How Dynamic Display Can Help You Sell More

If your business sells products and you’re wondering if you should add dynamic display ads (sometimes known as Dynamic Product Ads or DPAs) into your digital marketing rotation, the answer is a resounding “yes!”

What’s the difference between traditional and dynamic display?

Traditional display ads are static banners that are displayed to potential customers based on any number of rules (for example: by placement, by abandoned cart, or by demographics). They display the same message and images to anyone who sees them, with additional messages and creative being input on a one by one basis.

This type of banner is still important as it sets the tone for your brand and allows you to include plenty of additional information, like details regarding a sale or new product launch.

However, for customers further down the funnel, dynamic ads can be more effective.

Here's an example of an AdWords static banner:

Here's an example of a Facebook static ad:

In contrast, dynamic ads target visitors to your website with images of products that they have directly viewed, abandoned in their cart, or are similar to ones that they’ve viewed or purchased. Each banner includes product images pulled from your shopping feed, customized for the specific user in question. Think of them as friendly reminders for your customer to return to your website and purchase a product they’ve already shown interest in.

It’s retargeting, super-charged!

Example of an AdWords dynamic banner:

Example of a Facebook Dynamic Product Ad:

Do they work?

According to our internal benchmarks, dynamic ads have, on average, a 9% higher click through rate and a 37% higher conversion rate than traditional static banners.

Great! Where can I implement these?

We suggest starting with AdWords and Facebook (as in the examples above) to get started. There are other platforms (including third-party retargeters such as AdRoll and Criteo), but we suggest getting to those later on in your marketing journey.

Is there anything else I need to do?

Yes, you’ll need to set up a Google Merchant Account, and either connect it to your product data (if you’re using Shopify, WooCommerce, or Magento, this can be done through an automated feed) or upload data about your products (if you’re using Squarespace or a custom platform, for example).

Google’s Merchant Center Tutorials on YouTube is a great place to start.