Advertising is critically important to your success when you’re starting or growing your online business. One such advertising medium that’s been overlooked lately, mainly because of its simplicity and the popularity of pay per click advertising, is the lowly little banner ad. Online banner advertising can be very effective, if you keep a few simple things in mind when you buy and construct your advertisement.
First and foremost, as with any advertising venture, you must know where to target your banner ads to achieve maximum traffic and sales! Obviously, you’re not going to get much response for skateboard sales if you advertise to an age group that doesn’t fit that market. Now, this isn’t to say that Grandma or Grandpa isn’t up to going vert on the half-pipes with a plank on wheels or anything, it just means that it isn’t likely to make many sales, if any.
Instead of buying into the “We’ll guarantee you 100,000 banner impressions for only $10 bucks!” crapola, do this:
- Find out where your target market hangs out online
- Discover their reasons for hanging out there,
- Craft your ad around those reasons, then
- Place your banner ad
I know you probably think this sounds like a “no-brainer” and makes obvious sense, but still, some online marketers don’t realize they’re advertising in the wrong places and wasting precious advertising dollars!
Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes marketers make when creating and placing online banner ads, is they make them confusing or “over-do” them. Your site visitors (potential costumers) are not always exactly sure of what it is they are looking for, and if your banner ad is confusing or vague it only decreases your chances of making sales.
Anyone who has been online for any amount of time knows there’s a whole slew of deceptive ads online, and the last thing they want to do is to click on something that looks the same. When crafting your ad, be open, honest and to the point. Do not mimic someone else’s ad just because you may think it looks “cool’ or appealing. You never know, you could get confused for someone who is less honest than you!
Another thing you should consider when making your online banner advertisement is: “What does the ad ‘do’ on the page?”
Some banner ads flash off and on to get attention, and some may be animated. These types of banners are great for those that have newer, faster loading computers, but some of your site visitors (potential customers) may not. So instead of the ad showing up on their page, it slows down their page load time, or worse, crashes their computer. This is not the way to get new customers!
Make your ad simple, with as little animation as possible if you insist on having some. Truthfully, ads that are non-moving actually work the best.
Lastly, make sure your banner advertisement is placed at the right time of the year. For instance, if you have a specialty store that sells winter clothing, you do not want to waste advertising money placing ads in the summer. There may be someone that sees your ad, and then remember you when the right time of year comes around, but that’s very unlikely.
Discovering where your target market hangs out, their reasons for hanging out there, crafting a banner ad around those reasons; as well as keeping your ad appropriate, uncluttered and placed in the right place, at the right time helps to ensure increased traffic and sales. This makes your advertising dollars work harder, and your advertisements more effective!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to check back often for more updates. As always, we appreciate your feedback, comments and questions.
Until next time,
Godspeed
James
Almost forgot, here’s a good resource to help you in your banner advertising efforts… click here
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