Media advertising is a great way to promote your business online. You can display your ads on various platforms, such as partner websites, search engines and video hosting sites. But among all the formats of media advertising, banners stand out as the most popular and effective.
In this article, we will explore the world of banner advertising and answer some key questions. What is banner advertising and how does it work? What are its pros and cons? Where can you launch your banner ads and how much does it cost? Read on to find out.
What is Banner Advertising?
Banner advertising is a type of online media advertising that consists of an image or a graphic on a web page. It works like this:
- A user sees an eye-catching image;
- They click on it;
- They are taken to the advertiser’s website or landing page.
Banner advertising relies more on visuals than text to capture the user’s attention. The main objectives of banner advertising are to: raise brand awareness, drive traffic and increase sales.
At first glance, a banner may look like a pop-up ad that appears when we visit a website. But there is a difference: a pop-up ad covers the existing content and forces the user to close it.
A banner is integrated into the web page and does not interfere with the user’s browsing experience.
Advantages of Banner Advertising
- Cost-effective. Banner ads are more affordable than other online promotion options.
- Customizable. You can tailor your display ads to your target audience by specifying their gender, age, location and interests. Learn more about how contextual and targeted advertising differ.
- Personalised. You can show customised ads to those customers who have shown interest in your products but have not completed a purchase. In Google Ads, this strategy is known as remarketing.
- Versatile. You can reach different segments of your audience, both existing and potential customers.
Disadvantages of Banner Advertising
- Irrelevant clicks. Despite the customization options, banner ads may still appear to people who are not interested in your products or services.
- Irritated customers. Showing the same ads repeatedly may annoy your customers and damage your brand image. Therefore, you should update your banners at least once a week.
- Ad blockers. Up to 44% of users block online ads, mainly because they find them intrusive. You can avoid this problem by using banners in the search network, such as on Bing’s homepage. Also, ad blockers do not affect ads in video players.
❗❗❗ Good to know: Banner Blindness: Why Your Ads Are Being Ignored and What to Do About It
Examples of Banner Ads
- This banner ad is displayed on the TrafficCardinal website. It is part of an online advertising network that connects advertisers and publishers.
- Banner ads are also common on YouTube. For instance, some channel owners and media outlets mention their social media accounts or websites or make announcements on their channel art.
Banner ads can also appear on search engines, such as Google or Bing. They are usually related to the user’s search query or browsing history.
Types of Banner Advertising
There are many types of banner advertising on the Internet, but experts usually classify them into four main categories.
By format
Banner ads can be static or dynamic:
- Static banner ads are images in PNG or JPEG formats (they consist of one picture with text).
- Dynamic banner ads are animated formats that use HTML5, GIF, Java or Flash.
Flash is a vector graphics based program that runs smoother than GIFs. It also allows you to add sound files to your banner ads.
By purpose of advertising campaign
Banner ads can have different purposes, such as:
- Informational banner ads inform customers about new products, discounts, promotions, etc.
- Remarketing / retargeting banner ads bring back customers to the site by showing them the products they are interested in.
- Branded banner ads increase the awareness of the product brand.
For example, a LEGO set may appeal to different groups of people:
- parents who want to give a gift to their child;
- grandparents who want to delight their grandchildren;
- men who collect them.
For each of these groups, you need to create a different ad that meets the needs of a specific target audience.
By size
The size of banner ads is measured in pixels. Some of the popular sizes are 486×60, 240×400, 728×90, 300×600, 300×250, 970×250, 640×200.
- 728×90 is a better performer because it has a prominent position on the page.
- 486×60 has a low engagement rate. This is because it has a limited space for content. It is also an outdated size that people tend to ignore.
By site type
Banner ads can be internal or external:
- Internal banner ads are placed on the advertiser’s own website or app and are used to draw customers’ attention to other pages. For example, to inform them about new products, promo codes or promotions.
- External banner ads, when clicked, take the user from one site to another.
How Much Does a Banner Ad Cost?
The cost of a banner ad varies depending on several factors, such as:
- Online advertising network you select;
- Size and position of the ad on the web page;
- Industry and niche of your business;
- Location and demographics of your target audience.
The average cost per click (CPC) for Google banner advertising is $0.58. However, you can also choose to pay for your ads based on a different model:
- Cost per mille (CPM) – pay per 1,000 views of your ad.
- Cost per action (CPA) – pay per desired action taken by the user, such as a purchase or a sign-up.
Depending on your goals, you can choose the best model for your banner advertising campaign. If you want to increase brand awareness, CPC is a good option. If you want to boost conversions, CPM or CPA may be more suitable.
Where You Can Place Banner Ads
There are many platforms where you can display your banner ads. However, you need to get permission from the website owners first. There are several ways to do this:
- By contacting the website owners directly. You can usually find their contact details on the site, such as a phone number or an email address. This option is convenient because you can negotiate the price and get a discount.
- By partnering with Google Display Network. This is how it works. Suppose you want to monetize your website traffic. To do this, you sign up for Google Ads. You will get a script that you need to add to your site. Then, your visitors will see the ads. You will earn a commission for each click on the ads.
- By using social media platforms that have advertising tools. They allow you to place banner ads in groups and in the news feed. The cost is based on an auction system. To test your banner ads on social media, you will need at least $300. Let’s see how the advertising budget for banner ads on social media is calculated. For example, you are promoting a cosmetics store on Facebook. You need to create about 10 target groups of people who buy your products. For instance, one target group is girls aged 18-25 who need light skin care. Another target group is women aged 30-45 who need anti-aging cream. For each target group, you need to make at least 10 ads with different content. Testing each ad will cost at least $10. If you add up everything, your minimum advertising budget for testing your ads will be around $1000.
Local and thematic networks. These are ad networks that focus on specific regions or topics. They can help advertisers reach niche audiences and publishers monetize their traffic. Here are some examples of local and thematic networks that are available on the global market:
Publift is an ad network that specialises in helping publishers optimise their ad revenue. It offers a range of solutions, such as header bidding, native ads, video ads and content recommendations. The average CPM for Publift is around $1.5.
Adcash is an ad network that provides high-quality traffic for advertisers and high-paying ads for publishers. It supports various formats, such as banners, pop-unders, interstitials and push notifications. The average CPC for Adcash is around $0.2.
Epom Market is an ad network that connects advertisers and publishers across different verticals, such as gaming, dating, e-commerce and entertainment. It offers multiple ad formats, such as display, video, mobile and in-app. The average CPM for Epom Market is around $0.8.
Banner advertising is an effective way to market your products. You can display your ads on a variety of platforms, such as social media, ad networks and search engines.
FAQ
