Marketers know that Google is a leading vehicle to catch consumers' clicks with paid search campaigns, but the search giant sees strong potential in the display ad network.

Marketers know that Google is a leading vehicle to catch consumers’ clicks with paid search campaigns, but the search giant sees strong potential in the display ad network. Google is attempting to capitalize on the power of its display properties YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Books and Google Finance by expanding the Google Display Network.

At a recent press conference, Google’s vice president Neal Mohan explained, “display is truly at a tipping point,” reports AdAge. Mohan claims the updated display network will streamline the process of buying and publishing display ads as well as maximize businesses’ ROI.

Google has long been promising advertisers improvements to display ad options on the search engine. In a May blog post, the company gave an overview of their tools to help marketers see better results on the platform. From the DoubleClick Ad Exchange, which lets users make real-time bids on display ad space, to view-through conversion reporting, Google said it wanted to offer features to promote its “vision” for advancing display ads as a marketing tool.

Now, the company hopes to make its vision a reality – the updated Google Display Network will run rectangle-sized ads on Google’s highly popular aforementioned properties. “Our publishing partners asked us to help them build out better display buying tools,” AdAge quotes Mohan as saying, “Â…and that’s what we’re giving them.”

In addition to helping marketers, the updates may help Google climb the ranks in share of display ad impressions. The search engine accounted for just 2.4 percent of display ad views in the first quarter of 2010, reports comScore. Meanwhile, Facebook dominated the market with 16.2 percent of impressions.

Display ads may not be the only platform where Google gains ground on Facebook. Reports currently indicate the search giant may soon launch its own social site, Google Me, as a possible Facebook competitor.

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.