On my site lately I've been experimenting between text and banner ads. I had heard that text ads actually convert better but that didn't make sense to me since 90% of online porn viewing is done by guys and, as we all know, guys are more visual. I have always leaned more towards banners for that very reason. It does seem, however, that text ads are showing some promise tho. Has anyone else experimented with different ad formats?
This really does come down to the subject of the ads you are showing, and subsequently, the quality of the banners. It is amazing how many spend good money on buying CPM ads with terrible, unprofessional banners. Banners CAN outperform text ads, but it needs to be done well...
Just to support what Dave said here, It's all about the product you are marketing and the target audience. My advice to you... Try both and measure conversions
It depends on the niche. On arcade sites, flashing game banner ads are more likely to get clicked than text ads I would think and this will be the same with adult type sites.
One trick is creating a "review" site for the product/service you are promoting. Widget Reviews "This widget gets our 5 star Approval" Get the idea?
Review site? Hmm, I'm curious, how do you mean? Like a page or pages on a separate domain or maybe a sub-domain? Maybe it could be a forum for reviewing products and services, or a blog? I could see that being very useful for SEO since forums and blogs get scanned more frequently. Ah! I think I see the vision you are suggesting now. More like a page full of reviews, with links to the items being reviewed, about the targeted site that essentially acts as text ads. Sounds like a great idea. I was initially asking for ideas about banner/text ads that I display on my own site, but I've also been looking for good - and cheap - ways to generate traffic, and this sounds like something I might just have to check into. Thanks. Thanks for the replies! It makes sense that the advertising method is only as good as the content of the ads. I guess I was looking to validate/invalidate what I had heard about text ads but obviously it is totally dependent on a lot of different factors.
Banner ads work much better as they are the most eye-catching of all formats, plain text links are rather boring, unless you can customize them to blend with your site.
Personally I've had better conversions through banner ads than text ads. Perhaps I need to start rewriting a few ads
And text ads is usually work well on article, informative or review pages. These are almost kinds of page for any website, aren't they?
In my experience, I typically start with text ads, depending on the nature of my target market, and then outsource a unique banner to a graphics designer to A/B split test the two options. This is really the only way to tell which will work best, as there are too many variables at work to generalize the concept.
Can't beat a GOOD banner ... Of course, the bad ones will kill you ... like the guy that blew 12K on CPM with bad banners ... Its all about the quality ... PM me if you need help in terms of designing a high CTR banner
I would still go with the text links.. I'm sure that you can test and test but you'll find that you're probably going to find more success in the text links.. I've never had much luck with the banners so that's why I would suggest that.