Ad banner design for Instagram, Facebook and Google – right sizes, one clear message

Four decisions before you design an ad banner

A banner has room for very little. Settle these four points first and design choices become easy, with far fewer rounds of revisions.

• Goal: purchases, bookings, inquiries, sign-ups or awareness – pick one
• Audience: beyond age and area, what problem or moment are they in?
• One message: choose the single reason that matters most to that person
• Destination: does the page behind the click show the same offer right away?

The fourth point is the one most often missed. If the banner promotes a starter set and the link opens your home page, the click is wasted. Plan each banner together with its landing page, and give every message a page that delivers on it.

Instagram and Facebook ad sizes and types

Meta ads can run across many placements at once, but each placement prefers a different shape. These four sizes cover most needs:

• Square 1:1 (1080×1080px): the standard feed format for both Instagram and Facebook
• Portrait 4:5 (1080×1350px): takes up more of a phone screen in the feed
• Vertical 9:16 (1080×1920px): for Stories and Reels; keep text and logos toward the center, since the account name and buttons overlay the top and bottom
• Landscape 1.91:1 (1200×628px): used for Facebook link ads and the right column

Instagram ad types include single image, video, carousel (up to 10 cards), Stories, Reels and collection ads linked to a product catalog. A wide range of products suits a carousel; showing a product in use suits vertical video. For how placements and targeting work together, see Instagram ads management.

Google Display ad banner sizes

On Google's Display Network, most advertisers now use responsive display ads: you upload assets and Google combines them to fit each slot. Fixed-size image ads are still available too.

• Responsive images: landscape 1.91:1 (1200×628px recommended) and square 1:1 (1200×1200px recommended)
• Responsive logos: square 1:1 plus landscape 4:1 for wider coverage
• Common image ad sizes: 300×250, 336×280, 728×90, 300×600 and 320×50 for mobile
• File size: uploaded image ads must stay under 150KB

Responsive ads often show your headline and description as text next to the image, so keep the image itself light on words. Specs change from time to time, so check the current Google Ads help pages before uploading. Campaign setup is covered in display ads management.

A checklist for banners that get clicked

Ads are seen for a split second between posts or articles. Whether it is a Facebook ad design or a Google banner, run through these points before launch:

• The main photo and message are readable when shrunk on a phone screen
• Text is limited to a headline and one supporting line; the photo does the work
• Brand colors and logo make it obvious who the ad is from
• The button says what happens next – "Book now", "See the menu"
• Real product or shop photos are used, matching the look of the landing page
• Claims like "No.1" or "lowest price" are backed by data you can show

That last point falls under Japan's Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations (景品表示法), and cosmetics or supplements also face the wording rules of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Act (薬機法). Guidance on both is updated, so check the latest official guidelines before finalizing copy. Checking Meta's and Google's ad policies at the same time saves delays in ad review.

Treat banners as something you keep improving

When the same banner runs for months, people who have seen it respond less and less. Banners work best when they are refreshed based on results. A practical rhythm:

• Start with three to five variations built on different messages and compare them
• Change one element per test – the photo or the headline – so the result is clear
• Once a message wins, add color and size variants to cover more placements
• When click-through rate or cost per result starts slipping, bring in new photos or a seasonal angle

This only works when conversions are tracked correctly in the ad platform and GA4. When design and ad management sit with different vendors, new banners often arrive long after the numbers called for them. The full picture is on Meta ads management.

How UNANOBO produces ad creatives: one contact with your ads

At UNANOBO, banners are produced as part of running your Meta and Google ads. Size variants for each placement, swaps based on results and improvements to the landing page are all handled by the founder personally, so the thinking behind each ad never gets lost between people.

We start by building a free demo of the page your ads will lead to, with its look and message matched to the banners. You see that first and then decide how to proceed. Ad and analytics accounts stay in your name, and everything runs by message, in Japanese or English.