Growing up, you’ve seen them everywhere since they are one of the oldest types of digital advertising. What are they? Banners! What about them? They’re the newest ad format from the Mondiad portfolio. Keep on reading to understand how to maximize your revenue or take your offers around the world, with banner ads!
Table of Contents
A bit of context
Banner ads weren’t around until recently. Did you know that the first banner ad appeared 28 years ago? On October 27, 1994, AT&T paid the digital publication, HotWired to place a banner ad directing users to its landing page, above on their website for a period of three months. (hubspot)
For a long time after their emergence, banner advertisements were still the talk of the town. But despite the large degree of enthusiasm, scepticism lurked its way in, thus netizens started to debate them. Oh, but isn’t that true for anything on the internet?
The anatomy of a banner ad
If you are a visual learner, then banner ads are definitely the ones that will get your attention. Fortunately, you are not the only one. Studies show that 65% of people consider visual information as the one with the highest efficiency.
As the name implies, a banner ad, also known as a display ad is a form of paid digital advertising, having the shape of a banner(rectangular graphic display of various sizes).
They are placed in high-traffic locations on web pages, usually at the top or bottom of a website as well as vertically, along the side of a website.
Another cool feature is that banner ads can be either static or dynamic. As their name implies, the content of static banners doesn’t need to be changed over time, meaning that all viewers will see the same ad. On the other side, the dynamic ones are shown to viewers according to their internet history(products/websites browsed).
You have the green light to use graphic banners to capture the attention of your target audience and convert them into buyers. Banner advertising is used to promote a business and generate leads to it, by incorporating a clickable link back to the brand’s landing page.
How do banner ads work
Banner ads work just like any other ad format out there, however, they’re intended to generate traffic to a website by linking to it. So most banners are clickable. Once clicked, they will lead the viewer to a website designed to ignite a specific reaction from the user, whether to download a resource, subscribe to a newsletter or buy a product, for example.
If you are a website owner and you have a decent amount of monthly visitors, monetizing your ad space with banner ads via an ad network like Mondiad is super quick and easy to set up. You sign up -> submit your website -> insert a script to your website -> get paid! The process is automated and you can also cash out your revenue anytime!
If you are an advertiser wanting to promote your business, reaching out to a specialized traffic source like Mondiad will help you reach the right audience, at a very granular level, for guaranteed results. You just sign up and set up your ad campaign and we’ll do the rest by making sure your ads reach the right destination, automatically.
Why work with banner ads
- They are perfect for driving traffic, increasing brand awareness, or driving product sales since they are very visual and eye-catching for the human eye.
- It’s easy for publishers to implement them and there’s high revenue potential.
- They are very versatile, being placed at the top, bottom, or on the side of web pages, which is great for attention-grabbing.
- They are perfect for retargeting users that once visited your website but left without performing your desired action.
- Unlike traditional advertising, the efficiency of banner ads can be easily measured via several parameters like CTR, CPM, etc.
Banner ads types, sizes & placements
There are many types of banner ads out there, including page banners, leaderboards, skyscraper banners and many, many more. These types are mostly named after their pre-set sizes and the purpose of the ad campaign.
Another factor in choosing the right format for your ad campaign is whether you want to place your banners on mobile and desktop versions of a webpage.
Commonly called MPU or Med Rec, MREC, or Medium Rectangle, these ads are usually positioned above the fold on websites or to break up content. They perform very well and are also versatile, for looking good on both desktop and mobile devices.
A full banner is generally placed at the top of a page or occupies the space of a leaderboard. They are very common across the internet but due to their small area, they are ideal when wanting to promote with very simple messages.
Square banner ads have an aspect ratio of 1:1 and can be used on the sidebar of a webpage or the break-out content. Although they are relatively small and less appealing than most ads, they are ideal for small spaces.
Also known as Horizontal Banner, a Leaderboard banner is among the most used banner size for desktop websites. Leaderboard banners are mainly placed at the top of a homepage and are of great success since viewers don’t scroll all the way down to the page but sometimes it is also found at the bottom, or between articles.
A Skyscrapers banner is slimmer than the usual ad and it is placed vertically on the sidebar of a webpage, so viewers can experience it while scrolling down.
A Billboard banner can be adapted for various advertising goals. Its large size allows for eye-catching visuals and messages, making it suitable for building brand recognition.
Perfect for general display ads that can capture attention without overwhelming the viewer. Works well for a range of advertising goals, balancing visibility with user engagement.
Banner ads costs
Like with any other ad format, costs depend on the type of website you are advertising on, your target audience, your campaign parameters, your competition, etc.
The nice thing though is that in programmatic advertising, the right bid can make you a winner. And even nicer is that you can tweak your campaign configuration at any time to optimize your efforts.
When it comes to pricing, there are no rules, however, most commonly chosen models are CPM and CPC.
- CPC(Cost per Click) refers to the price for each ad click. It is usually chosen for driving conversions and will be paying a fixed price for each click, according to your budget.
- CPM(Cost per Mille) refers to the price for 1,000 impressions. It is usually chosen to drive brand awareness since you will pay a fixed rate for every 1,000 impressions (views) of your banner ads.
- For more performance focused campaigns, we also provide smart bidding to help you work smarter and easier:
How to craft a successful banner creatives
🔹 A banner ad should make you want to click it, to learn more about its promise. Thus, from the start, it has to be visible and catchy to the eye. But to whom? Identify and research your target audience. This should always be your starting point.
🔹 Then, like any campaign, start by establishing your goals and defining your brand USP. Think about what would your targeted audience want to do with your product/service.
🔹 Ideally, before you start crafting your campaigns, deciding on a budget and a strategy would help you measure your efforts and effectiveness in the long term.
🔹 Also important, don’t forget banner ads are all about visuals! What will the ad creative look like? Your icon should express what exactly you offer. Design it with your brand colours and readable fonts in mind. Use your logo and high-quality visuals for trust.
🔹 Focus on attractive visuals, bright and bold, yet keep things simple.
🔹 Keep the text simple and clear but bold enough to drive attention to use. Focus on your audience’s pain points. Promise very specific results to your ideal buyers.
🔹 You might have heard about the term “banner blindness” before. Simply put, it refers to the time when website visitors don’t want to be distracted by ads while looking for something specific and overlook it involuntarily or not, to look at banner ads. How can you avoid banner blindness? Ironically, you should make your ad look less like an ad and more like a natural part of the website it is hosted on.
🔹 Add urgency to your offers via deadlines or FOMO(fear of missing out) content like “limited edition” or “last time”.
🔹 Now that there’s clarity, create the right CTA. What do you want your ad viewers to do? Tell them what to do. Buy a product? Subscribe to a newsletter? You name it.
🔹 Another great idea you can do is to A / B test with different banners. A/B testing basically means experimenting with different variants of ad banners, to see which one attracts most of your user reaction. It’s an efficient method generally also used for testing landing pages, email copy, or call-to-action buttons.
Verticals suited for banner ads
Banner ads can be used in a wide range of verticals but just to give you an idea, here are some popular niches:
🛒 E-commerce
Banners are excellent when used for e-commerce offers since they are visually appealing and can easily entice viewers to click the ad and buy the product, especially when there’s an urgency factor like “limited promo” involved.
🍀 Casino / Sports Betting
Promote offers around seasonal events like sports competitions or other special promotions. Due to their versatile sizes and placements, banners are also a great choice for gambling offers.
📲 Utilities / App instals / VPN offers
Antiviruses, cleaners, boosters, ad blockers, VPNs… Think about VPN offers for example. Who in this day and age doesn’t want to securely and privately browse the internet? Since the need is already there, a well-crafted VPN banner will surely get the attention of any web viewer.
Are you ready to get traffic or wish to monetise it? We got you!
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-> Submit your website for monetisation now!
