Google Ads display banner sizes

Most people are familiar with banners on various news sites. Some like them, while others find them annoying. The banners you see may, in some cases, be specifically targeted to you (and people similar to you), while in other cases, they are delivered more broadly. Banners have existed as long as the commercial internet, but they are no longer as intrusive as they were in the 1990s and early 2000s, when they often flashed, beeped, and sometimes even appeared as pop-ups.

Fortunately, those days are over, and there are typically higher standards now – your banners should not be disruptive, such as through flashing effects or pop-ups.

Regardless of your opinion on banners, banner advertising can be highly effective for generating awareness and sales for your products or services. In this article, you will learn about the different display banner sizes that Google offers. In addition, you will get a brief introduction to some of the targeting methods available when displaying your new display banners.

One of the most widely used programmes for banner advertising is the Google Display Network, which you manage via Google Ads. There are countless display banner sizes – Google supports the most common, industry-standard sizes. By following Google’s recommended display banner sizes, you will cover most bases – even across other networks.

Google’s display banner sizes are standardised worldwide. However, some countries have additional sizes that are only regionally available. In this overview, we have focused on the banners available globally on the Google Display Network.

Further down this page, you will find a clear list of all available Google display banner sizes. Click here to go directly to the complete overview.

If you only want to create a few banners, choose the banner sizes that typically perform best here.

Different banner ad shapes

The various Google display banner sizes can roughly be divided into four categories:

Square and rectangle
The banners are shaped like small boxes

Skyscraper
Skyscrapers are tall, narrow banners. Yes, you guessed it – like a skyscraper.

Leaderboard
Leaderboard banners are wide and not very tall

Mobile
Mobile banners are small and are now used less frequently as smartphone screens have increased in size

Note: The shape may vary slightly depending on the chosen size.

As a rule of thumb, we recommend using all the available sizes to maximise relevant impressions. Which of the above categories you choose is ultimately up to you and the graphic design you prefer. The sizes displayed on different websites are ultimately determined by the individual site. However, special mobile banners are rarely used anymore, as most sites are now responsive.

All banners can be created with or without animation (movement). Some users find animated banner ads particularly annoying, so it is wise to exercise caution if you choose this format. Whether you opt for animated or static ads, there are a number of requirements you must comply with. You can read the requirements for display ads here.

Overview of display banner sizes

Create the banner sizes that typically perform best

If you have limited resources for creating your banner ads, you can choose to produce fewer variants. However, the best-converting banner sizes can vary, so we recommend you create as many of the available sizes as possible. There may still be reasons to produce fewer versions, in which case we usually suggest starting with the sizes below to achieve the best results.

Note, if you only want to advertise on specific sites, the sizes must fit their design. If you only wish to show ads on a few media, please ask us which sizes are possible on the individual sites before you begin.

Requirements for your display banners

Google has a few specific requirements your banners must meet to be approved. Below you can see the requirements for both animated and non-animated banner ads.

Who should see your banners (and who should not)

Once you have created your banners (or had them produced), you need to choose who should see them. With Google Ads display banners, you have several targeting options. You can also combine these targeting methods. In this way, your banners may not be shown as frequently, but you can be very specific about who sees your banner ads.

When targeting as outlined below, be careful not to be too specific, which could prevent your banners from being shown at all. Be aware there are many pitfalls that can lead to your ads appearing in inappropriate places. That is why it often takes a good deal of experience to display your banner ads effectively.
On the other hand, do not be too broad, or your ads may be shown to too many people, risking wastage of your marketing budget.

Remarketing

With remarketing, you can show your banners to previous visitors to your website. You can either show ads to everyone who has visited your site, or be more specific and choose only users who have visited a particular page or taken a certain action (e.g. purchase). Of course, you can also do the opposite – show ads to all visitors except those who have visited a specific page or completed a purchase.

The possibilities are almost endless. However, you must have at least 200 people on your remarketing list before you can send targeted banner ads. This is to ensure that it is not possible to identify individual users, in accordance with Google’s guidelines.

Selected sites/apps

With banner advertising on selected websites, you can choose to show your ads only on the sites you have selected. These could be specific news outlets whose audience matches your target group. For example, you might choose to display ads only on the website of Børsen. If you combine this with another targeting method, you can also choose to display your ads everywhere except on certain sites which may not align with your or your company’s values.

A good way to save on banner advertising is to exclude ads in mobile apps. If your banners are shown in mobile apps, you risk many accidental clicks. Unless you specifically wish to advertise in mobile apps, we recommend excluding them. Read here how to exclude ads on mobile apps.

Keywords

If you do not know all the sites you want to appear on, but wish to display on sites featuring relevant content, you can choose to show your ads on pages containing your keywords. This way, your ads will appear on pages with content relevant to your product. You can also set negative keywords so that your ads will display unless one of your excluded words appears on the page.

Interests and topics

You can choose to advertise to people with certain interests and on sites covering specific topics. For example, if you own a pet shop and want to advertise your new dog food, you could target “pet lovers” or even more specifically “dog lovers”. How granular the interests and topics go varies greatly by category, and it is not always easy to find an exact match for your products.

Demographics

With demographic targeting, you can tailor your audience very specifically. While Google does not know for certain whether a visitor is male or female or their exact age, you can still select categories for who should see your banners: Gender, Age, and Parental status.

Learn more about how WeMarket can help you with Google Ads advertising or a cohesive communication strategy.