What Good Are Banner Ads?

Weve all seen them as we surf the web, those flashing banner ads that when you click on them they take you directly to the product thats being advertised, or the movie, the book and son and so forth. Weve all done it too, at some point. Theres really no escaping them it seems. The questions that are most likely to be asked are what use are they, and how can I use them?

The ads can be for anything, which with a little foresight and planning give a great return on both the cost of advertising and development. The banner ads themselves have very few constraints other than size and shape, which has become relatively stabilized into a few set patterns that almost all sites accept, leaving the text and other attention getting effects pretty much wide open for anything you please. As an advertising tool banner ads are a surefire way of getting traffic to your site or offer, as they do indeed grab your attention. This, for a fraction of the cost of a comparable ad words campaign can give a much healthier ROI as lots of sites now do banner exchanges with no cost involved.

Anyone and any site can use them, but there are a few little things to remember when making your banner ads that can sink a campaign for you. Little things like being too wordy in the ad itself will cost you the cardinal rule here is to get your message across in 7 words or less, if you can, other than the basic text for your site promo. Size of the banner ad will also be telling, as everyone gets annoyed if a site load takes forever (over 3 seconds these days) to load because of a big banner. Place those power words carefully, and only if they apply. If your ad says free, there better be something for free at the other side of the ad link or youll have a lot of very annoyed people badmouthing your ad and your site. Limit your use of graphics, as too many will clutter your ad and not look appealing for prospective buyers. Learn from the best is possibly the most important tip there is for banner ads, so studying those that perform effectively online already is a great way to get a direction to follow for your own design. Try using contrasting bright colors to gain attention, as it will draw peoples eyes to your ad, and create a stronger awareness of what your banner ad is offering.

Effective use of banner ads will bring you a great response, and should not be looked down on as a poor cousin to other types of advertising.