banner

In computing, advertisement on a World Wide Web page, usually but not always in the form of a horizontal rectangular graphic. Clicking on the banner usually takes the user to the advertised Web site.

The link provides metric data used to price the cost of the advertising and to judge the success of the advertisement. The most commonly used item of data is the click-through, the number of surfers who click on the banner and are transferred to the intended Web site. Research has shown that click-through rates on the average banner are declining. However, advertisers are attempting to combat this decline using technological advances that allow more interactive forms of banner advertisement, incorporating animation, audio, and Java to grab the user's attention.