What Killed the Banner Ad?

If you ask the Internet marketers of today, many if not most of
them will tell you that banner advertising is dead. They say
that it's expensive, the click-through rates are low and that
unless you know exactly what you're doing, it is likely that
you'll end up spending more money than you'll make.

Surprisingly, just a few years ago the same people were rushing
to invest their money in banner advertising campaigns. In those
happy days, the click-through rates were at least ten times as
high as they are now. What has happened? Has the audience become
more resistant to Internet advertising in general? Or perhaps the
whole concept of banner advertising has become obsolete and we'll
need to think of new ways of reaching people?

Perhaps, perhaps. There is certainly at least some truth to these
claims, but they are hardly the only reasons behind the current
crisis. Personally, I think that those responsible for planning
the banner advertising campaigns are largely to blame for what
has happened. The difference between the successful banner
advertising of yesterday and the pathetic banner advertising of
today is vanity.

Vanity? Sounds odd, but you'll only need to look at the banners
displayed on a few popular sites to see what I mean. They have
a nice-looking background, a beautiful picture or two, a
professionally-designed logo, smooth animation and bright,
pleasant colors. In a nutshell, those banners are works of art
and that is exactly why they perform so badly.

More marketing, less graphics
=============================

Unless you are trying to brand your business, your main focus
should not be on what your banners look like. Pay attention to
how many sales you make and how high your ROI is, forget the
aesthetics.

Some readers may be worried that such an approach might damage
their reputation in the eyes of the consumers. Unless the ads
look good, they might affect the company's brand negatively.
Large, well-known businesses definitely should worry about that,
but if you're a small business, you shouldn't over-emphasise the
importance of branding. You've probably seen hundreds or
thousands banners in the past weeks, but can you remember what
even twenty of them looked like and what company or product they
were advertising?

Without any further ado, here are some tips on how to make your
banners look worse but perform better:

Don't camoflague your banners
=============================

Many banners co-exist in harmony with the design of the site they
are displayed on. While this makes the site look better, it
also prevents anyone from noticing what the poor advertiser is
trying to say. Instead of allowing your banners to fade into the
background, do everything possible so that they will stand out.
Make it clear that your banner is something that should be
clicked, not merely stared at.

In practice, this goal can be achieved by utilizing Windows-style
navigational elements, notes instructing users to "click here"
and colors that contrast with those used on the site. The result
won't look like something you'd want to frame and hang on your
wall, but it will be effective.

Easy with the graphics
======================

Pictures of attractive persons or tropical islands may be nice to
look at, but they also increase the time it takes for your banner
to load. If your banner is placed near the top of the page and
doesn't appear instantly, the audience will scroll down the page
and never see it. Images also take up quite a bit of space and
may force you to limit the amount or the size of the text used in
the banner.

A good rule of thumb is that unless the picture is somehow
essential in convincing the user to click, drop it. When
advertising a sweepstakes, adding a picture of a pile of cash can
feel like a good idea. However, in many cases a text screaming
"WIN $10.000" would be just as effective and would load up much,
much faster.

Cut to the chase
================

Banners are not TV commercials. You'll have to continuously fight
to get the attention of your audience and you'll also need to
fight to retain it. Long-winded advertisements that take ten
seconds before even mentioning what is being advertised may work
on TV, but not on the Internet.

Following these instructions, which essentially tell you to
create banners that look simple and perhaps even a bit
unprofessional might seem foolish. But simple, straight-forward
banners that stand out get clicked on.

Banner advertising is not a beauty contest. It's a selling
contest. At the end of the day, what matters is whether your
banners helped you make a profit, not how cool they looked.