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The Appeal of Banner Advertising
by Riki Trafford
http://www.1dmom.com
Do banners really draw the same attention online as they do
in print? Some experts say banner advertising can't work as
well online as it does in other media. This in part may be
due to who's in charge of the navigating process. After
all, Internet users tend to navigate through the Web via
search engines and not by way of advertisements. Since its
inception, banner advertising has adapted to become a more
useful marketing tool to the point that banners motivate
people to take action rather than passive informational
venues.
Banners are found everywhere on the Internet. Do
advertisers expect their exposure to increase recognition?
Or, do advertisers want their exposure to lead to a
click-through? Unfortunately, research shows that too much
banner advertising online is a turn-off for the Internet
user who actually starts to gloss over banner advertising.
Still, Internet marketing services assert that banner
advertising will work as long as its done right and placed
in the right spots.
An Internet user is most receptive to your banner and the
banner's message if it's presented carefully. Positioning
of the banner entails getting the viewer's attention in a
positive manner instead of in an annoying way. Useful
attention grabbers include animation, specific
call-to-action offers, and freebies. Animation works if it
isn't a bothersome distraction. Call-to-action offers
include advice like "If you do this, then you can get rid of
that!" Freebies work if no catch is involved or doesn't
sound too good to be true. When a banner offers more than
basic information, a viewer is more likely to click-through
and performs the requested action.
Some critics say banner advertising is nothing more than
exposure and draws in site tourists better than ready
customers who are leaning toward making a purchase. Is this
really the attention that the banner advertiser was seeking?
Furthermore, today's Internet user is much savvier than the
wave of Internet users in the '90s who didn't mind following
a banner to new and exciting spots. Truth be told, today's
users are more cautious and skeptical of so called
"freebees" and other gimmicks.
Another reason banners fall short of their expectations is
more Internet users are ignoring or blocking banners to
avoid the risk of identity theft, ad ware, spy ware, and
other goodies that often lurk behind the attractive banner.
This skepticism is causing many website creators to find
more creative ways to get across messages about their
location than through banners that are perceived as
destructive or invasive to one's computer.
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.
So, can a banner advertising campaign be effective online?
What really draws in visitors to the banner ~ navigators on
search engines or the banner itself? The answers depend on
the goals of the banner campaign and an understanding of its
position in a complex medium.
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