Size(pixels):  Type

• 468 x 60.....Full banner
• 234 x 60.....Half banner
• 392 x 72.....Full banner with vertical navigation bar
• 120 x 240...Vertical banner
• 125 x 125...Square button
• 120 x 90.....Button #1
• 120 x 60.....Button #2
• 88 x 31.......Micro button

Source: IAB Internet Advertising Bureau.

How much does it cost?
Normally you will pay anything from $3.00-$100.00 CPM (Cost Per 1000 impressions. M is the Roman numeral for 1000) for a banner space. I personally wouldn't buy banner spaces on a per impression basis. I would much prefer to pay an agreed fixed fee for a certain period of time. You can also get them for free, as in the case of banner exchanges.

How much do I need to spend?
This depends entirely on what you can afford. You can buy a banner spot on a single website for something like $25.00, or you can spend a few thousand dollars a month. Your banner can be targeted at a specific web audience, by placing banners on established sites that cater to your audience. You can buy banner spaces from the sites directly or through an ad broker.

Banner advertising is really a buyers market, as there is always more supply of banner spaces than the demand for it. So, try to barter for a better deal than is being offered publicly.

2 successful banner ads I used
You can limit your banner advertising budget by finding the banner space yourself. I had 2 banners running on a website which targeted people interested in virtual postcards and screensavers. These 2 banners alone generate over 1000 visitors a month for my art gallery. I advertised the free postcard section of my site, which is the reason for the visitors going to that website in the first place. The banners only cost me $25.00 a month, which I consider very reasonable.

Click-through rate
The server log files will tell you how many times an ad banner was requested on a site (impressions), as well as how many times the banner registered a click from the visitor (click through). The ratio of impressions to click-thoroughs gives you the click through rate.

Here are some tips for improving your banners' click through rate:

• Keep your message short and simple.
• Use attention grabbing words like "free" and "now".
• Put "click here" somewhere on the banner.
• Create different versions of the banner.
• Animate your banner.
• Keep the file size as small as possible.