The Google Display Network is the collection of websites, apps and Google-owned properties where advertisers can show image and video ads through Google Ads. Unlike search ads, which appear when someone types a query, display ads reach people while they read news sites, use apps or watch videos. This guide explains how the network works, how ads are targeted and measured, and what Google’s move of display advertising into Demand Gen campaigns means in 2026.
How display advertising on Google works
Advertisers create ads in Google Ads, choose who should see them and set a budget. When a person visits a page or app that is part of the network, Google runs an auction for the available ad space and decides which ad to show based on the bids, the targeting and how relevant each ad is likely to be to that person.
Most display ads today are responsive. The advertiser supplies a set of headlines, descriptions, images and logos, and Google combines them into different sizes and layouts to fit the space available. This means one set of assets can appear as a banner on a news site, a square in an app or a larger format on a tablet.
Who you can reach on the Display Network
Targeting on the Display Network is based on people and context rather than search terms. The main options are:
- Audiences: people grouped by interests, life events or signs that they are researching a type of product
- Your own data: past website visitors or uploaded customer lists, which supports remarketing to people who already know your business
- Content: pages about particular topics or containing related keywords
- Placements: specific websites, apps or YouTube channels you choose to appear on
Targeting by audience works well for building awareness with people who have not yet searched for you. Remarketing suits businesses with longer buying cycles, such as car dealerships or B2B services, where people often visit a website several times before getting in touch.
When display advertising makes sense for a business
Display advertising is usually strongest at the start and middle of the buying journey. It helps people become familiar with a brand before they are ready to search, and it reminds previous visitors to come back. It is less likely to produce immediate enquiries than search advertising, because the people seeing the ad were not actively looking for the product at that moment.
For that reason, display campaigns are often judged on more than direct conversions. Reach, frequency, visits to key pages and the number of people who later search for the brand all help show whether a campaign is working.
How to keep display ads in the right places
Because display ads appear on thousands of third-party sites and apps, it is important to check where they are showing. The placements report in Google Ads lists the sites, apps and channels that served your ads. Some placements appear without a clear site name, and advertisers who want tighter control often limit spend on placements they cannot identify.
Useful controls include:
- Excluding sites, apps or content categories that do not suit your brand
- Adding mobile app exclusions if app traffic produces accidental clicks
- Reviewing the placements report regularly rather than only at launch
- Setting frequency limits so the same person does not see an ad too often
Google is moving display campaigns into Demand Gen
In May 2026, Google announced that standalone Display campaigns are being folded into Demand Gen campaigns. The Display Network itself is not going away. Instead, its inventory now sits inside Demand Gen alongside YouTube, Discover, Gmail and Google Maps.
A migration tool has been available to eligible advertisers since June 2026. Google has said that new standalone Display campaigns will eventually only be created within Demand Gen, with industry reports pointing to early 2027, and that remaining campaigns will be moved across automatically during 2027.
For advertisers, the move brings Demand Gen’s creative formats and reporting to display activity, but it also changes how some settings work. Demand Gen can expand audiences more widely than older display campaigns. Advertisers who only want to appear on Display Network sites can still restrict delivery using channel controls. Anyone with existing display campaigns should review their targeting, exclusions and bidding before migrating, rather than assuming everything carries across unchanged.
Measuring a display campaign
A display campaign should be measured against the goal it was set up for. Awareness campaigns can be judged on reach and cost per thousand impressions, while remarketing campaigns are better judged on returning visits, enquiries and sales. Conversion tracking in Google Ads, combined with Google Analytics, shows what people do after clicking an ad or seeing one and visiting later.
CMe Media plans and manages display advertising on Google for businesses across the UK, including remarketing and Demand Gen campaigns. Contact the team to discuss how display advertising could fit alongside your search and social activity.
