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10 Things to
Know When Buying Banner Ad Space
By
Grant Crowell
Designing a banner ad and
submitting it for publication calls for several considerations.
First, contact the Web
site that has agreed to display your banner ad and ask about
technical requirements. Once you know these requirements, find
out exactly where and how long your banner will run.
Get all this information
in writing.
Sites selling banner
advertising usually have banner specification (spec) sheets. The
sheets are usually available on the Web site or can be sent via
e-mail. If the site does have banner specifications, the
following list will give you specific questions to ask.
The Flag You'll Fly
Banner type is referred to
in the industry as the "creative" and is determined by
the language used to create the banner. Will your banner be GIF
static or GIF animated? Will it be an HTML banner with a
pull-down menu, search box, buttons or checklists? Did you use
Flash, JavaScript, dynamic HTML or another type of
rich media?
Make sure to check with
your publisher in advance to see which types they'll accept. One
of the largest sites, America Online, accepts no rich-media
banners except for HTML banners designed for display on
Netscape.
Know How to Measure
Many people confuse the
terms "dimension" and "size." Dimensions are
measured in
pixels and refer to the width and length of the
banner. Size, measured in
kilobytes (KB), refers to the size of the file
containing the banner ad.
Banners offer many
possible dimensions — some standard, some unique to individual
sites. The most common is known as a "standard" or
"full-size" banner and is 468 pixels wide by 60 pixels
high.
Another common dimension
is 125 x 125 pixels. These banners are known as
"buttons" or "tiles."
Most sites allow banners a
maximum file size of 12 KB to 15 KB.
Article
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 Ex. GFCOATM
(Medium) Basic: $35.20
ea. Posted Upgraded Price:
$17.60,
(at Intlwholesale.com)
Actual
updated Upgrade Prices on New UPG Members
site: (this is what you will see on the new UPG Site)
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UPC
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Each Weight
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Case Weight
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Carton Cubic Foot
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Case Pack
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Available
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3.900
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39
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10
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1944
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Warranty
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Catalog
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Origin
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Product Code
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Next Shipment
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036B
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China
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Giftware Clothing
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4-29-2002
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Price
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Count
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Each:
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1
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Case:
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10
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Quantity:
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0
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You
can see the value in the upgrade, right? If you were to order 3
jackets, you would have paid for the upgrade in the savings of $51.15 if
you compare the price discounts.
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Continued...
Mind Your Ps and Qs
Sites may place
restrictions on the design and content of banners. Check whether
your banner is required to have a border or an outline. Also ask
whether certain words or phrases are not allowed.
If your banner is
animated, inquire if there are restrictions on loops — the
cycle of animation from start to finish. How long can one loop
last, and how many times is your banner allowed to loop?
Once you've designed your
banner according to technical specifications, it's time to make
a deal. Again, it pays to do your homework.
Run. Some
contracts specify the banner will run until it achieves a
certain number of
impressions. Others allow the banner to run for a
specified length of time, regardless of the number of hits it
receives.
How long will your banner
run — and on what dates? How many banners are you allowed to
rotate on a given page?
Placement.
On which page or pages of the site will your banners appear and
where will your banner appear on the page? If possible, your
banner should be "above the fold" — in plain view,
no scrolling needed.
Traffic.
Will your banner have to compete for attention with graphics and
content around it? Will other banners surround it? If you're
running a click-through banner campaign, you might want to
consider a more targeted Web site, even if it has less traffic.
Statistics.
Will you be able to access traffic statistics online for your
banner? Will the statistics indicate how many visitors saw your
banner, how many clicked on it, and which pages they were
viewing at the time?
Will you be able to sort
these data by date and receive the stats in database or HTML
format so you can save them for your records?
Every site has various
technical requirements and different methods for posting
banners. That's why it's so important to do research in advance.
Otherwise you might waste time and money redesigning your banner
to meet the specs.
By asking the right
questions early on, you'll save yourself the trouble.
The views of our authors don' t necessarily
reflect the views and policies of this company or its
advertisers.
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