How to Create Banner Ads that Work: Banner Ad Basics & Photoshop Tutorial

It's been a while since I've tackled the issue of banner ads. Although they continue to grow in popularity - they are, in fact, a mainstay in the Internet advertising culture - it's easy to forget that they're not the simplest things to create effectively until you're faced with having to do them. A great banner ad must convey your message, build brand awareness, generate click-throughs, and boost sales.

Getting all of this from a single little graphic tucked into the corner of someone else's web page can seem impossible.

In 2000, Nielsen/NetRatings performed a survey that showed the right design in a banner ad can actually entice viewers to click. In other words - yes, banner ads can have a good click-through rate. It's not all about brand awareness. But you need to design and implement your banner ads with the idea of getting clicks in mind.

We'll get to the actual Photoshop tutorial in just a second - I promise. Here's what our design in Photoshop should do, though:

Short and Simple: You need to catch a viewer's interest in under 10 seconds. The more words your ad stuffs into a small space, the less likely they'll be read. Animated GIFs and flash banners can trigger action, but you want the viewer to remember your name so don't clutter it up and reduce your banner's ability to brand.

Reason to Click: Your banner has to be attractive and interesting if you want to flutter a single eyelid. The chance to win something, get something for free or at a special discount, and products that make life easier will get the biggest response. Persuade people to visit your site by giving them a good reason to go there.

Tie-In Design: Really good banner ads are part of an overall advertising strategy. Each piece of your advertising strategy needs to be designed in a way that visibly goes together - different sized banner ads should feature the same colors and general graphics or backgrounds, for example.

So in our Photoshop-created banner ads, we want to get our compelling message across fast in a design that works well with other advertising pieces. Doesn't sound that bad, does it? It really isn't!

Creating Great Banner Ads in Photoshop