( The Debate Continues... )

Banner ads or text ads which are the most effective? The simple reality is BOTH are effective. It’s how you use your ad, the message and in what context the ad is being used.

Regardless of whether you use a banner or text ad, if it doesn’t have the right message for the right audience, then BOTH will do poorly.

I use both formats on my web sites and in my ad campaigns on other peoples sites. And if I’m using a banner or button, if possible, I’ll try to have a complimentary text link with it.

Animated banners or static ones, does it really matter? Studies tell us that animated banners out perform static banners. This is based on the "it grabs your attention" factor. And yet, some of the most clicked through banners and buttons that I have used, were static. It was the words and the placement alone that determined how successful they were.

By "placement", I’m referring to both where on a page the banner or text is and who the target audience is. If you place an ad for a marketing book on say a crafts web page - don’t expect too many click throughs. This applies to both banners and text ads naturally. However, if you were to modify the same marketing books ad to specifically target crafters then you would stand a better chance.

For instance, you might say something like:

"Crafters - Let me show you how to sell MORE of your crafts on the net before the Christmas rush! Click Here to find out how."

That would make more sense than some generic message or banner directed to "everyone on the net". The ad is on a craft page or site, it specifically draws attention to "Crafters", who would either like to sell, or sell MORE of their crafts online. This ad is also taking advantage of the fact that there’s alot of crafts that are Christmas oriented one way or another, (whether it’s crafts for presents or crafts for decorating). The "Click Here" is the practically mandatory action phrase to get anyone to click on a link; which will take the crafter to your Internet marketing book of choice. (Mine happens to be Make Your Site Sell!)Click Here === http://myss.sitesell.com/rnddesigns.html if you haven’t read about it yet.

Hey wait a second this isn’t really about Banners being pitted against text links.

Well, you’re sort of right there. The simple truth is, it doesn’t matter whether your ad is a banner, a text link, a TV commercial, a radio commercial, full page magazine ad, newspaper classifieds... It’s what you say and where you say it, that counts. Want to learn more on how to make your advertising pull like crazy? Read Joe Robson’s Make Your Words Sell! Click This Link === http://myws.sitesell.com/rnddesigns.html and learn from a master of words.

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Robin Forbes is The Pencil Dude; Proud Publisher of the

Newsletter "Pencil Dude's Picks" http://www.pencildude.com/

It's the Ezine that "Newbies and Oldbies" alike, read for

entertaining and informative articles about computers and the

Internet. Want this article for your Ezine?

mailto:bannervstxt@sendfree.com?subject=bvt

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Ezine/Newsletter Publishers - If you would you like to use this

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Cheers,

Robin Forbes