Are horizontal or vertical banners better for your website?

Ad Optimization
Last updated: January 18, 2023 | by Kean Graham
horizontal or vertical banners better

This post was most recently updated on January 18th, 2023

Straight from the point, this seems like a silly question. You might have set up a fantastic horizontal banner that just grabs the attention of your advisory committee and you know that you have it pegged down.  You have the banner down and you know it will be a firecracker of advertising.  Have you really thought about it?  If you spend some time looking through various companies’ banner placement, you find that much of it is horizontal.

It seems to make sense.  After all, the American eye reads from left to right on a horizontal plane!  What better way to place a banner.  Banner advertising is not that simple, though; sometimes, vertical banners shine.

Related Read: Banner Layout Cheat Sheet: Top Banner Placements that Work!

Over the years, and I can’t tell you how many years because it just doesn’t matter, the general viewer’s attention ignores horizontal placement of ads often.  Of course, it works sometimes, particularly if the client truly wants the services you offer and they are actively seeking them.  I run through literally hundreds of advertorial placements, and banner advertising is something I just go ahead and block.

I block it because it is usually too heavy with content and contains some asinine link that I would rather avoid the computer virus or tracking cookies that will result. This is no joke.  I would rather block all horizontal advertising content because I am ill from seeing the disgusting lack of creativity and the bogus promises.  Let’s face it; horizontal ad placement is not the best web banner design.

This does not mean that it lacks a home in banner advertising, just that the content of horizontal web banner design is so much like the fruitcake you get on Christmas.  It is flat, chewy, and simply not good. Horizontal banner placement can be effectively used as long as it is kept simple, particularly if it is an adjunct to direct vertical ad placement.

Horizontal banners are commonly 468×80 and it has been this way for many years.  This is why it is so common and easy to find. Vertical skyscrapers or vertically boxed ads draw more attention for a longer period of an observation than standard horizontal ad boxes.  Vertical skyscrapers and boxed ads beat standard ad sizes by creating optimal ad sizes by utilizing the best banner ad sizes and shapes. The AdSense team at Google has determined which ad box forms and sizes have yielded the highest click rates.  They published a list of these dimensions.  Take note, as these are the most effective forms in which to place your business promotions:

  • 336×280 large rectangles: This is great for creating eye-catching vertical images and links at the base.
  • 300×250 inline rectangle:  Here you can insert sharp, less curved images and plenty of link content.
  • 160×600 wide skyscraper:  You can embed video or animation here.  You can provide listed links with secondary links here.  That spreads a good promotion for the products and services of your company.

Related Read: Google Adsense Offers Responsive Ad Units

These optimal ad sizes will definitely override the banality of standard ad sizes and present a fresh view to all potential clients and give existing clients confidence that you are staying up with the trends that carry positive business revenue. MonetizeMore is an industry leader in website monetization and ad optimization.

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