Banner ads are a very popular form of advertising on millions of websites . Blogs and websites are loaded with banners advertising any and every product you can imagine. The presence of so many banners would lead one to believe that this method of advertising is extremely effective. The reality is banner ads only average a 2 percent clickthrough rate, and clickthrough is the “bread and butter” of online advertising. Thought the 2 percent is not impressive, you can increase your ad returns by using them effectively.

Avoid Burning Out. After how many impressions do people start ignoring your banner? Studies show that after the fourth impression, response rates drop, which is the point at which the banner no longer produces a good return.

Use Animation. There is no doubt that animation catches the eye of the reader. A little animation has shown an increase of 25 percent over static banners in some studies.

Use Bright Colors. Once again, the goal is to catch the reader’s eye. Use blue, green or yellow — they show better response rates than colors like white, red and black.

Direct Response. Simply put, tell them what to do — Click Here, Visit Now, or Enter Here. This has shown a response increase of 15 percent.

Questions. Statements and pictures are not enough. Cause interaction with the viewer. “Looking for Free Ebooks?”; “Have You Used…?” — pose a question and get the viewer involved!

Target the Viewer. The Web is full of places you can target your customers. Use forums and blogs that relate to your product. Chat rooms are another example — the object is to make your site and your ads produce. Take advantage of the Web’s ability to precisely reach your intended audience.

Joe Hunley has spent several years developing and promoting websites and blogs. For nore information on Internet marketing and promotion, visit his site, Tennreb’s Marketing Thoughts.

With the popularity of Google AdWords, many businesses are turning to paying for top placement on search engines. This is a surefire way to get exposure, but who wants to pay all that money? I was paying about $5.00 a click for a swimming pool website in the winter! So I put together this short list of free advertising possibilities to market your website.

• Get a MySpace or Facebook account. Yes, it’s free, and if you just spend about 2 hours a day trying to get friends, you will substantially increase your visitors. I started a MySpace account and had 400 friends by the end of the day and about 300 hits to my website.

• Start a mailing list. This sounds easier than it is. Trying to get people to sign up is the difficult part. You can offer a free download or some kind of free offer if they sign up. There has to be something in it for the visitor. But this will keep your visitors coming back.

• Optimize your website. I will say this a thousand times, but it’s really the big key here. If you have a pretty site with no text, chances are no one will find you. Content is king, so write that content. Oh, and it’s free!

• Comment on blogs or write your own. In order for people to know you exist, you got to talk and interact. The Internet is one big social gathering, and you need to gain popularity and you have to talk and gossip to get ahead. Find a blog you really like and contribute to it everyday and add your link. Or you can write your own blog if you want. WordPress and Blogger are free!

• Submit articles to EzineArticles.com. I sometimes write articles regarding pool care and Internet marketing and will post them on my blog and on EzineArticles.com. A lot of Web publishers will sift through these articles and use them on their websites, spreading out your link. Sometimes even I use them.

• Here is the key: persistence! Keep at it every day, adding new content. Patience! Traffic will come with more to offer and time. Keep adding to your knowledge.

Matthew Giovanisci is the marketing director of Killer Pickle, an Internet Marketing, Web design and search engine optimization blog.