Black Belt Web Marketing.pdf - Costa del Sol

Exercise 10-2 – Creating Banner Ads That Work
To begin your online advertising campaign, you need banner ads – preferably several to
rotate and test for effectiveness. It’s nearly impossible to predict which banner ads will
work and which won’t so you should have several to test. Generally, the preferred ad will
be the one that results in the most click-throughs, if generating web traffic is your primary
objective.
If creating banner ads is beyond your capabilities or cannot be done in-house, the net is
home to a slew of graphic designers who stand ready to help. Graphic design work is
perfect for contracting out. It’s a skill needed on a per project basis, you don’t have to meet
face to face, and it’s easy to view samples to judge competency. You can find them by
searching the web and in discussion groups.
Banner ads are like any newspaper and magazine ad, or TV commercials. How effective
they are depends largely on its appearance, message, and offer. If an ad isn’t designed
properly, then nothing else matters – not audience, not placement, not product.
Characteristics of Effective Banner Ads
Fortunately, these guidelines will help you improve the effectiveness of your banner ads.
They have been proven to work in numerous studies.
Appeal to the Target Audience: Targeting the audience is critical. Only display your banner ad
where will be seen by exactly the target audiences you want to reach. You probably
already know from the previous lessons which web sites are good for reaching target
audiences.
Highlight a Specific Product or Service: It helps if you have a unique or interesting
product or service to promote.
Call to Action: Like printed advertisements, a call to action works. For banner ads, "Click Here!"
or "Visit Now" improves click-throughs – as much as 15% according to some studies.
Locating the call to action on the right side of the ad or immediately below it seems to
work best.
Instill a Sense of Urgency: Giving the viewer a reason to act quickly actually encourages viewers
to act. Something like "Offer expires soon!" works.
Pose a Question: Instead of making a statement, ask a question. A question, such as "Want free
Internet tools?", can teaser a viewer into clicking on a banner. One study attributed a 16%
increase in click-throughs to the question posed in the banner.
Lesson 10 Pg. 10