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banners advertisement
Some "experts" say they don’t exist.
Apparently we have become so accustomed to seeing
banners, we have learned to ignore them. We sub-consciously
create little white blocks exactly 468x60 pixels
in size that neatly fit over banners so that we
no longer see them and NEVER click on them.
Of course these same experts will then tell
you what, of course, you SHOULD be using. Their
product.
Naturally some marketing techniques work better
than others. But that doesn’t mean the less effective
approaches should be ignored. A balanced advertising
campaign will spread itself across a variety of
mediums.
But isn’t it true that click-thru rates (CTR)
on banners have dropped over the years?
This is difficult to ascertain and views on
this are conflicting but, ultimately, CTR’s on
banners are irrelvant and the measure of success
should not be based on this misleading statistic.
Let’s say you get a 2% CTR on your banner. In
other words, 2 out of every 100 views results
in 2 mouse clicks.
Most would consider this to be a successful
banner as most achieve considerably less than
this. But how many of those "clickers"
then take a genuine interest in the website they
view?
Not many. Especially when you consider that
the most effective banners are those that give
nothing away and lure you in through sheer curiosity.
The banner has successfully achieved a good
CTR, but for what purpose.
A banner with a high CTR does not automatically
translate into success for your website.
The success of a banner should be judged by
a different criteria. By one that cannot easily
be measured.
Just for a moment, compare banners to billboard
advertising.
How many times have you seen an interesting
billboard and then communicated with it to learn
more information.
Well, unless you’re Steve Martin in LA Story,
the answer is never.
How many times have you rung the phone number
or written to the address printed on a billboard?
Once? Twice? Never?
In fact how many billboards do you see that
actually provide you with a contact number and
/ or address so that you can find out more?
They exist, but are few and far between.
Does this mean that billboards are a monumental
failure?
Not a bit of it. Billboard advertising is primarily
about branding. About getting a product, a logo,
a tv channel, a movie, absolutely anything into
your brain. If you see it enough times, you will
remember it.
You might not even know what it is you have
seen, but you can be assured that when you see
it on the supermarket shelf or in your TV guide,
the billboard image will be recalled and a connection
is made.
Branding isn’t about CTR’s, it is about visibility.
It’s about presence. If you’re seen enough times,
people will instinctively start to think that
there must be something worth-while behind the
advert.
At the very least, you project the image of
success.
And this is important not just to draw new customers
but also to keep your existing ones happy.
Think about all the billboards you see for the
number one selling brand of cola. Are they looking
for new business? Are they really trying to find
that miniscule group of people that have yet to
try their soft drink?
Not a bit of it. They are just reminding their
millions of existing customers that they exist
and to keep on buying their product.
So think of your banners, not as a draw to lure
people to your webpage, but as an opportunity
to tell the viewer that you’re out there. Be sure
to remember the following:
-- Colour scheme and logo. This should match
your website exactly. Placed side by side, the
connection between your banner and your website
should be glaring.
-- Make sure the banner communicates or, at
the very least, strongly hints what you are about.
Luring people into clicking on your banner about
traffic exchanges and then trying to sell them
a car is not helpful.
-- When you create new banners, keep the style
consistent. Vi ewers should be able to connect
your banners together while still seeing something
new.
Of coure if CTR’s really matter to you, then
this article cannot help you. Instead, you might
like to try spending your hard-earned cash on
one of those ebooks that teach you how to "hypnotise"
your customers.
Although I can’t speak for their quality. I’ve
never brought a single one of their "mesmerising"
products.
By Dylan Campbell
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