Guide to Pixel Advertising
It seems like Alex Tew, the 21 year old that came up with the
concept of MDH (MillionDollarHomepage.com) and pixel
advertising, really created more then just a way to make a quick
buck for himself. He struck a cord and maybe even fulfilled a
desperate need. A quick review of the Internet today reveals
hundreds of sites that have mostly duplicated his site with some
variations. Some of the sites use custom built scripts that
allow the users to select the pixel on an interactive grid, some
are allowing animated gifs and others are just clones.
I tried explaining this to a friend in the business and he had a
problem understanding the point of Pixel Advertising. As I
explained the new phenomenon I understood what this new "brand"
of advertising is all about.
Pixel advertising is a low cost way of advertising. Let's face
it, Search Engine Advertising is becoming more costly and media
is getting very expensive. Sites have gotten a whiff of the
Internet "revival" and they want to make up for post "bubble"
down time. Advertising for small/medium businesses and online
hobbyists is not easy.
Second, in terms of Search Engine Optimization there is some
value to a link from the home page of a site with a page rank,
although that can also be debated. There is a good chance that
unless the Pixel ad is relevant somehow, Google will not give it
too many points.
Finally, the ongoing evolution of the interactive web. I think
that more and more people wish to take an active part of the
evolving Internet. As the barriers to publishing content and
launching ideas online is reduced (Blogs, Podcasts and more) we
will see more initiatives where the audience will provide the
content and "online buzz". Viral marketing is after all the best
form of marketing and is at the core concept around which the
Internet was built.
So, to quote Alex Tew, if you still want to "be a part of
Internet history", this is a Guide to Pixel Advertising:
1. No Redirects. Make sure the link from the grid is a
direct link. Many of these sites are using dynamic redirection
and the link is not a direct one.
2. Page Rank of the Pixel grid. If the site has a page
rank it's a good start, if its PR4 or above even better.
3. Pixel grid theme. Is the pixel board themed is it
targeting a particular country? Geo targeting can be great here
and can help target your traffic and reach a particular market.
These types of sites have made local offline news in the past
and can receive some free buzz publicity helping out the
advertisers.
4. Look and feel. As always we look for the nice
packaging and although these are simple sites they should have a
clean professional look.
5. Stats are nice. Some of these pixel sites might
actually have site stats on the home page which can include
their Google and Alexa ranking and even some form of site
traffic information.
6. This is a gamble. In terms of advertising this is a
small investment. Expect that nothing will come of it and have a
good time with the experience. Set a budget and spend wisely.
7. Use it as a branding tool. Bring it up as a topic of
discussion on your blog. As the buzz continues so will the
attention your pixels will be getting. Some of the pixel grids
are collecting for charities and this may be a good way to
contribute as well.