Create Compelling AdWords Display Image Ads

Designing creative image ads is one of the of the most fun parts of being a digital advertiser. It's where you get to apply the visual side of your brain, creating engaging content that will drive click-throughs.

However, our display ads have been under attack by ad blocking software, and there's no end in sight.

In fact, according to a study by PageFair , 45 million monthly active users in the United States use ad blockers. Those active users represent a 48% increase in usage between Q2 2014 & Q2 2015.

The stats above should motivate you to create compelling display ads for your audience so you can keep their attention.

Here are a few fundamentals to achieving best results with your display ads.

1. Use the Z-Pattern in your layout design

If you are advertising to viewers in the U.S. or other western countries, most people will read from left to right, top to bottom. In design, this is known as the Z-Pattern. Place your value proposition on the top left side of the ad, and your call-to-action on the bottom right. You have very little time to capture the attention of your audience and viewers will quickly glance to the areas they expect to find the most relevant information.

2. Use the Rule of Thirds

Everyone thinks of Leonardo da Vinci when discussing the Rule of Thirds. And it's true he used it often in his drawings and paintings. There's a reason that this technique is used by visual artists and that hasn't changed in today's digital world.

Evenly divide your ad horizontally and vertically with four lines. The four points where these lines intersect are your points of interest. Arrange essential elements so they touch one of these points to make your ad copy more engaging.

3. Write a Compelling Call to Action (CTA)

Do not just write "click here." Let your viewer know why they should click on your ad. For example, if you are selling winter jackets & you show an ad with different color selections, a good CTA may say, "Choose My Color."

Also, use a contrasting color for the CTA button, so it stands out from the rest of your ad.

The Free Templates

We've created a free Adobe Photoshop PSD template that includes 17 popular Google Ad sizes that you can freely use for your ad creations!

The 17 Google Display Ad Sizes in the Template:

• Vertical Banner (120x240)
• Skyscraper (120x600)
• Wide Skyscraper (160x600)
• Small Rectangle (180x150)
• Small Square (200x200)
• Vertical Rectangle (240x400)
• Square (250x250)
• Medium Rectangle* (300x250)
• Half Page* (300x600)
• Portrait (300x1050)
• Mobile Leaderboard (320x50)
• Large Mobile Banner* (320x100)
• Large Rectangle* (336x280)
• Banner (468x60)
• Leaderboard* (728x90)
• Large Leaderboard (970x90)
• Billboard (970x250)

*Top performing ad sizes according to Google

When exporting the file, make sure the image size is no larger than 150 KB. Google will reject anything larger. The file types accepted are JPEG, SWF, GIF, and PNG.