Banner advertising is a very widespread and popular form of advertising online. Most websites have banner advertising on them. Though banners have been said to be declining in effectiveness, they can still be a great source of income and visitors for most site owners and webmasters.

With online banners, there are several factors that are crucial for getting a high click through rate.

Design Banners for Conversion

Small file

When designing a banner, it is vital to get this right. If the .JPG or .GIF file is very large, it could take some time to download, meaning some visitors might leave the page before seeing the banner. People won’t click the banner if they don’t see it. Therefore, it is important to ensure that your file size does not exceed 15K at most.

Call to action

This is a great and simple way of increasing your banner’s CTR (click through rate). Having a call to action involves inserting words such as ‘sign up now’ or ‘click here’ to encourage readers to do something. With off-line mediums of advertising, audiences are just required to read or watch the ad. Since many people are used to offline advertising, they might not realize that they are meant to click on online banners to learn more. Having a call to action has enhanced the effectiveness of the banners in my blog.

Animation

Banners with moving elements capture more attention than static banners. The idea behind banner design is to capture the attention of web visitors. Therefore, using animation can be helpful in this. However, avoid using too many animations which will increase file size and also distract visitors who are trying to read your content.

Good ad copy

Though fancy images and animations may grab visitors’ attention, they are not likely to convince visitors to click. It is the text which will get people interested in your product. Emphasize the benefits of your service or product. Let people know how your product will improve their lives. Keep your words concise and brief. You could use words such as ‘proven’, ‘free’ and ‘secret’ which are known to grab people’s attention.

Conclusion

Make sure you put your banner on websites which target your preferred audience i.e. the people who are likely to purchase your product. Don’t put a banner for a health product on a website dedicated to web design. No one will be interested and your money will be wasted. If you fail to expose your banner to the right audience, the tips mentioned above will not help you.