Top Performing Banner Ad Sizes in 2023

Here’s a guide for publishers to help them get an idea about banner size for ads, in addition to listing down the top performing banner ads sizes.

Banner advertising continues to play a vital role in the online economy in 2023. Whether your goal is to generate revenue from your website or to promote a product or service, banner ads provide an efficient means of achieving this.

When creating effective banner ads, it’s important to consider various factors, including size, message, and design. The banner size of your ad can greatly impact the number of clicks it receives, which ultimately affects conversion rates.

Choosing the right banner size for ads is probably one of the most important things that publishers needs to pay attention to. Today, we have a large pool of banner ad sizes to choose from, but that does not mean that the task is simplified.

So, why is the size of a banner ad important? And what are the most effective banner sizes to consider? Well, that’s the scope of this blog.

What Are Banner Ads Anyway?

Banner ads are a type of online advertising that display graphical ads on web pages. These ads come in different sizes and forms, and have embedded links that redirect visitors to the advertiser’s website when clicked.

The term specifically refers to the use of rectangular ad sizes for displaying ads. The ad creative can be an image, text, or a combination of both these things. However, image-based banner ads are the most popular.

The reasons for the widespread use of banner ads in the ad tech industry are that they can effectively help in building brand value, easy to implement, and can be used for retargeting. 

Banner ads have been a popular form of advertising for over two decades, and are often referred to by the size and device on which they are displayed, such as square ads, leaderboard ads, skyscraper ads, or mobile leaderboard ads.

Publishers typically place banner ads in high-traffic areas of their websites, such as the front, bottom, or side of a page. Advertisers can purchase ad space through ad networks or through direct negotiations with the publisher.

Publishers should also note that while the terms ‘banner ads’ and ‘display ads’ are often used interchangeably in the ad tech industry, there is a slight difference between them.

The major difference lies in the fact that banner ads are a subset of display advertising. Display ads can be banner ads, interstitials, or video ads. In the current scenario, the term banner ads are primarily used to refer to different ad sizes.

Also Read: Reducing Banner Blindness: How Humans Read Webpages 

Stats of Banner Advertising in 2023

If anything, having more choices can be more confusing. Ideally, publishers should first be aware of their inventory and website.

For example, the type of website (heavy reading content or infographic-based) can be a determining factor for choosing the right banner ad sizes or formats. 

Other than that, having knowledge about the different banner ad sizes can also be of help to publishers.

Due to this, we have tried to explain the different ad sizes that publishers have at their disposal right now, in addition to talking about banner ad sizes that perform the best.

How Does Banner Advertising Work?

Banner ads provide information to visitors about brands, products, or services while encouraging them to take further steps in the buying process. Effective banner ads have engaging messages, graphics, and a call to action (CTA) that aim to pique visitors’ interest in the advertiser’s offering.

Conversion is a critical factor in banner advertising, and retargeting plays a key role in this process. Most visitors don’t convert on their first visit.

Banner ads are not only effective in generating leads, but they are also useful in retargeting users. This is done through the use of cookies. When a visitor clicks an ad and is redirected to the advertiser’s page, the page embeds a “pixel” on the visitor’s browser. This tracks the user’s online activities and helps advertisers deliver highly personalized ads across the user’s major online touchpoints.

In this way, banner advertising enables publishers to monetize their websites while helping marketers increase brand awareness and sales.

Is Banner Advertising Still In The Game?

The advertising industry has come a long way since display ads first came into being. While the whole concept of digital advertising was kicked off with banner ads back in the day, now publishers and advertisers have a number of innovative ad formats at their disposal.

Surely, native ads or in-app ads have been proven to help publishers earn more revenue. But this does not indicate those banner ads are completely incompetent. Banner advertising has been a reliable way for publishers to earn ad revenue and for advertisers to enhance their brand awareness, and the fact that it is still in use alone says a lot.

The key to creating an effective banner advertising strategy is to ensure that you are thinking outside the box. On the advertisers’ side, the banner ad should be as creative as possible, it should be eye-catching, and have a message that resonates with the user.

Publishers, on their end, can ensure that they are serving quality ads, which means having access to good demand partners. Such a strategy can definitely result in a successful banner ad campaign, and help publishers get more impressions.

How Does Banner Advertising Function for Publishers?

As a publisher with significant monthly visitor volume, one effective way to monetize your website is through banner ads. By connecting with display ad networks, you can sell ad space on your web pages for business promotions.

Here’s an overview of the process:

1. Sign up with a display network.
2. The display network will provide you with a script to add to your website.
3. The script will automatically display banner ads without the need for manual processes.
4. You will be paid for each click that the ads on your website generate.

By working with a display network, you can focus on creating great content while the network takes care of delivering targeted ads to your audience and handling the financial transactions.

How Does Banner Advertising Function for Advertisers?

Advertising on niche-specific publisher sites or those with high traffic volume is an effective way for advertisers to increase brand visibility and boost sales. Here’s an overview of the process of using banner ads to drive traffic towards your site:

1. Sign up with a display ad network: This is a platform that connects advertisers with website publishers to display ads on their sites.
2. Choose the type of website where you want to place your ads: This could be niche-specific sites that align with your brand or high-traffic volume sites that have a large audience.
3. The ads will be automatically placed on your preferred websites: Once you’ve selected the websites where you want your ads to appear, the ad network will handle the placement of your ads.
4. You pay on a per-click or per-impression basis: The cost of banner ads can be based on either the number of times the ad is clicked (per-click) or the number of times the ad is viewed (per-impression).

It’s important to note that the success of banner ads depends on various factors such as, targeting the right audience, ad placement and design, ad copy, and the landing page. To maximize the returns from banner ads, it’s crucial to keep testing different ad formats and ad copy to optimize the performance.

Why Should You Take Banner Size for Ads Seriously?

The size of a banner ad is an important factor in determining its success. Ad size not only affects the visibility of the ad on the page but also plays a crucial role in conveying the correct message to the target customer. For instance, a 160 x 600 pixel ad size may not be suitable for campaigns with long messages.

While ad networks offer a wide range of ad sizes, there are only a few banner ad sizes that are preferred by most advertisers. These are the most popular and highest-paying ad sizes, highlighting the importance of ad size in determining the success of a campaign.

Website Banner Size

Here are the most common dimensions of a website banner:

Google Banner Ads Sizes: Standard Banner Sizes

Small Square Banner Ad – 200 x 200
Large Rectangle Banner Ad – 336 x 280
Google Square Ad – 250 x 250
Leaderboard Banner Ad – 728 x 90
Inline Rectangle Banner Ad – 300 x 250
Skyscraper Banner Ad – 120 x 600
Wide Skyscraper Banner Ad Size– 160 x 600
Half-Page Banner Ad – 300 x 600
Large Leaderboard Banner Ad – 970 x 90

Instagram Banner Ad Sizes

Single Image Banner Ads – 400 x 500
Instagram Video Banner Ads – 400×500
Instagram Carousel Banner Ads Size – 1080 x 1080
Instagram Stories Carousel Ads – 1080×1920
Instgram Slideshow Banner Ads – 600 x 600
Instagram Stories Image Ads – 1080 x 1920
Instagram Stories Video Ads – 1080 x 1920

Facebook Banner Ads Sizes

Facebook Carousel Banner Ads – 1080 x 1080
Facebook Marketplace Banner Ads – 1200 x 628
Facebook Instant Articles Ads – 1200 x 628
Facebook Stories Banner Ads – 1080 x 1920
Facebook Collection Ads – 600 x 600
Facebook Feed Image Ads – 1200 x 628
Facebook Feed Video Ads – 600 x 315
Facebook Right Column Ads – 1200 x 628

Also Check: Best Mobile Ad Sizes & Formats For Increased Viewability

Examples of Banner Sizes

Here are the different types of banner size for ads for both desktop (website banner size) and mobile:

Mobile Banner Ad Sizes

What Are The Most Popular Banner Sizes for Ad in 2023?

The size of your banner ad can be a crucial factor in determining the success of your ad campaign. The banner ad sizes you choose may play a significant role in increasing awareness of your product or service, building your brand, or increasing sales.

The size of the banner ad can also vary depending on the publishing platform and the user’s device. For example, you may want to use different banner ad sizes for mobile and desktop versions of web pages.

With more people accessing the internet from mobile devices than from desktop computers, it’s important to consider the size of the ad on a mobile device.

Here are some of the most common standard banner sizes for 2023:

468 x 60 – Banner:

The 468 x 60 ad unit is the original top-of-the-page banner ad and is one of the most common ad sizes in use for the past couple of decades.

728 x 90 – Leaderboard Banner

Leaderboard banners are among the best-performing ad sizes, according to Google. They are large and highly noticeable, and are the first content a user sees when they visit a page.

970 x 90 – Large Leaderboard

The 970 x 90 is a comparatively new banner ad size introduced in 2013, also referred to as a large leaderboard. Due to its size and placement, this leaderboard ad has the potential to attract users and deliver ad messages more effectively.

320 x 50 – Mobile Leaderboard

The 320 x 50 Mobile Leaderboard is a common size for mobile campaigns. This banner usually appears at the bottom of the screen on a mobile web browser, but can be placed on top of the screen or within the content as required.

250 x 250 – Square

The 250 x 250 is a mobile banner ad size useful for both desktop and mobile web pages. Square ad banners are common mobile banners. However, since this format is small compared to other ad sizes, it may underperform on desktops when compared to larger banners.

200 x 200 – Small Square

The smaller version of the standard square banner, 200 x 200, is a small square banner that is available on both desktop and mobile networks. However, the effectiveness of such a small banner for desktop ads is also in question.

336 x 280 – Large Rectangle

The large rectangle banner is the bigger version of the medium rectangle, offering greater visibility.

300 x 250 – Medium Rectangle

The inline rectangle is another of Google’s top-performing banner ad sizes. This ad is commonly placed in the middle of content with a distinct design and CTA. It supports most ad formats, making it ideal for placing video ads and responsive ads.

120 x 600 – Skyscraper

Skyscrapers are slim, vertical banner ads that cover a considerable part of a web page. Audiences experience them progressively while scrolling the content. The 120 x 600 skyscraper banner is usually the slimmer and smaller format of the skyscraper variant and is usually placed on either sidebar of the publisher’s page.

300 x 600 – Large Skyscraper

The large skyscraper, also known as a half-page ad, is one of the best banner sizes for online ad placements. Since it covers 180,000 pixels, it can more easily grab user attention.

160 x 600 – Wide Skyscraper

While the wide skyscraper banner is wider than the regular skyscraper, ideal placement is the same as the regular version.

Best Performing Banner Ad Sizes in 2023 (Updated)

So, publishers do have a lot of options to choose from when it comes to banner ad sizes, but they need to see which ad size or sizes will give them the best results. Furthermore, some ad size are bound to perform better than others which can be because of a lot of reasons, for example, their placement.

To give publishers some idea about what ad sizes can help them earn more revenue, below is some information about some of the banner dimensions that perform best:

Medium Rectangle (300×250)

This ad size is considered to be the best performing ad size, which is also why it is expensive. In order to leverage this ad size advantageously, it is advisable to put it above the fold. By doing so, publishers can expect high CPMs. Additionally, if you use a medium rectangle along with a leaderboard ad, you can get higher revenue.

Other than this, the large rectangle (336×280) is also a popular ad format. This banner ad size is quite similar to a medium rectangle but gives room for more content. 

Leaderboard (728×90 Banner Ad Sizes)

Being a part of IAB standard ad units, leaderboard ads can be easily implemented. Moreover, the demand for these ad units is incredibly high in the market, which means the buying and selling process becomes easy. 

Leaderboards usually appear on the top of the page and therefore can be seen instantly by the user as they open the website. This being said, publishers can also experiment with placing these ads in between the main content and at the bottom to get better results. 

Wide Skyscraper (160×600 Banner Dimensions)

Also known as ‘large skyscrapers’, wide skyscrapers are another popular banner ad size. They are mostly placed on the side of the page and remain in view even if the user scrolls down the page, thereby ensuring improved ad viewability.  

Wide skyscrapers came into existence to replace the conventional skyscrapers (120×600), as the latter didn’t provide much space for content. However, it is not advisable to completely ignore skyscrapers, since they can also give good returns to publishers. 

Mobile Leaderboard Banner Sizes (320×50)

Mobile leaderboards are one of the most popular ad sizes or mobile, despite the fact that they are smaller mobile banner ads. On Google AdSense, these ads are listed as anchor ads, meaning that they stick to the bottom of the page and remain in view as the user scrolls down. 

Mobile leaderboard ads are known for providing a good user experience and are a good way to monetize mobile websites. 

Banner Advertising Best Practices

Here are the top 6 best practices for banner advertising:

A/B Testing for Banner Ad Sizes

In the previous section, we talked about banner ads that perform best. Although it is advisable to use popular ad sizes, publishers should not solely rely on them. It may better well be that some other ad format is performing better for a particular website based on the type of content.

So, publishers need to check properly which ad sizes are ideal for their websites. 

Deal With Banner Blindness

Banner blindness is a common phenomenon associated with banner ads since they are displayed constantly to the user. Eventually, users start to ignore ads which lead to reduced ad viewability. This can seriously hurt publishers’ revenue generation potential.

Therefore, in order to ensure that banner blindness doesn’t become a problem, publishers need to keep experimenting with their ad placements. For example, placing a leaderboard below the fold can be helpful. 

Use Ideal Ad Sizes For Mobile

As important as mobile web monetization is in this era, it can also be terribly tricky. The most important thing publishers need to keep in mind is to ensure that mobile ads are not intrusive in any way, as that can ruin the whole page experience.

In addition to this, it is important to provide users with a clear-cut way to get rid of the ad if they want to do so. 

Focus on Clutter-Free Designs

In order to create effective banner ads, it’s important to focus on clutter-free design and messaging. Given the limited time users have to notice your ads, it’s important to ensure that your message is clear and easy to understand. Cluttered designs can be overwhelming and will likely fail to capture users’ attention.

One way to achieve this is by keeping the design of your banner ads clean and minimalistic. This can be achieved by including as little text and as few images as possible. By simplifying the design, you can ensure that your message is conveyed in a clear and easy-to-understand manner. Additionally, using high-quality images and graphics can help to capture users’ attention, making it more likely that they will engage with your ad.

Consider Different Ad Formats

When it comes to display ads, there are many different ad formats to choose from. It’s important to select the format that best showcases your product or service. For example, a fashion brand might choose to use a video or a GIF to highlight their latest collections.

Dynamic ads can be an effective way to capture users’ attention, but it’s important to consider the placement and timing of these ads. Placing dynamic ads at the right time and location can help to ensure that users see the ad when it’s fully loaded and in its best form. Additionally, it’s important to consider the context of the ad, and make sure it’s relevant to the users and placed on the right website.

It’s also important to test different ad formats and measure their performance to find out which one works best for you. A/B testing different ad formats can help you to optimize your campaigns and achieve better results.

Test On Different Devices

When creating banner ads, it’s essential to keep in mind that users can encounter your ad on any device, including desktop and mobile. Therefore, it’s important to design your banner ads to be responsive and adaptable to different screen sizes and resolutions.

Most common banner sizes, such as the 320 x 50 mobile leaderboard and the 728 x 90 leaderboard, are suitable for both desktop and mobile web versions.

However, it’s important to ensure that your banner ads are placed correctly on all devices and that any necessary design adjustments are made to ensure that the ad looks great on any screen size. This may include adjusting the layout, text size, and image size to ensure that the ad is easy to read and engaging on any device.

What Is The Cost of Banner Advertising?

Here we’ll be examining the costs of advertising on Google, Facebook, and Instagram.  The cost of banner ads is based on different pricing models:

Cost Per Mille (CPM)

The cost-per-mile method doesn’t require that a visitor clicks on the ad. The advertiser pays money per every 1000 users who view the ad.

Cost Per Click (CPC)

The CPC method pays for each ad click. In this method, advertisers pay a set amount of money when a user clicks on their ads. It allows for greater brand visibility to thousands of people.

Read more: Understanding CPC vs CPM for Ad Publishers

Cost Per Action (CPA)

The CPA method is based on affiliate marketing. It is the most inexpensive method of advertising in which the advertiser will provide banner ads to an affiliate, and then the affiliate will pay money to post that ad on the web.

Cost structures for banner ads typically depend upon a CPC, CPM, or CPA model. The CPC model provides better sales conversions, while the CPM is good for brand awareness and visibility.

Final Thoughts

The reason why banner advertising is a popular choice for publishers and advertising is the ease of implementation and high revenue potential. The large variety of banner ad sizes provides publishers with a way to monetize their websites in diverse ways.

 However, it is always better to understand your inventory before going for any specific ad size. Even if you come across an ad size that is proving to be fruitful, experimenting with other sizes is a good way to go about website optimization. 

If you’re looking for a way to get the most out of your website’s ads, get in touch with our experts today! AdPushup specializes in helping digital publishers optimize their ads and increase revenue. With the use of cutting-edge programmatic advertising technology and impartial and ethical guidance, AdPushup can help boost your ad revenue and grow your business. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us to learn more about how we can help you.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Related Terms:

1. Native Ads: Native ads easily blend in the website content. They appear similar to published content bringing out the look and feel of the website. For publishers, it reduces banner blindness and increases the chances of getting a click.

2. Display Ads: These ads stand out from the website and its content, bringing out the feel of the brand mentioned in the ads.

3. Responsive Ads: These ads can resize themselves automatically according to the space available. This makes them popular with advertisers. 

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