Banner advertising has been described by some as being akin to the dodo bird. In essence the feeling among some is that this kind of advertising is nearing a point of extinction and may be remembered with warm fuzzies, but may not be missed.



However, a quick trip into the depths of cyber space and you will find all kinds of banner ads, and major corporations develop and use them.

Do they know something you don't?

I think what some of these corporations do know is that banner advertising can move beyond simple static graphics. In essence many banner ads today are being developed to include bold interaction that may appear as a game or perhaps as a mini movie.

These banner ads serve a unique niche for the visually oriented consumer.

The use of banner advertising may be used when the advertising business has a fairly clear understanding of the benefit of advertising on a specific site or sites. For instance if a site draws thousands of visitors a day and your product or service fits the demographic of the site then using banner ads that can help the visitor visualize something more then PPC text has the ability to facilitate a better Return on Investment (ROI).

If PPC is the ?everyman? advertising method then the new generation of banner ads is for the expert advertiser. Banner ads can help you motivate potential customers to visit your site from the confines of a site they trust and a site you value for their ability to generate traffic to your site.

Banner advertising is also good for an industry specific website. If there is a site that is in concert with your business goals and directives it might make sense to look into using banner advertising on their site.

While banner advertising is not as laser focused as PPC it can be a significant help if you are willing to do your own research to see what sites may best benefit your business.

There are still banner exchange programs, but they are often meaningless in that they may send some customers to your site, but they aren't targeted and the individuals may not be especially motivated beyond initial curiosity. Besides you may be required to place banner advertising on your site that doesn't really fit with your demographic (or potentially objectionable) just to participate in the banner link exchange.

There is also the question of banner ad development. Unless you are especially skilled in graphic design you may need to outsource the banner ad development from a third party.

You may be able to access a low-cost or no-cost banner ad through a site like www.logobogo.com, but a banner ad will need to be created in either a visually static display or a flash designed banner with very specific dimensions.

So, to recap ? the banner advertising of today requires a greater sense of business research to find the best fit for your advertising dollar and banner development is something you will need to develop as you begin to look into what possibilities exist in this refreshed advertising medium.