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Using rich-media banners to give prospects a greater understanding of your product or service prior to click-through is one surefire way to boost the impact of an online ad in today’s challenging economy. Banners can include everything from video, audio, and mini-games to email and database functions. If rich media is not a good fit for your growing business, there are other ways to send response rates soaring and increase the effectiveness of your Internet advertising efforts. Consider these four tips:

1. Create a landing page. Instead of steering surfers to your company’s home page, set up a separate page that carries on the work of the ad. “If people see the ad, see that it addresses their needs, and the landing page continues where the ad left off, you’re far more likely to achieve your campaign’s objectives,” says Dave Collins, founder of London-based SharewarePromotions.
   
   
2. Don’t go with the flow. Using pattern-interrupt techniques is a great way to get your ad noticed, advises Dennis Franczak, president of the Boston-based ad agency Fuseideas. “Do the opposite of the standard branding of whatever Web site you’re advertising on,” he recommends. For example, go with simplicity and bright colors on a text-heavy news site.
   
   
3. Provide a preview. Make sure you inform online searchers what they are going to see when they click through to your site, says Heather Lutze, CEO of Lutze Consulting, an Internet marketing and advertising firm in Denver. “The ad text should tell them what they’re going to encounter — a price comparison, product review, or whatever it may be,” she notes. Also, consider including your 800 number in your Google ad text. A study by 800response, a provider of toll-free phone number services, found that 45 percent of consumers have a higher recall of vanity 800 numbers than of Web addresses.
   
   
4. Test, test, and test again. Vanessa Pagan, who runs PhantomCTO.com, a Gainesville, Fla.–based consultancy, stresses the importance of testing different ads and tracking their performance. The analytic program you choose should show the source of clicks, where they land on your site, and how they align with lead generation.