10 Creative Tips for Designing Banner Ads That Don’t Suck

Banner ads are some of the most effective digital marketing tactics that more and more businesses implement in their marketing strategies. There were times when banner ads were not as effective as they are today, but they can significantly impact your sales and bottom line now a day. What has changed? Business owners who want to advertise their products or services online have realized the importance of adjusting their banner ads to adapt them to their target customers’ interests and preferences. They realized the impact marketing tactics based on customer behavior could have on their business, since this can enable them to attract more quality leads and convert them into customers. With that in mind, take a look at the top creative graphic design tips you should apply to design the best banner ads that people will actually want to click.

1. Embrace the Hero Image Trend

Since you want to attract as many customers as possible, you need to use strong and eye-catchy images. Your images must grab the attention of your target customers, so you need to make sure they stand out and truly engage people. Hero images are very effective tools in creative design, so make sure you use one that perfectly represents your brand. The best images for banner ads are images of people, preferably their faces, but, if you are selling clothes, for instance, make sure you use one specific clothing item that will instantly capture attention.

2. Include Your Logo

The logo of your company shows your identity, so you need to include a logo in every banner ad, as it will help you with brand consistency. It needs to be clearly visible, but make sure it does not take too much space because, after all, you need to include more elements in your ad to attract your target audience. You can easily hire a Freelance graphic designer from Upwork, Artworkadobe, Freelancer, etc.

3. Brand Consistency Is Key

[caption id="attachment_100211" align="alignnone" width="800"] It’s crucial that your banner ads are always consistent with your brand, so that people can instantly recognize it.[/caption] It’s crucial that your banner ads are always consistent with your brand so that people can instantly recognize it. They are to have the same color schemes, typography, and images as all of your other marketing materials, including your website. Maintaining visual consistency will help you maintain brand consistency.

4. Make Sure Your Ad Copy Is Consistent

If you think that your ad copy has nothing to do with the design of your banner ad, think again. It is the key because it is exactly what drives conversion rates, so it must be consistent. It must reflect the content of your landing page because, if people click through and find out nothing on your landing page that they came for, they will leave your website, never to return again. As far as the text of your ad copy is concerned, make sure you work together with your copywriter to create the most compelling message you want to convey.

5. Make the Headline Really Strong

The headline of your banner ad is as important as the image you include, so it must be strong enough to instantly grab the attention of the viewers. You can use some of your keywords in the headline, especially if your banner ad is product-specific since it will tell your target audience what your ad is actually about.

6. Create an Enticing Call-to-Action

The goal of your banner ads is to make people want to click through and engage with your brand. Therefore, you need to include a clear call-to-action to compel them to take the exact action you want them to take. Your CTA may refer to visiting your website, checking your new products, subscribing to your email list or downloading your eBook, for instance. What’s important is to create your CTA in the form of a button, so that people can easily click on it. Also, make sure it stands out from the rest of your ad by using a different color than the color of your background.

7. Include a Promotional Message

Including a promotional message in your banner ad can lead to higher click-through rates and, thus, higher conversion rates. Therefore, you should include some promotion, such as free shipping or a particular product discount, since those are certain to make people want to click through and find out more about what you have to offer.

8. Provoke a Sense of Urgency Including something in your banner ad that provokes a sense of urgency will certainly help you get higher click-through and conversion rates, because people are more likely to click on ads that promote a limited-time offer than on those that have no end date of the promotion in question. Therefore, you can instill a sense of urgency by offering a limited-time promotion, since you will get much better end results and succeed in making your banner ads more clickable.

9. Make Sure the Font Is Easy to Read

If your target customers cannot read your headline or your entire ad copy, they will simply continue scrolling and not even bother to click through. That is why it is crucial that the font you use is easy to read – it must be big enough (but not too big) and it needs to be different than your CTA buttons.

10. Keep It Simple

Simplicity is very important when it comes to banner ads because if you make your ads cluttered or include too many colors and more than one message, you will overwhelm the viewers, who will have no idea what your ultimate message is. Therefore, keep everything simple, and you will hit the bullseye with your banner ad every single time. Designing banner ads can be quite challenging but, once you get the hang of it, you will know exactly what to do to attract more quality leads and convert them into customers. Make sure you delve deeper into this matter and explore even more ideas that will help you make the best banner ads. There are many creative design inspirations from award-winning print ads, so you can check those out as well, as they may inspire you to create the most effective banner ads possible.