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Are Banner Ads Worth Your Advertising Dollar?

By Hannah Hill on Tue, Jul 09, 2013 @ 12:22 PM |

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According to Solve Media, you are more likely to get into MIT, summit Mount Everest or give birth to twins than click a banner ad. I would click a banner ad before birthing twins, if given the choice, but that’s just me. You are also more likely to complete Navy SEAL training than you are to click a banner ad. How many Navy SEALs are out there reading this post? My guess is probably not very many. So are banner ads worth your advertising dollar? Let’s find out.

Coca-Cola Banner Ad

According to comScore, a typical Internet user is served 1,707 banner ads per month. That’s 57 banner ads per day. If you fall within the 25 to 34 age range like I do, you’re seeing 2,094 banner ads per month. I bet you’re dying to know how many banner ads a 25-year-old is exposed to during one year. A staggering 25,128. That’s a lot of flashy digital advertising, if you ask me. To be honest, I don’t remember a single banner ad I’ve been exposed to today. Do you? Considering that it’s early afternoon, I should have already been served about 40 banner ads, none of which I can recall. This brings me to the next startling statistic.

The click-through rate for banner ads is just 0.10%. Let me ask you this: Are you willing to invest in banner ads now that you know the likelihood they will be clicked? Hopefully you don’t have to think long and hard about that one. Contact us to learn how Mediaspace Solutions can help you improve your banner advertising campaigns, and then let’s take a look at what might be causing that depressingly low click-through rate.

1)     Banner ads are invisibleBanner ads are invisible

As I mentioned above, I don’t even “see” banner ads. I’m willing to bet many of you are in the same boat. Bob Hoffman of Type A Group claims that “banner ads are the worst thing advertising can be – invisible. TV, billboards and radio advertising may be annoying, but they are not invisible.” Good point, Bob. An annoying ad is the polar opposite of an invisible ad. I don’t remember the last time I got annoyed by an ad I didn’t see.

2)      Banner ads are not relevant to most viewers

If the products or brands featured in banner ads are not relevant or known to consumers, then they have a low probability of being clicked. That’s not rocket science. Perhaps if banner ads were more strategically targeted, click-through rates would increase. But of course, relevancy won’t mean anything until advertisers can get consumers to open their eyes and start seeing banner ads.

3)      Banner ads lack creativity and interactivity

To bring consumers to action, even if that action is as small as a click, advertisers need to creatively capture their attention. Native ads outperform traditional banner ads when it comes to engagement. A recent study conducted by Sharethrough and the IPG Media Lab found that consumers engage 52% more frequently with native ads than with banner ads. According to this infographic, incorporating interactivity into banner ads can improve brand awareness by 63%. Let this be a lesson to all the banner advertisers out there. Use your imagination to get more clicks.

Working with Mediaspace Solutions to manage your banner ad campaigns will help you overcome these issues and lower your banner advertising costs. Contact us today for more information. Banner ads are just one category that falls under the digital advertising umbrella. If, after reading this post, you decide banner ads aren’t worth your advertising dollar, check out our latest eBook for additional local digital advertising solutions that might be more beneficial to your business. Click here to download The Smart Marketer’s Guide to Local Digital Advertising.

Download  The Smart Marketer's Guide to Local Digital Advertising

Image credit: Coca-Cola via Digiday and Smallbiztechnology.com

Hannah Hill is a marketing specialist at Mediaspace Solutions. Her marketing experience includes writing, inbound marketing, social media and event management. You can connect with Hannah on LinkedIn, Facebook or Google+.

digital advertising local digital advertising banner advertising banner ads

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