Banner Sizes: The Definitive Guide to Banner Advertising

One of the most important things to consider when creating banners for Display Advertising is which sizes to use. The banner sizes can have a major effect on how ads perform – and the right choice can in fact boost your marketing results.

To help you out we’ve collected data from 4.8 billion ad impressions on millions of sites to bring you the most up-to-date statistics on banner usage.

If you want to know which banners are the most commonly used across the web, this guide is for you.

Do you need advice on how to create banners that convert? Book a demo for a free consultation session with your Allymonews Rep. on how you create banners that boost campaigns!

Banner Sizes: The Must-Have Banners for 2023
The top Banner Sizes are sorted by how frequently they’re used

Common Web Banner Sizes

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has created standardized guidelines on banner sizes, which work across all advertising networks, including the Google Display Network (GDN).

If you want to learn more about the different sizes and how common they are, you will find the 15 most important formats in a handy chart below – together with how common they are, to make it easier for you to plan your campaign.

Standard Banner Sizes

Here are the most common banner ad sizes for 2023.

1. 468 x 60 – Banner

468 x 60 – Banner

The 468 x 60 ad unit is the original top-of-the-page banner ad and is one of the most common ad sizes in use over the past couple of decades.

This banner size was pretty common with marketers when people would visit web pages on low-resolution screens. 

2. 728 x 90 – Leaderboard Banner

728 x 90 – Leaderboard Banner

Leaderboard banners, also called horizontal banners, are among the best-performing ad sizes, according to Google. They are large and highly noticeable.

Leaderboard banners are also the first content a user sees when they visit a page.

3. 970 x 90 – Large Leaderboard

970 x 90 – Large Leaderboard

The 970 x 90 is comparatively a new banner ad size introduced in 2013. It’s also referred to as a large leaderboard. Because of its size and placement, this leaderboard ad has the potential to attract users and deliver ad messages more effectively. 

4. 320 x 50 – Mobile Leaderboard

320 x 50 – Mobile Leaderboard

320 x 50 Mobile Leaderboard is a common size for mobile campaigns. This banner usually appears at the bottom of the screen on a mobile web browser. However, it can be placed on top of the screen or within the content as required. 

5. 250 x 250 – Square

250 x 250 – Square

The 250 x 250 is a mobile banner ad size useful for both desktop and mobile web pages. Square ad banners are common mobile banners. However, since this format is small compared to other ad sizes, it may underperform on desktops when compared to larger banners.

6. 200 x 200 – Small Square

200 x 200 – Small Square

The smaller version of the standard square banner, 200 x 200, is a small square banner that is available on both desktop and mobile networks. However, the effectiveness of such a small banner for desktop ads is also in question. 

7. 300 x 250 – Medium Rectangle

300 x 250 – Medium Rectangle

The inline rectangle is another of Google’s top-performing banner ad sizes. This ad is commonly placed in the middle of content with a distinct design and CTA. It supports most ad formats, making it ideal for placing video ads and responsive ads. 

8. 336 x 280 – Large Rectangle

336 x 280 – Large Rectangle

The large rectangle banner is the big brother of the medium rectangle, offering greater visibility. 

9. 120 x 600 – Skyscraper

120 x 600 – Skyscraper

Skyscrapers are slim, vertical banner ads that cover a considerable part of a web page. Audiences experience them progressively while scrolling through the content. The 120 x 600 skyscraper banner is usually the slimmer and smaller format of the skyscraper variant and is usually placed on either sidebar of the publisher’s page. 

160 x 600 – Wide Skyscraper

160 x 600 – Wide Skyscraper

While the wide skyscraper banner is wider than the regular skyscraper, ideal placement is the same as the regular version. 

300 x 600 – Large Skyscraper

300 x 600 – Large Skyscraper

The large skyscraper, also known as a half-page ad, is one of the best banner sizes for online ad placements. Since it covers 180,000 pixels, it can more easily grab user attention.

Mobile Banner Ad Size Guide

Mobile banner ad sizes can vary, but the most common banner sizes are 320×50, 320×100 and 300×250 for phones and tablets and 468×60 and 728×90 for tablets.

There are several options for advertisers regarding mobile banner ad sizes, as seen in the above table.

Out of the above, the most popular banner size is 320×50 due to its low price for advertisers. Publishers and small and mid-sized businesses can leverage brand awareness with these mobile ad sizes. 

Moreover, it provides a great user experience since it is non-intrusive and doesn’t interrupt the user from the content.

Standard Banner 320 x 50: The banner size most commonly used by app developers is the standard banner. It is generally seen at the top or bottom of app content and is popular for gaming apps. 

Medium Rectangular Banner, 300 x 250: Unlike small and large banner ads that typically sit at the top or bottom of mobile content, the medium rectangular banner generally appears in the middle of app content as users scroll through an app. The larger size means advertisers can include more information to highlight key features of the product or service being advertised.

Large Banner 320 x 90: This banner is slightly larger than the standard size, occupying more app real estate. It works well with animated banners and video banners due to its increased size.

Smart Banners: Smart banners are ad units that can detect the width and orientation of the device and serve the ad in the appropriate size. These ad sizes are implemented with smart banners:

Now that we know about popular mobile ad banner sizes, we move on to understanding what the right ad type and size for your campaigns is.

Which ad sizes are the most popular?

Our research shows that the different banner sizes are very unevenly distributed in their usage, with 4 variations dominating the digital adv