The Best Banner Sizes—According to Google’s Performance Rating

We love banners of all sizes. Rich or standard, mobile or desktop, we’ll take them all! Lucky for us, our projects have included HTML5 banner ad units of all sizes, from the teeny tiniest—120×30—to some pretty grand builds like a 768×1230.

While we’re always overjoyed to help build any specific set of HTML5 animated banner ads for a campaign, some sizes are standard, even key, in most banner suites and ones that Google says perform best online. Especially if you’re new to the realm of banners, heeding Google’s list of the best banner sizes can’t steer you wrong!

HTML5 Banner Size Factors

Often the sizes and specs of banners in a digital marketing campaign depend on quite a few factors. Some of these factors could include:

• What the media agency has purchased for your ads. This will determine whether they are rich or standard placements and what specs your banners will need to adhere to.
• Suppose you intend to use video in your units. There are some ‘know before you go’ if you’re using video in banners.
• Where your banners will be seen? Are they across all devices or mobile-only?
• The real estate that is available in your media buy.
• What is the messaging of your banners is. Is there a lot of text (read this if that’s on the cards for your digital display banner campaign!), or is your campaign more imagery-based with a condensed message?

Top Performing Web Banner Ad Sizes

Ever the supportive resource for all our digital marketing needs, Google has listed the best banner sizes. So, if you are newer to the HTML5 banner game or merely want to make the best of their campaign, this will help you understand the different banner sizes.

An MPU banner ad is 300×250 – this is sometimes called a ‘medium rectangle,’ among other things. (You can check out our glossary for the full breakdown on 300x250s and all other banner-related terms!) These ads are especially popular because the inventory for this size tends to be more readily available. In addition, the MPU banner works well with both text and images. And this HTML5 banner ad does exceptionally well when placed at the end of articles.

The Large Rectangle banner ad is 336×280.  The specs and benefits of this size are very similar to the 300×250. But this size offers a few extra pixels on the width and height so that you can squeeze in a bit more imagery or a slightly bigger logo.

A Leaderboard banner ad is 728×90 –  this format works well with landscape imagery and minimal messaging. This animated banner size is relatively accessible, and these units do exceptionally well when used on forums or bookending site content.

A DMPU banner ad is 300×600 – this is sometimes called a ‘half-page unit’ as it sits along the margin of a website, taking up roughly half a page. This larger format allows for more impact on potential customers and is quickly gaining popularity with publishers and advertisers alike.

The Large mobile banner ad is 320×100 – this is an excellent alternative to the standard mobile units of 320×50 or 300×50 for brands who can’t utilize such a small space for their message.

Other HTML5 Banner Formats

This list is by no means an exhaustive list of all the available animated banner ad sizes. In fact, Google has a list of other supported formats to peruse depending on your digital marketing campaign’s specific needs. Additionally, when considering a campaign on a platform other than Google, such as Sizmek, there are often a few sizes that can be combined with different banner sizes to make up part of a bigger mobile unit or even a website takeover. Some other sizes we find ourselves working with quite often are: 970×250, 320×50, 120×600, and 160×600.

The 970×250 Billboard banner ads, for example, are one of the largest sizes of banners for desktop and tablet screens. They’re attention-grabbing and do especially well with scroll-stopping imagery or messaging that can’t be ignored. On the other hand, 320×50 banners are smaller mobile banners. These are perfect if your image is simple and your message is short and concise.

Finally, Skyscraper banner ads (120×600 and 160×600) are best formatted to showcase vertical imagery and short and sweet messaging. These fit perfectly along the side of a webpage as users scroll down, so they can be a great way to get your message seen by your target audience.

ARE YOU LOOKING TO CREATE AN AWESOME DIGITAL BANNER AD CAMPAIGN?

The possibilities for banner size configurations are endless. You really can’t go wrong! Of course, it all depends on the type of work you’re putting our banner buddies to, the file size,  and the assets you’re hoping to fill them with.

But if you’re finding yourself too deep in unfamiliar waters, we’re happy to lend a banner-experienced ear! TBM has created exceptional digital displays for clients just like yours. Contact us today, and let’s get started on your HTML5 banners!

Want to learn more about HTML5 banners? Then read our latest blog here.