It’s been over 20 years since this kind of ad first appeared. Why is it even more popular in marketing today? [Every Thursday: FYO!]
When you’re surfing on the internet, visiting one web page to another…
… you’ve probably encountered this type of ad.
There are few people who talk about this but would you believe that it’s been over two decades since this type of online advertising first started?
CLUE: It usually appears on the top of a webpage’s navigation panel, within the left and right columns, footer, or within the content when reading online articles, journals, news, and blogs.
Take a guess!
It’s…
BANNER ADS!
Banner ads are also known as web banners, display ads, or image ads and are embedded on a web page.
The contents of these kinds of ads can be text, an image (in .jpeg, .png, or .gif), a video, or other applicable multimedia formats.
The First One Ever
In October 1994, HotWired, the online magazine version of the Wired magazine, ran the first ever banner ad in the world.
The ad was for AT&T.
It was a rectangular image containing text that says, “Have you ever clicked your mouse right HERE? You will,” in rainbow colored font.
HotWired received USD 30,000 from AT&T for a spot to place a banner ad at the top of the HotWired website’s navigation panel for 3 months.
Guess how many people clicked on it?
About 44% of the people who saw it.
That’s not bad at all because today, a 2% click-through rate is commendable.
A click-through rate is the number of users who clicked on a specific link over the number of total users who viewed a page or an email.
How is the use of banner ads beneficial to your brand online?
- Increases brand awareness in your target market. Displaying your banner ad on several websites that your targeted audience usually visits can increase your brand’s visibility and strengthen brand recall. First-time viewers will also be able to discover your brand.
- Increases customer traffic. If your banner ads are interesting, a curious online reader will click on it. They will then be redirected to your brand’s website, increasing online traffic and new visitors.
- Marketing at a cost-efficient, fast, and easy way. Banner ads can easily be set up. You only have to pay every time someone clicks on your ad. Compared to advertisements on billboards, newspapers, TV, and radio, a banner ad’s effectiveness can easily be tracked through click-throughs.
Here’s an example.
This is one of the most viewed articles that our President and CEO, Prof. Joel Litman, published on Forbes.com.
Do you see the multiple ads on this single article?
There are more ads when you scroll down the web page.
[See the full article here]: The Next Big Bath: Wall Street Is Blind To An Oncoming Earnings Disaster
As of July 1, 2020, the article has a total of 9,832 views.
That number is MORE THAN 3X the average 3,000 views of similar articles published in the same week under the same topic.
What does this mean for the banner ads?
More than 3x the average number of visitors saw the banner ads around the web page containing this article.
The brands that were featured in those ads were given more than triple the average exposure and visibility. There’s also a big chance that people will recognize those brands the next time they see them.
One last thing…
People sometimes use ad or content blockers. These are softwares that prevent those who use it from seeing ads and pop-ups.
In a way, ad or content blockers can affect your campaign when you plan to use banner ads as part of your promotional strategy.
Don’t lose hope!
It’s important to take note that there are a lot more people online that don’t use ad blockers at all.
The best way to face the possibility of ad blockers head on?
Diversify your advertising channels.
Identify all the other ad options available for your brand. You can consider Google Ads, Bing Ads, e-Commerce ads, mobile game ads, or in-application ads.
There’s a lot of room to be creative in terms of ad placement.
Banner ads are keys to increase your visibility online.
You can increase brand awareness and lead generation on your website too.
Try this as part of your next marketing campaign and see the impact it makes on how more people can discover your brand online!
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Thursdays: FYO! Find You Optimization”
Why should you stop thinking SEO and start thinking FYO?
We’re not saying that you should abandon Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Don’t get us wrong, of course, we know this is something very important, especially in today’s digital marketing age.
The internet landscape is vast, and a world of its own. You really need to distinguish yourself and make your brand/company/website known and easily searchable.
Better yet, get to the top of page one for Top Results on Google or any other search engine.
However, what is the purpose of SEO? It’s that customers Find You!
That’s what matters. So, while SEO is one factor of FYO… it really is only one, and we ought not to abandon all the myriad of ways digitally and offline for improving your FYO.
How can we look at this from a different and better perspective?
Let’s say you have it in the bag! You and your team are experts in SEO. Awesome. But did you ever wonder what else you could do to push it further and give your SEO skills a boost?
FYO! Find You Optimization!
You need your target audience to FIND YOU—your brand, product, service, or offer. This is SEO plus other tools that increase visibility online (and offline).
Every Thursday, we publish content on how you can get your target market to find you, beyond the typical “type and search.” There are other things you can do along with your SEO to give your online advertising process a boost.
Try considering other tactics beyond it—WOMO (Word Of Mouth Optimization), RO (Referral Optimization), and “All-Other-Means-Of-Getting-Your-Target-Market-To-Find-You” Optimization (AOMOGYTMTFY, if you’d like a long acronym).
Part of a great marketing strategy is knowing how to adapt new methods and make use of different types of marketing and promotion that best fit your business goals and which give you the results you want.
Hope you’ve found this week’s insights interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Thursday’s FYO!
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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www.valens-research.com
