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Example banner, click to see more.
Another Example banner, click to see more.
The Product Must be Clear
What is it, exactly? What the banner is advertising needs to be understandable at a glance. People are whipping through web pages very quickly, so you only have an instant to grab their attention. When you do, they need to understand what they are looking at.
The Value Proposition Must be Clear
The ad MUST answer the question 'Why do I care?'. If you're selling books, awesome, but why do I care about this book, or this offer. You only have an instant, so the value that is being offered must be immediately clear in order to prompt immediate action.
A Call to Action
This is an action sentence telling people what to do. You've captured their attention with a product they need, and they see the value in your offer - now what? Well, they need to know they can 'Click for details!' or 'Order now and save $10!'. There has to be a clear understanding of what to do next.
The Landing Page
This is the page that people go to after clicking on your banner. It should basically be a continuation of the banner and there should be an obvious way to follow up on the offer. If the banner was selling a book, the landing page should have more details about the book, and a very clear path on how you can purchase the book. Remember, every extra click the visitors have to make is 20% of your potential customers that just got distracted and wandered off.
Some thoughts on design elements:
High Contrast Ads Work Best
- A higher contrast makes the banner stand out, and makes it much easier to identify and understand. For a visitor to click on your ad, they have to know it's there. This helps.
Faces Don't Perform Well.
- They distract from your overall message, and don't provide any information. Your real estate is limited, so use it wisely.
Ads are read from Right to Left
- Strange as it may seem, this may be an artifact of online navigation. As such, people generally look to the right side of the Ad first, then to the left, and then to the center.
Put the Call to Action next to the Emotional Resonance
- The call to action should be placed next to the most resonating part of the ad, or the part that generates the strongest emotional response. 'Click Here' isn't particularly captivating. However, 'Help us save orphaned animals - Click to help!' is.
-Brian
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