The most effective advertising techniques involve using images or multimedia. Just think of the success companies have had with TV commercials and roadside billboards.

The concept is simple and applies equally to online banner advertising: The potential customer gets a better idea upfront of what they will receive.

Since banners can often generate higher click-through rate than plain-text ads, that means more traffic and more money for you as an internet marketer.

CPM vs. CPC

CPM = Cost Per Thousand impressions (1,000 views of the banner)

When paying by CPM, you generally pay less than you would if you paid by CPC. When done effectively, it can be a better pricing model.

CPC = Cost Per Click (1 Click)

With CPC, you only pay for the clicks you generate (as with Adwords), but this can actually be more expensive in the long run.

Creating High CTR (Click Through Rate ) Banners

Banner advertising can be called “interruption marketing” and your first goal has to be to get the prospect to click on the banner.

Always make sure the banner matches the landing page and try to integrate images into the banner design that match images found on the landing page.

For your banner copy, make sure to use strong “call to action” phrases such as “Warning,” “Scam Alert,” “73/Hour Online Job” or “Single Women Wanted.” Be catchy. Include a short summary of what the offer is about, and use a strong closing call to action – red or orange buttons work well, as do blue or red text links.

For your banner design, you have two basic choices: the do-it-yourself “Ghetto Fabulous” banner, which takes about 10 minutes to create and uses simple stock photos, plain type and text links, or the professionally created (outsourced) “Superstar Status” banners that incorporate flashy graphic design and even flash video animation. Both types of banners work, and which type works best usually depends on the kind of website you are advertising on. The only way to find out for sure is to test.

Most Profitable Banner Ad Sizes

There are a large number of “standard” banner sizes, but among the most profitable are the 300X250, the 336X280, the 160X600 and the 120X600.

Outsourcing Banner Ad Design

Odesk.com, Elance.com and Guru.com are all good sources for finding freelancers who can create banner ads at reasonable prices. You can also use a unique site called 99 Designs that allows you to create a project and choose a winner from among competing submissions.

20DollarBanners.com is another good source, as is Bannerad-design.com, which offers rates starting at just $17. HeyBannerBanner offers designs even cheaper. The advantage of going with one of these websites is that you don’t have to worry about ending up dealing with someone unreliable (the disadvantages, of course, is that the prices are usually a bit higher).