Display ads remain one of the most versatile and effective tools in digital advertising, driving brand awareness and customer engagement across devices. As more people consume content on mobile and desktop, advertisers face the challenge of optimizing ad spend for both platforms to capture audience attention effectively. This guide covers the best-performing display ad sizes for desktop and mobile, factors influencing ad success, and tips on testing and optimizing ad spend.

1. What Are Display Ads?
2. Why Display Ad Size Matters
   1. Desktop Ad Sizes
   2. Mobile Ad Sizes
3. Desktop Display Ads: Effective Formats and Placements
4. Mobile Display Ads: Optimal Sizes and Formats
5. Factors Affecting Display Ad Performance
6. Testing and Optimizing Ad Sizes
7. Top Performing Ad Sizes on Google
8. What About Retina Displays?
9. How To Optimize Your Display Ad Images for High Quality and Small File Sizes
10. Key Takeaways
11. Google Display Ad Size Cheatsheet

Display ads are visual advertisements that appear on websites, apps, and social media, designed to capture users’ attention and drive interactions. They typically include images, text, or multimedia elements and are commonly placed in high-traffic areas on web pages. They can be static or animated and often include a call-to-action (CTA) to drive engagement, such as clicks, leads, or purchases. When clicked, display ads direct users to the advertiser’s website, helping to increase brand visibility and encourage actions such as purchases or lead generation.

Banner ads, a subset of display ads, are specifically rectangular-shaped visual ads that are traditionally positioned at the top, bottom, or sides of a web page. They’ve become a staple of display advertising due to their simplicity and versatility. However, display ads encompass various formats beyond banners, including:

In essence, banner ads are a specific type of display ad, but display ads as a whole cover a range of formats that use visuals to engage audiences and communicate messages effectively across different digital platforms.

Positioned strategically, they help brands reach specific audiences with measurable results.

The size of a display ad is crucial to its effectiveness. Ad size impacts where it can be placed on the page, its visibility, and its likelihood of capturing user attention. By using standard ad sizes set by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), brands can ensure their ads meet industry benchmarks for visibility, reach, and performance across websites and apps.

Ad sizes are written with the width listed first, followed by the height, such as 300 x 250, where 300 represents the width in pixels, and 250 represents the height in pixels. Pixels (px) are the fundamental units of measurement in digital displays and design, making them the standard for defining ad sizes. A pixel is the smallest individual point of color on a digital screen, and every digital image or display is composed of millions of these tiny units. Each pixel contains three subpixels—red, green, and blue (RGB)—that can emit various intensities of light to produce a full range of colors. By adjusting these colors, pixels collectively form the images, videos, and text we see on screens.

The physical size of a pixel can vary depending on the display’s resolution and pixel density. Higher resolution screens, like those on Retina displays, have smaller, more densely packed pixels (PPI), creating sharper and more detailed visuals. For digital advertising, this means that an ad size specified in pixels will look different depending on the device. For example, an ad designed to be 300×250 pixels will take up less physical space on a high-resolution display compared to a lower-resolution screen.

Because pixels are the universal unit in digital displays, ad sizes defined in pixels provide a consistent standard that works across different devices. The IAB has established standard pixel dimensions for digital ads, allowing brands to create ads that will display optimally on various screens. Standard sizes help streamline ad placement and ensure compatibility across multiple devices, from mobile phones to desktop monitors.

Each device has unique considerations for ad sizes. Below, we break down the standard ad sizes, their names, dimensions, aspect ratios, and descriptions, along with the maximum file size for each. Using these standards ensures that ads maintain their quality, effectiveness, and intended impact, regardless of where they are viewed.

Desktop display ads are best for capturing attention on larger screens and are most commonly placed in high-traffic areas on web pages. Let’s explore the most popular ad sizes on desktop:

Mobile ads need to be compact yet eye-catching. Popular mobile ad sizes maximize impact within a small footprint and are often designed to adapt to various screen sizes. Here’s a breakdown of the most effective mobile ad sizes:

When optimizing display ads, several factors can influence performance. Here’s what advertisers need to keep in mind:

To make the most of your ad spend, it’s essential to test different ad sizes and placements for both desktop and mobile. Here are strategies to consider:

Standards are a necessity when it comes to online advertising ads and call-to-action sizes. Standards enable publications like ours to standardize our templates and ensure the layout will accommodate ads advertisers may have already created and tested across the net. With Google Ads being the ad placement master, the pay-per-click ad performance across Google dictates the industry.

The following formats are allowed for static image ads:

Google Ads allows for retina display resolutions with a larger file size. The maximum file size for retina display ads is 300 KB. This is twice the maximum file size for standard ads.

To create a retina display ad, you must upload two images: one for standard displays and one for retina displays. The retina display image should be twice the resolution of the standard display image. For example, if your standard display image is 300 x 250 pixels, your retina display image should be 600 x 500 pixels.

When you upload your retina display ad, you need to specify the retina display resolution in the ad settings. You can do this by selecting the Retina option under the Ad Dimensions section. Here are the steps on how to create a retina display ad on Google Ads:

Your retina display ad will now be available on retina display devices.

Finding the optimal balance between image quality and file size may involve trial and error. To achieve the best results, consider the specific requirements of your display ad, target audience, and platform when applying these optimization settings.

Display ads are integral to digital advertising, potentially driving brand awareness and user engagement across both desktop and mobile. By selecting the right ad sizes, optimizing placements, and continuously testing, advertisers can maximize the effectiveness of their campaigns and achieve a higher return on ad spend.

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Originally Published on Martech Zone: The Ultimate Guide to Display Ad Sizes For Desktop and Mobile in 2024