If you were part of the earliest generation of internet users, you might cringe when you see the term “banner ads.”
But the reality is, banner ads are a remarkably effective advertising strategy in the modern era – and they’ve come a long way from the obnoxious, flashing prototypes of yesteryear.
When you place banner ads, you can pay for them in any number of different ways. You might purchase banner ads with a pay per click (PPC) strategy where you only pay for the clicks you receive. But it’s more common to pay for impressions.
For example, if you have an ad with a $5 CPM rate, you’ll pay a meager $5 for each 1,000 views of the ad on a target website.
If you’re optimizing for brand awareness or the highest stages of your sales funnel, impressions might be enough. But for the rest of us, it’s important to optimize for clicks in this scenario. After all, if you’re not generating clicks, you’re probably not generating revenue. And if you’re not generating revenue, you’re not going to have a positive return on investment (ROI).
So what steps can you take to increase banner ad clicks?
Most of us remember the troubled history of banner ads.
Aggressive banner ads were on almost every website, flashing and shaking to get our attention while advertising some truly questionable products and services.
But modern banner ads are much more refined. These advertisements are highly targeted, they’re designed to be both relevant to a target audience and appropriate for the website on which they’re featured. And they must be as noninvasive as possible – or else, they’re going to be removed by the hosting website or the distribution network.
You also need to keep in mind that most web users remember or at least acknowledge a past in which banner ads were spammy and annoying. People, in general, don’t like obnoxious advertisements, so they’ll willfully ignore most of the overt banner ads they encounter in the wild. In other words, you have your work cut out for you.
If you’re going to keep your ads rotating and relevant in modern times, while simultaneously pleasing your target audience, you need to optimize those ads to be as relevant and attractive as possible.
Let’s look at the strategies that can help you get there.
Now for the meat of this article: how to increase banner ad clicks.
These are some of the best tactics for earning more clicks from your banner ads across your entire campaign:
Your first priority should be better understanding your target audience. Who are your target demographics and how are you going to appeal to them? Some advertisers make the mistake of appealing to the most general, universal audience, with the hope of reaching a greater number of people – but this is a mistake. It’s typically better to have very specific content that’s relevant to a defined niche, even if that niche is relatively small. Do the upfront work of conducting market research and thorough surveys so you can understand more about how your demographics think, how they make purchasing decisions, and how they might respond to different types of advertising. With this information, you’ll be able to craft ads and messages that are much more appealing and persuasive.
Google has some important rules and guidelines you’ll want to follow for your website banner ad campaigns. Even if you’re displaying these ads on a different network, these are good rules of thumb to follow.
Your banner ads can’t contain any flashing or shaking elements designed to hijack the attention of users; they also can’t masquerade as part of the website, tricking users into taking action through deception or false information. This type of display advertising should always follow ethical guidelines to ensure you don’t fall victim to banner blindness, where users instinctively ignore ads that feel intrusive or deceptive.
In general, if you treat your users with respect and commit to straightforward honesty, you should have no trouble getting through these filters.
Your banner ads will attract far more clicks if they’re placed on websites that are relevant to your users as well as what you’re selling. This is why ad placement is crucial. For example, let’s say you have a business that sells mountain biking gear. Do you think your website banner ad will attract more clicks on a forum for outdoorsmen or a website that brings together a crocheting community?
There’s probably some overlap between crocheters and mountain bikers, but we can safely assume that the outdoorsy website is going to yield better results. Fortunately, Google Ads and other digital advertising networks give you considerable control over what types of websites host your banner campaigns.
The design of your ad is arguably the most important variable to perfect, since it’s going to be responsible for forming first impressions and attracting the attention necessary for your words to have an impact.
It’s important that the aesthetic is specifically appealing to your target demographics and aligns with your brand identity. For example, younger audiences might prefer brighter colors and more exciting, dynamic content, while older audiences might appreciate more subtlety and minimalism.
Young parents might appreciate relevant images of children and families spending time together, while wealthy buyers of luxury products want to see images of a lavish lifestyle. A great example of effective display advertising is ensuring that visuals match the emotions and aspirations of your potential customers.
Banner campaigns come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but they generally occupy a minimal amount of space on a website. It’s tempting to cram as much information as possible into this relatively small canvas, but minimalism is a safer strategy.
If you make use of white space, and only include the designs and information that are truly valuable, you’ll make the most of the space you have while simultaneously avoiding the risk of overwhelming your audience. A well-balanced ad can boost traffic to your website and help increase brand awareness among new and returning users.
A clever tagline or hook is another way to capture user attention. Website banner ads don’t typically provide you with much space, so you need to reduce your message to its simplest possible form. Instead of giving your users a bulleted list of advantages granted by your product, or explaining to them why your services are useful in a full paragraph, you have to get your point across and motivate action in the span of one or two sentences.
This can be a difficult task even for the best copywriters, so spend some extra time brainstorming and whittling down your list of possibilities. Try to motivate action without resorting to clichés; the more original and exciting your hook is, the better your average click-through rate will be.
Search ads may drive traffic to your site, but a well-designed website banner ad with a compelling hook can be just as effective in digital marketing. The right balance of visuals, copy, and strategic placement will help you get more clicks, drive conversions, and enhance your overall advertising success.
If you want people to click through, you need to give them a clear motivation, so try to include a clear call to action (CTA). Action words tend to be more effective than other types of language; for example, a phrase like “clean your kitchen faster than ever – shop now!” will probably generate more clicks than “wish your kitchen was cleaner, faster?” even though both phrases are topically similar.
People will be much more likely to click if you stimulate their curiosity. Instead of telling them or showing them everything up front, get them thinking about the possibilities. For example, a phrase like “ever wonder what a better dating app could look like?” will probably generate more clicks than a phrase like “the dating app you’ve always wanted” accompanied by still images that show off the best features of the app immediately.
I know this goes against most design fundamentals, and will probably irritate half of our audience, but the reality is, ugly ads can perform well. Why? Maybe some of us have a morbid curiosity. Maybe “beautiful” ads are so abundant that people long for something different. Or maybe especially ugly ads are simply better at generating initial attention. Whatever the case, we’ve found that deliberately ugly ads have the potential to generate clicks in a powerful way. It doesn’t always work, and you have to be careful not to damage your brand reputation, but it’s a worthwhile strategy to keep in your back pocket.
Just because the ad is displayed on a website doesn’t mean that people are going to see it, even if they’re counted as an impression. If you want to get more user attention, and therefore more clicks, you need to stand out with bolder visuals. The best visual elements are ones that provide strong contrast; ideally, you’ll break away from the style of the website hosting the ad while simultaneously presenting something visually stimulating, like complementary colors. Experiment with different placements to see how your ad might fit in the context of different types of websites. You might be surprised to find how much it blends in without a deliberate effort to help it stand out.
There’s no rule that says you can’t have any animation in your banner ads, though aggressive animations like flashing and shaking could get your ad removed. When used responsibly, animations can draw more attention to your banner ad, ultimately inviting more clicks and forming a better impression with your users. If you choose to do this, make sure your animation is eye-catching, yet subtle enough to avoid disrupting users unnecessarily. Slow pans or zooms could be exactly what you need.
Before we conclude this article, we need to stress an important truth: clicks aren’t everything.
In following this guide, and developing more banner ad campaigns, you’ll be tempted to optimize for clicks at the expense of every other metric. It’s true that clicks are a good thing for your campaign, but you can’t afford to neglect other performance indicators and important variables.
For example, you’ll still need to think about the engagement value and conversion rates of your landing pages. Even if you have the best banner ad in the world that generates an insane number of clicks, your strategy will fall apart if your landing page is unengaging or incapable of facilitating conversions.
Put simply, clicks are just one part of a “balanced diet” of banner ad metrics to track. Try not to lose sight of this in your pursuit of advertising greatness.
Hopefully, our strategies and tips have been helpful in reshaping your banner advertising strategy.
But there’s no such thing as a perfect approach to advertising; you can always make your ads more relevant and better at generating clicks.
If you want to continuously optimize your banner ad campaign, this is the process you’ll need to follow moving forward:
Banner ads are easy to display, but tough to master.
If you want your banner ads to stand out and get more clicks, or if you just need help fine-tuning your existing display ad strategy, we’ve got you covered. At PPC.co, we have a robust team of seasoned experts to help you accomplish all your digital advertising goals.
Contact our expert PPC agency today for more information!
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Whether you’re a life coach or a business coach, you need a steady flow of leads to stay profitable. It’s not enough to post on social media. No matter how popular you become, being well-liked and even loved doesn’t guarantee clients.
For coaching businesses, pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns can be a powerful way to attract high-intent leads – people actively looking for transformation, accountability, and clarity. But you can’t just throw some ads up on Google and expect results. You need a strategy that uses the right targeting, messaging, and structure to avoid expensive lessons in trial and error.
In this guide, we’ll break down the essentials of building cost-effective PPC campaigns designed specifically for coaches who want conversions, clients, and growth.
The first step to creating any high-performing PPC campaign is identifying what your potential clients are searching for online. PPC ads show up in search results (Google, Bing) and social media feeds (Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok) based on the phrases users type into the search bar when looking for content.
To get your ads seen by your ideal clients, you’ll need to tap into their innermost thoughts – like a burned out executive searching TikTok at 2:00 a.m. for “how to find my purpose” or “how to get a promotion.” You’ll want to target searches that indicate the user is unhappy and is looking for a solution that coaching can help them achieve.
Not all keywords are equal. You’ll get more leads that convert by targeting keywords that indicate a user is ready to take action. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, and Ubersuggest to find keywords with strong intent. High-intent searches might include phrases like:
· Business coach for entrepreneurs
· Life coaching to reduce stress
· Life coaching to find my purpose
· How to grow my small business fast
· Career transition coaching
These and similar phrases related to your coaching business will be the foundation for your paid ad campaign on any platform.
The customer journey consists of three stages that lead someone into the buying stage:
· Stage 1: Awareness. The prospect is aware they need help, but they don’t know exactly what they need or how to get it.
· Stage 2: Consideration. The prospect has named their problem and are actively looking for a solution.
· Stage 3: Decision. The prospect knows they want to work with a coach, and they’re in the process of deciding who to work with.
If you’re running a full marketing campaign with email marketing, you’ll want to run ads that address leads in all three stages. The people you capture in stages one and two will need to be nurtured over time through email. Leads you capture in stage 3 can be more easily turned into a paying client faster. If you aren’t capturing emails yet, only target leads in stages two and three for the best results.
No matter what type of coach you are, your ideal clients will have a variety of goals and pain points. Not everyone will share the same concerns or desires. For example, some business owners want to grow their business and open new locations, while others want to build a stronger team or increase their revenue. Some life coaching clients want better relationships while others want to find their life purpose. When you run ads, your target market needs to think, “this ad is for me.” Generic copy won’t cut it.
You’ll need to run a different ad campaign aimed at each client avatar. To get the most conversions, you’ll need to reach one avatar at a time. Speaking to one avatar in your ads and landing page copy allows you to go deep into their needs, fears, hopes, worries, and concerns. The more specifically you can connect with people, the more likely they are to convert.
To figure out what your ideal clients want, think about their struggles and the potential keywords they might be searching on various platforms. For example, a lot of people are unhappy at work. In this case, potential keywords they might be searching for include:
· How to find a job that doesn’t suck
· How to handle conflict at work
· How to win respect at work
Once you know the pain points you want to target, craft your messages so they speak to emotional triggers. People respond to a sense of urgency (“Burned out? Don’t wait”), personal growth promises (“Find your life purpose in 90 days”), and emotional relief (“Stop second-guessing yourself”). Speak to where your ideal client is right now and show them you can take them where they want to be.
Using this information, you’ll craft ads with headlines, copy, and corresponding landing page copy that speaks directly to your ideal clients. For example, your ads might look like this:
Problem/Keyword search: How to find a job that doesn’t suck
Ad headline: Hate Mondays? Let’s Fix That.
Ad copy:
You spend 90,000 hours of your life at work. Shouldn’t more of them feel fulfilling? Learn how to reconnect with purpose and enjoy what you do. Book your free clarity call now.
Problem/Keyword search: How to handle conflict at work
Ad headline: Tired of Office Drama? Here’s Your Way Out
Ad copy:
Learn strategies to set boundaries and manage work conflict like a pro. Click for a free strategy session.
Problem/Keyword search: How to win respect at work
Ad headline: Feel Invisible at Work? Let’s Change That
Ad copy:
You’ve got the skills. You put in the hours. But the recognition never follows. Sound familiar? Respect isn’t about being louder – it’s about confidence, clarity, and strategy. Book your free consultation and finally be recognized for your full value.
Just like each of your ads target a specific avatar, your landing pages need to do the same. Don’t send traffic to your homepage. Your landing page should reflect exactly what your ad promised.
If your ad says, “Executive Coaching for Burnout Recovery,” then the landing page should address burnout, speak directly to executive professionals, and offer a call-to-action (CTA) for a discovery call.
Effective landing pages consist of the following elements:
· A dedicated page made just for your ad
· A seamless transition from ad to landing page
· A clear headline that addresses the pain point directly
· Testimonials or results from real clients if possible
· A strong CTA, like “Book your free 30-minute breakthrough session”
· A clickable phone number or link to book a call immediately
Remember, you’re not selling coaching services. You’re selling a better version of your prospect’s life. Make sure your copy reflects that.
Coaches often underspend on ads, thinking they can game the system with just $5/day. That’s not an effective strategy. What you may not realize is that setting a low budget actually reduces the number of people who see your ad. Your ad visibility increases the more you spend.
Start with a modest, but meaningful budget of at least $1,500-$2,000 per month. The good news is your cost per click (CPC) will be significantly lower than other industries, like legal and insurance. However, if you’re not sure how to set a PPC budget or handle bidding strategies, hire a professional PPC agency to manage your ads. It’s the easiest way to avoid costly mistakes.
Your ads should target the right people at the right time.
First, think about your ideal client who is looking for your services.
Who hires coaches? Usually, it’s:
· Entrepreneurs who feel stuck or overwhelmed
· People who want to start a business, but don’t know where to begin
· Mid-level professionals seeking career growth
· High achievers facing burnout
· People at a personal crossroads (divorce, job loss, mid-life crisis, etc.)
Once you pinpoint who might be looking for your services, you’ll need to choose the right advertising platforms. Your main options are:
· TikTok Ads
· Instagram Ads
· Pinterest Ads
Advertising on each of these platforms comes with pros and cons – some are specific to coaching services. For example, while Pinterest is likely cheaper than Google, Pinterest leads might not be committed. However, TikTok and YouTube users frequently search for solutions to specific problems.
You might be surprised to learn that TikTok is a gold mine for coaching businesses. It’s not just an app for teens. Over 71% of TikTok’s users are between 18-34 years old, and 32% are 25-34 years old.
Unlike other platforms, TikTok doesn’t function like a typical social media platform where the purpose is to build a community. It’s more like an outreach platform and people are constantly discovering new content creators. The algorithm’s goal is to get as many people watching content for as long as possible. To achieve this, users are given content based on their interests, not just from people they follow. You don’t need followers or viral content to get seen. Each video stands alone in the algorithm and has an equal chance at getting attention.
People use TikTok to find insights and advice on just about everything you can imagine, including personal and business-related situations. While you can run ads on TikTok without a following, it helps to have an established account with solid content. You’ll build more momentum this way, and you can boost your native content to earn more trust across the platform.
Additionally, TikTok ads can target users based on hashtag interactions. People use hashtags on TikTok to find content more than any other platform. If you’re not advertising on TikTok, you’re missing out on clients.
Coaching clients aren’t impulse buyers, and they need to see your face and personality to know if they want to work with you. Wherever you run ads, you can expect people to click on your account to check you out. You’ll get more conversions by publishing short, engaging videos that show your authenticity and provide inspiration and support.
Whichever platform(s) you choose to advertise on, make use of custom audiences to target your potential leads as specifically as possible.
Everyone wants clarity, but not everyone wants to pay for it. That’s why you need to block certain searches using negative keywords. You don’t want your ads to show up for people who are just curious, looking for freebies, or looking for unrelated services. They’ll just click on your ads, waste your ad budget, and potentially waste your time if they sign up for a free call.
Suggested negative keywords for coaches include:
· Free coaching session
· Coach training program (these people want to be coaches, not hire one)
· Sample coaching questions
· Coaching worksheets pdf
Defining these and similar negative keywords will keep your clicks high-quality and your cost per lead low.
It can be exciting to see how many people are viewing and clicking on your ads, and there is a time and place to assess impressions and clicks. However, unless you’re focused on optimizing your ads, forget click-through rates (CTR) and look at how many calls you’re getting booked, how many contact forms are being submitted, and how many email addresses you’re collecting through your lead magnet downloads.
It’s crucial to know which campaigns are bringing you results so you can cut the ones that aren’t working.
People don’t usually buy high-ticket coaching packages the first time around. They need time to research, investigate, and consider their options. You might get some clicks and email signups from your ads that don’t turn into paying clients right away. That’s where remarketing comes in.
Set up ads on Google and Facebook to follow users who have already clicked on your ads and visited your website. Since these ads will be displayed only to people who have already interacted with your brand, you can use different value points to engage them, like testimonials, free guides, and limited-time offers.
Facebook retargeting options are pretty specific compared to other platforms. Since Facebook and Instagram are both owned by Meta, you can target people who have interacted with your Instagram page, too. You can even upload a list of your existing email subscribers from your segment that hasn’t yet converted and target them with relevant ads.
At PPC.co, we help life and business coaches run PPC campaigns that turn clicks into clients. Whether you’re scaling a coaching business or launching your first coaching program, we’ll help you connect with the people actively searching for your services.
Contact us today for a free digital marketing consultation and let’s start turning your ads into paying clients.
