While banner ads may seem like a great opportunity for you, you’ve probably noticed that it’s rare to get click throughs. And, trust us when we say this, you’re not alone! Internet users have become increasingly weary of banner ads over the years and learned to simply block them out when visiting sites. So, it’s no wonder click through rates from banner advertising has diminished.
We’ve set out on a mission to figure out exactly why people are ignoring them and how to fix that.
Just Another Distraction
This day and age we have enough distractions of our own and are naturally averted to external distractions. If you obnoxiously interrupt what a reader is doing, you will get no clicks. People don’t want to be sold to. So, leave room for native ads that will be less in-your-face to users!
Relevance
If you user is there for a specific intention, they won’t click on something that goes against their intended pathway. It will be helpful to place your ads where they have higher relevance and won’t be a complete change of pace for readers.
Retargeting is a great opportunity to stay relevant to your ad-viewers. If you haven’t heard of it, retargeting is a method used for people who have previously visited your site but never took action. So we’re talking people who abandoned their carts or researching insurance options. The idea behind this type of ad campaign is to stay at the top of your user’s mind.
Value Proposition
Give your viewer a reason to click your ad! If your ad is filled with frilly graphics, it will offer minimal value. Believe it or not, ads with lots of textual description can receive higher click throughs. This is because it can help give the viewer a clearer idea of what they will be looking at.
But don’t just stop at having a clear and attractive value proposition. Make sure your ad is well-designed and has consistency with the landing page it leads to, which will make the viewer have a better transition into the website.
As a general rule of thumb, offering something free is always attractive. Unfortunately, discounts don’t have the same success. But click-throughs on free offers typically show high rates.
Usability
Plenty of banner ads aren’t compatible with mobile browsers. If the ad totally goes against the design of the page and messes up the browser configuration, the user will probably leave the website completely. Make your ad mobile-friendly!
With these quick tips and fixes, you’re on your way to more clicks in no time. Redesign, reword, and retarget until you get the rate you want.
We would love to know if you have any tips or tricks about increasing banner ad click through rates, tell us in the comments. And, if you’re company needs help with optimizing online advertising efforts, we can help!
