How does Google Display ads grow marketing results for advertisers?

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Bhupati Barman

Flat-style illustration of a woman analyzing performance data with a bar graph showing signal types in Google Display Ads, symbolizing automated ad targeting.

I recently passed the Google Ads Display Certification exam and scored over 97%. One of the questions really stuck with me — not because it was tough, but because it helped me finally understand how bidding strategies actually work in Google Ads.
In this post, I’ll explain the question, show the right answer and why it’s correct, go over why the other answers are wrong, and explain how Display Ads use automation to help you. I’ll also share a real example, a chart, and FAQs to make it easy to understand. Let’s get started! 💡

Question:

How does Google Display ads grow marketing results for advertisers?

  • It determines a user’s primary marketing objective and enables the features that will best achieve it.
  • It calculates the number of times an ad is effectively run on test websites, then shows the ad on all relevant websites.
  • It harnesses best-in-class signals to place ads against the most relevant content.
  • It focuses a campaign on either Gmail, TrueView, or Chrome to better isolate specific audiences.

Here is a correct answer: ✅ It harnesses best-in-class signals to place ads against the most relevant content.

If you’re interested, you can take the exam here: Google Ads Display Certification via Skillshop

Why This Is the Correct Answer

Google Display Ads helps advertisers grow results by using advanced machine learning to analyze a massive amount of signals in real-time. These signals include:

  • Website content and context
  • User browsing behavior
  • Past interactions with your business (remarketing)
  • Device type, location, time of day
  • Demographics and in-market audiences

Using all these signals, Google places your ad where it’s most likely to drive results — whether it’s sales, leads, or brand awareness.

💡 Example: If someone is actively reading a fitness blog and has recently searched for gym memberships, Google may display your protein shake ad right there — at the moment it’s most relevant.

Why the Other Options Are Incorrect

1. It determines a user’s primary marketing objective and enables the features that will best achieve it.

  • This describes how campaign setup works, not how Display ads grow results.
  • Google Ads helps you choose goals, but it’s not the engine behind ad performance growth.

2. It calculates the number of times an ad is effectively run on test websites, then shows the ad on all relevant websites.

  • Completely inaccurate — there’s no test website phase in Display ad logic.
  • Ads go live in the Google Display Network and use machine learning, not testing counts.

4. It focuses a campaign on either Gmail, TrueView, or Chrome to better isolate specific audiences.

  • Wrong. These are different Google properties and ad formats:
    • Gmail → native Gmail Ads
    • TrueView → YouTube video ads
    • Chrome → not an ad format
  • Display campaigns are broader and are not limited to a single Google product.

Google Display Ads Signal Power

Signal TypeExample
ContextualWebsite content (e.g., “home decor blog”)
BehavioralRecently browsed “budget travel tips”
Device & TimeSmartphone user browsing after 8 PM
In-marketShopping for laptops in the last 7 days
DemographicAge, gender, parental status (where allowed)

✅ Google uses all these together to intelligently place ads where they’re likely to perform best.

Bar chart showing the impact of various signal types—contextual, behavioral, device/location, in-market, and demographics—on Google Display Ad performance.
In-market and behavioral signals deliver the strongest boost to Display Ad performance, followed by contextual, behavioral, device/location, In-market, and demographic.

Real-World Example

Imagine Raj owns an online coffee subscription service. He runs Display Ads to reach coffee lovers, but doesn’t manually choose websites.

Instead, he lets Google use automated targeting + signals.

What happens:

  • His ads appear on coffee blogs
  • On YouTube channels about morning routines
  • On cooking apps when users browse for breakfast ideas

Within two weeks, his subscription signups increased by 40%, all thanks to Google Display Ads’ automated signal matching.

FAQs

Q: What are “signals” in Display Ads?

A: Signals are data points like user interests, website context, device, or time that help Google decide where and when to show your ad.

Q: Can I turn off Google’s automatic signal-based targeting?

A: You can manually set placements or audiences, but you may lose performance benefits from machine learning.

Q: Does Google test ads on fake or test websites?

A: No. Ads are shown on real websites in the Display Network. There is no “test” site phase.

Helpful Resources:

Final Answer:

Google Display ads grow results by harnessing best-in-class signals to place ads against the most relevant content.

This is how it delivers high-intent, data-driven placements that boost conversions — with or without manual targeting.

Now, if you are ready, you can take the Google Skillshop test for the Google Ads Display Exam. Want more real exam questions with easy answers like this? Follow along — I’ll be breaking down more Google Ads Display Measurement Certification Free examples in the next posts!