Find the Right Place for Your Web Ads
10/05/2005 - By Zack Preble
Using viewing pattern research, this article will help you determine the best place on a Web page to advertise text links and banners
Thanks to sophisticated eye-tracking systems and several studies, we now know where Internet users most often look when they open a Web page. Solving this mystery will undoubtedly help Web designers and marketers improve text-link and banner placement results.
Some of the research tells us things we already know such as the inclination for most Internet users to read from left to right. But, for the most part, the research is surprising. For example, a motorcycle enthusiast will rarely be distracted by an advertisement that features a motorcycle if he is searching for airline rates. Put simply, a person is rarely sidetracked from the browsing task at hand, even if it appeals to his or her specific interest.
In addition, most users first land their eyes on the top left quadrant of the Web page. Then, they’ll zigzag through the center of the page and finish at the top or bottom right, depending on the content.
Users first look for the site flag or logo, perhaps to verify they reached the correct page or to assign a credibility rating to the site. Next, users seek out the main headline or an identifying title somewhere in the upper center of the page. Finally, a typical scan wrap up ends up somewhere to the right of the page.
Therefore, remember this natural progression as you plan your next advertising campaign. Because being in the right spot at the right time may help you get the most out of your investment.
Text attracts more than graphics
For those familiar with Google’s AdSense, it will come as no surprise that text ads outperform graphic ads.
Overall, users spend 70 percent of their viewing time on text and 30 percent on image advertisements. More important, the quality of the ad headline is key because users tend to read most headlines, especially if they contain blurbs.
Ironically, the click-through ratio for headline links that are followed by blurbs, and those that are not, are about the same. Use this phenomenon to your advantage by including blurbs whenever you can but make the headline as enticing as possible. In addition, blend your text ads with the look and feel of your site as well as with the content.
Research shows that users tend to ignore out of place items.
The best ad locations are top and left
Remember, normal initial eye movement starts at the top left. Guess where the best place to put an ad is?
According to research, 68 percent of users looked directly at ads placed on the left column and 55 percent at ads placed on the top of the page. On the other hand, ads on the right column were seen by only 34 percent of viewers.
Naturally, these numbers vary depending on the overall page layout. But, there is one place that consistently scores poorly: the bottom of the page. Did you ever wonder why the fine print is always down there?
Fig1. Viewers spend most time on the upper left-hand corner
Too much ad padding is bad
A big gap between the article of interest and a graphic ad will create a disconnect in the mind of an Internet user.
To avoid this, wrap the article text closely around the ad when designing it. Using your best judgment, measure this distance based on your font size and the image dimensions.
Ads should preferably be inset with articles or relevant text. Any visual break – even empty spaces – will create an obstruction for the user.
Fig2. Inset Ads get more views than isolated Ads
Bigger is better
If you prefer using graphic ads, studies show that bigger ads get more views and slightly more clicks.
Keep in mind, however, that bigger ads don’t get viewed any longer than smaller ads.
In studies, big banners (160x800) were seen by 68 percent of viewers. Sixty percent of users viewed slightly smaller ads (722x72), and they viewed the traditional ad (468x60) 53 percent of the time. All other smaller sizes fell below the 50 percent viewership threshold.
To summarize, remember these four important rules of thumb to maximize the success of y our Web ads :
- Place ads near the top and/or left of a Web page
- Blend your ads with your text content
- Use text ads over graphic ads
- Use larger banner ads
If you have questions or comments please e-mail Zack Preble at zpreble@foreclosure.com.