Financial freedom online - web site banner advertising

Banner Advertising's Effectiveness As A Marketing Tool

Are banners effective or have they totally lost their appeal? Some say banner advertising never really had an
appeal on a medium that relies on the user doing the navigating rather than the medium calling the shots.
Anyway, don't Internet users access the Internet through Search Engines rather than through advertising? Banner advertising went through stages since its inception to become a marketing tool that motivates people to action instead of merely an informational tool like a print ad or web site.

On the Internet, banners are everywhere. What makes advertisers think tons of exposure will move someone to click-through? Are advertisers hoping for product recognition? Sadly, research shows Internet users start to tune out banners and treat it like background noise. However, Internet marketing services still claim banner advertising can work if done right and in the right places.

Banner advertising that does work has to be in the right place, at the right time where the Internet user is most receptive to that banner's message. It has to get right in front of the viewer's face and catch their attention in a positive and not annoying way. Some ways that advertisers are finding banner advertising useful is by employing animation. Animation can get attention, but keeps the viewers eyes moving and can just become an annoying distraction. Another way to use a banner effectively is to pose a useful question like if you do [such and such] then you get an additional [such and such]. Banners can also offer freebees. Everyone loves a freebie, without a catch. For instance, offer a chance in a drawing or a free trial offer. Banners that position themselves to do more than inform create a desire that the viewer wants to act upon.

What does the exposure from banner advertising online achieve? Does the banner draw in lots of traffic or
visitors willing to buy? The banner must attract the right target audience that is receptive to performing a click-through and then purchasing. Where the users of the 1990s didn't think twice about following a banner to a new location, today's Internet user is more discriminatory and suspicious of banner's so-called gimmicks such as freebies.

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. What does an advertiser consider effective when it comes to Internet advertising anyway? Is the ad effective if people click on the banner or effective if sales increase as direct result of the banner ad? The measure of its effectiveness is sort of hit and miss. Much the effectiveness depends on the banner's total campaign and goals of the advertiser.