Banner Advertising

Banner adverts are perhaps the oldest and most common mode of advertisement in the world wide web (www). In its simplest form - it acts like a billboard, spreading a promotional message and helping interested visitors to jump to relevant web-site.

Difference between a physical billboard and on-line banner advertisement lies in ability of the later to measure campaign effectiveness. Unlike traditional ad media like TV or print where measuring audience response is difficult - its possible to obtain clear and accurate measurements of success or failure of on-line ads through web traffic analysis.

How good is banner advertisement for your business ? Should you adopt this known and trusted method or go for new ones like search engine based PPC ? The answer lies in your requirement and an understanding of what banner advertisement can deliver.

Let us discuss various concepts associated with on-line advertisement and analyze how banner advertisement works.

What Kind of On-Line Advertisement Suits my Business ?

There are three major reasons for creating online advertising campaign. These are:

*Building brand awareness

*Increasing website traffic

*Creating leads and sales

You need to analyze your precise requirements and prioritize the objectives of planned ad campaign. If the objective is brand building or pure promotion - banner advertisement is ideally suited. However, if you are more keen on leads and sales - targeted advertisements such as search engine marketing could be better option. In many cases - a mix of banner ad and search engine marketing could be the answer. One can find more information on Internet advertisement, specially in the context of export import trade and b2b portals here .

Key Concepts Associated with On-Line Advertisement:

Before proceeding any further, it is important to understand a few key concepts associated with on-line advertisements in general and banner advertisement in particular.

Impression:

Impression is a measure of how many times an ad has been viewed. How many people have viewed a banner ad or received an "impression" by seeing the ad - is a measurement of responses from the ad delivery system. Once a visitor has viewed a banner on a web page - an impression is recorded. Banner views are different from page views in the sense that there may be multiple banner views within one page view. There's another distinction between page
view and banner view - some banner serving software do not count a banner view unless the visitor stays on the page long enough for the banner to be fully downloaded from ad server.
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CPM:

CPM refers to cost per thousand (M here stands for 'Mille' - the Roman numeral used to represent 1000). CPM is commonly used by the advertising industry to describe how many people have viewed the banner ad (ad view) or received an "impression" by seeing the ad. In other words, this is the price an advertiser pays for displaying his/her banner 1,000 times.

For example, an advertising rate of $10 CPM, means the advertiser is paying $10 for every 1,000 impressions, or $0.01 for each banner impression.

CTR or Click-Through:

When a visitor gets interested in promotional message of a banner, he/she clicks on it to learn more and is automatically transported to advertiser's website. Every time someone clicks on the banner, it is called a "click- through," and the "click-through rate" is expressed in terms of percentage of users who click on an advertisement (i.e. ratio of ad clicks to ad impressions). In other words, click through ratio is an indication of a banner's effectiveness.

How Advertiser Pays for Banner Advertisement Universally, there are two modes of payment for banner ad - CPM

Click-Through:

In India - there's a third mode of payment based on duration of time a banner is hosted on a web-site. Typically, special server-based software called 'ad-server' rotates banner ads in specified places of a web-site. It also keep track of impressions, click-thorough and other vital statistics.

In CPM mode of payment - advertiser pays for number of impressions based on an agreed CPM. For example, if a site charges US$ 9 per CPM - for $450 the advertiser gets $450 / $9 CPM *

1000 = 50,000 impressions

If percentage of click thorough is 2 - 4%, advertiser may expect ~ 1000 - 2000 new customers visiting his/her web-site. This is apart from brand building based on number of impressions.

In Click-Through mode - Advertisers pays a fixed fee for every click, no matter what is the number of impressions.

In time-based banner advertisements (typical in India), advertiser pays a fixed fee based on monthly or quarterly rate, irrespective of the number of impression or click-thorough.

Types of Banners Advertisements:

Traditional banner ads were static in nature - usually a .gif or .jpeg image file. With technology advancing - new modes of Banner ads appeared in ad scene. Following are some of the popular modes of non-static banner ads
Expanding - Banner gets bigger on clicking - often have a button labeled "Expand". Rather than jumping to another website - these banners simply open up and reveal more information.

Animated - Common mode of banner ad these days. However, too many images/messages may render such banners hopelessly large in size, slow and downright irritating. Exercise caution on banner design.

Drop-Down Menu - These have embedded HTML and allow the user to choose options from a drop-down menu. This mode of banner is ideal for co-op advertising where several businesses can advertise together.

Interstitial - These appear in a separate window as the website loads. These ads often contain large graphics, animation, and streaming presentations.

Java, Flash, and Shockwave - These allow for rich media presentation including video and audio. Common browser toolbars such as Alexa, Google etc. suppress this type of banners Floating Ads and DHTML - These banners float over the content a website and generally perceived as intrusive, although they do get a high click-through rate.

Unicast - These are just like little TV ads that run in a separate window.

Checklist for Banner Designers:

Here's a few things to keep in mind while creating banner ad Make it smaller in size: preferably under 12K. This way - the banner will be quick to load.
Keep it Simple: Stay simple. Don't get too complicated with heavy text and confusing colors.

Make it Easy-to-read:

Always use ALT tags for text display on those surfing without images Verify that the banner clicks-through to the appropriate page on your website Limit your use of animation Include a call to action (e.g. Order Now, Visit Web-Site etc.) Test your banners in different browsers at different screen resolutions.
Get your web designer to make your banner ads for you in a variety of standard sizes if you are not experienced in advertising.

Conclusion:

Lack of targeting and visitor apathy are two major drawbacks of banner ad campaigns. Because of large scale use or misuse - visitors today treat banners as necessary evil and pay little attention. Click through rate of banner ads are much lower compared to other forms of on-line advertisement such as targeted search engine marketing. However, banner ads are more effective in brand building and work very well when the creative is attractive and ad delivery systems can do some targeting.

As a person becomes more familiar with marketing, he should invest in banner advertising if he has not already done so.

In 2000, banner advertising was very popular. However, the use of banners on website becomes very obtrusive. There were few standards for advertising with banners on websites. Customers were becoming so annoyed with pop ups and banners streaming individual pages, that they complained.

Since the mid 2000, there has been a come back with banner advertising standards, which are helping this form of advertising, become the strategy of choice.

To understand the resurgent of banner advertisement you must familiarize your self with what a banner ad is and how it is used in advertisement. A web banner or banner ad is a form of advertising on the web.

This form of advertising consists of embedding an advertisement into a web page. The Banner or banners can consist of text, images, colors, animation, sound, and video, or flash. The image can be narrow or wide. The format or code can be written in many different codes.

Money saving Strategies:

Banners are best placed above the fold of any website and to the right of the page. Some time banners are place in the middle of the page but some critics would advise not to place the banner at the top middle of the web page. Only through testing will determine if this advice is wrong.
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Banners are now placed and designed with a specific theme and place in strategic areas on the web page. Most banners are placed above the fold of the web page and to the right of any text or other images. The rational is we tend to read a web page like a book left to right top to bottom.

When building your ad use text that have a call to action. Tell the customers what you want him or her to do. Putting the ad above the fold of the page is more visible then below the fold. Most people will not scroll the entire page when searching.

Advertisers are now more subtitle and more affective with their banners ads. Most ads are place so skilled that it is hard to detect were the ad is. Advertiser should try to build an ad that has colors that match the color palette of the page they are advertising on.

Analyze any website you want to advertise on. Search for other banners that may be advertised there. Quickly scan the site to see how the site makes it money. Choose a target market by using search engines to help find your target market. Once you find your target market, visit those web pages and look at the kinds of banner ads being advertised. You want to be cautious of web pages that have nothing but advertisements these may cause your banners not to be seen.

Helpful Terms:
Impression: Each time you banner loads on a site is called an impression

Click: Each time a customers clicks your banner

Conversion: Each time a person, fill in the form for information better known as a lead.

CPM Cost per 1000: This is a strategy of measuring how much you will pay for a banner ad. Most times, you are charged on a CPM basis. That means you are charged for every 1000 impressions. For Example, a $2.00 CPM means you pay $2.00 for every 1000 impressions your banner receives. Moreover, be cautious of banner ad placements that are charging $4-$5.00 and even up to $15.00 you should pay no more than $ 2.00 for banner ad placement.

CPA Cost per Action: CPA means an advertiser will only pay when some kind of action has taken placed by the customer. For example, if a customer clicks on your ad then you are charged compared to impression when you banner loads you are charged.

Any average online buff should at least have ample exposure to numerous Banner Ads as websites normally contain them. Base on banner advertising statistics, use of banners are guaranteed effective to pull a good traffic without being expensive.

Majority of banners are charge on pay per click. This means that a banner for your site is shown on someone else's site, and you pay money only when a visitor of theirs clicks your banner. Another banner advertising statistics is on terms that charges fix rate for the period of exposure even if visitors will not click on the banner.

What can these banner advertising statistics do for you? You can find ways to pay lesser amounts on exposing your site by understanding the functions of banners and how providers of these tools are making money out of them. Factors to consider are the following.

A lot of banner advertising statistics projects that better result comes if banners are shown thru websites that compliment that of the users page. Therefore it is a poor decision to have a banner about toddler's toys displayed on a tattoo website. That type of ad will get the right audience if place on parenting sites.

It can be tedious to pick particular sites for your banners so just identify your business niche. Banner advertising statistics that advises people on identifying their niche to draw the potential buyers are considered reliable.

Banner advertising statistics are also into the quality of banners used. Think seriously about all the banners you see and take note of the ones that catch your eye, as well as the ones that impel you to click on them. This is exactly due to their different contents.

A banner must leave a visitor hanging on after some imposing statements or enticing questions so that he will click on it. It might also mean some eye-catching graphics that will pull the visitor in and make them want to see more. The quality of your banner is an important aspect of successful banner advertising statistics so you don't want to ignore it.

Several studies on banner advertisements bank on their effectiveness without the high charges. Being able to understand these simple banner advertising statistics will also be important for making the right decisions regarding your success.

Are you know How to Boost Your Pay Per Click Banner Advertising?

Making use of pay per click banner advertising is a preferred choice among webmasters nowadays as it can boost your site's traffic without having to do a great deal of work. You can make a banner of your own using graphics design applications; a banner doesn't have to have animation or flash and it can just be a simple basic picture.

Furthermore, once a banner is designed and situated within a certain genre it normally appears on its own without you having to do anything extra. Many companies that support pay per click banner advertising will have your banner rotate with others in their company; you simply need to keep a banner running on your site in order for your banner to run an other website.

You can improve your pay per click banner advertising and gain more visitors and traffic to your site if you look at various quick tips on how to do this. There are no promises as to the effects, but you're assured to be rewarded from these tipsand tricks if you think them over carefully.

How frequently have you viewed a uniform banner over and over again and ignore it straight away because it's so mundane? If other companies have encountered it, then you banner can encounter it as well. This is why it's useful to think about altering your banner constantly; you can render a new banner or alternate them over and over again. This will allow you to enhance your pay per click banner advertising results since they'll be less likely to be dismissed simply because they look the same.

You don't have to pay expensively for a new banner. Usually a graphic designer can deal with your current banner and easily revise some elements. This will mean less expenditure for you, and potential customers will have a sense of familiarity without becoming uninterested to your banners. When they view something fresh, this will enhance your pay per click banner advertising results since they're more likely to click on that new banner.

Typically with pay per click banner advertising, your banner is shown on websites that fit a certain genre, such as sports, pop culture, retail, and so on. It's best to match your banner into a particular genre in order for possible customers to notice that banner so that it won't be wasted to those that aren't concerned about your business or site.

However, you might consider mixing things up a little bit as well. If you sell skateboarding equipment, of course you want your banner shown on sports themed sites. But why not try popular culture sites as well? Or commerce websites? These may offer potential visitors as well, since many who visit these sites are likely to visit your site as well. By altering your genres, you may attain an increase in your pay per click banner advertising results.

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