How To Get Tourists To Read Your Online Ad
You've picked out the most relevant Scottish tourism website to advertise on, but now the question is, where to place your ad? Many websites charge premium prices for being listed at the top of the page but is the top really worth every penny?
The simple rule behind getting people to read an ad is to place it exactly where they look. Most websites place banners and text ads at the top or sides of the screen while keeping the middle section for text. But what happens the moment someone's eyes fall onto the page?
- The first thing we do when we visit a page is to look at the middle section of the screen where we expect the text to be. We quickly scan the page to see what it's about and then read if it matches our interest. We may also scroll down to the bottom to see how long the page it is or to get a general idea of the topics covered. Say the page is about Eildon Hills walks.
- After reading, we might for clues to tell us what else is available to us on the site. Perhaps information on accommodation in the Borders or local places of interest. We scan the left of the screen where we expect to find links to other pages. We look to see if there are any links at the top of the screen, too.
The top, left and right side are, therefore, less likely to be paid any attention than is the middle of the screen. Any ads in these places might be read but only after people have skimmed through the text.
Placing ads inside text
Placing your ads throughout the text ensures that people will at least glance over them as they scan the page, and, if interesting enough, stop to read them. But where in the text would it be best to place these inline ads and banners?
Placing an ad in the first paragraph may create the wrong impression that that page is only trying to sell something when it could, in fact, be a wonderful personal review of guided walks in the Borders enhanced by a relevant ad.
It's often best to place the ad 2-3 paragraphs in, but still visible enough without having to scroll down. This will ensure immediate exposure and the ad will act as a complement to the page.
Placing ads at the bottom of the page
Before sitting down to read an entire page, people often scroll down to check its length. At the bottom, they pause for a second before deciding what to do next -- read, save of leave. This is usually done before checking any other links or available features. Placing a relevant ad at the bottom of the text is highly effective, particularly because people willingly pay attention to that section.
How to place a banner and text ad
Because people are mainly interested in reading the available information, their attention should not be distracted more than once or twice during that time. High ad frequency in the text is irritating and detracts from the message conveyed by words. Only pick partner websites that respect their readers.
Banner graphics should be of reasonable size without being too large. It sometime happens that large inline banners sqeeze the text so far to the left or right that it becomes difficult to read.
Inline text ads follow the same guidelines as banners do. The only difference is that text ads must stand out a bit more.
A banner stands out easily because it's an image but a text ad is the opposite. It can blend in too easily with the surrounding text. Some believe that ads that blend in are more effective than ads that stand out. After all, if people don't know it's an ad they can't ignore it as easily. Once people realise, though, they feel deceived and lose whatever trust they had in the website.
Placing the text ad in a highlighted box makes it obvious to people that it's an ad and not regular text and gives them the choice to read it or not. There is no point in forcing people to read ads if they're not interested. Effective ads are those that speak out to qualified prospects.
