Pros and Cons of Digital Ads

Digital advertising has evolved into a vast ecosystem with different formats, platforms, and targeting capabilities. Already in 2025, digital advertising is projected to account for over 75% of total worldwide media ad spend, with the global digital ad spend market reaching $843 billion.

Whether you’re looking to drive brand awareness, capture demand, or engage niche audiences, there’s a type of digital ad that fits your needs. But with so many options, how do you decide which strategy is best?

We talked to one of our Paid Media experts at Marketwake, Leigh Scullin, to gather her insights on what digital advertising is, the types of digital ads, and the pros and cons of each type.

What is Digital Advertising?

Digital advertising, often known as “pay to play” or “pay per click,” is a form of marketing that makes your business show up as an advertisement on popular online channels, including search engines, social media platforms, websites, apps‚ and more.

Digital advertising is one of the most effective ways to reach new audiences, scale your business, and diversify your revenue stream—but only if you know how to choose the right type of digital ads for your marketing campaigns.

What are the Different Types of Digital Ads?

Digital advertising comes in many forms, each designed to serve a specific purpose within the marketing funnel. From highly targeted search ads to engaging social media campaigns and immersive video experiences, understanding the strengths of each type helps businesses optimize their digital strategy.

Below, we explore the major types of digital ads formats and their unique advantages.

Search Ads (Google, Bing, etc.)

These ads are designed to reach users actively looking for a product or service—capturing intent when it’s at its highest. These ads target keywords using SEO related to your business, showing up when someone searches for relevant terms.

Using a platform like Google Ads can help your business promote its products and services, increase traffic to your site, and raise awareness.

The Pros of Search Ads are:

High intent: Users are actively searching for solutions, leading to higher conversion potential.
Measurable ROI: There’s a clear tracking of conversations and performance metrics.
Scalable: Flexible budgets and bidding strategies allow for growth.
Variety of ad formats: Helps to target different user behaviors.

The Cons of Search Ads Are:

Competitive & costly: Cost per click (CPCs) can be high in saturated markets.
Learning curve: Requires ongoing optimization for keywords, ad copy, and bidding strategies.
Dependence on search volume: Performance is limited by the number of users searching for relevant terms.

How Marketwake Views Search Ads:

“Paid search is an essential channel, but its success depends on a strong marketing mix. Capturing intent is crucial, but building intent through other strategies is just as important.”

Leigh Scullin, Paid Social Lead at Marketwake

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Social media ads allow brands to reach users across platforms like Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, and more. These ads are one of the most popular types of digital ads and help to meet consumers where they are and provide a seamless integration into their feeds.

How do search ads compare to social ads? Unlike search ads, social ads target users based on behavior, demographics, and interests rather than search queries.

There are various social media ad types, so let’s break them down first before getting into the pros and cons.

Image: Single-image ads that appear in feeds, stories, or sidebars.
Video: Short or long-form video ads optimized for different placements.
Carousel: Multi-image or video ads that allow users to swipe through content.
Story: Full-screen immersive ads appearing in Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat Stories.
Reels & Shorts: Video ads optimized for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
Collection: Interactive ads that showcase multiple products and lead users to a shopping experience.
Lead Gen: Forms within platforms that allow users to submit information without leaving the app.
Messenger: Ads that appear in Facebook Messenger, allowing brands to start direct conversations.

Source: Buffer

Advanced targeting: Interests, behaviors, demographics, and lookalike audiences allow precise segmentation.
Engaging ad formats: Video, carousel, stories, reels, and interactive content drive higher engagement.
Brand awareness: Great for top-of-funnel campaigns and audience building.
Cost-effective: CPCs and Cost per Mille (CPMs) can be lower than search ads, depending on the platform.

Attribution challenges: Users may engage but convert later through another channel.
Creative fatigue: Ads need frequent updates to maintain performance.
Ad policies: Each platform has different restrictions, especially for industries like finance, healthcare, or alcohol.

“Social ads are a cost-effective way to nurture intent and expand brand reach. They’re often not the last touchpoint in the consumer journey, but they play a pivotal role in multi-touch attribution.”

Leigh Scullin, Paid Social Lead at Marketwake

Programmatic Ads

Programmatic advertising has evolved rapidly with the expansion of AI, automation, and data analytics. It may sound like a complex format, but with some learning and clear parameters, it can be easily used within your business.

What is Programmatic Advertising, and How Does it Work?

Programmatic advertising uses AI to purchase digital ad space across websites, apps, and streaming platforms—making ad placement automated and data-driven. Some programmatic advertising examples include: display, video, native, and audio.

Here’s an example of what a programmatic ad can look like from our work with Yamaha:

How Do Native Ads Differ From Display Ads?

Display ads are ads that appear in the digital space and are commonly seen through Google ads. A popular example would be a banner ad—these are the ads you may see at the top of a website, sort of like a banner.

Here’s a visual look at display ads:

Source: Outbrain

Native ads are ads that appear in the design and flow of the website they are located on. Rather than standing out on its own, these types of digital ads naturally integrate into the page, often having an editorial look to them.

Source: Yellowhead

Overall, the biggest difference between native vs digital ads is that display ads are often a hard sell on the product while native ads try to blend in with the content of the page a reader is viewing.

Native ads also often get a better click-through rate (CTR) than display ads, typically around 0.2% CTR compared to 0.05% for display.

Source: Outbrain

The Pros of Programmatic Ads Are:

Broad reach: Access to premium inventory across multiple platforms.
Automated optimization: AI-driven bidding improves efficiency.
Diverse formats: Native, video, display, and audio ads allow for different engagement strategies.
Retargeting capabilities: Helps nurture leads and drive conversions.

The Cons of Programmatic Ads Are:

Ad fraud risks: Need for verification tools to prevent bot traffic.
Less user intent: Unlike search, ads are shown based on behavior and context rather than explicit queries.
Viewability concerns: Some placements may have low engagement rates.

How Marketwake Views Programmatic Ads:

“Programmatic ads are a powerful way to establish market leadership, ensuring a brand stays top-of-mind across multiple platforms.”

Leigh Scullin, Paid Social Lead at Marketwake

Podcast Ads

Podcast ads give brands a direct line to engaged audiences during their most focused moments—whether they’re commuting, working out, or unwinding.

Are Podcast Ads Effective for Lead Generation?

Unlike other types of digital ads, podcast advertising effectiveness is built on trust, leveraging the credibility of hosts and the deep connection they have with their listeners. Options include host-read ads, dynamic insertions, and full-episode sponsorships—all of which can be done through a platform like Spotify Ads.

The Pros of Podcast Ads Are:

High engagement: Listeners trust hosts, leading to strong brand affinity.
Niche targeting: Ability to reach highly specific audience segments.
Longevity: Baked-in ads stay in episodes indefinitely, providing lasting exposure.
Less ad fatigue: Fewer interruptions compared to traditional digital ads.

The Cons of Podcast Ads Are:

Limited tracking: Attribution is more challenging compared to digital display or social ads.
Higher costs: Host-read ads can be expensive due to exclusivity and credibility.
Scalability: Harder to scale rapidly compared to programmatic or social ads.

How Marketwake Views Podcast Ads:

“Podcast ads work best for brands focused on brand awareness rather than direct response. They can be a strategic addition to a multi-channel approach.”

Leigh Scullin, Paid Media Lead at Marketwake

Over-the-Top (OTT) & Connected TV (CTV) Ads

OTT and CTV ads are bridging the gap between traditional TV commercials and digital advertising precision.

As more viewers shift away from cable and toward streaming, brands can now reach audiences in a premium, non-skippable environment—while also tracking demographics, conversions, and even foot traffic. These types of digital ads combine the storytelling power of TV with the precision of digital targeting.

Source: WebFX

What Is the Difference Between OTT and CTV Advertising?

OTT and CTV are often used interchangeably, but they have key differences:

OTT: Refers to digital streaming content delivered over the internet without requiring a traditional cable or satellite subscription. Ads shown through streaming services like Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube TV fall under this category.
CTV: Specifically refers to internet-connected devices used to stream OTT content, such as smart TVs, Roku, Apple TV, and gaming consoles. Ads displayed on these devices are considered CTV ads.

Simply put, OTT is the content delivery method, while CTV is the device used to consume that content. Both types of digital ads offer highly targeted advertising opportunities, but CTV ads often provide better measurement and tracking due to device-level data.

The Pros of OTT & CTV Ads Are:

Premium inventory: Ads appear on popular streaming platforms with high viewer engagement.
Data-driven targeting: Household, demographic, and behavioral targeting improve relevance.
High completion rates: Viewers are more likely to watch full ads compared to social or display.
Shoppable ads: Interactive formats drive direct conversions.

The Cons of OTT & CTV Ads are:

Higher costs: CPMs are typically more expensive than other digital channels.
Fragmentation: Many different platforms (Hulu, Roku, YouTube TV, etc.) require varied strategies.
Limited direct response: Often used for brand awareness rather than immediate conversions.

How Marketwake Views OTT & CTV Ads:

“OTT and CTV advertising brings the precision of digital to the high-impact world of streaming. The flexibility of ad types, from Picture-in-Picture takeovers to pause ads and sponsorships, makes OTT and CTV a dynamic channel for modern marketers.”

Leigh Scullin, Paid Media Lead at Marketwake

Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Ads

DOOH advertising takes the power of digital targeting into the physical world, allowing brands to reach audiences in high-traffic locations like airports, highways, transit stations, and event venues. These types of digital ads are strategically placed to capture consumer attention at key moments, reinforcing brand messaging and increasing exposure.

Source: Marketwake

The Pros of DOOH Ads Are:

High visibility: Large-format placements ensure broad reach and strong brand recognition.
Unskippable/Always Viewable: Unlike digital ads, DOOH is impossible to scroll past or block.
Geo-targeting capabilities: Enables advertisers to reach specific audience segments in high-value locations.
Enhances brand credibility: Being featured in premium, high-impact spaces establishes authority.
Complements digital strategies: Reinforces other advertising efforts by keeping brands top of mind across different touchpoints.

The Cons of DOOH Ads Are:

Limited direct response tracking: While impressions and foot traffic can be measured, engagement data is less precise than digital formats.
Higher production costs: Creating high-quality visual assets for large displays can require additional investment.
Static placements: Unlike digital programmatic ads, DOOH campaigns require upfront media buys and planning.

How Marketwake Views DOOH Ads:

“DOOH advertising extends brand impact beyond the screen, making a lasting impression in high-traffic areas where digital ads can’t reach.”

Leigh Scullin, Paid Media Lead at Marketwake

How Marketwake Can Help With Different Types of Digital Ads

Digital advertising isn’t about chasing trends—it’s about choosing the right mix of channels to meet your audience where they are. The most effective strategies aren’t built on a single ad type but on a thoughtful, multi-channel approach. Whether you’re looking to generate leads, boost brand awareness, or drive conversions, the right digital ad strategy is out there—it just takes the right partner to execute it.

Ready to elevate your digital advertising efforts? Explore our case studies to see how Marketwake has helped brands succeed across multiple types of digital ad formats.

If you’re looking to explore digital advertising options, contact us today!

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Platforms are Best for Paid Media Advertising?

Best digital advertising platforms include: TikTok, Meta, Instagram, Twitter (X), Pinterest, Snapchat, Google Ads, Amazon Ads, and LinkedIn Ads.

How Much Do Different Digital Ads Typically Cost?

The cost of reaching 1,000 people through online advertising typically ranges from $3 to $10, depending on the platform, whereas traditional or offline advertising starts at $22 and can be even higher.

Which Type of Digital Advertising is Best for My Business?

It all comes down to the specific needs, goals, and budget of your business. Here’s a breakdown of how specific types of digital ads can help your business:

If you want to capture high-intent leads: Search Ads (Google, Bing, etc.) are your best bet. These ads target people actively searching for your product or service, making them great for direct conversions and lead generation.
If you need to build brand awareness and engagement: Social Ads (Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.) allow you to reach your target audience where they spend their time online. They’re great for storytelling, customer engagement, and audience-building.
If you want precision targeting at scale: Programmatic Ads (Display, Native, Audio, Video) use AI-driven bidding to place ads across websites, apps, and streaming platforms, ensuring your message reaches the right people at the right time.
If you’re looking to establish credibility and trust: Podcast Ads leverage the loyalty of podcast listeners and the credibility of hosts to deliver brand messages in a more personal and engaging way.
If you want to connect with audiences through high-quality video ads: OTT & CTV Ads (Hulu, Roku, YouTube TV, etc.) offer premium, non-skippable placements on streaming platforms, making them ideal for storytelling and brand-building.
If you need massive brand exposure in real-world locations: DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) Ads place your brand in high-traffic areas like airports, transit stations, and highways, ensuring visibility beyond digital screens.

Types of Digital Ads: The Pros and Cons

What is Digital Advertising?