Text Links Versus Image Ads - Which Should You Use?
- ARTICLES |
The majority of website visitors pass through one of two types of links. Text links which are a n you string with a word, phrase or sentence that’s hyperlinked to another domain. Image ads are things like banners, button, and pictures - graphical images that are hyperlinked with a URL.
Both types of links have their advantages and disadvantages. Which should you select for your website or blog? Well it depends your site and your traffic - and you should ideally test both types to see which performs best with your distinct demographic.
Usually, text ads outperform image ads, because people have become “banner blind.” That means people have learned to block out banners, because they know they’re ads.
Text ads are a part of every website, so they’re difficult to ignore. This is one reason why AdSense is so successful. Obviously some sites could benefit from a few image ads. For example, if your site contains mostly text, you might be able to make it look more alluring by adding a few graphical banners.
Select appealing banners with a clear call-to-action, such as banners that clearly state, “Click here for ____!” New Internet users may not realize they can click graphics, so it’s important for banners to have this kind of call-to-action.
However, make not to over do it and clutter your blog website with tons of baner ads. Two or three graphics per page is sufficient. If you put more than this, you risk your site looking like a banner farm, and visitors may leave before they even browse and review any of your content.
Text links are generally more effective than banners. They can be blended in with your content and can look more like endorsements than ads. For some reason, people prefer to buy through endorsements instead of flagrant ads, so text links can help you get a higher click-through ratio than you might get with banner ads.
Coding a text link is extremely easy. To create a text link on your site, you need to use the “a href” code. A simple text link code might look something like this:
Here’s where the text you want hyperlinked will go.
Coding a banner link is only slightly more complex. You still use the “a href” code, but you also have to use the “img src” code along with it. It should look something like this:
So the first URL in that piece of code is the URL where you want your traffic to go. The second one is the URL where the image is being hosted on your server. This will make the image show up and when the user hovers his or her mouse over it, they’ll see that it’s clickable.
Remember to test your links to be sure they’re going to the right place. If you accidentally link to the wrong place, you could end up losing a lot of money in commissions or sales, so it’s very important to make sure your links are in working order.
Both types of links have their advantages and disadvantages. Which should you select for your website or blog? Well it depends your site and your traffic - and you should ideally test both types to see which performs best with your distinct demographic.
Usually, text ads outperform image ads, because people have become “banner blind.” That means people have learned to block out banners, because they know they’re ads.
Text ads are a part of every website, so they’re difficult to ignore. This is one reason why AdSense is so successful. Obviously some sites could benefit from a few image ads. For example, if your site contains mostly text, you might be able to make it look more alluring by adding a few graphical banners.
Select appealing banners with a clear call-to-action, such as banners that clearly state, “Click here for ____!” New Internet users may not realize they can click graphics, so it’s important for banners to have this kind of call-to-action.
However, make not to over do it and clutter your blog website with tons of baner ads. Two or three graphics per page is sufficient. If you put more than this, you risk your site looking like a banner farm, and visitors may leave before they even browse and review any of your content.
Text links are generally more effective than banners. They can be blended in with your content and can look more like endorsements than ads. For some reason, people prefer to buy through endorsements instead of flagrant ads, so text links can help you get a higher click-through ratio than you might get with banner ads.
Coding a text link is extremely easy. To create a text link on your site, you need to use the “a href” code. A simple text link code might look something like this:
Here’s where the text you want hyperlinked will go.
Coding a banner link is only slightly more complex. You still use the “a href” code, but you also have to use the “img src” code along with it. It should look something like this:
So the first URL in that piece of code is the URL where you want your traffic to go. The second one is the URL where the image is being hosted on your server. This will make the image show up and when the user hovers his or her mouse over it, they’ll see that it’s clickable.
Remember to test your links to be sure they’re going to the right place. If you accidentally link to the wrong place, you could end up losing a lot of money in commissions or sales, so it’s very important to make sure your links are in working order.