Ever see a kid in a pepperoni suit on the side of the street, waving at people and hoping theyll stop in at the local pizza place? That kid in the pepperoni suit is trying to convince people theres a better place they could be headed.

That kid also knows that most of the people in the cars arent on their way to the local pizza place. Most of the people probably arent even hungry. But some of the people driving by just might change direction after seeing a giant dancing piece of pepperoni waving at them. Maybe.

Thats what a banner ad is like.

A banner ad is an ad in the shape of a banner (long and skinny). Youll usually see a banner ad at the top of a website, trying to lure you away from the website youve gone to. If you click on the banner ad - as the banner ad will usually tell you to do - you get whisked away from the website you originally went to, and end up on the banner ads website.

And unlike the kid in the pepperoni suit who waves at everybody whether or not theyre even hungry, the really smart banner ads are strategic. So if youre searching for running shoes, you wont see a banner ad for lipstick. Instead, youll see an ad for running shoes, or maybe running shorts, since those are related.

But why would someone let someone else put a banner ad on their website if the banner ad is specifically designed to lure people away? Thats like Jakes Pizza letting someone from Zekes Pizza stand at their door trying to get them to go to Zekes place instead.

The answer is cash. If you want to put a banner on someones site, you have to pay them to do so. Then, if your banner actually entices someone to leave site A to go to your site, at least the person who runs site A will have been paid by you for having your banner ad on their site.

So a banner ad simply tries to get you to go somewhere you werent originally going.

And thats why a banner ad is like the kid in the pepperoni suit.