by
Merle It's very common to see a banner
at the top of most Web pages. Usually, they are 468X60 in size, which is the most
popular format for banner advertising. But instead of pasting just one banner
at the top of your page, how would you like to put eight or twelve in that spot?
Incredible, you say? It can be done with what's known as a banner rotation script
or service. Every time someone loads your webpage containing the code, they'll
see a different banner appear in exactly the same spot. There several advantages
to rotating banners: It allows the pages they're
displayed on to "look different" every time someone loads a page, giving
your site a more "fresh" appearance.
You can display a variety of banners without adding more bandwidth to your pages
or taking up their precious real estate. If
you participate in a variety of Affiliate Programs where you make a commission
on sales, now you can rotate those banners they give you and possibly make more
money at the same time. It's a known fact that
after someone views the same banner over and over they'll become immune to it,
thereby reducing click thru rates. With rotation, they're always fresh. If
you want to sell banner advertising on your site you'll need some sort of banner
rotation script to track click thrus and impressions for your clients.
The
advantages are clear, so where do you go to get a script like this? There are
a number of Web sites that offer them for free. All you need to do is download
them and tweak a few lines of CGI Code. Try some of these more popular sites:
Free Scripts
Big Nose Bird
The
CGI Resource
Matt's
Script Archive If you're not comfortable with CGI scripts, you can
hire someone who specializes in "configuring" to do it for you. The
cost will vary depending on the complexity of the script, but you should plan
on spending between $50.00 to $100.00. A few programmers who freelance are listed
below. Contact them for their current rates. William@willmaster.com
DavidBlack@theWaveCave.com
info@planetcgi.com There is
a third option. There are a lot of "FREE" banner and ad rotation services
that will do all of the "behind the scenes" work for you. All you have
to do is sign up, upload your banners, and cut and paste the code they give you.
The reason they do this for free is they usually take anywhere from 5 to 15% of
your banner rotations for their own use. It's a small price to pay for the ease
and convenience they offer. They will also track click-thrus and impressions of
all banners served, which is great for knowing what's pulling and what's not.
Some of the best ad rotation services are: Orbit
Cycle
Hosted Scripts
Ad Zerver
Ad
Rotator Rotating banners on your Web site is a quick way to keep the
look of your site fresh and keep those "click thrus" coming. Now that
you know how to do it, there's absolutely no reason not to. | 
