What are display ads?

• A. Text-based search results shown at the top of SERPs
• B. Ads that appear as sponsored links in search results
• C. Email-based promotional banners
• D. Image or video ads on websites partnered with a display network

Answer: (D)

Display ads are visual promotions—image or video creatives—that appear on websites that participate in a display advertising network. They run across publisher pages rather than in response to a specific search query, and they’re delivered through ad networks or platforms that connect advertisers with a wide pool of sites. These ads can take the form of banners, rich media, or video, and they can be targeted by audience, context, and even retargeting to people who have visited the advertiser’s site.

This is different from text-based search results at the top of search engine results pages or ads that appear as sponsored links in search results, which are paid search units tied to queries. It’s also different from email-based promotional banners, which live inside email. Display ads specifically refer to the image- or video-heavy ads shown on partner websites within a display network.