Banner ads differ in sizes, but generally fall into eight categories (according to the Internet Advertising Bureau.) The banner ads are measured by pixel dimensions, with a pixel being equivalent to the smallest measurement of color that can appear as an image on a computer screen.

1. Micro button - this is the smallest banner ad you can come up with. It measures 88 x 31 pixels.
2. Button 2 - this is next in size, a bit larger than a micro button at 120 x 60 pixels.
3. Button 1 - this is larger than button 2 being 120 x 90 pixels in measurement.
4. Square button - being next in line, it measures 125 x 125 pixels to make a perfect square.
5. Vertical banner - this stands out among banner ads which are usually horizontal in orientation. It measures 120 x 240 pixels.
6. A half banner - another horizontal type of banner ad, that measures 234 x 60 pixels.
7. Full banner with vertical navigation bar - At 392 x 72 pixels, this is the second-to-the-largest type of horizontal banner ad. The vertical navigation bar allows you to scroll up or down to see the parts of the banner ad.
8. Full banner - this is the biggest type of banner ad, and occupies 486 x 60 pixels.

Usually, the full banner is used most often for advertising since it is the biggest and commands your attention the most. Banner ads may also be more high-tech and use other shapes aside from the de rigeur rectangle or square.

Majority of websites will host a banner ad if it meets their size limitations (ranging from 12K to 16K) since all banner ads take up space on their memory banks. Generally, the bigger the banner ad, the longer the time required for the browser to find and load the host website page.

Another way banner ads differ is in the type of content they feature. This is called the creative factor. At their simplest, banner ads may contain just one JPEG or GIF image (usually a static one); the more complex banner ads may use GIF-animated images to spark interest in the ad. If you really want to spend on your banner advertising campaign, you might want to offer banner ads with Shockwave or Java programming, video and even audio elements to draw in the visitors. But a commonality of banner ads is that they will allow you to click on them so they can link you to the website of the advertiser.

Some bogus companies rely on banner ads to offer promos to Internet users which are actually scams. Such companies give a bad name to banner advertisers, on the whole. It would be nice for the Internet community if such bogus companies could be penalized somehow for their scams. One common scam is that a banner ad will pop up and say that you are the nth person to click on that banner ad, thus you have won a certain amount of money. While the Internet remains a wild frontier, it is up to the Internet user to steer clear of such bogus companies employing banner ads.

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