What Are Side Banners? A Simple Guide to Their Use and Purpose
Dec, 4 2025
Side banners are those narrow vertical ads you see running along the left or right edge of a website. They’re not the big top-of-page banners or the pop-ups that ruin your reading flow. These are quiet, persistent, and often overlooked - but they’re one of the most effective ways websites make money from ads. Unlike banners that disappear after a few seconds, side banners stick around as you scroll, keeping your attention even when you’re halfway down the page. They’re common on news sites, blogs, and e-commerce platforms because they don’t interrupt the main content - they just sit there, quietly doing their job.
Some sites use side banners to promote services like escort parís, which might seem unrelated at first, but it’s a real example of how niche advertisers target specific audiences. If someone’s browsing travel blogs or lifestyle content, a side banner for an escort service in Paris can feel oddly relevant - not because it’s intrusive, but because the context matches the user’s mindset. That’s the power of side banners: they work best when they’re not shouting, but whispering to the right person at the right time.
How Side Banners Work
Side banners are usually 160x600 pixels or 300x600 pixels in size. These dimensions are standardized across most ad networks because they fit neatly into the margins of desktop and laptop screens without pushing the main content too far inward. On mobile devices, they often disappear or shrink to avoid cluttering the small screen. Most are built using HTML and JavaScript, loaded from third-party ad servers like Google AdSense, Media.net, or Taboola. The ad content changes based on your browsing history, location, and even the time of day.
When you visit a site, your browser sends a request to an ad server. That server checks what kind of user you are - maybe you’ve been searching for Paris travel tips - and then picks an ad that fits. If you’ve looked at luxury hotels or French cuisine recently, you might see an ad for high-end travel experiences. Or, in some cases, something like an
Why Websites Use Side Banners
Not every website can sell subscriptions or charge for content. Many bloggers, independent publishers, and small news outlets rely on ads to pay for hosting, writers, and tools. Side banners are ideal because they don’t require users to click anything to generate revenue. Just showing the ad counts as an impression, and advertisers pay per thousand impressions (CPM). That means even if you never click on it, the site still earns something.
They’re also less annoying than pop-ups or auto-playing videos. Users tolerate side banners more because they’re static, don’t block content, and rarely make noise. A 2023 study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau found that users were 40% more likely to notice side banners than banner ads placed at the top of a page. That’s because our eyes naturally scan the edges of a screen - it’s a visual habit we’ve had since childhood, whether we’re reading a book or watching TV.
Where You’ll Find Them
You’ll see side banners most often on content-heavy sites: news portals like BBC or CNN, tech blogs like TechCrunch, travel sites like Lonely Planet, and even forums like Reddit when viewed on desktop. They’re rare on mobile apps because screen space is limited, and ads there tend to be native or interstitial instead.
Some sites use multiple side banners - one on the left, one on the right. Others use a single one on the right side, since most people read left to right and don’t want the ad blocking their reading path. High-traffic sites like Medium or WordPress blogs often rotate different ads in the same space, so you might see a fitness product one day and a financial tool the next.
The Trade-Off: Revenue vs. Experience
There’s a balance every website must strike. Too many side banners, and users leave. Too few, and the site can’t pay its bills. Many sites now use a "banner density" rule: no more than one side banner per 500 pixels of vertical scroll. That keeps the page feeling clean while still earning revenue.
Some users install ad blockers, and that’s understandable. But if you like a site and want it to keep running, consider whitelisting it. Many publishers offer ad-free experiences for a small monthly fee - it’s often cheaper than a coffee. And if you’re a website owner? Start with one side banner. Test it. See how users react. Then adjust.
Side Banners vs. Other Ad Types
Here’s how side banners stack up against other common ad formats:
- Top banner (728x90): Big and visible, but often ignored after the first scroll. High CTR but low retention.
- Interstitial pop-up: Blocks content. Annoying. Leads to high bounce rates.
- Native ad: Looks like regular content. Works well, but harder to detect as an ad.
- Side banner (160x600): Always visible. Low interruption. Steady impressions. Best for brand awareness.
Side banners don’t convert as well as click-based ads, but they build recognition. If you see the same ad for three days in a row, you start to remember it. That’s called frequency effect - and it’s why big brands still use them.
What to Avoid
Don’t overload your site with side banners. Even if you’re allowed to show three or four, stick to one. More than that, and you risk pushing your content off-screen or making the site feel like a billboard.
Avoid flashing animations or auto-playing audio. These violate most ad network policies and drive users away. Keep it simple: image + text + clear call to action.
Also, don’t place side banners too close to navigation menus. If someone tries to click the menu and accidentally taps the ad, they’ll get frustrated - and they won’t come back.
Future of Side Banners
With more people using phones, side banners are slowly fading on mobile. But on desktop, they’re still strong. Some designers are experimenting with collapsible side banners - they start small, then expand when you hover. That gives users control, which improves trust.
AI is also making them smarter. Instead of showing the same ad to everyone, systems now predict which ad will resonate most with each visitor. That means an ad for a Paris travel guide might appear next to an article about French history, while an
As privacy laws tighten, side banners will need to rely less on tracking and more on contextual targeting. That’s actually better for users - and for publishers who want to stay compliant.