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January 2008
Many surfers still find these pages through the search engines, looking for all sort of ad related and unrelated material. Google, MSN and AOL send visitors here regularly. Searching Google for ‘most expensive candle’ gave this result! We are number 3! Buy the next ad space her now.
April 2007
I get really positive and supportive comments from people who visit MEIA. “Good Idea” and “Interesting site” are two of my favourites! I’d like to formally say thank you for all the support. These kind mesages continue to motivate and inspire... :)
5th November 2006
Hello there! I’ve just been looking at some basic stats for mostexpensiveinternetad.com. Wow! It’s fantastic to see that we're smack up there on Page One for a number of extremely important search terms:
Searching for ‘most expensive ad’ brings us up. At number one! This will no doubt help me with my quest to find out what the most expensive internet ad will ever be.
I’m not one to blow my own trumpet (actually I am) but what about this next amazing fact: This Blog is number 2 for ‘most talented Blog’ and number 7 ‘most hit Blog websites’.
Bus most importantly, and this is for one of my advertisers, searching for ‘most expensive candles’ presents mostexpensiveinternetad.com – At number 3 on Yahoo’s first results page. Interestingly http://www.candle-licious.com the website does not appear on the first page of results. So this advertiser has gained yet another fantastic benefit from buying an ad on MEIA.
And this is all in Yahoo alone. A haven’t even studied the other Top Search Engines yet! Because the internet is so dynamic, and everyone loves screenshots, I’ve produced a fine gallery for your perusal and viewing pleasure.…enjoy!
The prices of ads here will only ever rise and rise and rise. So buy the next ad space now.
Ugo 0524H
14th June 2006
Ahh... I’ve been spending around two-hundred-and-fifty-six-hours-a-day working as an Orthopaedic Research Fellow (just in case you were wondering) and trying not to get frustrated by the geographical fact that there are only twenty four hours in one day and why do we have to go to sleep so often and what a waste of time sleeping is. If only I could find a way to by-pass sleep and keep going on... Oh well. If you ever read 2000AD then you would know that you can compress eight hours’ sleep into twenty minutes. That’s one definition of efficiency.
Anyhow.
I’m looking at some possible changes to the appearance of MEIA which may come into effect at some point in the future (though I seriously doubt this). I’m also coming to the conclusion of some projects which will enable me to divert even more resources to MEIA. Which means that the quick pace will become even quicker.
I’ll say no more. Wait and see...!
Ugo 0152H
PS. I’m making some significant upgrades to my email system. If you get a bounce, no matter. Simply try again in 24 - 48 hrs time.
Today’s Top Tip is: Buy the next ad space now. And your ad will be on my frontpage. For ever.
11th April 2006
Well hullo there! Although it may have seemed quiet on the Most Expensive Internet Blog front, it's all happening furiously backstage! (It's not really what you say; It's what you do!)
Here are a few notable occurrences at Most Expensive Internet Ad. If you like technical stuff, e.g. stats and figures then I'm quite sure that the following will appeal:
-Number of visitors is now well over 10,000! That's great.
-MEIA already has a Google PR Ranking of 5 for the front page! And 4 for most of the others. If you're staring blankly at the screen because this means nothing to you then ...never mind.(Its all about popularity of web pages for certain key words and phrases and how easily findable your site is out of the billions and billions there are out there. 5 out of a possible maximum of ten is pretty reasonable I think.)
-Alexa ranking is currently around 900,000 (What proportion of the worlds web surfers have seen MEIA) Although not great (needs to be at least a 5 figure number to begin to raise eyebrows), its an excellent start for a very new website.
-More stats later. (Because some people do find this sort of thing extremely boring)
It's now time for MEIA to move to the next gear...to the next level - after a wonderfully successful launch. I've been watching the site grow on mostly its own steam but nevertheless, I'm continuing with my original plan of publicising MEIA on top word of mouth and any other incidental publicity. i.e. accidental as well as on-purpose. It also looks like there is a buzz that wants to start as yet a few more sites and discussion forums have picked up on MEIA. Yippee!!
Moving on, I'm continuing to negotiate with experts in the PR field. There are indeed many experts but I'm aiming to pick someone who feels the same excitement that I feel about MEIA and fully believes in how powerful this concept is. Also, I only go for the best. So I have to test them. One talented performer that I'm communicating with has definitely got me interested. Hopefully, we will soon come to a great agreement that will first and foremost, be of the greatest benefit to the current and would-be advertisers here on Most Expensive Internet Ad.
Onto even more stuff. I've now been asked a number of times about advertisers wanting to re-sell their advertising space. Such as via an eBay auction. This is fine by me. Of course, any new owner would have to agree with the Terms. If you've already submitted advertising material then it would be a challenge to sell the space as once an ad is up, you can’t change the logo. You can’t change the URL and you can’t change the descriptive text that you submit. Please see the Terms and FAQ. Personally, I would wait till the more expensive spaces have sold - then try for an auction. Utilising the space would probably earn one a long-term income as compared to going for a one-off sale. However the suggestion requires a great deal of thought from all parties involved.
At the moment, the next available space that could be bought costs $2048. I'm sure that many people are thinking about buying this space. If you're thinking of buying this space, remember, it's not always what you think, its what you do that makes the difference. So buy it now.
Ugo 0303H
16th March 2006 Special Entry
This blog entry is a special one. Its all about the advertiser that has just purchased a record setting space on mostexpensiveinterntad.com.
On the 13th of March, 34 days after I officially began my search to discover the World’s Most Expensive Internet Ad, Greenschild.com bought the 11th advertising space for a whopping $1024! Wow! I was shocked when I got the phone call confirming the transaction. It took a few minutes for me to come to terms and calm down. At first, I was a bit speechless and must have garbled something in response. But I grinned all the way home to my ‘puter, verified all the details and then uploaded - no - graced my frontpage with a wonderful ad.
The progress made so far is a wonderful thing to experience, and all from an idea that I was lucky enough to think of and share with everybody that I could.
This does however, alter things slightly. I suspect that Greenschild will have the top spot for quite a while yet - and it’s well deserved, because it will now cost the next advertiser well over $2000 to claim that top spot.
It just gets more and more exciting every day.
And mostexpensiveinternetad.com is only just days old!
Ugo 0220H
12th March 2006
Astounding! Something tremendous has happened today. Three more spaces have gone! Altogether, all the ad spaces from one dollar through to $512 have been sold. This is almost alarming! That’s ten spaces. What a beautiful round number!
I need to do two things right now. Once again, I need to thank all the advertisers on mostexpensiveinternetad.com for choosing to place their ads here. Secondly, I must comment on the fantastic quality of advertisements and the services and products that are being advertised. Thanks to the advertisers, you could sit in a beautifully scented candle-lit room, with gorgeous art on the walls whilst reading a fantastic magazine. Or surf through some of the best hand-picked websites whilst listening to superb radio.
This is another reason why this is so exciting. You don’t know who will be placing their ad next. It’s very interesting watching the pattern of ads develop as the ad spaces get sold.
Ugo 2352H
4th March 2006
I’ve sold the first seven spaces - and in seventeen days! That has to be a record. In fact it is, seeing as there’s only one mostexpensiveinternetad.com. So a big Hooray! But it’s too soon yet to crack open the bubbly stuff.
Just in case anyone didn’t notice, I’ve added a more serious piccy of myself just to show that I can be a really serious individual if I really need to be. Seriously now!
The growth and progress that’s been made so far is all very exciting and proves that not only is this a great idea, but it’s a great idea that’s working extremely well. I’m happy for the advertisers that have taken up spaces so far because they’re in for a terrific time as mostexpensiveinternetad.com begins to gather even more momentum and pace.
I’ve been doing some research into how I’m going to handle larger transactions at MEIA - my pet term for Most Expensive Internet Ad. As MEIA begins to get even more popular, the more expensive spaces will sell off. There is no doubt that this is going to happen. It’s already beginning to. Actual payments by actual people show that the concept is powerful and is working. I’m not sure that there are many other websites that are prepared to offer permanent front page advertising on an ongoing basis. I need to offer this as it’s part of the whole concept and that, in turn, is part of what makes mostexpensiveinternetad.com work so well. If you’re an advertiser, think ‘branding’.
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An escrow service is a good idea as it protects both buyers and sellers. I’ve been searching for a reliable and reputable escrow and I’ve decided to use www.escrow.com. They’re also the escrows recommended by eBay. (Go along to eBay’s website and search under ‘help’ for the term ‘escrow’). I asked escrow.com directly about transactions to the tune of what mostexpensiveinternetad.com will reach and asked them whether or not they would be happy to handle such a large transaction. They’re more than happy to do so. I’ve received mail from Brandon Abbey, Escrow.com’s Managing Director to confirm this. Great news!
So all transactions at Most Expensive Internet Ad will continue to be through well-known and reputable third parties: Paypal and Escrow.com
To initiate a large transaction please send me an email first: advertise@mostexpensiveinternetad.com
So that’s what’s been happening behind the scenes thus far. If you’re still thinking about buying your own ad space on mostexpensiveinternetad.com, the next lowest priced available space today costs exactly $128. Once upon a time, it used to be just a dollar. So buy that space now.
Ugo 0139H
24th February 2006
Great news! It seems that my efforts are indeed paying off. Today, a press article written by Ciara O’Brien about Most Expensive Internet Ad appeared in Yahoo! News here. According to the article, Most Expensive Internet Ad is under scrutiny by ‘many industry watchers’. That’s a very good thing!
Now some news links are temporary so I’m not sure how long the article will remain there or the link will work. Perhaps I ought to ‘capture’ the page and save it for posterity’s sake. Or perhaps not. But never-mind that for now. There are also a couple of other articles out there such as this one that I felt obliged to reply to. (Wow! I’ve got critics already)
I’m making the pages more search engine friendly which will increase its popularity even further, making the site a lot easier to find. This will increase the number of visitors even further still. So, if you’ve paid for a space, and not yet submitted your logo, you’ll be missing out on lots of potential visitors who will see your ad and visit your site.
I realise that PayPal may not be a suitable option to some prospective advertisers looking for a space on the frontpage. Paypal also impose limits on some transactions. For instance, in certain circumstances, Paypal limits the maximum payment that you may make to $500. Understandably, this protects from fraud. I’ve been making enquiries in order to add more payment options. I quickly learned that many companies are unsure/uncomfortable about handling extremely large amounts of money (as if I would ever be involved in such a giga-sized transaction!). Nevertheless, send me an email directly if you’re experiencing payment problems and I’ll give you information on how to get payments across.
It’s really wonderful to see the spaces going. The first seven spaces sold within seventeen days! As the spaces become more expensive, sales may begin to slow down - or will it be the reverse? But the number of visitors will continue to rise. It’ll be very interesting to see what happens.
Ugo 1551H
20th February 2006
Hmm... things have been surprisingly very quiet over the weekend. I’ve actually been away to Cornwall and just got back.
I took my laptop with me though and sent out emails to some media addresses with copies of my press release. I’m hoping that come Monday morning, they’ll read my email and either get busy straight away and print my story, or contact me back for more info/details or even to arrange interviews. On the other hand, nothing whatsoever may come as a result! Should be interesting to see what happens.
Nevertheless, even if I don’t make any sales of ad spaces this week, I should be getting the right sized logos for the frontpage sent over from the advertisers who’ve reserved spaces. This means that the frontpage will start to look a bit fuller and more uniform.
At this point, I’d really like to thank all the advertisers who have bought spaces on Most Expensive Internet Ad so far. It’s seen the site off to a great start and I couldn’t really have asked for a better beginning. Many thanks.
Ugo 0100H
17th February 2006
Oh!... My!... Gosh!...
Yes that’s the same date as previous. And no it isn’t a typo! I just checked my email and I saw that there were two new arrivals. One was a ‘Notification of payment received’ - from Mr Paypal himself! The $16 space has been paid for! Wow! Someone’s just bought the $16 ad space on Most Expensive Internet Ad. (Any English teachers reading this will probably be pulling their hair out at my use of grammar and punctuation, or lack of - Too many exclamation marks!)
The second message was a follow up note to say that the logo will be sent early next week. Exciting, exciting exciting! I just can’t stop smiling. Like a Cheshire cat! This is just fantastic!
Interestingly, everyone so far who has bought advertising space seems to be finding it something of a challenge to supply a logo. Hmmm... boggling minds. 175 x 100 is definitely not your average standard logo/banner size. But eventually, we’ll get there. It is a good sized banner to request as it will display a good level of detail. And, as it’s an atypical size, the eye will linger just that little bit longer...
Ugo 2105H
17th February 2006
It’s Friday evening now and just over a week since Most Expensive Internert Ad launched - I’m still buzzing with excitement to have sold two ad spaces so quickly. This has happened A LOT sooner than I thought. And its been easier than I expected. I hope that sales continue at this magnificent rate.
I’m really appreciative of the two advertisers who have shown faith both in me and in Most Expensive Intenet Ad. I’ll be working hard as always to get a ton of visitors to the frontpage and continue to increase exposure to your ads.
I’m still in negotiaion with the third would-be advertiser. He’s interested in the the $1 space but a few technical issues have delayed publishing the ad. Hopefully, we’ll get there in the end and come to a great agreement.
Ugo 1758H
15th February 2006
It’s official. The $32 dollar spot has now been sold. So a very happy person will now enjoy this top position with great pride for some time to come.
However though, the $4, $8, and $16 spaces are STILL available. So if I were you, I would buy a space now. If you don’t need it, email your friend who runs a business and tell them about this fantastic offer. Or better still, buy the space for them!
Ugo 1901H
14th February 2006
Hooraay!! Someone from Manchester, UK has sent me one dollar for the first space. This is quite exciting and alright by me except that you forgot to send me an ad logo alongside your payment. This was two days ago on the 12th. Interestingly, you haven’t replied to my reminding e-mail since. Though I’ve reserved the space for you, I’ll only wait until Friday. At the end of this week, I’ll refund you a dollar for the space and then I’ll make the first space available to everyone again for one dollar by un-reserving it. That’s only fair isn’t it?
I’ve seen some articles appearing on a few sites already so everything’s going according to plan. I’ll post some links to these articles later. Right now, I’m responding to the e-mail enquiries as quickly as I can and I do hope that I’m answering all your questions satisfactorily.
I’ve also found that I’ll need to update the terms just to clear a few issues.
Unfortunately, I can’t accept Google Adwords on the frontpage for a number of reasons. I believe that it is against Google’s terms for me to advertise your on your behalf - correct me if I am wrong. Also, the individual ads on an Adsense panels always change. For the time-being, I would like to place a permanent ad for you or your business on the front page. (Think branding). So please send me your unique and individual no-copyright-laws-broken logo.
Ugo 0831H
11th Feb 2006
Whew! I’ve spent the last day working on PR to raise the profile of Most Expensive Internet Ad. A number of articles will now be steadily released over the next few days. Both online and offline. If all goes according to plan,I’ll soon be bombarded with endless phone calls from would be advertisers. AND...the number of visitors will definately shoot up. I can’t wait.
I’m using a number of promotion campaigns so every so often, there will be a big injection of visitors to see the most expensive internet ad.
If you’re still thinking of buying a space, I suggest that you move quickly and lock yourself in. This is an exclusive club that can only have a membership of 22 people at the moment. Buy a space for your friend as a fantastic long lasting present now.
Ugo Okonkwo 0304 in the morning!!
9th Feb 2006
Things are starting to get moving now. I will soon be at 100 visitors! Yippee!! I can’t wait for my first space to sell.
I’m thinking of changing the frontpage a bit more so that those who don’t get it will get it.
Buy an ad space now for a dollar. Your ad stays indefinately. More and more attention will be drawn to the site as the price of future ad spaces gets bigger and bigger. This is a fantastic concept. And it’s only a dollar if you’re the first to make history.
I’ve taken down the big black box and put up a jpeg that says ‘Your ad here for $1 for ever.
I’m also looking at a lot more ways to promote over the next few days. That will really get things moving.
Ugo 0029H
8th Feb 2006
Hooray!! I’ve got double digit figures for the number of visitors to mostexpensiveinternetad.com. My counter proudly reads 14 and I’m grinning (much like my photo - but a bit less toothy) as I’m typing.
This is only because I’ve decided to hit the ground running. I’m going to advertise intensively so that I can get some momentum with visitors. I’m really hoping that I’ll soon sell the first space so that I can have a real logo on the frontpage. The huge black box that’s there now looks...well... a bit....huge and black.
It’s now just after 1 in the morning so I should be able to get around 5 hrs sleep. Off I go to bed.
Ugo. 0117H
7th Feb 2006
Phew. It’s exactly 6.15 in the morning.
I should have gone to bed a long time ago but I’ve been too excited to stop. I’ve just uploaded the whole site for the first time. So this means that mostexpensiveinternetad.com is now live. I think I’ll now go and have a lie-down before work.
Ugo. 0618H
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