When it comes time to launch an online ad campaign, there are a number of different ad networks to choose from. Even within AdStage you can create campaigns for Google, Bing, Facebook & LinkedIn. But how do you choose one to start with? In this post, I’ll walk you explain the differences between each ad network and help you decide where to get started.

Google AdWords

Google AdWords is the most prominent and widely used ad network because of its broad reach and numerous supported ad formats. Its search network is second to none and can be an incredibly reliable source of traffic. Its display network is also the easiest way to get place targeted ads for your business across the internet. Learn about AdWords in detail with our Guide to Google AdWords .

Campaign Types: As mentioned, there are two main campaign types available through Google AdWords:

• Search campaigns show your ads when people conduct relevant searches. These campaigns are great for reaching people when they’re actually looking for companies like you. For example, a florist could use an AdWords search campaign to reach local people when they’re looking up “flower delivery.”
• Display campaigns can show your ads when people are browsing the web. These campaigns are great for building awareness about your company to many people at once.

Ad Types: Search campaigns show text ads. Display campaigns can show both text and image ads.

Where Ads Show: Search campaigns show your ads alongside search results on Google and partner search engines like AOL and Ask. Display campaigns can show both text and image ads across web pages, mobile apps and more.

Targeting: Search campaigns allow you to target your audience by the keywords they search for. Display campaigns allow you to target by both audience type (e.g., demographics) and by the type of content your ad is shown on (e.g., topics).

Bing Ads

Bing Ads is another search ad network but has only about 29% of the market share (compared to Google's 67%). Because of this, it's recommended you create a Bing campaign in addition to an AdWords campaign in order to get full coverage. In fact, businesses often copy their existing AdWords search campaigns into Bing reduce to reach new customers and take advantage of the lower ad costs Bing offers. Learn about Bing Ads in detail with our Guide to Bing Ads .

Ad Types: Text ads

Where Ads Show: Alongside search results on sites including Bing and Yahoo!

Targeting: You can target your audience by the keywords they search for.

Facebook Ads

Facebook Ads give you the opportunity to reach potential customers from the 1 billion+ people on Facebook. It’s great for targeting your ideal customer persona with ads for your website, Facebook Page or mobile app. Learn about Facebook Ads in detail with our Guide to Facebook Ads .

Ad Types: Text ads, image ads, social ads, video ads, mobile ads , native ads, etc.

Where Ads Show: Ads show within the news feed and right edge of the Facebook website and mobile app.

Targeting: You can target your audience by either describing them (e.g., interests) or by uploading a list of specific people (e.g., email addresses).

LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn Ads is a powerful social ad network that allows you reach a professional audience. It’s great for targeting your potential customers by the type of work they do. Learn about LinkedIn Ads in detail with our Guide to LinkedIn Ads .

Ad Types: Text ads, image ads, social ads, video ads, native ads , etc.

Where Ads Show: On the LinkedIn website and mobile app and on third-party websites that are part of the LinkedIn Audience Network .

Targeting: You can target your audience by describing them (e.g., job title, seniority, etc.).

Try Them All Simultaneously

If you’d like to try them all, consider using AdStage Express. It's the only tool that lets you create and deploy a new campaign onto all four ad networks simultaneously . AdStage Express was built from the ground up to be easy-to-use, even for beginners and it's available as a free app for all AdStage users - sign up here !