3 Tips in Using Banner Ads
For something so small, they sure are a big deal, and rightfully so. Banner ads get your name out there, drive traffic to your site and deliver new customers to your front door. They're the internet equivalent of those effective and catchy television commercials, or that billboard right smack in the middle of the town square - and who couldn't want to use that kind of publicity?
It is very easy to make mistakes, however, when creating banner ads, and this will cost you and invalidate your efforts. Below are 3 things you must remember when using banner ads.
Be Honest If you try to deceive people into clicking your ad, there are two things which will happen:
The viewer's first impression of your business/product will be that you deceived them, i.e. you can't be trusted.
The viewer's pointless visit to your site will have cost you in click-through rates, bandwidth and/or other resources.
Unless you're running a grossly unethical business the only useful visitors to your site are those which are genuine. The others are just slowing you down.
Avoid distractions One of the most common mistakes in banner design is over-inclusiveness. Often, advertisers will attempt to jam pack as much information as possible into a single ad, in a misguided attempt to get the most out of each impression. Prima facie, this may appear to be a good tactic, however as that attempt to include too much information often end up conveying none.
With any banner ad, you have only a moment to grab the attention of your viewer and make an impression. Additionally, banner ads offer extremely limited real estate. Packing information in tiny, unreadable text will neither effectively relay that information nor make a lasting impression. Including too many images or overly complex graphics will have the same negative effect.
Due to limited space and the small window of opportunity to catch the viewer, your goal should be to make a lasting impression. Eye-catching backgrounds should be paired with short taglines that explain your product or value proposition as effectively as possible. There can only be one call-to-action, and it should be simple, declarative, and bold.
Make them Interactive Modern banner-ad technology is extremely versatile. Banner ads can be designed to do anything a website can do -- product scrolling, tabbed browsing, in-ad search, video, product ratings, and the list goes on. There are a number of benefits from making your ads interactive:
Web-like functionality makes banner ads remote extensions of your website that can deliver a unique experience to individual users throughout the web.
Adding interactive features allows users to engage without committing to a click -- meaning you have more potential to influence users who aren't willing to leave their current page, but are interested in exploring the content of your ad.
The interactions can be tracked as in-ad engagement, adding a new layer of insight into user interests and behavior.
Designing ads to attract users to engage means you can abandon the flashy gimmicks designed to get users to click, giving you the opportunity to transform your banner advertising from interruptive to interactive.
About the Author
Connecting Women In Business helps women business owners generate more leads, clients and increase profits with more networking, business insights, tips and tricks on marketing, growth, business and accountability strategies. We invite you to get your free social media tactics ebook when you visit http://www.connectingwomeninbusiness.com.au
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