Don't just make statements or show pretty pictures.
Use questions ("Looking for a mortgage?" or "Have you
seen?").
Initiate an interaction by teasing. Entice people
to click. Questions can raise click-through by 16% over average.
Attract the eye
Colors affect the eye differently. Using bright
colors can help attract a user's eye, contributing to higher response
rates. Research has shown that blue, green and yellow work best, while
white, red, and black are less effective.
Look at your Landing
All Web pages are not created equal when it comes
to eliciting response. Carefully analyze your landing pages, you can
increase your response by making your landing pages enticing and easy
to use.
Use Animation
Animation can help catch a user's eye. Strategic
use of movement grabs attention more effectively than static banners.
Using simple Java or .gif animation can increase response rates by up-to
25%.
Call to Action
As in traditional direct response, a call to action
is known to raise response rates. Simple phrases such as "Click
Here", "Visit Now" and "Enter Here" tend to
improve response rates by 15%.
These phrases should be strategically placed in
the ad, preferably on the right side. This is where the eye will be
drawn.
Avoid Banner Burnout
After the fourth impression, average response
rates typically dropped to under 1% = banner burnout.
The banner stops delivering a good Return on Investment.
Controlling your frequency extends your reach and maximizes your ad
dollar.
Measure Beyond the Click
Click-through is not always the best measurement
of campaign effectiveness. It depends on your objectives.
If you are simply trying to drive traffic, the click-through
is great. If you are trying to gather leads, the best measurement is
the number of people who clicked through and filled out a lead form.
If you are trying to measure brand impact, conduct an online brand awareness
study, or measure user interaction with your site.
Make Your Offer Clear
While cryptic banners can often garner attention,
they are not more important than a good offer. Make your offer obvious
to the user. State clearly in your ad what you're offering and how easy
it is to get it. If your offer is a good one it will help your response
more than any fancy creative ever could.
Use Incentives
Everybody likes a good offer, and consumers on
the Web are no different. Using premiums and incentives is an extremely
effective way of getting the final sale you are looking for. Getting
someone to click on your banner is not a given, an incentive of some
kind goes a long way towards raising both your sales and click-through.
Initiate Interaction