Planning your banner ad campaign

Research where to purchase advertising space

Who is the typical prospect for your product or service? Browse the search engines, directories, and industry-specific sites to see which sites cater to your target audience. Enter keywords on major portals that match or compliment your banner campaign. Visit those links and check where they may already be showing banners on their site. Do they appear to generate much traffic to their site?

General or specific sites

You need to determine if a large portal site suits your needs or if a site specific to your industry better hones in on your target audience. Portal sites have more people visiting their site, but industry-specific sites can have lower rates for purchasing banner space and may better reach your target audience.

Contact your banner representative

Check for the contact information on the sites you have selected to purchase banner ad space, and see if they have a staffer who specializes in handling banner advertisements. Banner ad reps should be able to provide you with a banner rate card (list of prices and placement options). If they have a local office, set up a personal meeting with them and discuss your interests. At the very least, be sure they have a phone number and email address you can reach them during normal business hours. 

• maximum file size (in K)

• allowable file formats (GIF, animated GIF, HTML form banners, javascript, Flash, Shockwave, applets, etc.)

• design restrictions

• banner dimensions (in pixels)

• deadlines for submission

• how many banners you may submit at one time for rotation

• how often banners are rotated

• what lead time they need before making your banner appear on their sites

• Where will your banner be featured - on what page and where on the page

Check for special rates

Find out the rates they offer and the terms. Is it CPM (cost per thousand impressions) or CTR (cost per click-through)? Can you get a better rate if you purchase banner space as part of a search function on the site (which may get you closer to your target audience), as opposed to a general page? Can you buy banner space either in bulk or for a certain series of time at a discounted rate? Can you work out a better rate for purchasing a percentage of available impressions on a page, as opposed to an exclusive impression contract?

Get it in writing

• when your banner will begin and end its run,

• if it has an exclusive run (meaning that your banner will always be the sole one that appears on a page or part of the page) or a rotating run with other banners, and

• if your banner will be the only one on a page or sharing space with other banners.

Retrieve banner statistics

Any site that features your banner should already have site statistics software to allow you to test your banner's effectiveness. Make sure in advance that the site will provide you with statistics of impression rates (how many people check out the page) and click-through rates on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Companies should be be able to provide these statistics for you with a quick turnaround time.