tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69482634272297799292023-11-15T07:29:11.128-08:00bannerIn this article we will discuss the ins and outs of banner
ads. Are they worth your advertising dollars or are they a
thing of the past?The Law In the worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10336613418594194963noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6948263427229779929.post-60412513187355645042007-08-04T17:52:00.001-07:002007-08-04T17:52:47.806-07:00describe about banner***********************************************************<br />Banners<br />***********************************************************<br /><br />In this article we will discuss the ins and outs of banner<br />ads. Are they worth your advertising dollars or are they a<br />thing of the past?<br /><br />When the Web first started, banners were all the rage.<br />Today, they’re pretty much passé. They’re no longer a<br />novelty and unless they’re super-clever, users pretty much<br />ignore them. Conversion rates have dropped through the floor<br />and many advertisers have found other ways to push their<br />products.<br /><br />And yet, every website still contains a whopping great<br />banner ad splashed along the top or running up the side. In<br />part, that’s because they’ve become more sophisticated with<br />better targeting and improved graphics. But in practice,<br />banner ads tend to be used for one of two reasons: as a<br />method of gaining/ giving users through an affiliate<br />program; or as a way of generating revenue—or<br />traffic—through paid advertising.<br /><br />Both these methods work to some extent, but the key is<br />always to make sure the economics make sense. We’ll look<br />closely at the math in this chapter, but before we go on to<br />talk about the math of banner ads—and how to tell whether<br />your banner campaign is worthwhile—let’s just take a look at<br />the terms involved. You’re going to see these words whenever<br />you join an affiliate program or take part in any other kind<br />of online marketing scheme. You should definitely be<br />familiar with them.<br />Banner Glossary<br /><br />* Banner Ad — A graphic ad linked to an advertiser’s<br /> website. These usually run across the top of the page but<br /> can also run up the page (“skyscrapers”). Banners are<br /> usually limited by size.<br />* Banner Views —The number of times a banner is seen by<br /> users. This is usually the same as "page views," but<br /> counts the number of times the banner is actually<br /> downloaded rather than the number of times the page is<br /> downloaded. Some users click away before the banner<br /> finishes loading.<br />* Clicks/ Click Throughs — Banners are operated by clicking<br /> the cursor over them. Not too surprisingly these responses<br /> are called “clicks” or “click throughs.”<br />* Click Through Rate (CTR) — The percentage of users who see<br /> the banner and click on it.<br />* Conversion Rate —The percentage of people who visit your<br /> site and actually give you money. The higher the better!<br />* Cookies — Small files placed on a user’s computer. They’re<br /> used for all sorts of reasons and by all sorts of sites.<br /> Banner ads use them to make sure the user hasn’t seen the<br /> banner recently, which banner brought them to the<br /> advertiser’s site, and even which adverts they’ve seen<br /> recently.<br />* CPM — "Cost Per Mille." The amount you pay for every<br /> thousand times a banner is shown—the usual way of charging<br /> for banners.<br />* Hits — The number of times a server receives a request for<br /> a Web page or an image. Not a great way to measure<br /> interest. One page can have lots of images and get lots of<br /> hits, even if it’s only seen once. Often, people will say<br /> "hits" when they really mean "page views" or<br /> "impressions."<br />* Page Impressions or Page Views —The number of times a Web<br /> page has been requested by the server. Much more accurate<br /> than hits: each view is a potential customer looking at a<br /> page of your site. But not necessarily a different<br /> customer...<br />* Unique Users — The people who download a Web page,<br /> counted by IP address. You want to bring lots of users to<br /> your site so that you can create a broad customer base.<br /> The same user clicking on a banner a dozen times could<br /> cost you money without increasing your sales. Most<br /> reputable sites will check the IP address of the person<br /> clicking on a link and only count it once in a 24-hour<br /> period. If a site doesn’t do this, don’t advertise with<br /> them.<br /><br />************************************************************<br />Banner Economics<br />************************************************************<br /><br />Business online, like business offline, always boils down to<br />math: the difference between cost and revenue. If your<br />banner campaign is costing more than it’s earning, you won’t<br />be in business for very long. To figure out how your<br />campaign is doing, you’re going to need to know your Cost<br />Per Mille, your Click Through Rate and your Conversion Rate.<br />These are your basic tools. If you don’t know them, find<br />out!<br /><br />Let’s say your CPM is $20, your CTR is 1%, and your<br />Conversion Rate is 4%. (So you’re paying $20 every 1,000<br />times your banner is shown, it brings you 10 new users, and<br />you make one sale for every 25 users the ad brings). The<br />question you need to ask yourself is how much are you<br />wasting on the 24 users who don’t buy.<br /><br />Cost per visitor = $20 / 10 = $2 So each visitor costs you<br />$2, but you need 25 visitors to make one sale, so...<br /><br />Cost per sale = $2 * 25 = $50 ...if your product is worth<br />less than $50, you’re making a loss.<br /><br />That’s pretty simple, and as you can see, there’s not a lot<br />of room to maneuver here. Margins are tight on banner<br />advertising and that applies to both the site selling the<br />advertising space and the webmaster buying it.<br /><br />Of course, hard cash isn’t the only way to measure the<br />success of a banner ad, and one reason they’re still popular<br />is that they’re a pretty effective branding tool. After all,<br />advertisers spend millions on billboards without expecting<br />motorists to drive straight through them and make a<br />purchase! On the Web, those advertisers can even be<br />reasonably sure that the people who see their ads will be<br />interested in them. But branding costs money—lots of it—with<br />no guarantee of results. It’s usually best left to the big<br />boys.<br /><br />The banner ads on my sites usually send users to my<br />affiliate partners, and the banner ads I place on other<br />people’s sites usually come from my affiliate programs. They<br />don’t cost me anything and as long I’m making the sales to<br />pay my affiliate partners, everybody’s happy.<br /><br />If you do decide to purchase banner advertisements though,<br />and if you have a very specific market in mind, make sure<br />they are strategically placed—on sites where the traffic<br />will most definitely be interested in your product or<br />service. Find a site that suits exactly your specific<br />product and you’re going to be appealing directly to your<br />target market.<br /><br />That’s it for this week. As you can see, banner ads are not<br />the guaranteed money making tools that they once were but<br />they can still be used effectively if targeted properly. Is<br />banner advertising for you? Only you can determine that.<br /><br />Warmly,<br />erwinThe Law In the worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10336613418594194963noreply@blogger.com0