You’ve seen them all over the internet: blinking, flashing, animated, and flashy. You swear that you will not contribute to this graffiti on the Internet. He is pleased with his decision because, after all, banner advertising is dead.

Mistaken. Banner advertising is not dead and, in fact, is still an effective Internet marketing tool. However, banner advertising has evolved, or rather I should say that successful banner advertising has evolved. Some of the hideous eye-damaging banner ads still exist, but successful and savvy internet entrepreneurs have long abandoned those marketing efforts and instead concentrated on cropped, tasteful, targeted banner ads.

Ads get a bad rap in part due to the proliferation of ad farms that have killed all ad exchange programs (or at least rendered them completely ineffective). Also, we all have memories of those hideous banners that appear at the top of so many websites.

Banners have come a long way since then and a cleverly designed banner can be a real asset to any ad campaign. Also, don’t forget that you don’t have to use one of those big giant banners that stretch the width of the screen. You can use smaller single ads that fit easily in a website’s sidebar or special box so they can follow the layout and function more effectively.

It is also important that you pay close attention to the sites you will choose to display your banner. THAT IS TO SAY. A web development site for your web hosting service ad or a parenting site for your ad promoting your potty training book.

Many text link and pay-per-click advertising providers also offer the option of banner ads. Similarly, many ezine and newsletter publishers sell space on their sites.

And Internet marketers are taking advantage of these advertising opportunities.

WHY USE BANNER ADVERTISING?

Historically, consumer research shows that most people see an ad several times before acting. Banners allow you to display your ad for a period of time, increasing the chances that a potential customer will see your ad and remember it.

Your banner ad may be targeted to specific audiences and displayed on pages and sites on the Internet that match that specific audience.

People who see your ad can instantly click through to the store on your website to learn more or make a purchase on the spot.

You can track your results and make adjustments to your campaigns based on the response. Analyzing your results can help you adjust your banner, landing page, or target audience to improve response and sales.

Banner advertising is really a buyer’s market, as there is always more banner space available than advertisers need or want, which means you can find plenty of deals available.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN PLANNING YOUR BANNER ADS CAMPAIGN

There are several things to consider when planning your banner ad campaign.

The first consideration should be the graphic of your ad itself. These are usually animated GIF images, but remember that you want to attract customers, not just attention, and remember the overall tone of your ad campaign when designing your graphic. Also note that many sites limit the size of the chart file to between 12 and 16KB.

Your banner can come in a variety of sizes. The full size of the banner is 468 x 60 pixels. Some other standard banner sizes include:

Size (pixels). Guy

468 x 60…..Full Banner

234 x 60 ….. Half banner

392 x 72…..Full banner with vertical navigation bar

120 x 240….Vertical Banner

125 x 125….Square button

120×90…..Button #1

120×60…..Button #2

88 x 31……Micro button

Your graph will be hyperlinked to a destination URL of your choosing, so you may want to spend some time planning how you’ll track traffic and clicks. Some programs provide you with a tracking and statistics service, but most individual sites cannot offer that information.

When selecting where to display your banner ad, the first consideration should be choosing a site that offers information that will appeal to your target audience. A high-traffic dating site won’t be very good at promoting your maternity clothing line, for example.

Then you should watch the traffic. When looking at site statistics, you should make sure to focus on pageviews or page impressions rather than visits (which can individually count each graphic viewed). Depending on your banner and market, you may be primarily interested in unique page impressions.

Banner advertising is often sold by CPM (cost per thousand displays, the Roman numeral “M” stands for thousand). Many sites also offer a fixed price for a set period of time.

Many marketers don’t care as much about click-through rates, instead viewing banner ads as “branding” tools. They create brand awareness and a brand image in the mind of the beholder. The hope is that when the viewer is ready to make a purchase, his “brand” appears in his mind. The brand can also generate long-term sales. The brand is difficult to measure, but it can be very powerful.

If you have a large advertising budget, you may want to consider an advertising agency or media buyer. They can offer a lot of value for the dollar because they have the experience, knowledge, and contacts to get the most out of your budget.

It’s quite possible to be your own media buyer, if you’re willing and able to handle the increased workload. The biggest difficulty is finding the right sites to advertise your product or service. Then, after you find a site that might be a good fit, you need to negotiate for the best possible deal. It is important that you are as informed as possible, as this is a buyer’s market and you do not want to pay too much. Of course, you also don’t want to alienate a webmaster whose site is perfect for you.

You also have the option to buy ad space on many search engines and directories. Often this option allows you to show your ad only to a targeted audience, which can obviously increase your chances of a successful campaign, but it can be an expensive option.

Banner ad networks are another targeted option that might be more affordable. Individual website owners contract with a single company to serve their banner ads and handle ad sales for them. In turn, these networks divide their sites into categories and subcategories to allow advertisers to advertise on specific sites within the network that are the most targeted. They also offer very sophisticated tracking tools that give you a lot of valuable information about who is visiting your site and what actions they are taking.

Some networks offer pay-per-click advertising that only charges you when someone clicks on your banner and visits your site. However, this approach is subject to fraud by unscrupulous site owners.

A pay-per-sale network, also known as an affiliate program, only charges the advertiser when a purchase is actually made. The advertiser pays both the affiliate and the network, but only when there is a sale. Of course, the competition for attracting quality affiliates is high, so while this can be effective, it shouldn’t be the only banner advertising method you use.

And some final tips on banner advertising:

* Keep your message short, direct and simple.

* Get more attention using words like “free” and “now.”

* Put “click here” somewhere on the banner.

* Create different versions of the banner.

* Animates your banner but only if it enhances it.

* Keep the file size as small as possible.