4 Simple Rules for Creating B2B Banners That Convert + Bonus Tips

Recently, we were reviewing our client's data and we realized that it would be helpful to share some best practices and tips on how to create impactful banner ads that enhance your click-through rate (CTR).

150 out of 200 banners created by our customers themselves perform with a CTR lower than 1%...

Now that just won't do.

There are 4 simple rules to follow that can easily improve your CTR.

Above all, dear marketer, keep in mind, that the banners you are producing are not for you. Unless you fit your TAs profile, you don't have to like your banners, website, blog, and other content.

And who does have to like it? That's right. Your prospects, your leads, your customers. So, when creating a banner, don't go all artistic on it. Your banner is not a reflection of your charming self, it is a magnet to drive your customer's attention.

Here are 4 easy rules to keep in mind and not to get carried away when you are creating a banner for a display ad and your want it to convert.

Oh, please, hear us on this one! It is a tiny-miny piece of visual, make it count. Don't try to include your company's vision and mission on it. Get straight to the point.

Your viewer wants to see '30% off an annual subscription', not 'We care about our customers and in this holiday season we want to offer you a 30% off our annual subscription*' and then two more lines explaining the conditions of the offer. It's a banner, you don't have time or space for courtesy.

Quick tips on what to include in the message:

• Questions
• The word 'you'
• Numbers (duh!)
• Simple language

Keep in mind that there are standardized dimensions for banners. This means that for your ad to look good on a webpage its lengths and width have to have a predefined number of pixels (not inches, not centimeters, pixels).

Here are the most widely used formats of the banners, size-wise:

Don't just select one size, create all four to make sure your banner fits different platforms. Otherwise, you might end up with something like this:

Well, even if you don't like a thing - include your logo anyway. It serves two purposes:

• Brand awareness and all that jazz. Get your customers familiar with your logo. Use the neuromarketing techniques you keep on hearing about - create an association between your offer and your company in the client's brain.
• It is a policy...for some platforms. The thing is, some platforms won't let your ad through unless you show your authorship by adding a logo. So, my advice, include the logo into the design at the very start, so you wouldn't need to add it in a rush later on and get irritated because "It just won't fit anywhere!"

Include a CTA in form of a button. It is so obvious, but many marketers seem to miss it anyway. You have to give people a button to push. You need to let them know what you want them to do.

Use those simple CTAs we all know about - Learn more, Learn how, Read more…

Green and yellow buttons convert better.

Buttons that go below the message convert better.

Bonus Tips

As promised here are a few more simple rules and tips that will help you to get more clicks on your B2B banners:

• Don't use eye-popping colors. Oh, viewers will click on it, alright, but only to close it, because they are annoyed by that bright pink of yours.
• Let there be margins. Frame your ad right, make sure the essence of your message is in the center of the banner. And let the text 'breath' by leaving space between the text and the edges.
• Make sure your banner is not misleading. Whatever you are promising on the ad has to be reflected on your landing page. Use the same images, fonts, and keywords, so that the person, who clicked on your ad knows they got to the right page.
• Personalize your ads. Knowing what you are showing and whom you are showing it to is the key to high CTRs in B2B.