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Many online advertisers continue to struggle with the decision to use either search engine advertising or display advertising. Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing, Microsoft AdCenter and the like, or good old fashioned banner displays. Both offer valid reasons, and each outperforms the other in different areas.

Why Not Use Both?

Perhaps you should consider using a combination of the two to truly get the most out of you campaign. There is a common belief that search engine advertising delivers a better return-on-investment, but according to Matt Lillig of the Yahoo Analytics Team, a combination is more likely to do so. He says that advertisers just aren't measuring display ads in the best fashion. He writes on the Yahoo Search Marketing Blog:

Specifically, many advertisers primarily use conversion percentage to measure the success of their display ads and search keywords. For example, if a display ad converts poorly (it has a low conversion percentage) then the advertiser typically lowers the budget for the ad, shifts the budget to another channel like search, or pulls the budget entirely.

The problem with only using the conversion metric method is that it is a “last click” metric. “Last click” means that the ad only gets credit for the last click the visitor made before they converted. For display ad and search keyword purposes, a last-click model doesn’t reveal the true value of the ad. For example, a display or search ad wouldn’t get the credit for driving conversions to other campaigns. This can be a major issue, as advertisers might end up cutting the budget on an effective display campaign that is driving additional conversions, brand awareness and increased visitor traffic to your web site.

He then goes on to discuss the "assist" metric in Yahoo Full Analytics, which measures the number of times that display ads or search keywords contribute to the conversion of another ad or keyword.

Things Have Changed

There is no question that Pay-Per-Click search engine advertising has gained tremendous popularity over the years with the rise of the services mentioned in the introductory paragraph. In their early stages, they appeared to be a fresh alternative to banner ads that seemed to be attracting less and less attention. Perhaps more importantly, they brought a relevancy to ads that was not really present in older display ad campaigns.

The fact that they were based on searches assured a targeted audience that was more likely to be interested in the products being advertised. This concept was and continues to be a very attractive one to advertisers.

However, display advertising platforms are now offering such a concept, which combines not only relevancy and targeting, but the branding power of eye-catching visuals. In addition, platforms like the Google AdWords Display Ad Builder, MySpace's MyAds, and others allow the advertisers themselves to easily create professional looking ads without having to go through designers or ad agencies.

Google AdWords Display Ad Builder

And let's not forget the well-targeted method of email advertising, which happens to be the preferred method of small businesses for the holidays according to Constant Contact.

Tips

If I start getting into a whole lot of tips, this article could easily turn into a book, so I'd rather send you to a couple of resources covering both search engine advertising and display advertising, but first I will offer a couple extra nuggets:

- If you're using personalization tactics, do what you can not to insult potential customers (see the muffin-top fiasco).

- Second, think about your call-to-action. Would you click your ad? What would it take to make you want to do so? Think about Google's advice with the Google Checkout Icon. 

If you're familiar with the search industry, you're no doubt familiar with SEOBook and it's author Aaron Wall. He's got a very nice document (PDF) on AdWords and Yahoo PPC tips, and Jamie Lomas at iMedia Connection has some good ones for display advertising. Read these and get some wheels turning. Think about combo-campaigns and let your search ads and display ads compliment each other. You've got an ROI to think about.