Running a pet spa means that you wear many different hats. One of the biggest struggles you might have is knowing which marketing strategies and approaches are the most rewarding and will give you a return on your investment. After all, marketing channels can be expensive, and if you aren’t getting leads or new customers out of them, it can feel like a waste.
One type of marketing activity that isn’t as well known to small business owners is display ads. While many pet spa owners might already use search ads or social media ads, a display ad can help you connect with a different audience and appear in different locations than most of your competition. In this article, we’ll help you learn the display ads best practices for pet spas and help you get set up for success and growth with your ad campaigns.
What are Display Ads?
A display ad is also referred to as a banner ad. They are ads that appear on the margins of social media platforms, apps, and websites and usually include a significant visual element. Rather than search ads, which are completely text-based, or social media ads which may include longer descriptions, a display ad uses a photo or graphic to call attention to the offer and encourage clicks from readers.
There are a few types of display ads that are more common to see than others. While there are many types and formats for a display ad, here are a few of the most common types:
- Site Placement: These ads appear on a website that the advertiser chooses, such as one that your audiences are known to also visit but isn’t a direct competitor. These might include news sites, similar interest sites, or local websites in your area.
- Contextual: Contextual advertising is where an ad is placed on a website that is contextually related to the advertiser, such as an advertisement for dog toys on a pet adoption site.
- Remarketing: A remarketing display ad is a type of advertising that retargets your lost leads. If a person visits your website but doesn’t convert, you can remarket to them specifically with ads that appear on other sites they visit and push towards a conversion goal.
There are many key benefits that you can get from display or banner ads that you don’t get with other forms of online marketing and advertising.
Visually Appealing
Rather than other forms of digital ads that focus on text and written copy, a display ad gives your business a chance to shine in a visual format. You can create powerful graphics, photos, and even videos that will help attract your audience and convert them into customers. Audiences tend to respond more to visual elements than to plain text, so display ads give you a chance to really let your brand voice shine.
Many Options
Unlike other forms of online advertising like search ads that are very strict and specific on how they are formatted, a display ad gives you many more options. You can pick different sizes, formats, visual layouts, and positions on a webpage in order to find out what works best. You can be more creative with display ads and try things outside of the box.
Retargeting and Remarketing
Another powerful benefit of display ads is the retargeting possibilities. When someone visits your site but then leaves without taking any conversion action, you can continue to remind them of your brand and your offers with remarketing display ads. These ads allow you to continually push your message to a website visitor, even as they search on other sites.
Detailed Analytics
Your display ads can also help you gather detailed analytics and data about your key audiences that can be used to help inform further marketing decisions. You might gain more insights into the behaviors or demographics of your audience with a display ad analysis, which can help you refine your marketing objectives or your ideal customer profile.
Best Practices for Pet Spas
As a pet spa, having display ads is a great way to visually communicate the benefits of your business with audiences. Rather than trying to convince someone in a sentence or two, you can use images and visual elements to your benefit and help create a great advertisement that sticks with readers. Here are a few of the best practices and most important factors to keep in mind as you work on creating display ads for your pet spa business.
Message
While the visual elements of your display ad are important, you also want to have a clear and compelling headline that readers can understand. You want to have a powerful message that draws them in and gives them direction on what action to take and why your business is the best option. A strong headline and subheader lets your audiences know what you are offering in the ad and why you are the best pet spa over other competitors in your area.
Design
Once you’ve narrowed down what your message and offer will be, you can look at the design of your display ad. Some display ads are banners, others scroll down the website with the reader on the sidebar, and some will display at the bottom of webpages. Consider the layout and design of your ad as you think about what relevant image or animation you want to use to draw in conversions. It needs to be visually appealing without being over the top or too distracting. After all, you don’t want readers to think your advertisement is spam.
Color
The colors of your display ad are also important to consider. You want to have colors that go together, stand out from the website the ad is hosted on, and don’t confuse or irritate the viewer. It’s also important to have a clear, color-contrasting call to action button so that readers know where to click in order to get the offer or visit your website. If your call to action doesn’t stand out, a viewer might not know what to do and will ignore your ad rather than respond to it positively.
Targeting
As with all digital ads, having clear targeting in mind is key to success. You want to make sure that your advertisement shows up in front of the people who are most likely to click on it. For a pet spa, as an example, you want to make sure that pet owners see your ads, not people who don’t have animals. Knowing the key demographics that make up your ideal customer will help you create targeting strategies that work and allow you to make sure your ads appear in front of the right audience who will be most likely to click on your ad.
Website
Once a viewer clicks on your ad, they will be directed to your website with a landing page. You want to make sure that the landing page they end up on is optimized to drive conversions. Make sure your landing page has all of the key elements that help convince leads to become customers and convert, such as:
- An appealing CTA
- A similar design that is consistent with the display ad
- A mobile-friendly layout
- Clear and convincing copy
- A form without too many complicated fields
Accessible
Most people spend their time online on their mobile phones. That means that your ads need to be formatted for the small screen. If you don’t have mobile-friendly ads, they can overtake a webpage and distract and irritate your readers. You want to make sure your ads are still visible from a smaller screen, the information is clear to see, and the CTA still works when someone is using a phone to view the ad. You also want to make sure your landing page follows these same rules, along with the rest of your website.
Authenticity
You want your pet spa to be authentic and resonate with audiences. Creating a personal brand experience and having a positive reputation in your local community is a great way to earn the trust of new customers and encourage them to click on your display ads.
Measure
As with all digital marketing initiatives, it’s important that you measure and track the campaigns you run. You always want to always test and analyze your display ads to ensure they are working for you, and then adjust if needed so that you don’t lose money or target the wrong people.
Attend a Surefire Local Marketing Platform Demo
If you want to get started with display ads, but don’t have the right platform to support you, look no further. At Surefire Local, we provide business intelligence marketing software that helps you manage all of your important marketing activities from the same platform. We offer our all-in-one solution at a fraction of the cost of other agencies, so attend a demo today and see for yourself the difference Surefire Local can make to your pet spa business.