I’m sure you have had your share of banner ads while browsing through the internet – they appear in the most inconspicuous of places and yet somehow always seem to know exactly what you’ve been looking at on the web over the last few days. Can you believe it’s already been 16 years since the Internet’s first banner ad made an appearance? That’s enough to make anyone feel old!
16 years means banner ads have been around for almost as long as the Internet has, but how effective have they been? With mixed results, it’s not easy to say. Some people swear by them, some people swear at them and most just completely ignore them! That may not sound so encouraging, but effective banner ads have been proven time and again to bring thousands of visitors and customers to a brand or product’s website, translating to a lot of attention and revenue for a company.
However, how easy is it to create an effective banner ad? The answer may surprise you. So many advertisers seem to have the wrong idea of what draws people to an ad. Throwing in tons of images, animations, sounds and buttons doesn’t attract people – it just annoys them! Knowing how to create a simple and yet effective banner ad is vital and the amount of money you put into designing a good ad will translate to a larger effect on the advertising campaign.
Here are some tips for effective banner advertising that are relatively easy to implement:
Know your audience and competition. Log onto competitors’ websites and browse through the hundreds of ads you’ll encounter. Pick through the ones you really like and the ones you can’t stand to look at. Note down any common factors and try to use/avoid those in your own banner design.
Keep it simple. Sounds in your ad are unnecessary and will just irritate viewers trying to focus on the main site they’re visiting. Try not to clutter your ad with images that will distract the viewer. Make sure the text is easy to understand and asks the users to click on the banner. This seems obvious but most advertisers forget to add a simple “click here” message that grabs viewers.
Keep file size small
This will help you ensure you only put the necessities and important details in your ad and keep it to the point. Avoid Flash like the plague. It’s annoying and makes a website slow to load, increasing chances of a viewer just getting impatient and navigating somewhere else instead. With the popularity of Flash-incompatible technology such as the iPad and ad-blockers, using Flash in your ad may mean it doesn’t get shown at all.
Use branding
Make sure your company name and logo features on the banner. It makes a good impression and helps viewers remember a brand.
Use text effectively
Consider asking questions to tease viewers on the ad. Studies have shown that asking questions increases click-through rate by 16% and that’s huge! Also use humor if appropriate. Viewers are more likely to click on something that’s thought provoking and entertaining rather than the same old mass-produced banners they see everywhere else.
With these simple tips, you can make sure your banner draws as many people as possible and doesn’t annoy or distract viewers so much that they get irritated by your brand just because of its bothersome banners!
