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Banner advertising is one of the most widely used marketingmedium on the Internet.
Though banner click-throughs havedecreased to less than 1.0% in the past year,
it is stillpossible to achieve reasonably good click-through of 3.0% andabove.
Below are 10 effective steps that I have successfully used tohelp my clients
boost click-throughs on their banner campaigns.
1. Employ Action Words
Use action words like "FREE" and "Click Here" in your banners.
Offering something "FREE" in your message attracts the reader toclick
on your banner. Banners with "Click Here" teasers andsimilar action
phrases also increase click-through.
2. Use Short and Punchy Headlines
A short and punchy banner headline makes a difference. Alwaysload your headline
with benefit statements - offer solutions tothe challenges that your customers
face. If you sell dietproducts, try "Lose 10 pounds in four weeks!".
Work on a winningcombination of text and graphics in your banner ad.
3. Animated Banners vs. Static Banners
Animated banners usually outperform their static counterparts bymore than 100%.
Surfers are more likely to notice banners thatare animated. Example: If you
have the words "Click Here"flashing in your banner, it will perform
better than a staticversion.
4. Adopt Better Designs
Many of us are not graphic artists. We can create simple bannersbut it is hard
to match the work of a professional graphicartist. You should engage a professional
banner ad designer tocreate your banners. Expect to invest $80 per banner.
The standard sizes for banner ads are 400x40 pixels or 468x60pixels. I recommend
that you design a 468x60 banner. With theclutter of graphics on most webpages,
a larger banner has ahigher chance of getting noticed.
5. Try Trick Banners
These banners resemble Windows dialog boxes, scroll bars, submitbuttons or
blue-colored underlined hyperlinks. They attract youto click on the dialog boxes
and scroll bars - which you arealready accustomed to doing with the Windows
operating system. Ifyou use trick banners with short and punchy headlines, you
canget click-throughs above 10.0%!
6. Reduce Your Banner File Sizes
Reduce your banner file size to less than 15k. The last thing asurfer wants
is a slow-loading webpage. Most websites and bannerexchanges do not allow excessively
large banners.
Create a fast-loading banner right from the start. Optimize yourbanner file
size through your graphic software or an onlinegraphic optimizer.
7. Rotate Your Banners Regularly
Always have 2 or more banners to promote each product. A bannerusually burns
out after a surfer has seen it 3 times. They willignore (if not hate) banners
which they see repeatedly. If yourclick-through is steadily declining, then
it is time to rotateyour banners.
8. Target Your Banners
Place your banners on websites visited by your potentialcustomers. If you promote
gourmet coffees, place your banners onsites targeted at gourmet coffee drinkers.
The quality of leadsgenerated are higher, and more likely to result in sales.
Running your banners on targeted sites generally yield higherclick-throughs
and return-on-investment (ROI). You are reachingpeople who are most interested
in what you have to offer. Ofcourse, you can try websites with general audience
if theygenerate substantial ROI.
9. Monitor Your Banners' Performance
Make it a point to check on your banners' performance every fewdays. Monitor
the click-through rate. The click-through tells youhow well your banner performs.
Most banners fetch a click-throughof between 0.8% to 2.0%. If your banner gets
more than 2.0%, itis doing a pretty good job.
By monitoring your banners' performance, you can kill under-performing banners
before they waste away your advertisingdollars.
10. Do Your Mathematics
Do your mathematics for each banner advertising campaign.Calculate the cost-per-visitor,
cost-per-sale and return-on-investment ratios.
For example: If a website charges you $20 per thousandimpressions ($20/CPM),
and you get a 2.0% click-through (20visitors), your cost-per-visitor is $1.00
($20 / 20 visitors).
And if 1 in every 10 visitors buys your product, your cost-per-sale is $10.00
($20 / 2 sales).
So if each sale of your product produces a gross profit of $15,then your net
profit per-sale will be $5.00 ($15 gross profit -$10 cost-per-sale).
Your return-on-investment (ROI), before non-marketing expenses,is 50.0% ($10.00
total net profits / $20 investment). Thiscampaign is profitable!
Try advertising on different sites or using different banners.Find the winning
combination(s) that can yield the highest ROI.Comparing Deal A which yields
an ROI of 20% to Deal B that yields60%, your advertising dollars work three
times harder (andprofitable) with Deal B!
About the Author:
Chee Wee is a professional Internet Marketing Consultant. Visit his website
for lots of powerful online marketing tips and articles. Go to http://www.InternetMarketingFocus.com |
