The internet world has made banner advertising a popular and widespread form of advertising where practically all the websites have one or the other form of banner advertising on it. Though it is thought that the effectiveness of banner advertising on the web has declined, there are many tips, which if followed, prove to make people rush to your website!

People have no time to wait. So make sure the banner ad uses only a small file. This is because a large .gif or .jpg file takes a few seconds to download, wherein the visitor may have either left the page or just scrolled down the page without seeing the banner. And if people don’t see your banner, they are sure not going to click on it! So make it a point to restrict your file size to below 10K or 15K;it may be difficult, but where there is a will, there is a way! Make it a point to have a call to action on your banner. This means having the words ‘click here’ or ‘sign up now’, where you guide the user to click on the banner. The main reason this has to be included is that people are so used to off-line advertising where people just see banners, without having to do anything. They are usually not aware that they have to click on the banner to find out more! So make it a point to have a call to action on your banner ad to improve the effectiveness of the banner.

People are always more attracted by moving elements in a banner. As the whole idea of banner advertising is to grab the attention of the reader, using small animation in the banner is sure to achieve this. However, make it small because if the file for the animation is large, then its downloading time will be long. This tries on the patience of the web user and may annoy them. When annoyed, they may also just leave without clicking on the banner. The incorporation of some sort of fake element in the banner also makes the banner successful. There are many fake elements’ banner designers can use like fake scroll bars, fake text boxes and fake submits buttons. When using fake elements, the web user think that they are clicking on a link to another page when clicking on a fake scroll bar, when in reality, they are actually clicking on a banner with a picture of a button and text link.

When designing the banner, use bright colors like blue, green and yellow as they have a higher CTR than black and white banners. The color red should be used sparingly. It is quite advisable using the word “free” in the banner as you are bound to get more clicks this way. Of course, you should decide on this free offer, according to the object of the banner ad. Show the reader that clicking on the banner will prove to be beneficial to him or her. You could place questions like ‘do you want more traffic’ or ‘need help with taxes’ in the banner, wherein the answer is found on your website. People don’t have the patience to read long banners; so keep them short. When people click on a banner, they want to go directly to the web page to find the information they want. They don’t have the patience to end up on the home page to go hunting for the required information.

Another important point to be remembered about banner advertising is to place the banner on sites that target for your target audience. This means, that if you have a banner for a new golf club, it is of no use placing it on a site dedicated to software. Visitors to this site will not be interested in the banner, thus leading to no clicks on the banner, and thus a waste of your money. Emphasize the benefits of your product, and not it’s features, as this is what interests a visitor more. It is always better to test your banners by designing several banners using different styles and messages. Run each banner for a week or two, and collect data on its click through rates. Then analyze the data to determine what is common among the successful banners. You can then refine your banner ad accordingly and test them again.

Use all these tips in your next banner ad, and you are bound to find some improvements in its popularity with more people rushing to visit your site!