Online banner advertising is a growing trend for all brands that want to establish digital dominance. Banner advertising was first introduced in 1994 and has adapted to efficient and cost-effective solutions ever since.

It is vital to consider banner advertising in your promotional and marketing strategies. We are here to help if you have no clue about banner advertising and how to make online banners.

In this article, we will discuss how to create a banner design and set up campaigns. You can spread the word about your brand and campaign and experience growth in no time.

Banner Advertising – Definition

This type of advertising uses rectangular graphic designs stretching from top to bottom or across sides on an online website or media property. Banner ads are the first internet-based marketing technique that first began in 1994.

Why Use Banner Ads?

Marketing your products or services using banner ads is an excellent way to catch local attention. Let us look at a few benefits of using banner ads for your company:

This is a pocket-friendly advertisement option compared to other marketing collaterals like radio and television. The size of the banner determines the cost of the online ad. The smaller the banner, the lesser the cost. The cost-per-click of the ad also depends on the medium and industry. For example, you can win 1000 impressions for 50 cents. It means your website will get 1000 views in just 50 cents. Therefore, you can build an impeccable strategy with a limited budget.
Banner ad designs are easy to create. Nearly 97 percent of marketers can easily create their ads. Even a novice can build a design using basic computer skills. Post-building, it can also be uploaded and modified with much ease.
These ads target a dedicated audience. Studies proved that nearly 71 percent of customers are usually more inclined toward a more personalized experience with digital ads. It is possible to have a highly targeted campaign by utilizing data regarding demographics, online behavior, and purchasing patterns. You can also build audience personas to reach new potential customers.

Tips for an Effective Advertising Banner

An effective advertising banner ad urges visitors to click on it. Look into the entire workflow to make the banner ads more attractive and engaging. The workflow begins with the planning and ends with a sale. Anyone can create ad designs with the help of tools. However, there are more critical things to focus on. Let us look at certain aspects to take care of even before you have begun with the designing process:

When you plan for any campaign, the chances of failure decrease. Planning is the most crucial aspect of the banner advertising design process. When you plan, you can build a strong foundation and develop a framework for concrete and achievable goals based on facts. This enables you to create well-executed campaigns and ensure a high conversion rate. Your click-through rates should shoot for the stars.

Set a Goal

Have a well-defined goal for your entire ad campaign. Not having a goal will make your ad exist without a purpose. You will notice that your click-through rate is increasing because of the pretty display. You have to establish your main agenda whether you want to make sales, grow brand awareness, increase audience engagement, or get users to subscribe to a service or download a product.

Select a Target Audience

Once you have set a goal, your next step should be to figure out who exactly is your target audience. It is crucial to understand customer pain points and requirements. You need to think of a way to present the problem and solution to them within the banner so they are motivated to click on it. For example, if you are a brand that sells shoes, you must advertise as per your USP. It could be an affordable price range, sturdy material, or a long-lasting product. For both these USPs, there will be different sets of audiences that you need to target.

If you are a designer and are working for a client, then you need to understand your client’s market needs and create banners accordingly. When you spend some time researching and analyzing the needs of your target audience, you strategize a fail-proof banner ad campaign.

Gather Your Resources

Once you have covered two significant aspects, it is time to move on to the final aspect – i.e. – resources and information. Here you have to focus on the technical aspects such as banner size, color palette, and whether you need the banner in HTML5 or Flash. Once you have thought of all these, you need to think of a budget. Determine what will be best for you. If you would like to hire a designer or if you would do it yourself. In case your brand operates in several countries, you should consider displaying the ads in multiple languages. Set a dedicated deadline for the entire project.

How to Make a Banner?

Creating a website banner design is simple and easy. However, it is of paramount importance to learn all the facets of designing to make an informed and data-driven decision. Let us look into all crucial aspects in detail:

Banner Size

As we mentioned above, the size of the banner is crucial for budgeting. More so, it plays a pivotal role in playing with the psyche of your audience. Therefore, depending on your business, it can be a little tricky to choose.

Google Ads suggest that the banner ads are usually created in the following sizes:

300×50 px (mobile banner)
970×90 px (large leaderboard)
160×600 px (wide skyscraper)
336×280 px (large rectangle)
200×200 px (small square)
300×250 px (inline rectangle)
468×60 px (banner)
250×250 px (square)
728×90 px (leaderboard)
300×600 px (half-page ad)

Often, banner ads are used synonymously with display ads. However, it creates more confusion.

In fact, there are several types of banner designs to choose from. Designing a banner may overwhelm you as there are a lot of technicalities to be mindful of. If I tell you a secret, the less you concern yourself, the better it becomes. Having to worry about fixing fewer problems gives you more space for creativity.

One vital step is to follow the websites that offer the same kinds of products and services as you and try to establish what size most successful websites use. You can use the same size as well.

There are tools to help you with the designing process. Canva can help you design or customize a banner ad. All you have to do is select appropriate colors, fonts, images, and elements and your design will be ready to download. Also, if you are particularly not feeling inspired to design, you can pick up any design from the vast gallery of pre-designed customizable templates to create your own.

Write an Impeccable Copy

You can accurately convey your offer to the audience with an effective ad copy. You can never go wrong with a short, crisp, to-the-point, and sweet copy. You don’t have to worry about boring your audience with tirelessly long pieces of content. Therefore, the shorter, the better.

A good content copy should include the message you want to convey. Set this as the central idea to create a professional banner design ad copy. Here, you can keep your goal handy. Think about what you are presenting to your customers as an offer. Is it a discount, special offer, free trial, or a free PDF? You can use bold fonts and attractive colors to highlight the offer and create an enticing copy.

Be very direct with what you are offering. Use simple and plain words to explain the deal to your audience. For example, “Buy one get one free!” is an excellent way to portray an offer.

When you are writing an ad copy, it is also crucial to keep an eye on the spelling and grammar of the content. Especially when your website runs in several countries or regions and caters to different languages, it is vital to be true to the nuances of every language. Try not to rely on translation software and get help from a native–language translation expert.

Incorporate Visual Elements

Enhance the visual appeal of your ad by adding attractive visual elements to your banner ad. There are several types of visual elements to perfect your ad. To beautify your ad further, you need to pay attention to the following banner design tips:

1. Color Palette

Colors add life to your campaign. You can use an assortment of colors to gain attention to specific portions that need attention. Colors inspire certain feelings in a viewer. You can choose the colors of the banner ad when you have finalized the display message.

Choosing the right color is one thing and using it rightly is another. You should use the colors in such a way that it highlights the advertisement and does not steal the show altogether. If you use too much color it can distract your audience and can also be unpleasant to view. Also, too little color can put your banner at risk of passing unnoticed. Therefore, it is important to strike a perfect balance to make it eye-catching if you can master the art of managing white spaces.

2. Appropriate Fonts

It is vital to select a font that is attractive and legible. Have you seen how the font for haunted movies or books is specifically spooky? Every font has a purpose and you need to find a font that aligns best with your business. Fonts that are too flowery and do not grab attention in one glance are not the ones you should go for. Choose a font color that is pleasing to the eye. It should stand out strikingly when pitted against the background. Keep a manageable space between words so it does not look too stuffed. If you choose too small a font, people will not want to spend time reading what is written.

3. Graphics and Pictures

Graphics and images have the power to grab attention instantly. It's no wonder Internet users spend a great deal of time surfing image or video-friendly content. Incorporating appropriate images or pictures can change your game. For example, if you run a pet store, you can feature images of cute dogs or cats or if you are a jewelry store, you can showcase some of your best designs. Try not to cram your banner with too many elements. Add what is necessary and enhance the visual appeal.

If you want to go one step ahead, you can consider buying or creating some appropriate images to set your brand apart and distinct. In case you choose to buy images, you should ensure to buy high-quality and relevant images. The same holds true for the images you create yourself. Also, it is best to hire an expert who can make things easier for you. Having a skilled professional on your team can ensure that you have the right tools and equipment to achieve the results you prefer. If your images are not up to the mark, you can risk being skipped by your potential audience. People can access your banner ad through numerous devices. Low-quality images may look good on small devices whereas on laptops and desktops, the pixel density may suffer. This will instantly take away the spotlight from you despite your excellent strategy.

4. Utilize Animations Effectively

When the first motion picture of a moving train aired, people fled for fear of getting crushed. Motion picture is always attractive. Animations add that touch to your banner ad. Using animation you can attract an audience and keep them hooked to you. Just like every element of a banner ad, it is important to strike a balance. Too many animations can distract the audience from the actual message. Therefore, minimal is the best. The key to seamlessly incorporating animations is to avoid flashing and flicking. You must choose smooth transitions to be in sync with the design.

Also, you can try to use a relevant video in your banner ad. It will have a greater impact on your audience.

Test Your Banner Ad Design

Once you have put all your efforts into perfecting your banner ad, you need to test if the ad design is as impactful as you think. A/B Testing is an excellent way to test the merit of your ad. A/B testing is a testing technique in which you create two versions of the same ad and check which one looks the most effective. You can check on a few parameters such as click-through rates, sales, leads, etc. Then you can choose from the best-performing ad and discontinue the other. Also, it will give you an idea of what works the best and you can base your strategy further focusing on the same elements. You can also start by asking your team members, customers, and online groups populated by your target audience.

Wrapping Up

Making banner ads may seem like an easy process when you are using some tools. The entire process is not very difficult to follow, however, the planning and idea that goes behind it is the real gem.

Building a strategy for your banner ads is very important so that you create a distinct brand identity and voice.

Make use of all the elements we discussed above and watch your business grow.

Do you want help strategize and create a conversion-friendly banner ad? Contact Tasker Web today and leave it to the experts.