Banner – popular advertising space on the Internet
Banners are graphic advertising spaces on websites. Usually a graphic or even an animation file is used, common formats are GIF or Flash format. Banner advertising is often used in affiliate marketing. Clicking on the banner takes the user to the advertiser’s website via hyperlink. This is how the virtual banner differs from an advertisement in a print medium, the presentation can be, but does not have to be, similar. Banners can be embedded on a web page in different formats and sizes, other variants “float” over the screen or lay over the web page content for a few seconds. The banner size is specified in pixels.
Banners and their formats
Various sizes are possible for banners, some standard sizes are always found on the web. Common, for example, is the “full-size” banner with a pixel size of 468×60, the “skyscraper” has a size of 120×600 pixels. The unobtrusive buttons as well as thirds, half or OMS banners are also popularly used. Besides the banner size, the advertising spaces also differ in their technical characteristics. Thus, a distinction is made between static banners with built-in graphics and animated banners. The advantage of animated advertising is its greater conspicuousness; furthermore, more information – for example, in the form of text or graphics – can be accommodated in a small area through changing displays. HTML banners are also used. These banners can be interactive, for example, equipped with selection boxes or pull-down menus. An extension of this form are transactive banners, through which users can request newsletters or information or even order products. Sticky ads stay in place even when the screen is scrolled, pop-up banners open the advertisement in a separate, usually reduced, browser window.
Banner and Affiliate
A popular way to earn money on the Internet is to place affiliate ads. In these sales solutions, the site operator, on whose website the banner is placed, is paid according to different models. In this case, the banners are provided free of charge by the provider of the advertised product. The advertisement is then intelligently positioned on the website, and depending on the commission model, every click on the banner or every purchase made via the banner brings money to the site operator. It is crucial that the banner, or the advertised content also fits the content of the page.
Banner and advertising blocker
In today’s times the Internet is flooded by advertisements. On many pages banners and other forms of advertising are in excess, while the content itself offers little added value for the reader. In order to counteract the flood of advertising, ad blockers have been developed that are integrated into the web browser via plug-ins. All banner advertising is switched off in this case and remains invisible. Pop-up banners can also be permanently hidden with just a few clicks. For this reason, text links are also being used more and more frequently as advertising media.
