Ban the Banners
New webmasters often hold the mistaken belief, that the more banner ads they
have on their site, the more money they will make. They blanket their sites
with them, hoping, that the more banners people see, the better the chance,
that someone will actually click on them.
What they don't understand, however, is that they are actually driving
traffic away, by making their sites unattractive and slow. The banner ads
that were supposed generate income drive away potential customers.
Do you like banner ads? Now, ask yourself the question: "Why do you think,
that others would feel different than you do?"
While large ads may be successful in magazines, newspapers and telephone
books, what person would wants them to consume his or her bandwidth on the
web? Isn't the Internet already slow enough?
Why do you think that one of the most popular sections on our website is the
one that covers programs to eliminate banners and pop-up windows? Many
people are sick of obnoxious, in-you-face advertising. They are fed up with
the useless clutter of ads filling most websites.
No long ago, we removed all the banner ads at our site, leaving only text
links. The results were that we saw dramatic increase in both traffic and
revenue. Removing the banners increased both our popularity and our profits.
Amazingly enough, not one person wrote back to us and complained about the
banners being removed.
Now you may be asking yourself, "Why do advertisers use banner ads, if they
are so unpopular with the public?"
The answer is simple: Name Recognition!
The truth of the matter is advertisers don't really care if people buy from
your site as long as at some point in time, people remember the product or
service and buy it.
Think about it. You annoy your visitors with dozens of ads about some
dot-com, causing them to flee your site. Later on, the same visitors
remember those ads and go to the site directly. The company makes a sale,
and they don't even have to pay the person, who advertised it.
There are some very popular sites on the Internet with huge affiliate
programs. You can find their banners everywhere. You might think that it
would be a cinch to make money off such sites by simply placing one of their
banners on your site, but guess again. With so many ads, people don't need
your banners to find them. Most people have bookmarked them already. To
effectively advertise such popular sites, you need to target your readers
with custom reviews or inform people about specific sales and promotions so
that they feel compelled to click on the link immediately.
Now, I am not here to tell you that removing the banners off your site will
make you an instant success. Without compelling content on your site, you
still may not see any changes in traffic. A site that is nothing more than a
series of ads is unlikely to be successful, regardless of what form the
advertising the webmaster uses.
I am not suggesting that everyone should remove banners from their site
either. Indeed, it would be foolish for the owner of a popular site to
remove paid advertising that is generating income. If advertisers are
willing to pay up front for banner ads, or if you have banner ads that are
performing well, by all means, keep them!
What I am suggesting, however, is that if you have banner ads that aren't
generating income that you expected, you might think about removing or
replacing them. Consider text-based adverting with compelling reviews about
the products or services. Give your readers something more than just flashy
slogans or pictures of beautiful models. Provide your visitors with reasons
why they actually need a product or service, so that they buy it from your
site now, rather than later.
Instead of simply placing a banner on your site for a site where people can
buy a product, write an informative article or review about the product, and
then tell your readers where they can find a great deal on it.
About the Author
Michael T. Smith
Webmaster, Freeware and Stuff
ginsengprod@yahoo.com
8409 Leland Rd.
Manassas, VA 20111
Phone: (703) 369-9746
Fax: (978) 231-4768
Pager: (800) 372-0709