Designing Banner Ads Like a Pro

“Do-it-yourself banner ad designers need a lot of what Yiddish calls ‘chutzpah.’ They have to believe that they can design a more effective banner than the professionals, one that gets an equivalent click-through rate (CTR). A good banner could pull a 2% to 3% CTR or more, while a mediocre banner might pull the industry average of 0.4%. In other words, an effective banner can have a huge effect on your advertising campaign, the difference between a triumph and a trouncing.” Note: Here are ad specs for Yahoo! (Standard, JavaScript) and Lycos.