Yes! Very soon now I will be launching a new service offering Custom Graphics to Internet Based Businesses.
In preparation for launching Custom Graphics Depot, THE destination for Internet Marketers looking for graphics to deliver their compelling marketing message with a call to action, I had to make some educated decisions on the products I want to offer and how I would package them. I am new to Internet Marketing since my prior experience has been working with live clients, providing their print marketing design needs; therefore, the learning journey has taken some time. The last thing I want to do is initiate a service without knowing all I can to get me started.
The product with the most variables and probably the greatest importance I have come across is Banner Advertisements. As defined on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: A web banner or banner ad is a form of advertising on the World Wide Web delivered by an ad server. This form of online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to a website by linking to the website of the advertiser. The advertisement is constructed from an image (GIF, Flash, often employing animation, sound, or video to maximize presence. Images are usually in a high-aspect ratio shape (i.e. either wide and short, or tall and narrow) hence the reference to banners. These images are usually placed on web pages that have interesting content, such as a newspaper article or an opinion piece.
I quickly realized that there are several sizes offered in a variety of ways so I wanted to determine the best approach for my business that would offer the best in value to my clients. Interactive Banner Advertisements are a powerful way to get new and repeat visitors to your website and when your banner ads have graphics that add impact to your compelling marketing message with a call to action, your traffic will increase and set off the chain reaction that leads to increased conversion rates and ROI.
I have been searching for some relevant and useful information on Standards for Interactive Advertisements in preparation for launching Custom Graphics Depot so I can offer a variety of Interactive Banner Ad Packages and other graphics that are a value to Internet Marketers who know what they want and just want to get it delivered so they can get their marketing campaigns underway and see some revenue!
Along the way I came across a number of businesses offering the same type of services as I will and began a list of the Banner sizes they offer to get an idea of how many sizes are considered “Standard”. During my research I found that there is an Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) which meets bi-annually to review and update guidelines according to current research and industry trends.
The IAB represents some of the largest media outlets in the world. This bureau develops industry standards based on their research and provides legal support for the internet advertising industry. The IAB’s guidelines are voluntary and aim to simplify designing, planning, buying and selling of interactive marketing and advertising. Read more about this organization and the detailed specifications they offer as suggested guidelines here.
As I began to come across more resources I decided to put together a chart to integrate the different sizes offered and written about so I can make educated decisions on the best combinations that will satisfy different Internet Marketing Strategies and their budgets. The column of sizes are a list of everything I came across relative to the sizes of ads offered, and to the left are the most common names I found associated with those sizes.
The Standard Ad Sizes were listed on Wikipedia; originally published by the IAB. The Universal Advertising Package, also determined by the IAB, are a set of ad units used collectively by compliant publishers who want to reach the majority of their target market while the Core Ad Units are sizes the IAB encourages publishers to consider as product offerings. Delisted Ad Units have been retired as they are no longer commonly offered or used in the market place.
My chart wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t gather some information from Google’s AdSense Program. I included their top recommended sizes and added all the sizes they offer for their display ads. There are other ad formats such as text ads, video ads, mobile ads and ads that include link units. You can learn more about the possibilities if you head on over and take a look here to see all that Google offers.
I found this information quite interesting overall and feel that it is quite useful as I consider the specific products and package combinations that will offer the best value to my target markets, the internet marketer, entrepreneur, small business, and enthusiast extraordinaire. I made some decisions on where to start and will be looking for feedback from those who are out there in the trenches so I can tweak as needed once I get online. Stay Tuned! as Very soon I expect to launch Custom Graphics Depot and can’t wait to work with you to help you achieve your marketing goals.
