so it’s interactive. The impression rate is broken down by size category (Square, Mobile, Leaderboard, Skyscraper). You can see it here.
JumpFly Recommended Size List:
Based on our analysis, the ad formats you should always create when creating a display campaign are:
- Slanted rectangle (300X250)
- Large rectangle (336X280)
- Square 250X250
- Small Square (200X200)
- Half page (300X600)
- Wide Skyscraper (160X600)
- Ranking (728X90)
- Banner (468X60)
- Billboard (970X250)
- Big Ranking (970X90)
- Moving Banner (320X50)
- Large Mobile Banner (320X100)
Complete list of announcements
Below is a breakdown of each format Google will accept, along with more insights from JumpFly’s display ads analysis. Each ad will have different requirements, so make sure you meet all of the requirements for the format you’re creating.
All non-animated image ads must be in GIF, JPG, or PNG file format, with a maximum file size of 150KB. This file size is quite small when creating GIF files. So I recommend you to use HTML5 formats if you plan to create an animated display ad. Google recommends using its Google Web Designer tool.
Square and rectangular ad category
Square and rectangular formats make up the bulk of display ads on the Google Display Network. These ad formats can be displayed on most placement options. Therefore, the inclusion of recommended formats should be considered a requirement.
Slanted rectangle (recommended)
The slanted rectangle is by far the most popular non-animated static display ad format. It encompasses 68.66% of the impression share of square and rectangular formats with a moderate average CPM of $2.35. If you are creating static image ads, the skew rectangle should be the required size.
Large rectangle (recommended)
Right behind the slanted rectangle is the large rectangle, with around 30% of the share of search impressions coming from the square and rectangular formats. The conversion rate is a bit higher than the slanted rectangle, which makes it another required size to create.
Square (recommended)
For the smaller, less-displayed sizes, the square format represents only 1% of the search impression share of the square and rectangular formats. That being said, since the specs of this size are quite similar to rectangular sizes, I would still recommend creating these.
Small square (recommended)
Taking on a search impression share similar to the Square ad, the Small Square shouldn’t be hard to recreate, but shows up in unique locations that others don’t.
Vertical Rectangle/Netboard/Triple Widescreen (Optional)
Along with the least-served ad variations, these formats accounted for less than 0.2% of the search impression share of square and rectangular formats with relatively low conversion rates. If you’re looking to stream wherever possible, go ahead and create those formats, but in reality, you won’t miss out on much traffic. This includes Vertical Rectangle, Netboard, and Triple Widescreen sizes.
Skyscraper Listing Category
Half page (recommended)
Taking over 60% of the impression share between skyscraper landscapes, the half-page ad format is a type of ad that many don’t create but should because it’s This is the largest frequently displayed format, offering enough space to present your message. .
Large skyscraper (recommended)
The Wide Skyscraper is also indispensable when creating new banner ads for your campaigns. These are presented in different formats representing 35% of the share of impressions between skyscraper landscapes. The Wide Skyscraper ad is frequently displayed on the sides of websites and provides plenty of space for information or a quick, eye-catching call to action.
Skyscraper/portrait (optional)
Representing less than 5% of the remaining impression share, Skyscraper and Portrait ads show less frequently on the Google Display Network. Therefore, only create them if you want to, but expect a drop in traffic from these sites.
Ranking ad category
Rating (recommended)
The Leaderboard ad format is a must as it is the second best performing ad size overall, just behind the Incline Rectangle ad format. This may be the only “leaderboard” format you’ll need to create, as it accounts for 85% of the impression share between the formats listed below.
Banner, billboard and large leaderboard (all highly recommended)
These three sizes represent the remaining 15% of the impression share between ranking formats. These are very similar proportions to the Leaderboard ad, so copying and pasting designs shouldn’t be too difficult. The Billboard ad is also one of the largest ad sizes, so I highly recommend implementing them in your campaign.
Panorama/top banner (optional)
These two ad formats are rarely displayed. Only create these formats if you’re looking to cover all the bases.
Mobile ad category
Mobile Banner and Large Mobile Banner (both recommended)
Mobile Banner and Large Mobile Banner ads take the bulk of impression share in the mobile category. These ad formats are essential if your website receives a large amount of mobile traffic or if your website is optimized for mobile users. Although these formats are small, they are displayed on much smaller devices compared to a desktop computer. These ads will take up a good portion of the screen, so be sure to get your point across!
Mobile banner version 2 (optional)
This advertising format is an alternative to the Mobile Banner; it should be easy to create and can represent 2% of impression share for mobile formats.
Optimizing your Google Display ads for the best possible formats is essential if you want to boost your brand image. To recap our mandatory recommendations, the ad formats you should always create when creating a display campaign are:
- Slanted rectangle (300X250)
- Large rectangle (336X280)
- Square 250X250
- Small Square (200X200)
- Half page (300X600)
- Wide Skyscraper (160X600)
- Ranking (728X90)
- Banner (468X60)
- Billboard (970X250)
- Big Ranking (970X90)
- Moving Banner (320X50)
- Large Mobile Banner (320X100)
(Optional)
- Vertical Rectangle (240X400)
- Network board (580X400)
- Triple widescreen (250X360)
- Skyscraper (120X600)
- Portrait (300X1050)
- Panoramic (980X120)
- Top banner (930X180)
- Mobile Banner Version 2 (300X50)