In today’s advertising campaigns, an increasingly larger percent of budgets are being allocated towards online tactics. Digital tactics have long since proved their value, contributing to the overall success of marketing strategies and providing a level of targetability and measurability not seen in more traditional mediums. It may seem like there are endless possibilities within online advertising, (social media, videos, content pieces, etc.). Recently, there has been a trend supporting the concept that “content is king”, due to the performance and engagement that comes from content ads. However, even with the plethora of options available, standard display banners still hold an important place in today’s online marketing efforts.

Standard digital display banners remain the most cost-efficient method of gaining mass impressions. With extensive reach and targeting abilities available in the current marketplace, display banners guarantee a certain amount of eyeballs will see your message. This is an especially valuable tactic for branding campaigns. Buying these ads programmatically will ensure that your impressions are being delivered to your ideal custom audience segment based on geography, demographics, and interests. For example, geographic targeting can be narrowed down to specific zip codes. If your audience is located within a particular area, banner ads provide a way to reach them, without spilling over into irrelevant impressions.

However, not all banner ads are created equal. A recent study conducted by Adpiler found that the most popular banner ad sizes are the medium rectangle (300×250), leaderboard (728×90), and mobile banner (320×50). This study supports the results we’ve seen from countless digital campaigns. It’s hard to say for sure why, but certain ad sizes seem to reliably deliver better results than others. The three best performing banner sizes are all standard sizes, supported by almost any digital vendor. When designing creative for your online ads, be sure to include artwork in these sizes. And it’s important to note that mobile banner ads usually outperform their desktop counterparts. Unless your audience does not heavily use mobile devices, mobile display banners are a great way to generate overall awareness and drive traffic to your site.

The ad sizes mentioned above consistently perform the best in terms of impressions and click-through-rates. Digital banner ads can contribute to your campaign’s success, whether your goal is overall branding or landing page conversions. In a campaign with specific calls to action, the clicks from banner ads become even more valuable. It’s true that online advertising is continuously evolving. However, at least for the time being, buying banner ads enables you to deliver cost-efficient, targeted impressions to your desired audience.