15 Banner Add Design Tips To Get More Clicks
This article gives you some splendid tips to boost your web traffic with banner ads. Before we get deeper into these tips, it is essential to understand the basics of web banner design first.
1) WEB BANNER DESIGN – WHAT EXACTLY IS IT?
One of the most productive forms of online marketing, the web banner design is used in the creation of clickable banner ads. Banner ads are ad images that are embedded onto web pages, thereby highlighting a product or brand and link to the advertiser’s website.
This is the most preferred form of marketing by companies, as its affordable, easily measurable and one of the best ways to increase brand awareness.
2) DESIGNING OF GREAT BANNER ADS:
Now that the basics have been covered, its time we move on to cover the intricacies of designing banner ads. Given below are some tips that will help you to design a great banner ad.
USE THE MOST EFFECTIVE STANDARD BANNER SIZES:
The most effective banner sizes, according to Google AdSense would be –
728×90px — Leader board
300×600px — Half Page
300×250px — Medium Rectangle
336×280px — Large Rectangle
PLACE YOUR BANNER ADS CORRECTLY:
Make sure to place your banner ads perfectly on the webpage, so that it garners the maximum attention of viewers.
MAINTAIN HIERARCHY:
Most banner ads rely on balancing, which if done correctly can increase brand awareness and drive in more traffic to your website. It is also essential that your ads contain your company logo, value proposition (attractive discounts/slashed prices) and a CTA.
KEEP IT SIMPLE, SILLY!
There is absolutely no need to go for exuberant visuals and flowery content. Simplicity does the trick, as viewers spend barely a second to glance at your ad.
BUTTONS – USE THEM CORRECTLY!
Irrespective of the type of banners used, the CTR – Click through rate is what it takes to make the ad count. If you are planning to use buttons, make sure that you place them just below the ads. Make these buttons as attractive as possible.
HAVE A CLEARLY DEFINED FRAME:
People’s eyes are naturally drawn to a subject inside a frame. Effective banner ads have a clearly defined frame with graphics extended to the edges of the box.
YOUR TEXT SHOULD BE INSTANTLY READABLE:
To attract more traffic, it is necessary that your headline and body copy are of different sizes, and under four lines or less. Do not use stylish fonts including cursive writing, very thin fonts, an all-uppercase copy, or fonts that are smaller than 10pt, unless you wish to include disclaimers or copyrights.
USE ANIMATION:
Using simple animation for mot more than 15 seconds and thrice the loop goes a long way in creating an effective web banner design. You can also use animations to create CTAs.
STAND OUT OF THE COMPETITION:
It is all good to complement your competitors, but to make yours stand out from stiff competition, you must make your banner ads more visible and clickable.
BE CONSISTENT WITH YOUR BRAND:
Make sure that your banner ad connects viewers to a landing page, that includes your value proposition. Your ads should be consistent enough that viewers do not get confused by the contradictory information, being posted in various sites.
INSTILL A SENSE OF URGENCY:
Using ephemeral content in your banner ads, can help generate a sense of urgency amongst viewers. The beauty of ephemeral content is that it vanishes after 24 hrs of viewing. This helps to create more attention and traffic to your ads.
USE IMAGERY ONLY IF YOU NEED TO USE IT:
Choosing relevant graphics and images is the key to generate effective results. If you cannot afford professional photography, make best use of websites such as: Shutterstock, that has millions of images and visuals. It is not always necessary to use images, as an impressive copy and typography can do the same.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT COLORS:
Color will be the first thing a user notices in your banner ad, as it invokes varied emotions, needed for attracting your audience. Play with bold colors such as red, blue, green, if you want to make a statement, demure colors such as yellow, orange, pink for freshness and grey, black, and white, if you want your ads to be powerful yet simple.
KEEP YOUR FILE SIZES SMALL:
The smaller the better—under 150 kb, when it comes to file sizes, as per Google Adwords. Your ad needs to load fast on a page before viewers scroll down and miss it.
USE THE CORRECT FILE FORMATS:
You would typically be working on Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, when it comes to designs, and most of your files would be JPG, PNG, or GIF files. It is better to use these formats rather than Flash ads, as they have become so outdated these days.
To conclude with, web banner design focuses on the systematic creation of effective banner ads through the careful application of basic design guidelines. By following the above tips, you should be able to create amazing, high performing ads.
