Glossary
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What Are Banner Ads?

Mobile banner ads are a form of in-app advertising typically consisting of eye-catching rectangular images or animations displayed in mobile apps. With vibrant visuals and compelling copy, they’re designed to attract the attention of app users and encourage them to click through to a brand’s website or to the app store to install the advertiser’s app.

Banner ads are one of the most common and classic forms of digital advertising used by businesses to promote their products, services, or brand online.
Key Takeaways
  • Businesses rely on banner ads to effectively promote products, services, or their brand online
  • These ads are easy for mobile publishers to implement and simple for advertisers to launch
  • Banner ads are good for awareness advertising, as they use eye-catching visuals and compelling copy to attract clicks and engagement

What Are Common Mobile Banner Ad Sizes?

Publisher apps implement banner ads in various sizes. The most common banner ad today is a medium rectangle ad (MREC)

  • The standard banner ad size (or mobile leaderboard) is 320 by 50 pixels and is usually displayed at the top or bottom of an app. This size works best with a limited amount of content, as it’s a small ad format.
  • A medium rectangle banner ad is 300 by 250 pixels and is often centered on the screen. Advertisers use these if they want their product to populate a larger area of the screen for greater brand awareness and to give more detailed info. 
mockup of different types of mobile banner ads

Advertisers tend to opt for a banner ad size based on how prominently they want their brand to appear in an app and how much they want to pay. The main purpose of this ad format is to support brand awareness and help mobile advertisers – such as mobile games – boost app installs, purchases, and leads.

What Are Best Practices for Mobile Banner Ads?

Banner ads are a popular ad format for publishers because they are easy to implement. They are also popular among advertisers because they are simple to launch and affordable in comparison with other ad formats. 

As beneficial as they may be, advertisers should ensure they follow these best practices to maximize the results of their banner ad campaigns.

  • Keep the copy simple: The copy and call-to-actions should be clear and concise to drive users to perform a certain action. This could include installing a mobile game.
  • Use high-quality creatives: Use high-quality and eye-catching images or graphics that drive awareness to your product or service. 
  • Optimize for different mobile devices: Your ad should be optimized for mobile devices in terms of both design and functionality. Test your ad on different screen sizes and devices to make sure it looks good and functions properly.
list of how to optimize mobile banner ads
  • Leverage insights from A/B testing: Experiment with different ad variations to see what resonates best with your audience. A/B test different images, copy, CTAs, and layouts to optimize performance.
  • Analyze and optimize your ads: Track the performance of your mobile banner ads using analytics tools. Monitor metrics such as impressions, click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, viewability, and return on ad spend (ROAS). Investigate how users are engaging with your ads. Use this data to identify areas for improvement and optimize your ad campaigns accordingly. 

Conclusion

Mobile banner ads are a good and affordable way for advertisers to drive higher brand awareness. Advertisers should pay attention to the results of their A/B tests to ensure they serve the best-converting ads and maximize their ROAS.

From a publisher’s perspective, this ad format is simple to implement. If placed in a high-traffic location inside an app, publishers can monetize this format simply without risking a disruptive UX.

What Are Banner Ads?

Mobile banner ads are a form of in-app advertising found in mobile apps. They’re designed to attract the attention of app users and promote products, services, or brands online. 

What Mobile Banner Ad Sizes Are There?

Mobile banners come in a few sizes. Some are standard sizes, plus you can create custom sizes. The most common sizes include 320 by 50 pixels (a standard banner ad) or 300 by 250 pixels (a medium rectangle ad).

How Do I Measure the Success of Banner Ads?

To measure the success of banner ads, you need to track various metrics that assess their effectiveness in achieving campaign objectives. Some key performance indicators (KPIs) to consider are impressions, CTR, conversion rate, and viewability.

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