Traffic Exchanges Revisited - Part One
by: Lourdes Sanchez
Traffic exchanges, for the uninitiated, are programs where you can submit your website(s) to be placed in a rotation for other members to see. That's the simple, watered-down explanation.
But there is more. In order for your site to be put in the rotation of the exchange, you need to have accumulated credits in the program. Some programs will offer free credits to new members as enticement to join but you need to view a certain number of websites first before you get the credits assigned to your account. Most programs will not usually show you your own website because of the obvious waste of time and credits that would implicate for you.
I don't know exactly how many traffic exchanges are out there but there are many and the way they allocate credits vary from program to program. Some, for instance, will give you a straight 1:1 surfing ratio meaning that for every site you view your own site will be shown one time. Other less generous sites offer higher surfing ratios of, say, 2:1 (where you need to see two sites to have your site shown one time) or 3:1 and so on. The websites to be viewed are put on timers and these too run the gamut from 10 seconds to as high up as 30 seconds.
Most exchanges are free to join with a paid (usually a monthly fee) option to upgrade to "pro" level where you are entitled to extra perks that vary with the program. Some of these perks include a better surfing ratio, free monthly credits, unlimited surfing (some programs limit the number of sites you can surf a day), and other privileges. As for anti-cheat prevention, many of these programs have put in place rather sophisticated scripts that makes surfing with automated programs (and therefore cheating) very, very difficult if not impossible.
Even though traffic exchange programs are very popular and are widely used, they have their fair share of detractors. Some people contend that exchanges are only marginally effective because the traffic your website receives can hardly be called "targeted" and furthermore people are not really paying attention to the websites since they are just surfing because they have to not because they want to.
I beg to differ with this view. While it may be true that the traffic may not be as laser targeted as when, for instance, you do a Google keyword search, the rotating websites are seen and those that catch the eye and pique the curiosity of the viewer will get attention. Human beings are curious by nature and we react to words, colors, sound, layout, etc., etc., even if exposed to these things for only a few seconds. Indeed, when we do a Google search most of us will only give a website a few seconds to "state its case" so to speak. If we get turned off by any of the website's components, i.e., color, layout, etc., we will move on to the next website faster than fast.
As you may have guessed by the slant of this article, I use traffic exchanges to promote my affiliate business. I started a few months ago and I have seen good results so far. First I signed up with a couple and then decided to join a few more so now I regularly surf about 20 traffic exchanges on a regular basis. This number of exchanges may sound daunting but it's really not if you know how to manage them. I will discuss managing your traffic exchanges and will offer a few helpful tips on the second part of this article.
About The Author
Lourdes Sanchez is an aspiring internet marketer.
You may reprint or republish this article so long as my link(s) or resource box is included and published as well.
This is my Traffic Exchange Blog. I receive lots of free traffic through these sites.
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