Google may have the search advertising market cornered, but that doesn't mean the advertising giant can't dabble in display. Last night Google launched AdWords display ad builder, which allows users to build their own display ads from scratch.
The do-it-yourself trend is erasing the barrier to entry for small advertisers on platforms like Facebook and MySpace and it makes sense for Google to hop on board.
In the past few months, competitors like Microsoft and Yahoo have been touting the untapped potential of display advertising, which has always played second fiddle to search because it is not as easily tracked. Microsoft's engagement mapping tracks advertising effectiveness beyond the traditional last-click before purchase that has propelled search, while Yahoo's new APT platform aims to eliminate some of the scalability issues for large advertisers online.
Google may not be betting as heavily on display, but that won't stop the company from getting a few extra dollars where it can.
