An effective banner design plays a major role in the success of a banner ad campaign. Listed below are some quick and powerful tips to help you create the perfect banner ad. Follow the tips and realize a definite increase in CTRs (click thru ratios) and resulting sales for your website.
Make the banner ad eye catching. Use a catchy phrase that will arouse the curiosity of the viewer and get his attention to your banner ad
Keep the banner ad content simple and to the point. The text on your banner should be short and simple but informative enough to give the viewer a brief idea about your website.
Use Relevant and Related content. Make sure that the content of your banner is relevant to the products/services offered by your site. It should not be misleading for e.g., A woman in a tiny bikini would attract the attention of a male surfer and probably get lots of clicks, but when the surfer discovers that you really sell dvds he is sure to leave your site. Though you may end up with high click thrus to your website, the resulting sales would be none.
If your service is free, make sure you say it on your banner. Using the word "free" has shown a manifold increase in the click thru rates. For e.g., if you offer free games to download, say "Download free games" instead of just "Download games"
Never lie or make false promises on your banner ad. Make sure that you deliver to the client whatever services or offers you promise on your banner. For e.g., don’t claim that your web hosting plans are free, when they really cost $50.
The banner ad must always link to a specific page. On clicking the banner, the viewer must be directly taken to the specified offer or service area of your website shown on the banner, the reason they clicked on your banner in the first place. They should not have to go to your more general homepage where they have to spend time looking for the information.
Use the right form of Colours in your banner ad design. Many studies have indicated that people respond better to bright colours, such as green, blue, and yellow, or certain colour combinations, like a rich yellow on dark blue.
The banner must call for action from the viewer. Make it obvious that the banner needs to be clicked on, in order to benefit the surfers who do not know the purpose of a banner ad.
Include your logo and web site url in the banner ad. This ensures that even if a banner is not clicked on, it may still increase your website name and brand awareness. Also make sure that the logo and text do not overshadow the banner catch line or content by displaying the logo and url in a smaller font size.
Control the size of the Banner file. On clicking on the banner ad, it loads immediately, either before or with the main page text. The time taken to load depends upon the size of the banner file. The smaller the size the faster a banner ad loads. The ideal file size of a banner is 10kb or less, however decreasing the banner ad size excessively can result in tradeoffs in animation and the number of colours used.
Controlling the Running time of Animated banners. How long should you make your animated banner run? A typical web surfer spends less than 10 seconds looking at a specific area of the website and therefore the banner must display all its contents within this duration.
Use several banners for your ad campaign. To help you find about your audience preferences and behaviour patterns, use several banner ads for your ad campaign, as it is quite unlikely that a single banner may attract all. As the campaign progresses, keep track of each banners CTR (click through ratios) and if possible the conversion rate. Based on this, give the banners with higher CTR the higher priority.
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