The ABCs of visual advertising that work

Visual advertising is a marketing concept that defines the relationship between an object, the context it is placed in and its relevant image.

Elements that make up visual advertising therefore include imagery, colours, fonts, composition, repetition, humour and basic appeal.

Visual ads are therefore important because they help the audience understand and remember, increase audience interest and act as notes or reminders. 

The Alphabet of Visual Ads

Below are some essential ABCs of visual ads that work:

A to H

A– Attracting the user’s attention should be the first and key focus.

B– Building Brand Trust – Elements such as your logo and colours (also known as your corporate identity) are of the essence of this.

C– Call To Action – The gap between the value proposition and the next steps down the conversion tunnel can only be filled by strong call to actions.

D– Destination – You must always confirm that your landing page transmits what users expect to see when they click on your visual ad.

E– Empathy – All great ads have this in common; they all speak to the users. Empathy helps you understand your target audience in terms of what makes them tick and what they respond to.

F– Frequency – How often should a visual ad be shown? Showing your visual ads too often is wasted money and annoys users. Control how often your target audience will see your ad.

G– Goal – Every visual ad should have a goal behind it. Set clear goals so that you know how your ads are performing against your set objectives.

H to M

H– Headlines – Along with images and design, headlines are key in attracting attention. You should therefore create a simple, effective headline for your ads.

I– It is an established fact that the brain perceives visual information 60,000 times faster than text. Choose eye-catching, professional and clear images for your ads.

J– Jokes – Effective humour has a way of driving info through and visual ads are not an exception especially if the joke is appropriate.

K– Know your metrics so that you know where you stand. Before you start your campaign, select the most relevant metrics for your objective.

L– Landing Page – A landing page is just as important as the visual ad. Landing pages need to reflect the promise your ads made. Create landing pages that mirror your visuals as much as possible.

M– Measurement – Measuring helps you to know how well your visual ads are performing. It’s important to measure what matters to see how you are doing against your objectives.

N to T

N– Native Ads – Native Ads refers to Ads that fully match the look and feel of the website or the platform they appear on.

O– Optimisation – Constant follow-up and optimisation allows you to have the best possible results. You must never make a mistake of working on a set-it-and-leave-it basis.

P– Pixel Perfect – Sloppy design will make your ads look unprofessional. Make sure that everything is in place with no jagged edges or blurry images. It’s often worth investing in professional photographs for your ads.

Q– Quality – Everything needs to be high quality. Images, good copy, proper alignment all allow you to build trust with your target audience.

R– ROI – Return on investment allows you to evaluate how efficient your ads are by comparing the invested budget and the total amount your ads brought in.

S– Simplicity – Simplicity is everything. Overcrowded visual ads make text hard to read and might deter users from taking action. Respect design principles and keep ads simple.

T– Target Audience – Who you are targetting is key. You can create the coolest ads, but if you are showing them to the wrong audience, you won’t see any results. Take a few minutes to think about your target audience and make sure you know how to reach them.

U to Z

U– Understandable – Good visual ads are easy to understand. The images are clear and professional, and text can easily be real and understood.

V– Views – View through conversions allows you to track results for users who saw your ads. To measure the full impact of your ads, tracking both click-through and view-through conversions is necessary.

W– Why – Why should someone click? This is the number one question your ads need to answer. Give your users a reason to click or at least something they can easily remember you by.

X– The X – The Adchoices X is the small sign in the top right corner that allows users to opt out of receiving specific ads and to report ads that cover page content.

Y– You – Your ads are not about you. They are about your target audience. The best ads create an amazing experience for the end user, not for the business owner or marketer.

Z– Zzzz – Z represents patience. Overnight success doesn’t happen in real life and it doesn’t happen with visual ads either. You need both time and patience to test and get good results.

Need some help with Visual Ads?

All of the ABC’s can be overwhelming, especially if you haven’t got experience in Google Ads. But we’re here to help. Contact us to chat to our PPC experts.