Banner Ad Hot Seat Part One: The message

We're going to approach the Banner Ad Hot Seat a little differently than the Web Design Hot Seat. Instead of taking each ad on an individual basis, I'm going to group a few ads together that I think share some common properties and talk about them as a group.

First, let's talk about an ad on a Web site. This is what I've experienced in Web advertising.

• People tend to jump over them on the way to the content
• If people do look at them, they don't look long
• People don't click ads freely -- they have to be enticed.

So...

• Your ad has to stand out visually
• It has to be compelling enough to get the reader to want to click on it
• And, most importantly, it has to deliver a message.

Let's face it, you can design the most beautiful ad in the world -- but if it doesn't convey a message, it won't be as successful as it should be. Let's take a moment to talk about message.

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