Media Resources

1-Pixel-Banner on the Cusp of 15,000 Visitors

Berlin (Germany), March 3, 2007

A website auctions a single pixel-sized banner ad every week. Initially the idea met with some skepticism as a moneymaking concept. But today the pixel is on the cusp of 15,000 visitors and has a click rate of 96 percent.

A single screen pixel can be purchased by eBay auction. But why would anyone buy such a thing? The pixel is placed on the website “you-cant-resist.com”. The domain name indicates what happens when you visit the site. Visitors are bursting with curiosity as to what is behind the pixel and click it. The auction winner decides where the pixel link will lead for a week, and redirects hundreds of visitors to his site.

What is the pixel’s secret of success? The pixel is the only object you can click on when visiting you-cant-resist.com, and the site makes no commercial statement at all. This triggers the craving to know what happens when it is clicked. The concept works perfectly. The click rate of the pixel is 96 percent. Top-performing banner advertisements only attain between one and three percent.

So far 34 website operators have leased the pixel-sized visitor magnet and are listed in the site’s “Hall of Fame” to give them even more clicks after their week is over. Plus, the listing has a positive effect on the search engine ranking of the winners’ websites. Today dozens of discussion board entries refer to the pixel website, and before long 15,000 visitors will have seen the pixel. There seems to be no end in site.

The pixel was invented by the German entrepreneur Peter Debik (36), owner of the Internet company Bitpalast, following the Million Dollar Homepage of the British Alex Tew. In contrast to the Million Dollar Homepage, Debik's pixel page only advertises one business at a time. Therefore, the company advertising there remains unrivaled and attracts all the visitors who click on the pixel.

Images

Screenshot of the pixel homepage, TIFF image, 828 x 665

Screenshot of the eBay auction page, TIFF image, 957 x 753

Portrait of "pixel inventor" Peter Debik, TIFF image, 348 x 482

Publication royalty-free.