It’s probably safe to say that most Internet users would not miss flashing banners and pop-up advertisements if they went away. Aside from lessening user irritation, the next generations of pay per click or PPC advertisements have a number of standard guidelines that improve user experience, increase relevancy, and drive ROI. Marketers can get ready to drop flashing banners and voice overs when preparing for a post-banner world with new ad standards.
About New Standards and Efficacy for Online Advertisements
A few years ago, pay per click or PPC advertisements on many independent websites were essentially spam. There was little to no science behind advertisements. However, it was fairly easy for people to figure out that a flashing banner at the top of the screen is difficult for users to ignore. The next generation of advertising has to take new types of hardware, user expectations, and overall feasibility into account.
Mobile Online Advertising
There is a movement toward responsive ad standards to reclaim valuable advertising space rather than promote spam for the highest bidder. A few items include:
- Ad Equivalent Standards
- Ad Component Standards
- Interoperability Standards
- Native Ad Standards
- Responsive Ad Standards
Basically, ads need to work on different devices. Creating a clear set of best practices for responsive web design, and a set of best practices for responsive ad design would be a logical next step. Various ad equivalent standards should ensure that ads work on desktops, laptops, and mobile devices.
The Growing Complexity of the Digital Ecosystem
Currently, posting a banner is not only ineffective for the typical internet user, it is also not viable across a wide array of different operating systems and devices with different capabilities. Advertisers need to focus on more than creating an advertisement users want to click on and learn more about. The technical side of PPC advertising cannot be ignored. As hardware has gotten smaller and more advanced, user expectations have skyrocketed. The average smartphone user expects a site to load as quickly on a 4G network as a personal WiFi network, and marketers need to be able to make sure that happens. After all, the success or failure of almost any advertising campaign is in the hands of the end user.
Say Farewell to Banners and Open Doors for Increased Creativity
Creativity is currently limited by the number of pixels a smartphone will display and various capabilities that are capped by responsive web design. Instead of ignoring mobile search or hoping it will go away (which it won’t any time soon), embrace the concept of next generation ad standards.
Change can be difficult, but it is important to remain realistic and remember what advertisements used to be like. Let’s face it. No one liked trying to research a paper in a busy college library only to have a banner with inappropriate body parts flash across the screen. New standards can help create ads that are user-friendly across the board.
