10.04 – Exploring Digital Banner Advertising
In addition to social media, in-app, and sponsored content advertising, digital banner advertising is another effective way to market your products online. Banner ads can reach your target audience on third-party websites, expanding your reach to consumers with whom you have not previously engaged.
Getting Attention with Banner and Pop-Up Ads
Placing digital banner ads (clickable image-based ads) on websites that your target audience visits is a great way to gain exposure, even if the return on clicks to your own website is relatively low. A good click-through rate (CTR) for banner ads is around 2 percent, but the average, according to WordStream, is closer to 0.25 percent. Sometimes, the awareness generated alone can be worthwhile, especially for emerging brands in established fields.
Comparative CTRs for Different Digital Advertising Types
- Email newsletters: 10 – 20 percent
- Facebook: 0.05 – 0.10 percent
- Google Ads: 2 – 5 percent
To ensure banner ads drive traffic to your website, they must be imaginative and clever. Regardless of the shape and size of your banner ad, you’ll have limited space for a single visual and a compelling headline. Create curiosity, intrigue, and value in that small space to capture attention with a single glance.
Examples of Compelling Headlines
- “Looking to save thousands on your mortgage?”
- “Ready to write your first book?”
- “Top brand outdoor gear at warehouse prices”
- “Free website grader – no strings attached!”
Always include a button that clicks directly to your website. For best results, link the button to a special landing page created specifically to address the topic or offer teased in the banner ad. Sending people to your home page can be confusing and may lead to a high bounce rate if they don’t find relevant content immediately.
You can also purchase lighthouse ads, which are pop-ups that cover the majority of the web page. Viewers can click on the ad to go to the advertiser’s website or close the ad to continue browsing the site.
Banner ads can be purchased in different sizes and at varying price points. The horizontal banner ad at the top of a website is often more expensive than a square ad in a sidebar. Pricing depends on the number of visitors to the site you’re advertising on. A site with 100,000 visitors a month will be less expensive than one with 200,000 visitors.
Ad rates for banners change as traffic to the site increases or decreases. Download media kits to see the circulation and audience demographics for sites you’re considering. Also, check the editorial calendars for news sites you want to advertise on, so you can place ads during months that focus on topics most relevant to your brand and product.
Retargeting Consumers with Banner Ads
Retargeting is an effective way to boost the impact of your digital advertising, potentially improving your CTR to 0.7 percent, which is above the average CTR for banner ads.
Retargeting involves serving your ads on third-party websites to consumers who recently visited your site. You embed a JavaScript pixel in your website that tracks visitors, connects with a platform or service that follows the visitor to other sites, and then displays your ad on those sites for that specific viewer.
Retargeting is particularly effective for e-commerce sites because it can follow visitors who abandoned their shopping cart, serve ads specific to the abandoned products, and encourage consumers to complete their transactions. Some retargeting platforms will rebuild the consumer’s abandoned shopping cart if they click on the ad, making it easier for them to pick up where they left off.
Retargeting Platform Subscriptions
Subscribing to a retargeting platform can be highly effective for e-commerce brands because 97 percent of customers don’t make a purchase on their first visit to a shopping website. Ads that remind consumers of your products, offerings, and added values are a relatively inexpensive way to recapture attention and ultimately drive sales.
Popular Retargeting Platforms
- AdRoll: One of the leading retargeting platforms that creates responsive ads for mobile and desktop and serves them across hundreds of ad networks, including Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and Instagram.
- Alternatives to AdRoll:
- Mediaocean
- Meta for Business
- Google Campaign Manager 360
While digital banners might not have high click-through rates, they still create brand awareness among those who don’t click. This awareness can boost response rates for other marketing programs. Measure the impact of awareness generated by tracking impressions and clicks for each site you advertise on.
DIY Retargeting
If you prefer not to spend money on a retargeting service, you can do some simple coding yourself. Find your retargeting pixels or codes and connect your various ad accounts to their designated platforms to track visitors. For example, connect your Google retargeting pixel to your Google Ads account and your Facebook retargeting codes to your Facebook and Instagram ads.
Once connected, you can set up retargeting campaigns on Google, Facebook, and elsewhere. Because this process can be complex and regularly changes, follow current directions provided by Google and Facebook.
DIY retargeting can be time-consuming due to the need to master new techniques and analyse data to see what’s working. The time and effort involved often make subscription services more attractive for many businesses.
Elements of Successful Retargeting
Whether using a subscription service or coding retargeting yourself, apply these tips for successful banner ads:
- Compelling Content: Provide direct value to the consumers you’re retargeting, such as offers activated when they complete their shopping cart transactions, step-by-step guides, etc.
- Promotions: Highlight giveaways, discounts, or special offers for first-time customers. Ensure these offers are available to existing customers too.
- Urgency: Create a sense of urgency with limited-time offers. This works for both B2B and B2C brands.
- Clear and Imaginative Writing: Avoid dull, lifeless copy. Engaging and exciting content drives better results.
By effectively leveraging digital banner advertising and retargeting strategies, you can increase brand awareness and drive better results for your marketing campaigns.
