Wakefly BlogThree Tips to Create Ads that Beat Banner Blindness

I overheard an important question the other day, posed by one of my coworkers:

When was the last time you actually clicked on a banner ad?

As a display media planner, I had some feelings about this, which sparked a lively discussion, including answering the questions “can you remember the last ad you saw?”, and “can you even remember what the ad was for?” Aside from being excited about watching Superbowl commercials, what was the last ad that YOU saw and remembered?

If you can’t remember, you may be experiencing a phenomenon called banner blindness, and if you are experiencing it, then there’s a good chance that your customers are as well.

While this isn’t a new concept, it is definitely one that you should be thinking about when you are trying to maximize your digital marketing budgets and stretch your dollars further.

Overcome Banner Blindness

Banner blindness might seem like a good enough reason to stop running your display campaign, but as marketing tools and technologies evolve, we are able to gather more and more comprehensive data about the people who are visiting and converting on our sites. With this increase of information, we are able to better gauge the effectiveness of banner ads on your display campaign and the rest of your digital marketing efforts.

What you Need to Do is Make Sure your Banners are Engaging!

Back at the beginning of the internet, Banner ads were irritating and usually led to a computer virus or four.

Banners – as well as the internet – have come a long way since the 80s.

Now, successful marketers’ banners include a balance of information and attraction, a call to action, and strategically placed negative space. There are no hard and fast rules about creating a great set of banners, but there is something to be said about creating a banner that looks trustworthy.

Have Fun with Your Banners!

A/B testing will be your best friend here. Try out two or three concepts together and let the data guide you to your answers. Has your click-through rate improved in any channel? Are you seeing higher traffic numbers or an increase in unique visitors? Have leads or sales overall increased?

Try a Retargeting Campaign!

It’s not always about filling the top of the funnel. It’s just as important to pay attention to the lower part of the funnel as well. Once a visitor lands on your page, maybe researches your products but then drops off, you can serve them with relevant and engaging ads to help bring them back to your site to convert.

This is where it is so important to create those engaging ads with a clear call to action. This person has already visited your site and you want to bring them back.

Don’t these banner ads look a little more trustworthy than the ones at the top?

Join Me, Start Now and Learn More are all great calls to action. The banners are engaging and eye-catching and can be tailored to where the customer is in their buyer’s journey.