Want to know how to create successful banners to get more traffic to your offers? In this quick guide, we’ll introduce you to all of the elements needed to make your banners a success!
The Role of Banner Ads
Banner ads sole purpose is to generate instant impact which will motivate your customer to enact a CTA. Unlike text ads, banner or display ads, as they are sometimes otherwise known, won’t show up in search results. Therefore, you can’t rely on attempting to get leads by answering customer queries.
Banner ads are used, not only to generate leads, but also to build brand awareness. They can very effective as their presence on people’s screens is usually generated after people have shown an interest in your product by clicking on or searching for a relevant product or description. They can then filter consumers into pre-existing market filters, so that once they click on your ad, they will see more of the same.
What to Include
Banner ads limit you to creating something which will stand out, advertise your product and have a clear CTA, all while using very few words and only a small space to do so. Therefore, there are certain things you should put in, and others which you ought to leave out. The following is a list of things which you should make sure to include:
- Company Name and Logo: People need to know who you are. If your company logo includes your name, then just use that to save on space.
- Make an Offer: This doesn’t have to be monetary. In fact, it probably shouldn’t unless you are selling divisible products in units. Otherwise, tell people something about your product or the benefits it has.
- Provide a picture: If you are selling hotdogs then have a picture of a hotdog!
- A Clear CTA: A clear CTA is the most important element in your banner and everything else should be designed to lead the eye to it. Most people know to click if they want to see more, but you still need to remind them.
Call-to-Action
As mentioned above, you should have a clear CTA. Big, bold buttons with a short, simple and clear instruction works best. This stops users from having to try to figure out what to do next.
Try to be a bit clever with the language you use in your CTA. People are so used to seeing ‘Click Here’ and ‘Buy Now’, that it begins to feel less personal. Something along the lines of ‘Begin your journey today’, may work a lot better as it evokes people’s sense of adventure. The best way to come up with a good CTA is to look at your overall campaign and think to yourself, what message am I trying to give people? Who is my brand for? Do I want to inspire them or scare them? Once you have carefully considered your campaign, try to find a CTA that fits. It will create consistent branding and generate more leads.
Choosing the Right Image
Choosing images is easier said than done, and can take a lot of time to get right. However, there are a few things to avoid. Studies have shown that people click ads on social media tend to avoid images which are plain or make use of overly-exposed stock images. There is a limited number of times that people will click on pictures of women laughing at their salad, so try to be aware of images that have been overused.
It is often best to find an image that will spark interest or perhaps even hide something from the customer. It is all about sparking curiosity and images which make people look twice and try to figure out what is going on, can be very effective. You can also consider using moving images as these can catch the eye’s of potential customers more easily.
Size Matters
Display ads come in all shapes and sizes, however, according to Google AdSense, those which perform best are:
Leaderboard
Large Rectangle
Medium Rectangle
Large Mobile Banner
Half-Page
Keep It Simple and Don’t Give Up
Your banner ads should be simple and have a clear message that you want customers to understand. However, even if you think you’ve done everything perfectly the first time, the chances are that you won’t hit a home run. Don’t give up. Remember, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again. Eventually you’ll be able to make high converting banners in your sleep and once you can do that you’ll have become a top affiliate!