Look back into the history of online marketing, you’ll see that the old but gold method of the banner ad, has been one of the more effective tools for businesses. New mediums have shown up, with more and more pages on the internet becoming suitable for video ads. Automation has played a huge role in keeping banner ads alive and popular around the world. Despite audio ads now becoming a relevant alternative, most of the time the quick and easy method is chosen over this option. From a consumer viewpoint, you’re in favor of video ads until every page begins to slow down your search. When on the prowl for a product type, the last thing you want is for each page you click on, to begin playing a video without having clicked on anything. It turns you off, makes you want to click back onto the search results page and go to another link. Banner ads on the other hand, don’t get in the way but do still catch your eye.
Size matters
There are two sides to every argument and within the banner ad-loving marketing circles, it’s a question of whether or not a vertical or horizontal ad is better. The horizontal ads are as follows; the header banner is called the ‘leaderboard’, shorter but stockier ads that are larger are simply called the medium and large rectangles. The one style of vertical ad is called the half page banner. The leader is approximately 730x100px while the other banners are around 330×300-600px. What would make the difference?
A vertical ad is better for those that believe the page on which they are placed will have consumers, scroll down more often. Even though they do this, the banner ad will continue to be on screen giving your more ‘screen time’. However the rectangles are a great static ad placement and are on the more affordable side for most small businesses. The leaderboard is quite large and spans the entire width of the page and it’s also the first thing consumers will see. Hence why it’s perhaps the more premium category for banner ad sizes.
Targeted placements
Marketing is no longer a ‘fire all your guns at once, hoping to hit something’ kind of approach. Nowadays, even the simplest form of marketing i.e. the banner ad, can and should be targeted to specific consumers. If you are a business advertising a product that is a hair styling wax, you need to be on pages where you are relevant. For example, male grooming websites are your number one priority but more general beauty and style websites like Boots, is also an option. Yet, the world is so vast that it would be impossible to manually decide where each of your banner ads go.
Look into Deploying automation on Google Ads allowing you to make things much simpler. Set the kind of parameters of consumer you’re searching for i.e. who would fit the bill, and allow the software to pick the best websites and consumers to target your banner ad to.
Make it simple
The simplest things can be done incredibly well, and incredibly badly. The number one thing for your banner ad, is to have basic readable font. Make sure your message is clearly digestible, the consumer is able to pick up on the call to action at a mere glance. Don’t use a font that is smaller than size 10 pt, in fact you should usually go for something like 12 pt or 14 pt. Use high-definition images to make things clear and visible to the browsing shoppers. They should be somewhat able to identify what’s in the banner ad, even just in their peripheral vision.
Animate the banner ad, allow for a slideshow of images that work together in depicting a story or showcase the product in different ways. More animations should not last more than 10 seconds. Although some say the practice of 15 seconds is standard, the average consumer is not going to stay in part of the page for more than 5 or 10 seconds. Therefore loop your banner ad but keep it short and sweet. The final frame or image in your animation can be a call to action in the form of a question.
The banner ad has reigned supreme for such a long time because it just works. Incredibly simple yet so versatile, this classic marketing method has allowed small and large businesses to spread their campaigns far and wide. Cost-effective, it’s clearly one of the more popular choices for targeted automation software.
