How to Choose the Right Ad Networks for Your Business

There’s no single right answer when it comes to paid media. There are a lot of ways to win—and those options get even better when you build your strategy around financial data and smart media pricing.

Still, some decisions are better than others depending on where you are in your growth. These key considerations can help guide your approach when deciding where to run ads.

1. Are You Capturing Demand—or Creating It?

If you're just getting started with paid media, your first focus should be capturing existing demand—getting in front of people who are already searching for a solution like yours. That typically means starting with paid search.

Within that:

• Brand vs. non-brand campaigns

  • Brand campaigns may seem redundant if you're ranking organically, but running them can boost your visibility and credibility. They’re also usually cost-efficient, since your site and ads should be highly relevant to those searches.

  • Non-brand campaigns require you to think like your customers. How do they describe the problem you solve? What are they actually typing into the search bar or asking their device? Don’t rely on internal jargon; start with theirs.

• Competitor targeting

  • If you’re in a market with known players, it’s possible to bid on their brand terms to attract qualified traffic. Just be mindful not to use their name in your ad copy to avoid getting flagged for policy infringement.

If your goal is generating demand, you’ll want to expand into audience-first platforms—Meta, TikTok, YouTube, display, connected TV, or native ads. These channels may interrupt users in their feed or stream, but they can be highly effective in driving awareness and engagement when paired with strong creative and targeting. A strong data-driven strategy can also help you ensure you’re driving incremental results you care about, and not just getting passing glances.

2. Where Is Your Audience Spending Time?

Your target audience’s habits should influence your platform selection. Some quick guidelines:

• Facebook: Often best for Gen X and Boomers

• TikTok: Strong with Gen Z and younger Millennials

• YouTube: Broad reach, great for video and education

• LinkedIn: Ideal for B2B and professional services

Rather than guessing, look at where your audience already spends time—and prioritize the platforms that align with those behaviors.

3. What Creative Do You Have (or Can Create Easily)?

Your current creative assets can help narrow the field.

• Already have great video? Consider YouTube, Meta, or TikTok.

• Strong visuals? Instagram or display networks might be a fit.

• More limited creative? Text-based search may be the right starting point while you build out additional assets.

Align your creative strengths with the ad formats and placements that let them shine.

4. Don’t Overcommit to a Single Platform

Even if you find a network that works well, don’t rely on it too heavily. Platform performance changes, costs fluctuate, and algorithms evolve. A more diversified approach protects your acquisition strategy and keeps your business adaptable.

5. Follow the Rules (and Norms) of the Platform

Every ad network has its own set of best practices—whether it’s image dimensions, ad copy structure, video length, or tone. Make sure your creative fits the environment, or you risk poor performance before the ad even has a chance.

Taking time to understand what works on each platform can make the difference between a bad impression on your audience and valuable engagement.

6. Keep an Open Mind—and Keep Testing

I often hear, “Our audience isn’t on [insert platform].” Sometimes that’s true, but most audiences are reachable on most major networks. The real question is whether you can reach them there at a sustainable price.

In fact, platforms that seem like a mismatch can sometimes be the best opportunities, precisely because your competitors have overlooked them. That’s why testing is so critical (read our testing mindset series here). Let data, not assumptions, shape your channel mix.

Not sure if your current channel mix is working as hard as it could?

We can help assess your strategy and identify opportunities to improve performance through better data, structure, and platform alignment. [Book a strategy call.]