One common mistake designers and marketers make is assuming that all banners are created equal. Although a banner can perform very well in one channel, then it works in another, that does not mean that it is good for every channel. Some channels like Affiliate have specific needs that you would probably never want to try with retargeting and your retargetting banner ads are probably not a good fit for a general media buy. Here are 8 differences between banner ads based on channels and some tips on how to adjust your banner ads for different channels including Affiliate, Media, Retargeting, PPC and banners on your own site. Feel free to add your own in the comments section below.
Creating Effective Banners Ads for Affiliates, Media Buys, Retargeting & More!
1. Branding and URLs – Every company wants their brand and sometimes their urls on their banner ads. However, especially until recently when I found myself doing it, not every channel should have branding and urls on their banner ads. Some Affiliates won’t use branded banner ads on their content sites or blogs because it encourages people to go to your store directly without setting their cookies. This is what I did off of an Affiliate site.
I saw what was an effective banner ad but instead of clicking it, I typed the store name into Google. When I realized I did that, I went back to the site and it was an Affiliate site. That Affiliate had effective banner ads on their site, but because of the branding and url, they would have lost the sale if I didn’t know to go back and look. Instead of using branding and urls, give a solid marketing message with a call to action and a short, sweet sales message. Make your branding secondary or take the url off so that the banner gets the website visitor to click through and the Affiliate can get credit for their sales. This is probably a very small loss when it comes to effective banner ads and Affiliates and you have to separate this from media buys and retargeting since the traffic is 100% different. The only time urls and branding should be on an Affiliate Banner is if the banner ads are within the body of the post and the post is all about the store or service.
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