Banner ads are one of the first tools used in
internet marketing. The first banner ad was for AT&T. It
appeared on www.hotwired.com in October 27,1994. Since then, banner
ads have been interesting, colorful, animated and money-making
additions to websites.
The most common banner ads are pay-per-click (PPC) banners. With
pay-per-click banners your payment will be based on the number of
clicks that your banner ad gets. Some PPC advertising websites
track IP addresses and count just one click for each computer every
day. But some PPC ad providers charge for each click that the
banner gets regardless of whether it was from the same computer or
not. Thus, you could end paying for a large cost even when those
clicks do not generate results for your business.
Some advertisers choose the cost per impression
(CPM) banners. These banners are priced based on the number of
viewers the ads are shown to. For example, a CPM banner that will
be shown to an estimated 5 viewers can cost $10.
Another type of banner is the pay-per action
banner. Pay-per-action banners are usually more expensive than PPC
and CPM banners. This is because the advertiser will only pay if
they get the exact results they want. For example, he will only pay
if a user signs up for a newsletter, or if a user makes an online
purchase.
Surveys show that the effectiveness of banner
ads have waned recently when compared to its effectiveness in the
past years. However, when used correctly banner ads can still
generate leads and actual sales for a business.
Let’s talk about some of the ways on how you can
make your banner ads more profitable:
A Call to Action. Use messages that will encourage an
action. A simple text that says click here often gets positive
results. In fact surveys show that people are most likely to click
on a banner that asks them to do so. You can use other variations
as long as it invites an action.
Add a button. Placing an actual button
where users can point their mouse and click are often more
effective than simply using the words “click here”.
State your message. Your banner must be
able to state your message clearly and impressively. Make your
message short, unmistakable and captivating.
Thought-provoking questions. You can use
questions that will make the person stop and think or use a
question that arouses curiosity. Studies show that banner ads with
questions generate more positive results than ads with
statements.
Witty and humorous ads. When appropriate,
why not use a humorous quote or graphics? However, make sure that
the joke is clean and without any pun or double meaning.
Use captivating graphics. People are
often attracted to images, particularly colorful and animated ones.
They are great tools in a person’s grabbing attention and arousing
curiosity.
The right size of banners. Don’t make
your banners ads too large as it will take a long time to download.
People don’t have the time to wait for banners to completely
download. Make sure that they’ll see your banner ads right after
they open a webpage.
About the Author
Jessie Masterson is a credit analyst, a writer and a sharp
internet
marketer in her own right. For years, she has mastered the art
of online
marketing to snowball online success. She currently gives her
share of online
marketing for students who are still on their first steps of
the online marketing ladder.
Copyright 2007
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