Internet users are banner blind

A study conducted by research firm Jungle Minds using eye tracking techniques reveals that banners are barely seen by Internet users. They do not see the banner space as part of the website; a phenomenon that one might call banner blindness.

The most important thing is to make sure that relevant advertisements are shown. Banners that are related to the content of the website are thus considered as an asset.

This study reinforces the perception that advertisers have of traditional banners. As a matter of fact, in the US, only 20% of the budgets is spent on banners. More than half of the budget is allocated to search engine marketing via Google and other search robots.

Rich media banners have become a rising success and will certainly almost replace traditional banners. There are several types of these: expandable banners, in-text advertisements, playable banners, banners with chat functions, etc. For advertisers, the fact that rich media banners can sometimes be irritating (due to the fact that they are displayed on the whole screen) is not a problem: what matters is that consumers have seen the advertisement.