Internet Marketing

These tips are intended for designers creating banner advertising for a CPM (per impression) environment. Please see my notes at the bottom for banner advertising in a CPC (per click) environment.

1. Keep your messaging brief. Even top performing banner ads only receive 1.6 seconds of viewers attention and a click thru rate of just 1% is considered a good response. In some studies it was found ads were only seen in ranges of 14 to 68 percent. Your messaging should be a short and strong as much of the time it will be in the periphery of the viewers gaze. Pick ONE theme or unique selling proposition and focus on only that messaging with a clear call to action. Sure your widget may have a hundred uses but focus on only one core message and leave the rest of the information on your website. In other words KISS (keep it simple, stupid)

2. Analyze where your banners will appear. Banner ads that blend into the website they appear on generate higher click through rates. This may be attributable to the banner blindness that is the woe of many online marketers. It appears that if the advertisement appears as part of the “content” of the website the response is considerably higher. It also helps reduce the appearance of the standard banner sizes allowing itself to not scream “I’m a banner” to jaded visitors. This also helps explain why text link advertisements dominate in terms of click through rates. Its good practice to study the site your banners will appear on and emulate some of their design elements.

3. The magic of the word “FREE”. Through extensive testing we have found that using the word free on a banner can positively impact the click thru rates. Consider your product and determine a way to use the term which is truthful yet compelling. For example “Free Trial” or “Free Demo”.

4. Effectively using imagery. We have found that when using imagery on a banner it is often helpful to slightly over saturate the image. This allows a visual “pop” that draws attention to the advertisement. It is also good practice if you use images of people or animals to select images where the person is making eye contact with the viewer. This “breaks the fourth wall” and because we are naturally drawn to eye contact this technique also improves response rates.

5. Buttons, Buttons, Buttons. Always use buttons on your banner ads with strong calls to action: “Click Here” - “View More” - “Learn More”. You must provide an area of the banner in which it’s clear to the user that they can click on it. The button should ideally be beveled or have a drop shadow to more clearly let the viewer now that it is interactive. It is also most effective on the right hand side of the ad with “breathing room” around it.

6. Effectively Using Animation. Animation is a easy and effective way to draw attention to your creative. The most effective place to incorporate animation is on your button. A *subtle* animation on your call to action (for example, slow blinking) helps improve your response rate. Don’t over do your animation with elements that are too rapid or flashes contrasting colors.

7. Clickable elements induce clicks, duh. Simple pulldown boxes, radio or check boxes can dramatically improve CTR. This is similar to the effect that a “clickable” looking button can have on your banners performance. It implies interactivity and gives a clear area of focus for the user to interact with your creative.

8. Flow from banner to destination. Your banner should be consistent with the messaging and “look and feel” of the target destination. While this doesn’t necessarily improve the click thru rates of the creative it does have a dramatic impact on the post click conversion rates. If there is a messaging and visual consistent flow from your banner to the landing page you are much more likely to make a sale.

9. Don’t try to tell a story. I often see this mistake particularly in Flash banners. The designers somehow expect the user to sit through 20 seconds of animation prior to providing them with a core message and something to click on. Remember you have a couple seconds at best to proposition the user for a response. A good rule of thumb is to imagine the user has the ability to pause your animation at any point. Are there moments where your core messaging is not viewable with a button and a call to action? If the answer is yes you should rethink your approach.

10. Design by numbers. The unique ability of the internet adverting to measure core metrics and response rates sets it heads and shoulders above traditional display or broadcast marketing. Use this to your advantage. Use these metrics as a bible and their values as gospel. We try to include at least three banner designs in a rotation. Find the top performer and design another two iterations using what is making that banner successful and ditch the rest. Make subtle changes, for example increase the size of the call to action or modify animation speed. Next run these two new banners in another rotation against the original. Rinse and repeat.

Special notes for designing banners in a CPC (per click) environment.

When making banners for use in a CPC campaign much of what I have discussed above can be thrown out the window. In this situation you want to “Pre Qualify” the user as much as possible prior to the click. In other words, you only want clicks from prospective buyers. In this situation you have more latitude to use more copy on the banner and use a less agressive calls to action. Make sure that the user knows exactly what he is going to get if he clicks on the banner. This way you don’t waste money on those users who aren’t potential customers.

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