Display Ad Networks: A Comprehensive Guide

Advertising is everywhere, on your phones and off them, facilitated by an interconnected network of websites, apps, and billboards.

This network is called the display ad network. However, when someone Googles the term ‘display networks’, they’re met with Google’s definition of the GDN, which says it’s a group of more than 2 million websites, videos, and apps where your ads appear.

But GDN isn’t the only display network, and there are far more options available to you as an advertiser.

While Google’s network might seem the most powerful of them all, it just has more inventory, and not all of it is good or premium.

If you’re not exploring the options and are unaware of them, it’s time to widen your advertising horizons. Because those low-quality clicks won’t be fixed by just optimizing.

It’s knowing and using the whole spectrum of what’s available to you.

Each display network connects you to a different audience.

Before we dive into lists and what you should choose based on your goals, let’s look at the basic definition of a display network.

What is a display network?

The internet is full of empty spaces reserved for advertising. These are called ad inventories, and each inventory has a hierarchy based on the viewers.

The display networks exist to facilitate the usage of this inventory, which is usually owned by the network. For example, the Google Display Network owns the inventory on YouTube and some other websites.

And it gives a cut to the people or groups that join this network, creating intrinsic motivation for publishers, creators, and businesses. However, not all networks pay—Reddit ads and Amazon DSP being the major ones.

A list of 9 display networks: Pros Vs Cons

Here’s a tl;dr of the list in table form below.

Now, let’s dive into what the networks do for you.

Google Display Network (GDN)

GDN might be the most well-known display network, if not the most popular one. They are connected to over 2 million websites, videos, and apps. These numbers are impressive.

The scope of the network doesn’t end there; the network umbrella also has Gmail, YouTube, and the search results underneath it.

This provides advertisers with a vast network to work with. However, the cost of running on GDN is often high, and the campaign budget can quickly increase.

Then there is the problem of quality and traffic. While Gmail, YouTube, and SERP bring good results, the same can’t be said about the broader network. Some ads are placed on arbitrary websites, and the clicks resulting from these can be poor, including little to no intent and bots.

Apple Ads

Apple Ads aren’t a network. But they’re one of the best ways to hold the attention of a large number of B2B buyers, who often purchase Apple products for their capabilities.

This is an unmissable opportunity for those who are building their SaaS apps and hoping to direct the attention of high-intent buyers. Plus, the viewership is premium. But like everything Apple, this space is protected by stringent privacy laws.

And the audience pool is limited to iOS users. If your product isn’t an app on the App Store, this space isn’t worth the hassle because the CPI/CPT is high compared to others.

Amazon DSP

Amazon DSP is a programmatic network platform that analyzes user behavior to serve ads to audiences. This network includes Amazon’s e-commerce website, Twitch, IMDb, Alexa, FireTV, Kindle, etc., and a few thousand third-party apps and websites.

Amazon DSP is one of the most effective advertising networks, and it helps B2B and B2C marketers reach their buyers while they’re shopping. The network is known for high-quality traffic, and although it is a favorite of many e-commerce advertisers, it has been making waves within the B2B community.

And there are a lot of customizations available from Amazon’s side, giving a lot of control to advertisers. However, and this is big, Amazon DSP is quite expensive. And many report that the DSP is best for awareness-type campaigns and reaching a wider audience—it is not ideal for conversion.

They will give you the data but not the sale, which is a double-edged sword.

Facebook Audience Network

This might be the next big one after Google. They offer a variety of formats for the advertiser. These are:

1. Interstitial or full-screen ads
2. Native ads or ads that blend with their content
3. Banner Ads or the traditional display ads
4. Rewarded Ads or Ads in exchange for some prize

Facebook ads use hyper-targeting, and with their new updates, they’re asking advertisers to do nothing but use whatever data, copies, and everything in between given to them by Meta.

The network also uses Facebook quality data to target buyers.

There are drawbacks to the network: Advertisers have no control over where ads are placed on the internet. Yes, you can block some apps and websites, but that’s it, increasing the ad manager’s workload because Meta will decide where your ad should go.

This results in low-quality traffic and rising CPC costs.

Outbrain

Outbrain is a network that focuses on native ads and on driving performance that influences outcomes. They leverage predictive AI to display highly targeted, deep contextual advertising.

These advertisements are completely native. The creatives can either be a short video or a native display ad. Often, Outbrain is the best option for advertisers on a budget; it has everything you’ll need.

Global reach, integrations with premium publishers, and campaigns for awareness and discovery. But lately, Outbrain has become known for low-quality clicks. There is a risk of bot traffic and fraud. And the conversion rates have dipped due to low-quality traffic.

While the barrier to entry is relatively cost-effective, you must ensure the trade-off is worth it.

Taboola

Taboola is another native advertising platform. This network is known for its global reach and performance-focused teams.

While Outbrain and Taboola are direct competitors, it has better reach and premium inventory than Outbrain, collaborating with publishers like CNN, USA Today, Bloomberg, and Fox.

Taboola offers functionality and flexibility during campaign setups, giving advertisers control. But the network is plagued by similar problems: bot traffic and fraud clicks being the most prominent ones.

The CPC for Taboola is as low as $0.03 and as high as $5.

With this network, you may choose the trade-off between cost and traffic quality.

Nativo

Nativo is a pioneer of native advertising. Their focus has always been on providing a seamless embedded content experience. This philosophy helped them match the tone, feel, look, and context of the publisher.

The native advertising network is best for brands that want to provide a storytelling experience to their consumers and audiences. Their integrated analytics suite is considered one of the best in business, and their cookieless delivery is suited for modern privacy laws.

Nativo does many things right, but it can be very cost-intensive, which is not ideal for small advertisers and publishers. Their reach is also limited because of the premium experience they provide.

And the creatives need to be precise and grab the viewers’ attention—it requires creative storytelling.

Ad-Maven

Ad-Maven is the advertiser’s favorite for high-volume reach and aggressive conversion. This network is a low-cost alternative to other networks. Ad-Maven has a global reach and low CPC and CPM compared to its competitors.

There’s real-time bidding and auto-optimization for advertisers. They have a variety of formats and are budget-friendly.

However, the traffic is inconsistent, and many reviews complain about bots infecting the impressions and clicks, bloating the actual numbers of the campaign.

While Ad-Maven provides high-volume traffic, the quality remains dubious.

Reddit ads

While not a network in the traditional sense, Reddit Ads is a powerful tool because subreddits are communities. And if advertisers can integrate themselves into these subreddits, they can create trust and direct high-quality traffic to their offers.

The tool is also very cost-effective, with CPCs ranging from $0.50-$4 CPC and $3.5-$15 CPM.

But again, advertisements on Reddit can be tricky. People there are opinionated, and downvotes may cause brand trust erosion. It’s a double-edged sword. The tracking is also not the best, but Reddit is adding analytics for businesses and brands to thrive there.

It is something to look out for.

Don’t stick to one network, experiment and find your fit(s).

Notice how each network is almost complementary to the other. They have cons, some glaring, but they make up for it by having reach or providing value, or being premium and expensive.

There’s always a trade-off to watch out for. Using only one will bottleneck your performance campaign because, just like all marketing campaigns, there is no one-size-fits-all.This network is called the display ad network. However, when someone Googles the term ‘display networks’, they’re met with Google’s definition of the GDN, which says it’s a group of more than 2 million websites, videos, and apps where your ads appear.

But GDN isn’t the only display network, and there are far more options available to you as an advertiser.

While Google’s network might seem the most powerful of them all, it just has more inventory, and not all of it is good or premium.

If you’re not exploring the options and are unaware of them, it’s time to widen your advertising horizons. Because those low-quality clicks won’t be fixed by just optimizing.

It’s knowing and using the whole spectrum of what’s available to you.

Each display network connects you to a different audience.

Before we dive into lists and what you should choose based on your goals, let’s look at the basic definition of a display network.

What is a display network?

The internet is full of empty spaces reserved for advertising. These are called ad inventories, and each inventory has a hierarchy based on the viewers.

The display networks exist to facilitate the usage of this inventory, which is usually owned by the network. For example, the Google Display Network owns the inventory on YouTube and some other websites.

And it gives a cut to the people or groups that join this network, creating intrinsic motivation for publishers, creators, and businesses. However, not all networks pay—Reddit ads and Amazon DSP being the major ones.

A list of 9 display networks: Pros Vs Cons

Here’s a tl;dr of the list in table form below.

Now, let’s dive into what the networks do for you.

Google Display Network (GDN)

GDN might be the most well-known display network, if not the most popular one. They are connected to over 2 million websites, videos, and apps. These numbers are impressive.

The scope of the network doesn’t end there; the network umbrella also has Gmail, YouTube, and the search results underneath it.

This provides advertisers with a vast network to work with. However, the cost of running on GDN is often high, and the campaign budget can quickly increase.

Then there is the problem of quality and traffic. While Gmail, YouTube, and SERP bring good results, the same can’t be said about the broader network. Some ads are placed on arbitrary websites, and the clicks resulting from these can be poor, including little to no intent and bots.

Apple Ads

Apple Ads aren’t a network. But they’re one of the best ways to hold the attention of a large number of B2B buyers, who often purchase Apple products for their capabilities.

This is an unmissable opportunity for those who are building their SaaS apps and hoping to direct the attention of high-intent buyers. Plus, the viewership is premium. But like everything Apple, this space is protected by stringent privacy laws.

And the audience pool is limited to iOS users. If your product isn’t an app on the App Store, this space isn’t worth the hassle because the CPI/CPT is high compared to others.

Amazon DSP

Amazon DSP is a programmatic network platform that analyzes user behavior to serve ads to audiences. This network includes Amazon’s e-commerce website, Twitch, IMDb, Alexa, FireTV, Kindle, etc., and a few thousand third-party apps and websites.

Amazon DSP is one of the most effective advertising networks, and it helps B2B and B2C marketers reach their buyers while they’re shopping. The network is known for high-quality traffic, and although it is a favorite of many e-commerce advertisers, it has been making waves within the B2B community.

And there are a lot of customizations available from Amazon’s side, giving a lot of control to advertisers. However, and this is big, Amazon DSP is quite expensive. And many report that the DSP is best for awareness-type campaigns and reaching a wider audience—it is not ideal for conversion.

They will give you the data but not the sale, which is a double-edged sword.

Facebook Audience Network

This might be the next big one after Google. They offer a variety of formats for the advertiser. These are:

1. Interstitial or full-screen ads
2. Native ads or ads that blend with their content
3. Banner Ads or the traditional display ads
4. Rewarded Ads or Ads in exchange for some prize

Facebook ads use hyper-targeting, and with their new updates, they’re asking advertisers to do nothing but use whatever data, copies, and everything in between given to them by Meta.

The network also uses Facebook quality data to target buyers.

There are drawbacks to the network: Advertisers have no control over where ads are placed on the internet. Yes, you can block some apps and websites, but that’s it, increasing the ad manager’s workload because Meta will decide where your ad should go.

This results in low-quality traffic and rising CPC costs.

Outbrain

Outbrain is a network that focuses on native ads and on driving performance that influences outcomes. They leverage predictive AI to display highly targeted, deep contextual advertising.

These advertisements are completely native. The creatives can either be a short video or a native display ad. Often, Outbrain is the best option for advertisers on a budget; it has everything you’ll need.

Global reach, integrations with premium publishers, and campaigns for awareness and discovery. But lately, Outbrain has become known for low-quality clicks. There is a risk of bot traffic and fraud. And the conversion rates have dipped due to low-quality traffic.

While the barrier to entry is relatively cost-effective, you must ensure the trade-off is worth it.

Taboola

Taboola is another native advertising platform. This network is known for its global reach and performance-focused teams.

While Outbrain and Taboola are direct competitors, it has better reach and premium inventory than Outbrain, collaborating with publishers like CNN, USA Today, Bloomberg, and Fox.

Taboola offers functionality and flexibility during campaign setups, giving advertisers control. But the network is plagued by similar problems: bot traffic and fraud clicks being the most prominent ones.

The CPC for Taboola is as low as $0.03 and as high as $5.

With this network, you may choose the trade-off between cost and traffic quality.

Nativo

Nativo is a pioneer of native advertising. Their focus has always been on providing a seamless embedded content experience. This philosophy helped them match the tone, feel, look, and context of the publisher.

The native advertising network is best for brands that want to provide a storytelling experience to their consumers and audiences. Their integrated analytics suite is considered one of the best in business, and their cookieless delivery is suited for modern privacy laws.

Nativo does many things right, but it can be very cost-intensive, which is not ideal for small advertisers and publishers. Their reach is also limited because of the premium experience they provide.

And the creatives need to be precise and grab the viewers’ attention—it requires creative storytelling.

Ad-Maven

Ad-Maven is the advertiser’s favorite for high-volume reach and aggressive conversion. This network is a low-cost alternative to other networks. Ad-Maven has a global reach and low CPC and CPM compared to its competitors.

There’s real-time bidding and auto-optimization for advertisers. They have a variety of formats and are budget-friendly.

However, the traffic is inconsistent, and many reviews complain about bots infecting the impressions and clicks, bloating the actual numbers of the campaign.

While Ad-Maven provides high-volume traffic, the quality remains dubious.

Reddit ads

While not a network in the traditional sense, Reddit Ads is a powerful tool because subreddits are communities. And if advertisers can integrate themselves into these subreddits, they can create trust and direct high-quality traffic to their offers.

The tool is also very cost-effective, with CPCs ranging from $0.50-$4 CPC and $3.5-$15 CPM.

But again, advertisements on Reddit can be tricky. People there are opinionated, and downvotes may cause brand trust erosion. It’s a double-edged sword. The tracking is also not the best, but Reddit is adding analytics for businesses and brands to thrive there.

It is something to look out for.

Don’t stick to one network, experiment and find your fit(s).

Notice how each network is almost complementary to the other. They have cons, some glaring, but they make up for it by having reach or providing value, or being premium and expensive.

There’s always a trade-off to watch out for. Using only one will bottleneck your performance campaign because, just like all marketing campaigns, there is no one-size-fits-all.