Do Web site banner ads work?

All of us who spend time surfing the web see plenty of banner ads. While these ads come in all types of sizes and designs, they share one basic function, if you click on them, you are then linked to the advertiser’s Web site or information.

An advertiser that is interested in posting banner ads on other sites has three options. The advertiser can:
• Arrange to display banner ads for other companies in exchange for space to advertise their banner ad.
• Pay publisher sites to post its banner.
• Pay an organization, usually a banner network like DoubleClick or Flycast, to post the banner on a number of publisher sites.

Now, do banner ads work? There are mixed reviews on the success of banner ads. Reporting on click-through rates vary from .02% to 10-15%. However, the real bottom line appears to be in knowing how to use them.

In an Ezine Article Guaranteed Banner Success By Sean Houser, Houser reports “Some people don't like the thought of banner ads but they do work if you know how to use them.” The article goes through the important steps in making a banner ad on their suggested route to having a successful banner ad.

In another Ezine Article Useful Tips To Improve Online Banner Ad Effectiveness the author makes very informative suggestions on developing a successful online banner campaign. A few of those suggestions are:

Instead of placing the banner on the home page of a website, placing it on one of the sub-links will actually give you a much targeted audience. You will not be wasting impression on people who would as it is not be interested.

Design your banners carefully. Do not reveal too much in the banner otherwise people will not click on it to find out more

The size of the banner must be kept between 5 and 20K. It is just possible that the banner may not load as quickly as the rest of the page and your target customer has moved on to the next page.

Animated banners always attract more attention than static banners

And the list goes on and the article wraps up with -

Properly researched and placed banner ads are highly effective. They are effective in branding a company name as well as driving highly targeted traffic to your site.

So, do banner ads work? It appears to all depend on the creativity and marketing capabilities of the developer!