Do you expect your same banner ad used in print and on TV to draw the same attention online?
Some say banner campaigns online don’t work as well online as they do in other media. Maybe this due to the Internet user’s navigating power. Simply put, Internet users have the power to use search engines to get where they want to go rather than relying on advertisements for direction. As result, banner advertising online has evolved beyond an informational marketing tool into a motivator that calls the Internet user to action.
On the Internet, banners are everywhere. What makes advertisers think tons of exposure will move someone to click-through? Are advertisers hoping for product recognition? Sadly, research shows Internet users start to tune out banners and treat it like background noise. However, Internet marketing services still claim banner advertising can work if done right and in the right places.
Banner advertising campaigns will work, if done carefully so the Internet user is receptive to your banner’s message. The banner must be positioned so the viewer’s attention is captured in a positively manner rather than in an annoying fashion. Some advertisers consider animation as a useful attention grabber rather than an annoying distraction. Also, some advertisers include special advice such as “Do [this] and you get rid of [that]!” Another banner ploy is to offer freebies. If the freebie has no catch, viewers are more likely to click-through. As long as a banner does more than inform and asks for a certain action, then viewers feel motivated to click-through.
Is banner advertising nothing more than excessive exposure that draws in more traffic than valuable customers? Banner advertising must be created to target the right audience and motivate a click-through and purchases. Today’s Internet user is much savvier than the first time users in the 1990s who didn’t think twice about a click-through to a new location. Instead, today’s user are much more discriminatory about their selections and highly suspicious of gimmicks like freebies.
Banner advertising also falls short of its potential because many Internet users plainly don’t like them and block them. Unfortunately, identity theft and other risks are associated with Internet banner ads. True or not, users believe all banners contain destructive or invasive programs like spy ware. As result, many website creators are seeking alternative ways to transmit their offers and announce their web address than through negatively perceived banners.
According to some studies, a website has 8 seconds or less to seize a visitor’s attention before he either decides to stick around or leave. If a banner slows down the loading time, many website owners will opt out on certain banners rather than risk loosing buying customers.
Since many banners mean extra income to many websites if the visitor clicks-through, many website owners prefer to use simpler banner ads to flashy, complicated ones and will discontinue using certain banners if visitors find it annoying.
What’s the appeal in an advertising campaign that uses online banners? What makes a banner effective – savvy navigators or the banner itself? The answer lies in the banner’s planning. However, even the best laid out plans can be hit and miss in a very wide spread medium.
Copyright 2005 Riki Trafford. All rights reserved.
Riki Trafford is the owner of Direct MO
Marketing Inc
which offers low cost keyword-targetted web traffic.
For comments and questions visit his web site:
http://www.1dmom.com/
