Google Ads
intermediate
5 min read5 steps412 views

How to Optimise Google Display Campaigns

Display campaign optimisation focuses on placement quality, audience refinement, creative testing, and bid management. Start by excluding low-quality placements and mobile apps. Narrow your targeting to high-performing audiences. Test multiple responsive display ad creative sets. Use Target CPA or M

Display Campaignsoptimise google display campaigns

Quick Summary

Display campaign optimisation focuses on placement quality, audience refinement, creative testing, and bid management. Start by excluding low-quality placements and mobile apps. Narrow your targeting to high-performing audiences. Test multiple responsive display ad creative sets. Use Target CPA or Maximise Conversions bidding once you have conversion data. Review placement reports weekly and refresh creative monthly to combat ad fatigue.

Process Flow

Interactive diagram — drag to pan, scroll to zoom

Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these 5 steps to complete this guide

1

The Display Optimisation Loop

Display campaigns require a different optimisation approach than Search. The focus shifts from keyword relevance to placement quality, audience accuracy, and creative impact. The optimisation loop is: launch > review placements > exclude poor performers > test new creative > refine audiences > repeat.
2

Placement Optimisation

Review where your ads show weekly. Exclude placements with high spend and zero conversions. Exclude all mobile app placements unless you specifically target app users. Build a shared exclusion list that grows over time.
3

Audience Refinement

Start with broader audiences and narrow based on performance data. Custom segments (based on search terms, URLs, or apps your target audience uses) often outperform general interest targeting. Layer demographics on top of interest targeting to narrow further. Use observation mode first to gather data before restricting targeting.
4

Creative Testing

Rotate creative every 4-6 weeks to prevent ad fatigue. Test different image styles (lifestyle vs product, people vs no people). Check asset-level performance and replace 'Low' performing assets. Create separate ad groups for different creative themes to compare performance cleanly.
5

Bidding and Budget

Target CPA works well for Display once you have 15+ conversions in 30 days. Set a realistic target — Display typically has higher CPA than Search. If CPA is too high, tighten targeting before reducing the target, as aggressive targets cause delivery issues.

Was this guide helpful?

Your feedback helps us improve our guides