Be present where people read.
Display advertising puts your brand inside the page, beside content people chose to read. The craft is in the size, the message and the placement — not in the number of banners.
Where the banner actually sits.
Every position shown takes one of the supported sizes. A campaign can target several positions; the exact mix depends on the publisher layouts that match your audience.
The five sizes worth preparing.
Start with one well-made creative per size you intend to run, rather than five versions of the same crop.
| Size | Name | Where it fits | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 728 × 90 | Leaderboard | Above content or across a section. | Keep it below the masthead so the headline stays on screen. |
| 300 × 250 | Medium rectangle | In-content and sidebar; the most flexible unit. | One placement per few paragraphs, not between every one. |
| 336 × 280 | Large rectangle | In-article on desktop and tablet. | Needs width; check it does not squeeze the text column. |
| 320 × 100 | Mobile banner | Small screens, between content blocks. | Text has to stay legible at phone width. |
| Responsive | Fluid | One creative that adapts to the slot. | Design for the smallest rendering, not the largest. |
What to prepare, and what comes back.
Creative checklist
- One message, readable at actual size.
- Brand visible without hovering.
- Contrast that survives a busy page.
- Destination matching the promise.
- No essential text within 8px of the edge.
Review outcomes
Creative is checked before it serves. The common returns are unreadable mobile text, a mismatch between ad and landing page, and interaction that surprises the reader.
Review is not a design critique. It is a check that the ad is honest and works at the size it was bought for.
Need templates? The banner size library holds the production templates.
CPM or CPC?
CPM when the job is presence
You are buying the moment of seeing. Use it for launches, brand recall and keeping a message in front of a defined audience across many pages.
CPC when the job is a visit
You are buying the step after the impression. Use it when the landing page can convert and you want spend to follow actual interest.
Both are set per campaign. You can change the model between campaigns, not inside one.
Put a banner in front of the right page.
Choose the size, build to it, and target the content your audience reads. Review happens before the campaign serves.
