What Is Banner Advertising?
Let me explain banner advertising to you directly: it's a type of online ad that uses rectangular graphic displays positioned on websites to promote brands and pull traffic to the advertiser's site.
Banner advertising means using a rectangular graphic that runs across the top, bottom, or sides of a website or online platform. The horizontal ones are known as leaderboards, and the vertical ones are skyscrapers, placed on sidebars. These ads rely on images rather than text and remain a common choice for online advertising.
Your goal with banner advertising is straightforward: promote your brand or draw visitors from the host site to your own website.
Key Takeaways
Banner advertising involves rectangular graphics stretched across website tops, bottoms, or sides. These ads marked the start of internet-specific advertising in 1994. Now, banner ads and most online advertising use programmatic bidding, a real-time technology where companies bid on ad space as the banner loads.
How Banner Advertising Works
Internet advertising has evolved from a risky venture to the main marketing platform for most companies. In the U.S., digital ad growth hits double digits yearly, with 2020 revenues at $138.9 billion.
Banner advertising, or display advertising, uses static or animated images placed in visible spots on busy websites. It's effective for building brand awareness, lead generation, and retargeting audiences—think offering a newsletter signup or free trial before visitors leave.
Banner ads operate like traditional ads, but payment to the host varies. You pay via cost per impression (for each view), cost per click (for each click to your site), or cost per action (for completing tasks like forms or purchases).
This has grown to include Facebook Ads and Instagram Sponsored Ads. Facebook takes about 42.5% of U.S. online display ad spending in 2022. Digital display ads, covering banners, video, rich media, and sponsorships, keep expanding. By 2020, 31.5% of online ad budgets went to digital advertising, including banners.
Fast Fact
The first banner ad appeared in 1994 on wired.com (then HotWired). It said, 'Have you ever clicked your mouse right here? You will,' and linked to an AT&T campaign.
Banner Advertising Technology
Ad networks handle matching advertisers with sites selling ad space. They track available spots and align them with demand. A central ad server powers this, picking ads based on visitor keywords, browsing behavior, or site context.
Banner ads and online advertising mostly use programmatic bidding, a real-time system where approved companies bid on space while the ad loads.
Content marketing trends emphasize personalization, making consumers feel addressed directly. This has made targeted banner ads more prevalent.
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