February 8, 2007
OK, what size banners should I use on my site?
This is a question I get a lot, so I’ve decided to touch on the subject. Having banner ads on your site is a fine balance between user experience and generating some revenues from the ads. Sizes like leaderboards (728×90) and (skyscrapers) 160×600 tend to distract the users and take away from the overall experience, which is why that these size banners and not only getting declining click through rates, but also the reason that advertisers are buying them less. -But the catch 22 here is that a lot of advertisers still not only use both those sizes, some of them ’only’ use those sizes, so you risk losing a lot of potential ad dollars if you don’t at least support them. Enter the ‘box’ ad. The 300×250 was popularized by CNET a few years ago and is one of the only size banners that has not only caught on mainstream, but also has had some staying power. The reason for this? Box ads tend to mimic TV ads which are already accepted by the general public and seem a lot less intrusive than other sizes. The 300×250 ad also gets higher click through rates than both the skyscraper and leaderboard which is why advertising agencies are buying them more for their clients and also the reason a lot of major players, like Yahoo, are starting to use them exclusively. My favorite size? The 125×125. Why? It still has the box shape, it’s smaller but still provides enough space to get the marketing message into it, and click rates are currently very high.
