Some Things to Know About Banners
It's "common knowledge" all over the internet that banners are no longer an effective advertising media. I've read those lines over and over again, and heard presumably well-educated people saying those same words in chat rooms, on message boards and in person.
I have a question, then, that begs to be answered. If banner ads are dead, then how come over 5 BILLION dollars were spent last year on banner advertising? That's a lot of money to spend on something that is worthless.
The truth is actually, as usual, different than what people commonly believe. Banner advertising is not, by any means, dead. In fact, the entire industry is blooming and making more money than ever before for companies all over the world.
What has actually happened is people who surf the internet are, imagine that, changing. At first people will click on anything. I mean, look at your average newbie ... he or she will gleefully click on banner after banner, having a great time exploring shopping sites and book clubs and everything else. This is all old-hat to people like me ... I've been on the internet forever. So I'm still amazed when I watch people do this.
But the average person quickly tires of these banners. After all, most of them don't go anywhere useful or meaningful. They are just ads, after all. Too many times someone clicked in a colorful, gorgeous banner only to find the same old money-making junk on the other side.
So what's the secret? You have to grab their attention, and you have to grab it fast. You have to pique their interest, gain their trust, promise them something free or fun, and most of all, your site has to deliver on the promise.
And that, my friends, is the reason why people look down on banners. It's not the banners fault. It's the junk behind the banners. You have to have more than a banner to make a sale or gain a return visitor. You have to deliver something worthwhile.
So what's the answer? Make a good, solid website which delivers what it promises. Whether that is information, products, services or just pictures, make sure you give something to people that they want. Once you do that, make sure you are doing it well. Then your banners should be easy to design ... they will flow logically from your products and web site.
Let's say you've got a site selling yo-yo's. Spend your time making a great site with pictures of yo=yo's, stories about them, videos of the great championships, humorous bits and pieces, tidbits and trivia (where do they come from, after all), and so on. By the time you have your site done, your banners should be obvious.
Perhaps a nice flash banner with a yo-yo jumping out at a visitor? Or a yo-yo rolling out of control across the banner. The motion grabs the attention, and if someone is interested they will click.
Once you've got some banners, step back and ask yourself if you would click on it. Then ask everyone else you can find. To make it more interesting, bury your banner in with a dozen others and ask a few people questions about them. You will find out very fast if your banner is good or not.
Once you've got a good banner and you've done a few informal surveys to see if it's any good at all, by all means send it out. But be prepared to pull it at a moment's notice. If the banner is not doing it's job, yank it immediately and replace it with another. Don't stick with a banner for any reason other than it's getting you clicks. It does not matter what you spent on it, how much you like it or how good it looks. If the banner is not getting people to your website it is not fulfilling it's purpose.
I have a question, then, that begs to be answered. If banner ads are dead, then how come over 5 BILLION dollars were spent last year on banner advertising? That's a lot of money to spend on something that is worthless.
The truth is actually, as usual, different than what people commonly believe. Banner advertising is not, by any means, dead. In fact, the entire industry is blooming and making more money than ever before for companies all over the world.
What has actually happened is people who surf the internet are, imagine that, changing. At first people will click on anything. I mean, look at your average newbie ... he or she will gleefully click on banner after banner, having a great time exploring shopping sites and book clubs and everything else. This is all old-hat to people like me ... I've been on the internet forever. So I'm still amazed when I watch people do this.
But the average person quickly tires of these banners. After all, most of them don't go anywhere useful or meaningful. They are just ads, after all. Too many times someone clicked in a colorful, gorgeous banner only to find the same old money-making junk on the other side.
So what's the secret? You have to grab their attention, and you have to grab it fast. You have to pique their interest, gain their trust, promise them something free or fun, and most of all, your site has to deliver on the promise.
And that, my friends, is the reason why people look down on banners. It's not the banners fault. It's the junk behind the banners. You have to have more than a banner to make a sale or gain a return visitor. You have to deliver something worthwhile.
So what's the answer? Make a good, solid website which delivers what it promises. Whether that is information, products, services or just pictures, make sure you give something to people that they want. Once you do that, make sure you are doing it well. Then your banners should be easy to design ... they will flow logically from your products and web site.
Let's say you've got a site selling yo-yo's. Spend your time making a great site with pictures of yo=yo's, stories about them, videos of the great championships, humorous bits and pieces, tidbits and trivia (where do they come from, after all), and so on. By the time you have your site done, your banners should be obvious.
Perhaps a nice flash banner with a yo-yo jumping out at a visitor? Or a yo-yo rolling out of control across the banner. The motion grabs the attention, and if someone is interested they will click.
Once you've got some banners, step back and ask yourself if you would click on it. Then ask everyone else you can find. To make it more interesting, bury your banner in with a dozen others and ask a few people questions about them. You will find out very fast if your banner is good or not.
Once you've got a good banner and you've done a few informal surveys to see if it's any good at all, by all means send it out. But be prepared to pull it at a moment's notice. If the banner is not doing it's job, yank it immediately and replace it with another. Don't stick with a banner for any reason other than it's getting you clicks. It does not matter what you spent on it, how much you like it or how good it looks. If the banner is not getting people to your website it is not fulfilling it's purpose.
