Online Banner Advertising: Is It Still Effective?

By Jon Allo

Online banner advertising was very popular when advertising space was first sold on the internet. But today, some online business owners think that it is no longer relevant. Is online banner advertising still effective?

A website that sells banner advertising space can only guarantee that people will see your ad. They cannot guarantee that anyone will read it or click through to your landing page or website.

The global information and measurement company, Nielsen, recently documented that investment in display internet advertising, which includes online banners, increased over 26% for the first quarter of 2013. Logically, if banners did not work, business owners would not continue to buy them.

How do you make your online banner advertising effective?

Success with online business marketing, like marketing an offline business, always equates to having an acceptable return on your marketing investment. If your banner campaign is costing more than it's earning, then you are wasting your money. The average click through from banners is roughly 2% to 5%.

Actual cash from direct response advertising sales is not the only way to measure the success of your banner ad. If you are directing visitors to a landing page and collecting emails with an opt-in form, these people may well buy another product from you at a later date via your email marketing campaign.

Online banner ads are also effective as a marketing branding tool. Brand advertising, rather direct response advertising, costs a lot of money because you need massive exposure for effective results. This form of banner advertising is favoured by large companies who have the budgets to spend on this type of marketing.

As with any form of advertising, the effectiveness of your banner ads depends on applying the right strategies. To optimise your banner ad performance, ensure that it is placed in a prime position at the top, or near the top, of the page. Place the ad on a relevant website with steady, reliable traffic which is visited by people who are interested in your products or services.

Sell the click, not the product

Online banner advertising is now more sophisticated with better targeting and improved graphics. The objective is to 'sell the click'. Make sure that your message is about a want, desire or concern that your audience may have, so that they are encouraged to click on the ad to find out more. It's the job of your sales page to sell the product.

Your chances of getting viewers to actually click on your banner ad increases when your message motivates people to find out more. Then, once they have clicked on your banner they are directed to a landing page that provides something of value in exchange for their email address. Once you have their email address, you can follow-up the lead with email marketing.

Success in business is mostly about marketing, especially online. Great marketing can sell an average product but poor marketing cannot sell a great product. To learn more about marketing that will work for your business and how to find the right products to sell and the right customers to buy them, visit http://www.jonallo.com

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