Banner Designing Tips

Following these basic guidelines can dramatically increase your banner ads' effectiveness (and the rate at which they are clicked):

1. Be professional: People are going to get their first impressions of your website based on your banner ad, so you need to be certain that it presents you in the best possible manner. This means you should be extra careful that all your spelling and grammar are correct. Also, select font sizes, styles and colors that maximize your ad's readability. If your banner ad is of poor quality, people will assume your website is too.
2. Ask for an action: What do you want people who see your banner ad to do? Most likely, first and foremost, you want them to simply click on it, so be sure your ad says so. Because this is so important, most of the banner ad designs already have a "call to action" (such as "Click Now") built in.
3. Keep it simple: Your banner ad may only have a few seconds to make its impact on the viewer. As a result, it must be able to convey your message in a small amount of time. By keeping your ad's concept and wording clear and concise, you increase the likelihood that the viewer will actually get your message. Remember, if the viewer can't easily and quickly understand what your banner ad is saying, it is unlikely he/she will click on it. Use the fewest (and most simple) words you can. Just because you can fit more words in your ad doesn't mean you should. Once someone clicks to your website, you'll have ample opportunity to provide more details.
4. Use words that raise attention or emotion: Words like "free", "special offer", "secrets", etc. help grab the viewer's attention and increase his/her curiosity in your offer. Try this technique: pretend you are reading your banner ad's text for the first time: would YOU be interested in or excited about what it offers? If not, then most people probably wouldn't be either.
5. Emphasize benefits, not features: What is the difference between a "benefit" and a "feature"? In simple terms, a "feature" is a service or an aspect of a service that you offer. A "benefit" is the actual impact it has on your customer. Let's say your site offers income tax services. Which of these is more enticing: "We specialize in finding deductions" (a feature) or "Pay less tax" (the benefit)? Advertisers realized long ago that more than anything else people want to know how your product/service can improve their lives.
6. Test your banners: Because we've made designing banner ads so quick and easy, we suggest you design several, using different styles and messages. Run each one for a week or two and collect any data you can (such as click through rates). Analyze your data to determine what the more successful ads have in common and then refine your ads and test them again.
    

More Banner Designing Tips:

Here are some more tips, in no particular order, on how to design effective banners:

• Keep your message short and simple.
• Most banners are in the GIF format, as this compresses very well. Some people use JPEG images, but you're only be able to fit in a couple of frames.
• I wouldn't recommend using Java or Flash banners, as many people don't have these plug-ins. So your banner won't be seen.
• Use a large font size for your message text.
• Use attractive images to grab the viewer's attention.
• Use attention grabbing words like "free" and "now". "Free" is a very powerful incentive for the viewer to click on the button.
• Convey your "Unique Selling Point" of your website in the banner. e.g. "Nobody Sells Cheaper Than Us", "We Offer The Widest Selection With Over 10 Million Books".
• Don't use bold bright colors, such as bright yellow, bright red, lime green, etc.
• Encourage action from the viewer. Put "Click Here!" somewhere on the banner--usually in the bottom right hand corner. Use a smaller font size, so that it doesn't distract the viewer from your main advertising message.
• Create different versions of the banner. Test different banners to improve your click-through rate.
• Animate your banner, but use as few frames as possible to convey your message. No one is going to wait to read through 10 frames of animation just to find out what your banner is about.
• Add a border to your banner to make it stand out from the page. Most people use a blue or black border, but I've banners with dotted lines, which is a bit different.
• Although most sites accept a maximum file size of 10kb or 12kb, I recommend that you keep the file size as small as possible. The quicker the download, the more likely your banner will be seen, before they have scrolled down the page.
• And finally, try using humor to convey your message. I think this aspect of advertising hasn't really been use on the web. But we all know it works. Humor is used all the time in T.V. and radio advertisements.