Thursday 7 March 2013

A Banner to Click On

Banners have been used far and wide as one of the most common ways to attract visitor attention, display advertisements, show newest posts, and above all to make people click them. This is certainly not an easy thing to make people do, because there is a very high level of distrust that people have towards these banners. And yet, they are the quickest and one of the most important ways for you to reach out to your readers. But just because other webmaster’s banners look suspicious doesn’t mean that your must look the same. There are various techniques that can be used and adapted to create a great, friendly banner that will be useful both to you and to your audience.

As any seo Hertfordshire professional will tell you, the best banners are the ones that make readers curious. Curiosity is not an easy emotion to make someone else feel, so it takes a bit of research and free time to make it perfect. You need to make each banner so successful that it is actually capable of grabbing the visitor’s attention away from the actual content, which is certainly a difficult task. Most websites are viewed with a particular point in mind, with a specific goal of information that the reader wants to get out of it. Which brings up one of the most frequent debates of banner designs – should it be completely mysterious or straight to the point?

This is a very difficult balance to achieve because banners should not be as assertive as advertisements, and yet they must make people click on them without seeming pushy. Although the success of a banner depends on your knowledge and experience with them, the best banners will seem like part of the content rather than randomly inserted advertisements.

One of the first choices that need to be made is whether the banner should be similar to a Flash or .gif image and have movement, or if it should be a still image. This depends on the type of website that it will be placed on. Remember that the banner must always reflect the atmosphere. So if your website is about gaming, sports, or any similar topics, then you can feel free to add a banner with movements. This is because your web pages are likely to already be covered in various bright and colourful images, so it will be difficult for a still banner to stand out. However, if you web pages reflect mellow topics such as literature, spirituality, or anything to that extent, it is highly advised by all web design Watford companies that your banner should be a still image. Visually gentle web pages will look annoying and violated by moving banners, because they will look out of place and be distracting from the corner of the visitor’s eye.

The two most attractive colours when it comes to banners are yellow and blue. Because they are both attention grabbing and yet easy on the eyes, some of the most successful banners are designed with them. However, although banners should be able to stand out, they should also be covered in colours that match the website.  Make sure that your banner is not annoying, but that it is providing the visitor with enough information so that they know what to expect after clicking on it.

Never turn your banners into pop-ups, because they are the most annoying way to prove a point. Also, remember to make your banners open their links in a new window. Although you may be using them for advertisement purposes, they should not be driving traffic away from your web pages either.