Why You Shouldn’t Bother With Banner Ads

Since there has been Internet, there have been banner ads. And since there have been banner ads, there have been plugins to block or replace them with something else. Why? Users find them distracting and irritating, and those obnoxious “Dancing Cowboy” silhouettes that filled sidebars and flashed across the tops of pages in the mid-2000s didn’t improve anyone’s opinion on the matter.

Remember those? It’s not just me, right?

It’s hard to make a case for any brand to spend their marketing dollars on banner ads anymore. Many users simply don’t trust them — they worry their actions will be tracked and that they’ll get spammed with pop-ups or a virus. But even more importantly, banner ads simply aren’t relevant for most people. Banner ads are like skywriting your brand’s message over a city and crossing your fingers that the right people will look up and read it. It’s far better for brands to invest in a comprehensive array of native advertising to ensure they’re reaching their intended target audience.

And yet, banner ads persist. If you’ve ever wondered about the people who click on them, you’re in luck because this interesting infographic from Prestige Marketing found via Hubspot has the answers — and some of them may surprise you. For example, 71% of college graduates have clicked banner ads in the last six months compared to 59% of people with a high school education or less.

Read on to see who looks at banner ads these days, then learn more about native advertising.

Have you ever clicked on a banner ad?