According to research from Forrester there are almost as many internet users who initially respond to a banner ad by conducting a search compared with the number of users who click on the ad.
So even if your ads’ click-through rates are low (and they probably will be unless you’re pushing a great offer), they’re still working hard to drive brand awareness and site visits.
It’s easy to test banner advertising on a small scale, and the media space is getting cheaper all the time.
In a recent interview, Rupert Murdoch described how the rapid increase of banner advertising inventory is driving down ad rates. What's bad for publishers like Rupert is great news for advertisers, who can now negotiate rates lower than one dollar per thousand impressions. It's fantastic value for money.