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So, What Makes a Good Web Ad?

As the Director of Marketing for rAVe and well, the “web marketing” lady in the house, I often get asked this question: “What makes a great a web ad?” With web advertising on the rise and becoming even more of a great, affordable way for companies to reach an audience, there’s a lot of talk about impressions and click-thrus and visability. While click-thru rates are never going to be crazy impressive, (did you know that the average person is more likely to die in a PLANE crash than click a banner ad?), as a company advertising on our site or ANY site, you can set yourself up for branding and messaging success.

I thought I’d show a couple examples of GREAT web ads that are being used on our site right now. No, these companies aren’t paying me to say this or anything – in fact, they don’t even know I’m writing this. 🙂

The first example is Philip’s ad (highlighted below). It’s one of the more elaborate ads we have running right now – but what I love so much about it is the design. It’s EYE-CATCHING – this ad doesn’t just pop up and you look it over, it literally catches your eye. The bright colors and dynamic design draw you in and you immediately want to know what’s behind this ad. They also keep the messaging simple – it gives you a little tease into what you’re looking at which would then draw you in to click through and see what this particular ad leads you to. I also love the simple “Learn More” at the bottom along with the corresponding arrow – again, a simple call to action on an eye-catching ad.

Ads that are TOO wordy or TOO design heavy can often be bothersome to the user or really draw the user away from the ad. This Philips ad is honestly the best of the worlds.

The next example is this Barco ClickShare ad (also highlighted below). This ad is actually an animated .gif so there are a few screens and only one is shown here. BUT, I LOVE the ClickShare ads because they are really the best of the SIMPLE ads. There isn’t a lot of text, there’s a simple color scheme, and the design isn’t elaborate. It’s an ad that gives you a little bit of information, BUT makes you want to find out more.

Simple, clean ads with a CLEAR purpose always win in my book.

There are obviously a TON of examples out there of GREAT ads and there are also examples of BAD ads – but in general, clear and simple messaging, an eye catching design, and a call to action make up the perfect web ad formula.

What do you think? Do you have any examples of ads you really like or don’t like? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

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