The benefits of Banner Ads and Industry Niche Banner Ads

You've seen them. Perhaps you've even clicked on them to go to a site. Banner ads are those small, colorful, compelling ads that appear on most Web sites.

You may wonder if they really work. The answer is YES. That's why they're still around, even with the advent of Pop-Up Blocker. In fact, good banner ads report a 1-3% click-through rate for each ad.

For example, we recently visited a very popular travel bargain site and found a banner ad from a famous credit card company. The ad offered an enticing vacation savings voucher if we clicked on the ad to sign up for the card.

Prices for banner ads will vary from site to site. If your business is closely tied to the target audience for a particular site, it may be well worth your while to purchase a banner ad on that site. You'll know if your ad is working based on the number of click-throughs you receive to your site and by what happens when your prospect arrives at your online door! Of course, your ad must be very eye-catching, concise and compelling to motivate prospects to respond.

Industry Niche Banner Ads are another great way to find new customers. Consider these sites an online Phonebook-Like Directories

This is quite similar to banner advertising, but your ad placements are on specialized Web sites that have directory listings for a particular business niche.

For example, if you're a candlemaker and you want to reach gift shops that may be interested in carrying your line of candles, you might run a banner ad on www.giftshopsofamerica.com, which is a directory site for gift shop owners and manufacturers.

Next week we will talk about the benefits of a Linking Campaign. Until then have a fun week, C S Wurzberger