Sidebar Ads

A sidebar ad (also known as a skyscraper ad) is similar to a banner ad, but it is vertically oriented rather than horizontally. Because it is vertical, the height of a sidebar ad can often reach 600 pixels or more, and sidebars are generally 120 pixels wide.

A sidebar ad has more impact than a banner ad for at least two reasons:

• A tall sidebar ad is two to three times larger than a banner ad.
• You cannot scroll a sidebar ad off the screen like you can a banner ad. With a banner ad, you can scroll just 60 pixels down and the ad is gone. With a sidebar ad, the ad is with you much longer.

Because of this increased impact, sidebar ads have higher branding power and a higher click-through rate. A typical sidebar ad has a click-through rate of 1 percent (10 clicks per 1,000 impressions), or about two to three times that of a banner ad. Advertisers will typically pay $1.00 to $1.50 per 1,000 run-of-site impressions for sidebar ad placement. Advertisers pay more for targeted sidebar ads, just like they do with targeted banner ads.