Banner Advertisements

Another option for small businesses is to place banner advertisements on the sites operated by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Some providers, known as free ISPs, depend on advertising revenue—rather than user fees—to operate. Many of these companies provide free Internet access in exchange for detailed information about subscribers; advertisers may gain access to such data. But as Brown noted in Tele.com, advertising on established, fee-for-service ISPs like America Online remains popular as well. By charging users a monthly fee for access, these companies ensure that subscribers are likely to use the service regularly. Yet another option for advertisers is online magazines, e-zines. Most e-zines serve highly specialized niche markets that may provide a good fit for a small business's offerings.

In The E-Commerce Book, Steffano Korper and Juanita Ellis provide several suggestions for small business owners. They recommend brainstorming to create a list of all the potential options. An important aspect of this process is viewing the company's product or service from a customer's perspective. Korper and Ellis suggest putting yourself in the position of a potential buyer and trying to figure out how you might look for such offerings on the Internet. Another way to target promising Web sites for banner advertisements is to input likely search terms into various search engines and look over the list of matching sites. Most Web pages that accept advertising include contact information for advertisers.

CREATING EFFECTIVE BANNERS

The final step is creating an effective banner. Even a well-placed banner will fail to attract the customer if it is ill-designed. Emery noted that the best banners arouse people's curiosity and urge some action. A banner for an accounting service might say, "Click here to reduce your tax bill."

Emery also emphasized that the banner should generate traffic to the advertiser's Web site. He suggested focusing the banner's message on the single most compelling reason for a visit. In this context it is well to mention additions or changes in the site the potential customer may have missed. Emery also wrote that many companies have been successful using contests and "free" offers. Finally, he noted that advertisers need to recognize that banner advertisements typically have a short useful life. Most people will only clickthrough in their first few exposures; after that the banner becomes wallpaper and is ignored.

Even the most effective banner advertisement will not generate customers or sales for a small business if the company's site itself is poorly designed. The site should be attractive and fully functional before it's advertised. "If your company plans to spend a lot on advertising, make sure the investment is proportionate to your investment in the Web site itself," Dowling wrote. "Site content must be dynamic and informative to keep surfers coming back. Spending lots of money on advertising does no good if people leave your home page as soon as they see it."

A number of Internet sites provide helpful information for small businesses interested in advertising on the Web. It is important to keep in mind that Internet technology continues to change at a rapid pace; banner ads will likely be around for a long time, but they yield to more interactive means of reaching the customer as Web techniques evolve. In addition to banner ads, small businesses can increase traffic using other means as well. You might, for instance, include the company's Web address on brochures, letterhead, product packaging. And the "old" media (TV, billboards, and paper magazine) can point people your way as well.

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