What I want to discuss is the unfair standards that Internet banner advertising is held to. Because of technology, we can track how many users view the banner, how many click and how many of the clickers complete a conversion. But just because we can track this doesn’t mean it is the ultimate metric on whether a campaign is successful.

Think about traditional advertising for a minute. Millions upon millions of dollars are spent every month on advertisements that are placed on billboards and in the pages of a magazine. This is brand advertising. Obviously, there is value in these forms of advertising or they wouldn’t be used as often. But advertisers can’t track who bought what from them after seeing a particular billboard or magazine ad.

So why, then, are banner ads held to such a standard that they are only successful based on clicks and conversions? The answer is because we can track them. It’s not because it’s the best solutions, but that it’s available. Online advertisers need to be aware of the brand advantages that banner advertising to the right audience can produce. This is especially true if you can reach a large audience for a small price. Click-throughs and conversions may be low, but think about exposure you will receive. Something to keep in mind when analyzing your campaign.

One way you can be sure to brand your Web pages is through title tags. Append the name of your company/Web site at the end of each page – I prefer to use the pipe, followed by the name of the site for all interior pages: Example article | Jeff Swanson. Having your brand appended to the end of each page’s title tag makes your listing immediately recognizable in search engine results. This will detract users from skipping over your listing, who might have otherwise visited a page on your site. Even if you’re not a well-known brand, this is an effective way to start branding yourself and catching the attention of users.

Aside from branding your Web site online, make sure to have attractive copy that will be inviting for the user. A combination of these two tactics usually means you can sit back and watch the traffic roll in.