The 4 Most Popular Digital Ads for Print Shops

Digital ads for print shops are becoming increasingly common. Even the most traditional businesses are implementing digital ads to help them get more customers. In fact, many companies that don’t use digital advertising are falling behind competitors that do. However, with so many kinds of online advertising now available, how does a small print business pick the right ones for their unique situation?

Here is a quick guide to helping print professionals understand digital ads for print shops.

What are the most common digital ads for print shops?

Google Search Ads

When you type a search query into Google, you are often bombarded by a number of ads in addition to the regular (organic) results. These ads appear at the top and say “Ad” so that users know they are paid ads. Your business would essentially bid on certain keywords that customers search for, and you pay Google every time your customers click on your ad.

If you hear words like PPC or Google AdWords, this is the type of ad that they’re associated with.

The ads here are shown in yellow boxes:

These ads appeared when the user searched “buy printing equipment”.

Use Google search ads if you…

• Want to catch customers right when they’re looking for solutions
• Don’t want irrelevant traffic on your site
• Are a local business that wants to attract local customers

Don’t use it if…

• The people you’re targeting don’t look for answers online
• You have a lot of local competition
• You and your audience prefer visual images over words

Google Display Ads

Google display ads are not the same as search ads. These ads don’t appear in the search results. Instead, they appear on other people’s websites. Many banners and popups fall into this category. The websites “rent out” their extra space so that businesses can put their ads on them.

These ads tend to be more affordable per click than Google search ads in terms of clicks, but the initial setup can be more complex (and costly if you’re hiring a designer).

Here’s an example of display ads. We have added the yellow boxes.

These SEMrush ads appear on The Weather Network.

Use Google display ads if you…

• Have a smaller budget
• Want to retarget users that were on your site before
• Want a wider audience reach

Don’t use it if…

• Low click-through rates frustrate you
• You are not good with design
• You don’t want low-quality traffic to your site

Social Media Ads

Different social media platforms have their own advertising interface, so you’ll want to choose a platform that your clients tend to use.

The most important thing about social media ads is that you need to select the right audience. The platform will show your ads to users that match the criteria you provide. So, for example, you could specify that you only want people in your city to see your ad or only people with a specific interest.

Keep in mind that these ads can take a little longer to pick up momentum and generate results, but you still need to update them regularly.

Here are some examples.

Adobe’s ad on Pinterest shows up among other posts.

SinaLite’s video ad on Facebook promotes its new apparel printing services.

Use social media ads if you…

• Want to target a specific audience
• Have professional pictures of your products or services
• Appreciate both positive and negative feedback

Don’t use it if…

• Most of your customers don’t have social media
• You are not able to get professional photos or images
• You don’t have a lot of time

Gmail Ads

Even though Gmail ads (officially called Gmail Sponsored Promotions) appear in the user’s inbox, they’re not actually emails. Gmail uses an algorithm to determine what the email user’s interests are. Then they show ads based on these interests, which you can choose for your ads.

Email ads start off as a single line of text and can then expand to an image or even a complex, interactive video when the user clicks on them. Here are two examples of Gmail ads:

These ads appear under the promotions tab. Unfortunately, some users turn off this tab.

Here’s an expanded version of a SinaLite Gmail ad.

Use Gmail ads if you…

• Want to reach more people but don’t have their emails
• Prefer having high-quality traffic to your site
• Want to generate awareness about your business

Don’t use it if…

• The people you’re targeting don’t tend to use Gmail
• You’re not willing to bid competitively for your spot
• Writing and designing are not your strong suits

There are many other types of digital ads for the printing industry, but we recommend the popular ones that we mentioned in this article. Test one or two out to see whether they work for your business. You may not get it right the first time, but it’s all about learning and continuing to improve. Happy advertising!