Banner Ad

Most web advertisers agree that banner ads are an excellent wayto get company names and messages in front of the masses, andstudies have linked web banners to higher brand awareness andconsumers’ incentive to buy.

That doesn’t mean web banners should be your only online adchannel. Nor are web banners useful for all businesses. One problemis that nobody’s really sure what type of businesses web bannersare best for. A report by Forrester Research shows advertisers arebaffled by the impact of their banner ads and, in particular, aredissatisfied with the methods sites use to track responses. “Mediasites and advertisers resoundingly agreed: Ad measurement on theInternet is a mess,” the report states. Reasons cited for messy adtracking includes hyped expectations, a lack of agreement onstandards, technology obstacles, and a fragmented ad deliveryprocess.

Online ad agencies and ad software companies are pushing forstandards to resolve these issues. In fact, a bona fide movement isunderway–specialists are perfecting technology that would measureads’ effectiveness and count the number of click-throughs (peoplewho click on a banner ad to reach an advertiser’s site). Soon adsoftware companies will also be able to track users’ demographicand behavioral characteristics.