Your ultimate goal is to drive people to your website, yet the first task involves getting noticed. Companies for services and products try a variety of tactics, that include e-mail correspondence, social networking and banner ads at quality web sites. Banner ads may sometimes feel a bit discouraging. According to an article in Adweek, many market analysts feel display ads are on the way out. They simply aren’t gaining the attention of the public, which largely ignores them or do not notice the banner ads.
Size Matters
The public actually has a great deal of advertising awareness and are leery of advertising gimmicks. They become annoyed by full-sized ads, and will often avoid web sites that employ them. Nor are they very happy if they click on a banner and it carries them to a full-sized advertisement that does little to inform them.
According to Google Adsense, standard banner sizes are the most effective ones. Standard banner sizes are:
336280 Large Rectangle
300250 Medium Rectangle
72890 Leaderboard
160600 Wide Skyscraper
When you create your banner, be sure the user clicks on a link that supports relevant data in agreement with the banner information. If the banner is announcing a new product or service, the link should go directly to the page.
Keep Your Banner Design Simple yet Attractive
Readers are distracted by clutter. A banner design should adequately represent the theme of your company with no more than three basic colors. Cross out all but the most pertinent words for your banner ad. If it takes more than three seconds to read it, the banner ad is too long. Place your logo in a prominent spot, but don’t let the logo dominate the ad. You want the viewer to notice the message first. The logo will make its own automatic imprint.
Animated banner ads are sixteen percent more likely to be noticed than standard banner ads. Animation can vary from the cartoon aspect to the artistic rendering of a theme styled ad, depending on the type of atmosphere you wish to create with your advertising venture.
Leave a noticeable “click” box. The most common boxes state, “Read More”, “Click Here”, “Watch Now” or “Register Here”. They are an effective way of gaining the viewer’s attention and possible following.
Interpreting the Data
If you are investing in a pay per click, you may already be puzzling over the data you are receiving. The Search Engine Marketing (SEM) reading may spike, even if you haven’t received many clicks on your banner ad as your banner may be receiving millions of impressions.
Monitor your readings and consider re-designing your banner ad every six months to one year. Your logo will soon be recognized and you will gain more public interest with an active, ongoing site.
E-mail lists can become time-consuming and postal advertising, expensive. Banner advertising is effective when attached with a social networking site, strategically placed at popular web sites and is eye-catching, with a clear, interesting message. Why not contact an expert to help you create better banner ads at a price you can afford?
Tuan Nguyen works in advertising and banner design. His experience led him to create 20dollarBanners.com . He is also the head of Aplusmedia, a successful web marketing agency. Tuan has helped thousands of people to increase their leads and web traffic exclusively through the use of banner ads.
