According to Google Adsense the most successful web banner advertisement sizes are:
- 336×280 Large Rectangle
- 300×250 Medium Rectangle
- 728×90 Leaderboard
- 160×600 Wide Skyscraper
It can be a bit of an art-form trying to capture a user’s attention enough to pull them away from the content they came for, and getting them to engage is even trickier. That’s why it’s important to keep things clean, simple and obvious to the user as to “why” they should click that ad or at least take note of your messaging.
You don’t have very long before a user has vanished from the page and out of sight of your beautifully-crafted advertisement. Try not to clutter the design by thinking you need to cram every bit of information you just sent out in a postcard last week into a small rectangle, thinking…
“Well, if I don’t include: when, where, why, an intro paragraph, 12 logos and a bio, then they won’t come to my event.”
The idea is to entice them enough to want more information, not necessarily to automatically register. Give them a call to action that catches their eye and at least makes them want to find out more. From there, you most-likely will get them to your website and can guide them along, giving them all the necessary information they might need to make an informed decision.
Key things worth including might be logo, dates (possibly a location), an enticing statement or lure and a call-to-action. Give them an obvious next step.