IHR Banner Ad Recommendations

You only have a split second or so to catch the viewers attention with your banner ad, everything about your banner ad should be done with need to capture the viewers attention easily and speedily. Although not required, IHR recommends the following to increase the effectiveness of your banner ads:

1. Use a small number of easy-to-read words: You can make the text easier to read by providing: a) large letters, b) few words (maximum of about 10 words)
    
2. Add the following types of words into your banner:
    
   • "Click here": Add words such as "click here," to clearly let the user know that it's a clickable banner ad.
      
   • main services: Add a few words of text into the banner ad, which describe your services. That way users will be more inclined to click on the ad, since they will know what they are clicking through to.
      
   • organization's name and logo: One of the main goals of a banner ad is for branding your organization. You would want to "brand" your organizations name and main services into the user's mind. This is a different function than clicking thru to your Web site. In fact, banner ads generate less click-thrus traffic than do IHR Description Listings. Consequently, you may want to clearly add your organizations name and logo into the banner.
      
   • short, pithy action-oriented statements: If you write a full sentence in your ad banner, then users will be forced to read the entire sentence in order to understand the meaning. This takes too long. Instead, create short statements that will hopefully capture their attention (as you might see in print ads), for example "national expert" or "Excellent success rates."
      
   • Attention grabber: Feel free to pose an attention getting question in the banner ad, but try to keep it relatively objective.
      
3. Create good contrast between the words and the background color: This will make the words easier to read.

Feel free to contact IHR if you have any questions.