Banner Ads
When Internet Advertising was in its infancy, banner ads quickly
became a major player. Statistics were readily available, and
they allowed campaigns to be planned, evaluated, and changed
within a matter of days instead of weeks.
Businesses developed with the sole purpose of managing and
distributing these ads. Click-thru rates were developed, and
people starting placing banner ads on their web pages. Three
basic plans ultimately evolved. The first was basically a "swap
arrangement" where people simply traded banner ads with one
another. This was difficult to manage and people usually kept
these swaps buried in some remote corner of their web site. The
resultant traffic they generated was minimal to say the least.
The next iteration, promised a bit more as they actually tracked
the click-thrus, and for each one you got for them, they would
put your ad up for a like number. When that turned into a
business, they typically traded on a two for one basis. They
would give you one exposure for each two you generated. Others
actually paid for the click-thrus instead of making trades, but
very few people retired on the income generated that way. Some
actually sold banner ads on their web sites, and while that was
viable in the early days, it is of questionable value today.
A third method uses banner ads on your web site, either for
affiliate programs you might be involved with, or to allow
someone to easily navigate about your site. This will probably
be the sole survivor in the saga of the banner ads. Now that the
medium has matured and the novelty has worn off, click-thru rates
will continue to drop. Trading banner ads is a thing of the past,
and all but gone. People realize that the banner ads take away
from the primary message they are trying to get across on their
web site.
Careful banner placement however, can still be a valuable player
in your advertising campaign, but they must be used wisely.
We've all seen web sites with indiscriminate use of banner ads,
and this should be avoided. Sometimes it's almost impossible to
determine what the site is all about because of all the home
page ads that are displayed.
The Internet is constantly evolving with new technology and
functionality, but the banner will continue to have value. One
tool however, cannot be the only advertising vehicle. A lot of
people are loading their sites with animation and music. Many
times it takes so long to load, that people simply click away.
This is a case where a simple banner might be more effective.
Any advertising program cannot stand on the merits of only one
method.
While banner ads have their place, unless they are on other web
sites they won't generate any traffic to your web site. In the
online arena, ezine advertising continues to be one of the
strongest methods of reaching large numbers. A coordinated
program of web ads and ezine ads is still probably your best bet.
Are banner ads passe'? As far as building traffic, I feel they
have passed their prime. Proponents of banner ads however will
claim you will get large numbers of hits to your site, and this
is true. But hits are not sales and should not be your primary
concern.
Everything you do in your advertising program should be geared
toward doing business. If you think about it, even with an
aggressive banner ad campaign that points people to your web
site, other than banner ads which then point them someplace else,
what will they see when they get there? Most people today are not
willing to place them on their home page as they distract from
the primary purpose of the site.
One of the strongest use of banners is to help brand your
product, and build your company name identification. While it is
true that traffic to your web site is important, when they get
there the sole purpose at that point should be to close the sale.
Anything that dilutes that should be avoided.
About the Author
Bob publishes the free weekly "Your Business" Newsletter
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