Website ads, also known as banner ads, are one of the most popular forms of display advertising. If you’ve found a partner website that’s popular among your targeted audience, website ads can help drive website traffic and boost sales.
But there’s a catch—website ads are only effective when designed well. Poor ad design might repel your consumers instead of attracting them to your website. Since web ads are the first thing users see when they visit a website, your ads must be catchy. The more attention it can get, the better your chances of increasing your website traffic. So, how do you design an effective website ad?
- Consult A Digital Media Agency
Whether this is your first time working with website ads or thinking that your current ads are not giving you the results you want, consulting with the experts in the field is a smart move. Full-service digital media agencies like Pathlabs can provide all kinds of advertising services, from working with native banner ads to affiliate marketing.
In terms of website ads, media services by Pathlabs can help in planning, designing, executing, and optimizing appealing ads that convert. This takes away the burden of doing it yourself, so you can focus more on growing your business. They can also provide consultation with industry experts and support your existing marketing team.
- Pick The Right Ad Sizes
When creating website ads, the first thing you want to consider is the size since it contributes to the ad’s overall performance. According to an article from Google AdSense, the top performing banner sizes are:
- Large Rectangle (336×280)
- Medium Rectangle (300×250)
- Large Mobile Banner (320×100)
- Half Page (300×600)
- Leaderboard (728×90)
While these are the top-performing sizes, you don’t have to stick to them and use other supported ad sizes that fit your goals. Regardless of what you choose, you want a banner ad size that’s easily noticeable and complements the website pages.
- Be Careful With Typography
With a website ad’s smaller design space, you must pay close attention to your typography. Many web designers recommend using a sans-serif typeface with light strokes or thin character lines for a clean, minimalist look. Here’s another basic design tip—use a bold typeface for the headline and make it larger than the body copy. Try to keep your body text in one line, and remember, in this instance, less is more.
Don’t go overboard with your formatting. Check out the website ads of your favorite brands and take inspiration from how they play around with font types, sizes, placement, and more.
- Blend Design With Website
It’s always a good idea to blend your ad design with the host website’s design to ensure harmony within the page. Plus, most webmasters only approve ads if the color scheme and design fit the overall page design. Otherwise, it would just create conflicting design elements that reduce user experience.
At the same time, you also want the ad to be consistent with your brand and website design. This reassures users that they’ve reached the right website after clicking on the ad.
- Use Animation
If you want to grab a user’s attention, you want to display animation banners. Animated website ads typically outperform static banner ads when used properly. You don’t want to go overboard with your animation that distracts users from the message of your ad.
You can use simple animations that don’t last over 15 seconds. Don’t loop your animation too many times since it can get annoying for users trying to read a text next to the ad. Looping it three times should be enough, and consider adding a call-to-action (CTA) on the last frame.
- Always Have A Clear CTA
Speaking of CTA, it’s important to always add this element to your website ad. A CTA button can be anything that gets visitors to take action after seeing your ad. For instance, you could have a CTA that asks users to sign up for a newsletter or one that encourages them to visit your website.
Regardless of what kind of CTA you use, make sure that the button or prompt is visible. The best way to do this is to use contrasting colors that allow it to stand out from the rest of your ad content.
Takeaway
It’s indisputable that website ads are a powerful tool for businesses looking to boost website traffic and increase sales. Maximize their potential and impact by employing the design tips we’ve given above. These will help make sure that your banner ads are catchy and powerful and will drive great results.