7 Components To The Best Banner Ads

If you like to be online, you’ve likely encountered, and fully avoided, banner ads popping up on your screen. Whereas the infuriating nature of yesteryear’s pop-up ads were enough to make you want to hurl your computer through a window, banner ads aim to play it a little cooler.

The whole point of a banner ad is to find its way somewhere with high traffic & get someone to click on it. Remember the whole ‘play it cool’ thing? Well, there was a time when banner ads were anything but. The World Wide Web was a bit like the Wild West, with everything taking on an “everything goes” attitude. Advertising and marketing were no different, and those who foresaw the internet’s impact on society wanted to pounce in a big way.

We’ve Come A Long Way, Baby!

Banner ads were brash, loud, and meant to almost distract as opposed to attract. Looking back, those original banner ads are a little cringey. But you have to take into account how ‘loud’ everything was in the 90s. Presidents were playing the saxophone on late night T.V., animated shows were becoming primetime television juggernauts, and music was moving further from center to more intense extremes. It’s no wonder at all that advertising and marketing followed suit.

Getting Banner Ads to Work For You

Now that we’re living in a world where the internet is a civilized place (:/ yeah…ok), banner ads are more an art form than just simply a way to peddle a product. Sure, you want click-throughs, purchases, and lead generations. However, you want the ad to say a lot about you and your operation. In all honesty, unless someone has a need they want addressed by a specific product/service, they may likely not do a whole lot to know about your brand. But with the right banner ad, you can let folks know quite a bit about who you are, why you are, and why it would be worth someone’s time to see what you have to offer.

So, what do the best banner ads have in common? Things to consider include:

Call To Action — You want to move someone to do something specific. A conversion funnel is only as good as the specific route you create for a user.

Something That Attracts — Both static & animated images can have a significant impact when used properly. Attention spans are fairly low when someone is online. As such, banner ads need something that makes them stand out just enough to draw attention.

KISS…kinda — The acronym, KISS, stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid. The latter, though, isn’t really a fair thing to say. When designing banner ads & everything that’s part of an ad campaign, you can’t really blame someone for going all out. But given the short amount of time someone will give to the ad, there’s really no need to go all out.

Easy To Read — There should be clarity in a banner ad. Struggling to see through a jumble of words or images leads to a loss of interest & moving on.

The Right Size — The ‘Goldilocks’ Theory is something that good banner ads adhere to all the time. Just remember that it’s about efficiency. You’re trying to get an ad in front of someone that gently nudges them in a direction, not shoves them.

Right Placement — Efficiency in banner ad size goes hand-in-hand with knowing where to publish your banner ad. Much the same way a well-placed ad in a newspaper can matter, the right publishing of a banner ad on a webpage can make all the difference in the world.

Your Name — If there was ever a thing that sets a teacher off, it’s not putting your name on your work. Heck, even if you bombed an assignment, you might at least get points for having your name in the right place! The same goes for banner ads and all things advertising. Don’t forget your name/logo!

What If Banner Ads Aren’t Your Thing?

One last thing to know about banner ads is that if you’ve tried your hand at them and failed miserably, don’t sweat it. It just means you need a little help. The right advertising firm can help craft the perfect design and execute it to net max results.

You may not know it yet, but your banner ads and MindEcology, an Austin advertising agency, are a perfect combination. Wanna know more? Touch base with us today!