May 02 2012

Why Banner Ads May Not Be a Good Idea for Your Site

If you own a site or have been exploring numerous blogs and pages in the category in which your site finds itself, then you have probably noticed plenty of the standard square (125 x 125) banners that dot the sides and bottom of many websites and blogs.  Renting out advertising space to companies who are advertising their services and products has become one of the standard ways that most bloggers earn – at least in part – income from their projects.

What many bloggers and webmasters do not realise is how much they are selling themselves short and how advertising impacts visitors to the site, depending on the intensity of the visible advertising.  I have outlined several reasons why you may want to consider downsizing the advertisements on your blog – even if you are making money – along with ways to approach the idea of revenue generation from a different angle.

Opt for Impressions, Not Clicks

Many bloggers who advertise decide to take what would seem to be the more sensible route and advertise using affiliate programs that pay by the click as opposed to by the impression.  The amount earned through a click or purchase is substantially more than any amount earned through the average impression, but let me lay out the facts for you.  Advertisers understand that they are getting a better deal than the blogger; even when an individual does not click on the ad or is not currently interested in the product; the visibility of the advertisement creates brand recognition, which is statistically proven to augment sales and revenue for the company in question.

This is why I advocate using advertisement strategies that pay by the impression as opposed to a click or purchase; I want to make sure that I am earning something for every impression that I give any certain company.

Consider Eliminating Ads

While it is understandable that a blog that has no direct source of revenue may want to keep the banner ads featured on their site, if your blog or site is generating revenue outside of banner ads, it may be a good idea to eliminate them altogether.  A study conducted by Endai Worldwide shows that for each 125 x 125 banner featured on your site, the likelihood of an average visitor returning to your blog decreases by 4%.

I have experimented with ratios of banner advertisements on my various sites and have found that no more than three banner ads should be visible at any one time.  While again, if you are generating revenue successfully through banner ads and have not had the chance to monetise your blog in any other fashion, it’s understandable to keep your existing revenue source.

Branch Out, Hire SEO Strategists

If you have been totally reliant on banner ads to generate the needed revenue to keep your blog a sustainable venture, then you may want to consider using some of those funds to hire individuals who have greater experience at diversifying a website’s profitability through search engine optimisation.  I can’t believe how many blogs I come across that have banner ads and content but have not been properly optimised or monetised.  I wonder to myself, how are they making money?

If you haven’t already diversified your site’s ability to make money and reach visitors, then you could see both the profitability and traffic of your blog or site increase several fold by bringing a SEO expert on board.  Of course, you could just spend some spare time learning how to optimise your site through search engines and other platforms, but if you are busy like me, then hiring an expert at SEO may be your best bet.

There are better ways to monetise your website than through banner ads but you will need to optimise your website properly.  If you want to get your website optimised correctly contact the copywriters at Apple Copywriting and see how they can help you.

4 Responses to “Why Banner Ads May Not Be a Good Idea for Your Site”

  1. Richard Ng says:
    May 2, 2012 at 10:50 pm

    I totally agreed that CPM (cost per Mille/impression) is better than CPC (Cost Per Click). However, as you already mentioned, the site/blog need to be optimised in order to get steady and high traffics before the CPM earning can be of meaningful size.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Cheers!

  2. agrsampath says:
    May 4, 2012 at 1:54 am

    good technique in this article i agree banner advertising method of your talk… It very impressive and real.

  3. suneeta says:
    May 4, 2012 at 3:18 am

    A very good research based facts you have brought out. I do also write bogs and have started internet marketing as profession. It would really be helpful for me to keep banners at arms distance.

  4. Nick Stamoulis says:
    May 14, 2012 at 7:14 am

    It depends on the purpose of the blog. If you want to sell your own product or service to blog visitors, keep the ads to a minimum or remove them completely. They are an unnecessary distraction and could result in people clicking away from you page and not converting.