Size matters. Whether it’s the rack of ribs you just paid €35 for or the metres of terrace that the blueprint of your new flat says you have. But no matter how greedy we can be at times, sometimes less is more. And before you jump to conclusions, let’s ask Google AdWords, and see what they have to say.

We have 20 different ad sizes depending on the channel and the objective we are looking for with our ads. These are all the available formats:

Square y rectangle	1
200×200	Small square
240×400	Vertical rectangle
250×250	Square
250×360	Triple widescreen
300×250	Integrated rectangle
336×280	Large rectangle
580×400	Board
Skyscraper	1
120×600	Skyscraper
160×600	Wide skyscraper
300×600	Half-page ad
300×1050	Vertical
Leaderboard	1
468×60	Banner
728×90	Leaderboard
930×180	Higher banner
970×90	Large leaderboard
970×250	Billboard
980×120	Panoramic
Mobiles	1
300×50	Mobile banner
320×50	Mobile banner
320×100	Large mobile banner

Ad sizes that perform best

Of all the variety that Google AdWords offers us, we want to find out which ones work best among users. So, instead of researching and trawling, we’ve been practical (or being lazy, call it what you will) and asked the tool itself. According to their own records, these are the best received ad sizes:

-Generic:

-200×200: This is relatively smaller and less attractive than the others, and often includes weird and cluttered text and images. It is not popular with publishers due to the lack of viewability factor, which can affect the overall performance of the ad.

-250×250: This square offers versatility. It is perfect for smaller spaces, although we find that not all businesses take it as a good option due to its size.

-300×250: The medium rectangle. It has more inventory available. They also perform well when embedded in text content or right after a related article.

-728×90: These are called leaderboards. They perform best when placed on top of the main content.

–Computer:

-120×600: Placed in sidebars, the Skyscraper is the ideal ad for displaying top-down images. The narrow width design can fit where most wider ads will not. It offers a stable advertising impact.

-160×600: The wide skyscraper serves the same purpose as the narrow skyscraper. It is larger and more visible. The width of the ad offers a high impact on page visitors.

-300×600: These are half-page ads. This format offers larger spaces. They are used to achieve greater engagement with users. This size is one of the fastest growing and could become the number one in the coming years.

-336×280: The performance of this rectangle, although larger, is similar to the one we have just seen.

-468×60: The Banner has a wide format, similar to the Leaderboard ad, but is smaller. It is often placed above the navigation bar or between the main content. Despite the versatility factor, it does not offer better performance due to size limitations.

Mobile:

-320×100: These are unique to mobile devices and are known as large mobile banners, which offer twice the height of the standard mobile leaderboard.

To sum it up and to make it easier for you to see with less verbiage:

Generic	1
200×200	Small square
250×250	Square
300×250	Integrated rectangle
728×90	Leaderboard
Computer	1
120×600	Skyscraper
160×600	Wide skyscraper
300×600	Half-page ad
336×280	Large rectangle
468×60	Banner
Mobile	1
320×100	Large mobile banner

Maximum ad file size

Be careful because we are not only talking about size. Weight also has a lot to do with it. The ad file must not exceed 150KB in size. If you do, Google will stop you from disallowing the use of that ad, and it has a very simple reason for doing so.

The bigger the ad, the heavier it is, so the longer it will take to load. Users, using Google as a search engine, will associate that slowness with their search engine so they might associate slowness with Google. To avoid this and to ensure a positive experience for all users, Google limits these ads to 150KB.

If we continue talking about requirements, there is one even more important than the size; the format. The final product must be in one of the following formats:

JPEG, PNG, GIF or SWF.

Google does not accept any other format so they will not allow anything to be published that does not fit these requirements.

Why do I need display ads?

A display ad offers a variety of fonts, images, colours, graphics and even animation that a normal search ad doesn’t. At first glance, these seem like advantages. What about the rumours that display ads get fewer clicks? I’m glad you’re wondering, because that’s totally… true.

But don’t think of your display ads as a one-off, but as an extra support to your entire digital marketing strategy. These ads do their bit to increase brand presence and awareness for users and offer remarketing for those users who already know your company and have interacted with your business.

How to create a Google AdWords display ad

Everything has a limit

It’s all brainstorming, laughter and creativity until Google says the party’s over. In this section we talk about what you should and shouldn’t do if you want your ad to see the light of day. You should take this as a positive thing because then you always know what to stick to.

-Remember what we just talked about size and weight; they should be less than 150 KB.

-No white backgrounds in your ad unless a border or frame is placed around it. This prevents users from clicking by mistake.

-Facebook also limits the amount of text within the image, it can only contain 20%. Including logo as long as it has text.

How to design a banner ad

If you feel like a craftsman of our time, it’s time to show it. Let’s go through the steps to create an ad that starts as an idea and ends as a fully optimised ad.

Advert Colours

Find your balance and your ad’s balance. I’m sure you have colours in mind and you’re willing to do anything to use them; whether they’re your favourite colours or your corporate colours. But be careful, we want your ad to stand out but not to clash. And if you are also going to add the logo, try to be in tune with it and not to make it stand out.

But that’s not all. This balance must be transferred visually to everything you do. If your advert has a specific design and colours, the place it takes your customers to should be along the same lines. Everything you show should be consistent. If green is the colour of your ad, it should also be the colour of your website, your newsletter, your company.

CTAs in display ads

Now don’t be shy. If you know what you want from your customers, tell them. Don’t let them imagine it, don’t let them guess. Your ad is there for a purpose. Make it clear. Tell your customer what they should do; “Buy it now”, “Book now”, “I want to see it”.

Images

You must put an image that is in line with your company, what you say, what you are like and that your audience will quickly connect with your company. It must be something attractive, that arouses some kind of emotion, obviously the emotion you are looking for, and that they associate it with you before they even see your company logo.

To the point

Don’t be beating about the bushes. Show what you want to show in your ad, but in a clear and concise way. Let the design do its job and attract the eye, but don’t get lost in the details. Your audience should be able to see it almost without realising that they have seen it.

Testing, testing…

Once your ad is done, it’s time to test, test and keep testing. There is no other way to know if it works or not. Keep an eye on the data it will give you because that’s where the secret lies. Today’s data is tomorrow’s success. All those numbers will show you what your customers like and you will be able to use it for future actions.