Bigger is not always better! When it comes to performance of different online ad dimensions, 300 x 250 medium rectangles provide better exposure than bigger ad units such as 728 x 90 leaderboard and 160 x 600 skyscraper ads, because users spend more time viewing medium rectangle ads, findings of a Lotame study suggests. What does it mean to you? Let’s discuss some related points here.

Lotame is a platform for brands that enables targeted advertising to customizable audiences through social data. Based on 148.3 million ads served in 2009, Lotame conducted a study to measure if there are any differences in the average time spent on each of the IAB standard ad sizes. It found that internet users spent an average of 13 seconds viewing each 300 x 250 medium rectangle, 5.4 seconds viewing each 728 x 90 leaderboard, and 1.9 seconds viewing each 160 x 600 skyscraper ad.

Adsense Medium Rectangle

It means internet users tends to ignore the ads that looks bigger? I think yes. Notice the difference between 13 seconds and 1.9 seconds. In my view, this is a big difference and it may have great impact on the success of an ad campaign. Well, the Lotame study didn’t looked at click-through rates and there is no way to tell how time spent on viewing ads is related with click-through rates.

What we can learn from this? From the point of view of an advertiser, more time spent on viewing an ad means more exposure and increases chances of a successful advertising campaign. Yes, there are many things such as geo-targeting, that you may need to consider while posting an ad. But can you expect better conversion from ads that not even make an impression at all? Think about it. Size does really matters in online advertising.

From publisher’s point of view, I always believe that medium rectangles offers better click-through rates and thus may help in increasing ad revenue. Now the Lotame study shows that users too love those ads. At least they look at them! Does it mean that you will get more clicks? Well, there is no evidence that more time spent on viewing an ad means more clicks. Still, you can expect some when compared to ads that users hardly look at! What you say?

But, the advertising rates depends on your website, ad position, content and other factors. So, your ad revenue will also depend on those factors. Then, how to maximize your income from ads delivered by ad networks such as Google AdSense? No matter what kind or what size of ad you use on your website, better placement of ads is most important for maximizing your ad revenue. Try to experiment with different ad sizes on different positions on your website. Monitor their performance and choose the one which performs best on your site.