Google Display Ads are visual adverts (images, text, and HTML) that appear on websites across the Google Display Network — a collection of over two million websites, apps, and Google properties where advertisers can place ads. Display Ads are fundamentally different from Search Ads: they reach people who are not actively searching for accounting services, based on their interests, browsing behaviour, or previous visits to your site. For most accounting firms, Display Ads serve a supporting role rather than the primary client acquisition function of Search Ads.

Search Ads vs Display Ads: the key difference

Search Ads target intent — they appear when someone actively searches for your service. The searcher is in "hunting mode". High conversion rates but higher cost per click.

Display Ads target presence — they appear while someone is doing something else (reading an article, checking the news, watching YouTube). The viewer is in "browsing mode" and not actively seeking an accountant. Lower conversion rates but significantly lower cost per click (£0.20 to £1 versus £2 to £8 for Search).

Neither is better — they serve different stages of the customer journey and work best together.

When Display Ads make sense for accounting firms

Remarketing (the primary use case)

Showing Display Ads to people who have previously visited your website is the single most effective use of Display for accounting firms. These are warm audiences — they showed interest by visiting your site — and the low CPC of Display means you can maintain visibility through their consideration period at modest cost.

A remarketing Display campaign with a budget of £50 to £100 per month keeps your firm in front of recent website visitors across their normal browsing activity. See the dedicated remarketing article for setup details.

Brand awareness during tax season

Running a Display campaign in November and December, when small business owners and sole traders are beginning to think about self-assessment preparation, can build brand familiarity before they actively search. The logic: someone who has seen your Display Ads before searching is more likely to click your Search Ad when they do search.

This brand awareness use case is more speculative — it is difficult to attribute clients directly to Display brand campaigns. It is more appropriate for firms with established Search campaigns and available budget than for firms just starting with Google Ads.

Content promotion

If you publish a useful resource (a Budget summary, a contractor expenses guide, a tax year-end checklist), a Display campaign promoting that resource to a relevant audience can drive traffic to the content. The goal is not direct enquiry but top-of-funnel visibility and list-building (if the resource requires an email to download).

When Display Ads are not right

As a primary client acquisition channel: Display Ads rarely generate direct enquiries at the same rate as Search Ads. If you are choosing where to spend your first £500/month, Search Ads almost always produce better immediate ROI.

Without conversion tracking: without the ability to measure whether Display traffic produces any downstream enquiries, you cannot tell whether the spend is worthwhile.

Targeting very broad audiences without segmentation: "all small business owners in the UK" is too broad to be efficient. Display works better when the audience is defined by previous site behaviour (remarketing) or specific high-intent interest categories.

Setting up a responsive Display Ad

Google's responsive display ads (RDAs) are the standard format. You provide:

  • Up to 15 headlines (30 characters each).
  • Up to 5 descriptions (90 characters each).
  • Up to 15 images (various sizes — at minimum: 1200x628px landscape and 1200x1200px square).
  • Your logo.

Google assembles combinations of these elements into ads in multiple sizes and formats across the Display Network.

For accounting firm Display Ads, prioritise:

  • Clean, professional images (your office, a branded background, or a high-quality stock image of a business context).
  • Headlines that reinforce credibility: "ICAEW Registered Accountants", "Fixed Monthly Fees", "Free Initial Consultation".
  • Descriptions that reference the specific audience or problem: "Specialist accounting for limited company directors" or "Self-assessment filed accurately and on time".

Targeting options for Display (beyond remarketing)

If you run Display outside remarketing, targeting options include:

In-market audiences: Google identifies users who are actively researching purchases in specific categories. "In-market for accounting and bookkeeping services" targets people showing research signals. This is the closest Display equivalent to Search intent.

Custom intent audiences: you can build a custom audience by listing URLs of competitor websites or relevant industry sites. Google targets users who have visited those URLs — an indirect way of reaching people researching accounting services.

Demographic targeting: narrowing to business owners, specific age ranges, or income brackets relevant to your client base.

Measuring Display performance

Display Ads rarely convert directly in the same session. Most value from Display is either remarketing conversions (where a past visitor is re-engaged) or brand awareness effects that manifest later in Search conversions.

Track:

  • View-through conversions (available in Google Ads): conversions that happened within a defined window after someone saw (but did not click) a Display Ad.
  • Assisted conversions (in GA4): conversions where Display was a touchpoint in the path but not the last click.

View-through conversions are an imprecise measure — someone may have converted regardless of seeing your Display Ad. Use them as directional evidence, not as precise ROI calculations.

Key takeaways

  • Display Ads reach people across websites on the Google Display Network — a fundamentally different audience mode from Search (intent vs presence).
  • The primary use case for accounting firms is remarketing to past website visitors, which is cost-effective and measurable.
  • Do not use Display as your first or primary Google Ads channel — Search Ads produce better direct ROI for client acquisition.
  • Use responsive display ads with professional images, credibility-building headlines, and clear calls to action.
  • Measure Display through view-through conversions and GA4 assisted conversion paths — direct conversion rates will be lower than Search.

Frequently asked questions

Can Display Ads appear on competitor websites?

Not by direct targeting. You can target placements (specific websites) but not a competitor's website itself unless they are on the Display Network and allow ads. Custom intent audiences targeting competitor URLs shows ads to people who have visited competitors — different from appearing on the competitor's site.

Should we exclude certain websites where our Display Ads appear?

Yes. Google's automatic placements can include websites irrelevant or inappropriate for your brand. Review the Placement report after a month and exclude placements that have received clicks without conversions or that are clearly off-brand. You can also whitelist specific placements if you want your ads to appear only on specific, vetted websites.

What is the minimum audience size for remarketing on Display?

Google requires a minimum of 100 unique active visitors in the past 30 days for Display remarketing audiences. For most small accounting firm websites, this takes four to eight weeks to accumulate.

Can we use Display Ads on YouTube?

YouTube is part of the Google advertising ecosystem but uses a different ad format (video ads). Standard Display Ads (responsive image and text ads) do not appear on YouTube. To advertise on YouTube, you need to set up a separate Video campaign with video ad assets.

How do we prevent our Display Ads from appearing on inappropriate websites?

Use content exclusions in campaign settings to exclude sensitive categories (political content, adult content, certain news categories). Also set site category exclusions for categories you do not want to be associated with. Review placement reports regularly and exclude specific sites manually as needed.