Effective Banner Ad Placement

Good Advertising

• Good advertising relies on being simple, surprising, and putting a smile on the viewer's face.

Best Areas for Native Banners on Websites

• Before placing a banner, consider what the site user is trying to achieve, what they do on a particular page and where their attention is directed.
• Integrate ads without disrupting the users' experience.
• Maintain a clean, uncluttered, and inviting page appearance.

Anatomy of a Banner Ad

• Native banner ads should be placed in visible areas of a website to increase the chances of being noticed.
• "Above the fold" refers to the visible portion of a webpage when it first loads in a browser; placing ads there enhances visibility.
• Pages attracting the most traffic should have ad placements to increase ad exposure and interaction probability.
• Ensure ads are placed on all entrance pages of your website.

General Location & Implementation

• Publishers can employ techniques to help advertisers improve their click-through rates (CTRs).
• Heat mapping tools like Crazy Egg identify the site areas that attract the most customers for optimal ad placement.
• Using 3 to 4 content blocks on a widget gives enough space to showcase an image and a creative title without clutter.
• Anything above 10 blocks per widget can decrease CTRs.
• Banners should maintain the same size, color scheme, font, and style as the website's standard banners and elements.

Website Types & Banner Placement

• Blogs and news outlets: Native banner ads should mimic authentic content and can be placed above the fold, in-content, or in sidebars.
• Video streaming sites: Sidebar ads perform poorly, so place banner ads above or below the video player.
• Online services/ tools: Utilize "Thank you" pages for native banner placement.

Improving Banner Ad Implementation on Applications

• Location in apps:
  • Avoid placing banners on top of app content or near app controls; allocate a separate space for the banner.
  • Refrain from having clickable areas of the app move toward the banner. If necessary, adjust the banner’s position.
  • Maintain a consistent banner location, either at the top or bottom of the screen, across different screens.
  • Place banners either above or below interface elements, not in between.

Banner Implementation

• Loading: Ensure the banner loads simultaneously with the app content to prevent content shifting and accidental clicks.
• Background colors: Use borders and distinct background colors for banner placements to differentiate them from the content.
• Spacing: Allow sufficient spacing between native placements and content to prevent accidental clicks.
• Clickable spaces: Avoid making white spaces clickable to prevent unintended clicks while scrolling.
• Exit Buttons: Ensure the exit button and Ads Choices icon do not overlap or are too close to clickable areas in the native ad to prevent accidental clicks.
• Labels: Make sure to include "Sponsored" or "Ad" labels above or near the top of your ad and display the Ad Choices icon in all your placements.
• Calls to Action: Avoid flashy or distracting borders or CTAs, balancing content and native placements.
• Positioning: Where possible, position ads away from call-to-action buttons.
• Distinguish: Make buttons and layout different from your app to distinguish ads as app content.

Ad Design

• Designing like interstitial ads (pop-up banners): Avoid formatting native ads like interstitials that appear during app loading to prevent confusion and accidental clicks.
• Quality: Native ads should appear after users see app content or complete an action to improve click quality.
• Accidental Clicks: Avoid ads that appear when people click often within the app to avoid accidental clicks.

Rotating Banners

• A rotating banner is a website design element with a series of images that rotate on the homepage.
• Other terms include front-page carousel, image slider, and ad rotation.
• Ad rotation shows multiple ads in a single location and may rotate with each page load, within a single page load, or both.
• The ads are typically the same format since they are in the same location.
• In Runyon's study, most rotating website banners were clicked by 1% to 2% of the population; it was more than 2% for both a department store and a news aggregate website.
• Design consideration:
  • Ensure the rotating banner fits into the website's visual design and the banner is aesthetically pleasing.
  • Ensure harmony and balance (banner mesh well) with the header, footer, and content.
  • Ensure that the brand is clear and consistent.
• User Experience considerations:
  • Evaluate whether the rotating banner enhances the website experience.
  • Ensure it is useful and helps visitors find the information they need,
  • Check that it isn't a distraction,
  • Reduce CTA and choice overload on the user.
• Marketing Tool Considerations:
  • Ensure the banner supports the marketing goals
  • Ensure the banner optimizes site ranking and findability and the message is consistent with overall marketing.
  • Ensure the message matches adwords and customer journeys
• Rotating banner ergonomics:
  • Limit up to 3 slides on the homepage
  • Use automatic scrolling with a manual advance arrow.
  • Add number buttons for content navigation.