Website Marketing- Pixel Page Advertising - The hottest advertising craze on the internet

What is next? I’ve been in marketing for many years, and just when I assume I’ve seen it all, I get shocked all over again. Every new trick I see causes me to laugh at the beginning. But then results come in the picture. You get to believe it. I’m talking about Pixel Ads.

So, what is pixel page? Or what is pixel advertising? Or what are pixel ads?

Pixel Ads, sometimes referred to as Micro Ads, are little advertisements that only slot in the space of a pixel on a web page. These ads range anywhere from a penny to a dollar per pixel and several sites are offering free Pixel Ads.

“Selling the ads on the front page of a site has been easy because they are attractive to watch and easier for site owner to get lots of traffic towards his site”, InnovativePixelPage, one of the companies selling pixel ads said. If an advertiser buys a 10x10 pixels or block or slot, it appears as a small square in the grid of small squares on the site's front page.

It is kind of strange. The site also makes advertising fun, instead of a "big, serious thing." IPP. It’s no secret that banner advertising has been gradually declining in popularity and effectiveness, and everyone has popup blockers installed to keep those annoying popup ads from screening. Pay-per-click advertisers are becoming increasingly frustrated with click scam, the high rate of unqualified clicks.

In pixel page, when visitors click on the ads that link to the advertiser's Web site, they are on these sites for hours. Already, the guys that bought the ads are reporting fabulous amount shifts.

Crazy Advertising Schemes :

You’ve all probably seen innovativepixelpage.com by now; this is a website where pixel ads are displayed free in for site promotion. The site uniquely features pixel ads, periodic theme change, free monthly site status or report, new mouse rollover option to boost site rank, categorized advertisement, faster site loading supporting jpg format instead of other time consuming picture formats, real time site clicks, etc.,      

So enjoy pixel site, happy surfing!

Web Site Promotion Ideas for Small Businesses

You’ve already figured out that your small business needs a web site to compete with the big boys and maintain every aspect of your relationship with your customers.  But once you have your web site up and running, you’ll need web site promotion ideas so that people know about your web site.  After all, no one will visit your web site if they don’t know it exists.

The first of your website promotion ideas is submitting your web site to all the major search engines.  Search engine traffic is a major draw to web sites and most web masters will tell you that the vast majority of their traffic is coming from search engine clicks.  Most of the major search engines have a specific page you can use to submit your site.  Once it’s submitted, it will usually take a few days to a week before it starts showing up in keyword searches.

Other web site promotion ideas include advertising your web site on internet message boards and discussion forums centered on subjects related in some way to your business.  For example, if you run a small business selling pet supplies, you could go to message boards and discussion forums frequented by pet lovers.

Other tried and true web site promotion ideas include affiliate and banner exchanges.  You can contact other web sites involved with the same target market and ask to exchange banners on each others’ web sites, or you can sign up at a banner exchange portal that will automatically generate banners for other sites on your site and banners for your site on other participating sites.

For even more web site promotion ideas, there are many online resources dedicated solely to teaching people how best to create awareness of their web site through the internet at large and strategies for attracting more visitors to their web site.  Start with these basic ideas and when you’re ready, explore for more!

Want The Best Advertising Bang For Your business Free?

New marketers often come online, hoping to make their fortune, but the success rate is slim. According to Ken McArthur at AffiliateShowcase.com, it’s only 5%. The reasons for that difference between the successful and the unsuccessful are myriad, but one reason is that folks don’t advertise enough or in the right ways. Did you know that there are some great free ways to get all the visitors you need?

The best free advertising online today comes from three distinct practices:

* Writing a blog

* Writing articles

* Using traffic exchanges

Let’s look at these three methods a bit closer.

Writing a blog is simple and anyone can do it. “Web logs,” or as we’ve come to call them—blogs, can be about anything, but I’d advise you to write about something you know well. What’s your passion or hobby? Do you have some specialized knowledge that you can rely on to write a blog that others will subscribe to and enjoy? Those are good places to start. But whatever the subject may be, you can capitalize by advertising the site you want to promote in a sidebar to the blog, where space is provided for you to enter links and text ads. Or, you can include information about a product that complements what you’re writing about from another source. For instance, if you’re writing a blog about fly fishing, use it to advertise books about fly fishing that are available at Amazon.com with an affiliate link.

The second avenue to great free advertising is article writing. Again, you’ll want to write about things you know. For instance, if you’re the head of the PTA, you may have some great ideas about fund-raising. Or, if you’re a banker, you may want to write about different types of investment opportunities. Whatever you write about should be accurate and concise for two reasons: you want the article to be accepted by distribution sites and you want people to enjoy your writing. This may prompt them to find other articles that you have written online and allow you to build a following. Once you have a regular reader core and have branded yourself as an author, people are more willing to join your program or pay for your product. Plus, once distributed, your article may sit on dozens of sites, rather than just one, giving you much broader exposure. Use a “resource box,” which is article-jargon for “signature file,” to advertise your opportunity because unlike blogs, you can’t write whatever you want. Articles should never be blatant advertisements.

When it comes to attracting visitors, traffic exchanges have a similar effect, though the results are more immediate. The premise of a traffic exchange is that you view other advertisers’ sites so that they will view yours. This is accomplished via many different means from clicking on words, numbers, or symbols to move to the next ad, or with some, by clicking text ads. Other than “pro” traffic exchanges, which charge for memberships, most traffic exchanges are free to join. The amount of advertising you receive is only limited by the amount of time you want to “surf” others’ sites. It’s a fast, easy way to get the job done.

Because each method of advertising has a unique way of attracting visitors, spending time cultivating all three options is advisable. Yet, if you want to be taken seriously, it’s best to learn how to write cogently before plunging in headlong. A negative first impression can color a reader’s opinion of you forever. Make that first encounter a good one. Since traffic exchanges take no time and little consideration to produce results, start there and expand to the other avenues of traffic as your writing ability grows. Next thing you know, you’ll need more bandwidth to accommodate all the visitors clamoring to support you!

Using the Internet to your Advantage

Coming from the "Internet generation," I understand the importance of doing your business, or at least advertising your business online. The Internet has opened up a wealth of possibilities to businesses that were simply not available 10 or 15 years ago. But before I start telling my age, please let me explain further.

Open 24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week

The Internet never closes down for the end of the business day or the weekend. Your businesses information and contact information is available at any time. This means that potential clients can research and decide if they want to do business with you, without having to contact you. Before, the only time a potential client could inquire about your business was during business hours, unless you wanted to give out your private phone numbers and cell phone numbers. Now, they can send you an email, and you can answer it at your convenience.

More Information Then Ever Before

The Internet does not constrain you to a certain number of words. You literally have unlimited amounts of space to talk about, advertise, and display information about your business. Before, you would have to fit what you felt was the most important information into a 30 second commercial, or a specific size of brochure.

Global Users

Before the Internet, you were required to spend large amounts of money to advertise anywhere but your local area. You had to rely on people driving by or hearing/seeing one of your local ads in order to do business with them. The Internet however, is reachable by every country on the planet, and a website or online ads usually costs exactly the same whether people from your hometown, or people from the other side of the world are viewing it.

Changeable Content

When creating a business brochure or handout, you had to make sure you only put none-dateable information in there, because after all, once they are printed, you cannot change the information. This created potentially large advertising costs, and sometimes many wasted ads due to changing information. Likewise, you were unable to change the text or print on a radio or TV ad until that ad ran its campaign. Online, changing information is as simple as point and click. Your phone number changed? Simple, log onto your website or ad and change it.

Small Cost, Large Results

We all know how expensive traditional advertising campaigns can be. A simple ad in the newspaper now costs about $15 a week, a billboard around $600 a month. However, advertising online is far less expensive. For example: a static, 5 page website will cost you around $109 (if you choose the right designer) and about $3 a month after that. That is a total of $145 dollars a year.  Posting to search engines where clients can find your business is free, and allows visitors to search for, and find your website. If you choose to advertise your website on other networks, you only pay when someone actually clicks on your ad. That allows you to control the amount of money, and you only pay for the people that actually see your website. Small businesses or businesses with small budgets and get, and maintain a website for about $.39 a day.

Overall, the Internet is not one of the best ways to successfully advertise your business. If you are new to the Internet, you may want to consider hiring a professional to develop and maintain your advertisements for you. When searching for a designer and web developer, please pay special attention to their details. Here are a few things that you will want to avoid:

1)Template Websites- Templates, sometimes called cookie cutter websites, are pre made designs and set ups of a website. Any number of other websites can use the every same template for their website.  In the event that a potential customer has visited a website with a similar template to yours, then chances are they will either not take your business as serious, or reference your business with that website. Ask the potential designer if your website will be unique or made from a template before you do business with them.

2) Hourly Rate Design- Some web design companies offer "hourly rate web design." It has been found that many hourly designers will tell you something takes much longer to complete then it usually does. In this case, you will end up paying for hours of work when the work only actually took a few minutes, or they will hold your website hostage until you do. Look for set packages that list what you will get, no matter how much time it took to complete. 

3) High Hosting Charges- Many new business owners and business owners not familiar with the Internet will let their web designer host their website for them. While there is nothing wrong with this, be cautious of the amount you will be paying month for their hosting.  Small businesses that only require small website should not pay over $3-$7  a month for hosting. Larger businesses or businesses with large or dynamic websites should never pay over $10-$15 a month. On the other hand, you may find a design company offering free hosting as an introductory offer. If this is true, be sure to ask how much you will be paying for hosting once the offer expires. 

4) Long Completion Times- Web design is a complicated process, however, a good designer can finish a website in a rather small amount of time. Be cautious of web designers that take a long time to complete each website. This may be a sign that they may have to much on their plate. If that is the case, then chances are you will not receive the proper attention and care that is needed to make a website a success. Always ask a potential designer how long it typically takes them to finish and publish a website.

Using Buttons and Badges to Increase Customer Service and Business at a Restaurant

The food service industry is usually a fast paced and often precarious one. Advertising is critical in a restaurant and there are many ways to use a button maker machine in this industry. When the advertising budget is tight, a button-making machine will expand those precious dollars. Buttons can be used for a myriad of purposes such as advertising specials and for identification of wait staff. Whether you serve a five star cuisine or mom and pop specialties, a buttons can help lower your overhead and raise profits.

Every restaurant has a line of specials that they serve. Servers may suggest the special, or describe it, but a button can really show it. People are stimulated by what they see – hence all the pictures in menus. It would just make sense to have an appetizing photograph of your daily special or weekly special on a button to attract attention. The server might suggest the special while pointing to the button “As you can see, today for our special we have a delicious pot roast with mixed vegetables”.

Buttons and badges are a really inexpensive way of advertising your specials and increasing your sales. Buttons can also be used to advertise the next night’s special to tantalize your guests to return. Want to increase the dessert sales? Nothing makes the mouth crave cool creamy ice cream more than a photograph of a hot fudge Sunday or a malted milkshake – words just can not describe those types of images well enough. These buttons can be made and handed out to the staff each day or each week of the special and then returned. Buttons are small enough to store easily, reusable, durable, and still large enough to make the mouth water when covered with pictures of your luscious entrées.

Do you have a unique or unusual theme to your restaurant? Sell souvenir buttons with your restaurant logo. If you are in a travel location, such as along an interstate, buttons with the state information and name on it are also great souvenirs. These buttons can be sold for as little as a dollar and still generate a handsome profit. “I always eat at Joe’s Bar and Grill” or “World’s Greatest Bar-be-Que” over a picture of your restaurant would be a simple button to make and could also be sold as a souvenir. Do you have a signature dish or a super large portion? For that guest who accomplishes the clean plate give them a button. For example, “Survivor” stamped over a picture of a porterhouse steak with your restaurant’s name at the bottom would certainly get people’s attention.

Making up buttons with your logo and address on them are great for sponsored events as well. Does your restaurant support a local youth sports team? Making up buttons to let people know who you sponsor and to give out to the team players is a great way to get the word out that you are involved in the community. Staff members can wear these buttons in the restaurant to let guests know that your establishment inspires youth activities. These buttons can also be made with the team’s final placement or the word “Champions” over your restaurant’s logo. This is a keepsake for the team members and a way of getting your logo and name out in the public.

Would you like to reward your frequent repeat customers? A button that reads “Thank You for Your Business” can be a great way to say thanks and will get the word outside the restaurant that you appreciate your guests. These can also have a discount on them. If you have regulars who visit often, give them a button for five or ten percent off their next meal. These buttons can be returned at the time of the purchase, just like a coupon, and saved for the next customer you want to reward. This is an inexpensive way to promote your establishment at openings as well. Pass these buttons out to new customers to draw them back in, and maybe even their friends.

Use buttons as nametags for employees. These can be customized with the restaurants logo and address or if you are a less formal establishment, have the servers and staff design their own buttons – within reason of course. Buttons are also large enough to include years of service. Rewards for staff can also be made out of buttons. The employee of the month or week can wear a button saying “Employee of the Month” or “This week’s Star Performer”.

Buttons for special meals or special employees are an inexpensive addition to your establishment. These buttons can help increase sales, generate more revenue, advertise inside and outside the restaurant and reward your frequent guests. No restaurant should be without one of these money saving devices.

Read information about : "Using Banner Stands to Increase Trade Show Traffic" in the previous article.