Traffic Exchanges: making them work for you, Part 1

We all need traffic, people to actually SEE our sites. Email marketing is great but still dependent on one crucial step: the reader to actually click on your link taking them to your page. Traffic exchanges eliminate that step by allowing you to post your site link on the surf to rotate and be seen by other exchange members. When a member sees a site which interests them, they click on what ever links are embedded in your site to join, buy or ask for more information.

They come in all forms and sizes. Some exchanges are auto surf, others are manual. Some are free to join, others require a fee. Some are "paid-to-surf" programs in which members receive cash money for viewing x amount of sites daily. Some exchanges run into the tens of thousands of members (even up to one-hundred thousand), some a couple hundred. Each type, regardless of size, has it’s merits and are worthy of adding to your overall marketing strategy.

What ever the type, they all operate under the same principals. You advertise your site URL/s in "exchange" for viewing other members' sites. This is called "surfing". Depending on the individual site, each URL put on the surf bar is on a "timer". At the end of the specified amount of time, the site is displayed. Then it "rotates" out and another one takes it place. In addition to sites, many exchanges also have banner ads and what are called "text" ads which rotate in and out as well. So, while viewing a site, you will also oftentimes see a banner ad for a completely different program and a text ad as well as the site you see in the surf window.

Manual Surf Exchanges: The most basic form of traffic exchange. When you surf you must manually click on a link to rotate the site and bring another one up for viewing. Typical exchange ratio is 2:1 meaning for every site you surf you receive one credit to your account in which to show your sites. An example of a strictly manual surf site is: http://www.make1c.com/u/xts2004

Auto Surf exchanges: These are exchanges which members primarily surf without having to click on anything. The sites rotate "automatically". Most auto surf sites also have manual surf options as well. http://www.xtreamsurf.com/ is an example of an auto exchange with the manual surf option.

Free to join exchanges: These require no fee to join and usually offer a sign on bonus of credits to get you going. You then surf, refer and do other activities related to the site which earns you more credits to keep your sites showing on the surf bar.

The other type is the "Paid-To" traffic exchanges which actually pay you a certain amount of money to surf a certain amount of sites everyday. Otherwise, they are like any other traffic exchange.

All sites have rules regarding what types of sites you can put on the surf bar. Any site that disrupts the surf is generally not allowed. These are some terms you want to become familiar with in case you happen to have a site that you cannot run on a traffic site:

Frame Breaker: a site which stops the surf and "breaks" the frame so that you stay on that site after the allotted time. Pop up: this is a type of "extra" add that "pops up" while viewing a site. Pop ups tend to want to open up another window and can be very annoying for viewers.

Exit Page: it acts like a pop up only it only appears AFTER the host site "has left the building". They are especially frustrating as they are hard to catch. Usually the next site gets blamed and reported as having a pop up, when it doesn't. The site before had it and by then no one knows what site that was!

Rotator: Rotators are urls which allow you to load multiple sites on them. This way, in traffic exchanges, every time the rotator shows on the surf bar a different site is shown. These are the bane of most traffic exchanges. Every site that goes into the surf has a specific "address". If something happens and that site gets reported, Admin can then go into the database and find that site. Not so with rotators. The only site which has a specific address at the traffic site will be the rotator itself. Therefore, if one or more of the urls loaded on that site misbehave, Admin cannot locate it to deal with it. This is often a nightmare for both Admin and members. Hence, most traffic exchanges do not allow rotators.

Redirect: this is a site which sends you to yet another site to view. Like in rotators the only site in the database is the host site. Many times people will use redirects in an attempt to get around the exchange rules and show a site would normally not be shown.

Besides the exchange of traffic, most sites also offer other forms of advertising such as banner ads and text ads. These also rotate on the surf bar in a separate "window" so to speak. You see them while you surf and these are independent from the main site being shown. Still other sites have "paid-to-click" ads and even "paid-to-read" emails as well. Two of my all time favorite sites that have these options are: http://www.cheapwebtraffic.net/?rid=8 and http://www.smileytraffic.com/?rid=93 .

While traffic exchanges are not the end all or be all of marketing, they make a good addition to your overall marketing arsenal. I highly recommend you join at least 10 or more sites to get as much exposure to your sites as possible. Just as in other forms of advertising, maximum exposure is the key. Join as many sites as you can reasonably handle knowing that unless you purchase credits to fuel your sites, you will need to do some surfing.

Exchanges all offer items for sale including credits, upgrades, banner, text ads and etc depending on what is available at that specific site. If you find a site especially responsive it is always a good idea to purchase items to enhance your advertising with that site. You may want to consider buying credits for your sites if you do not have the time to surf and find a particular site to be productive.

The best thing you can do is develop a relationship with the owner/admins. For the most part, exchanges are very "hands on" entities and still a place where you can actually communicate with a living, breathing person. The very large membership sites do tend to be less "personable" than the smaller sites, but not always so. Developing a good working relationship with your exchange owners can help you in many aspects. I have been on both sides of the traffic equation: both as a member and as an owner.

As a member I weighed how the sites owner and/or admin responds to my questions and emails. Ones who responded in a professional and courteous manner are the ones I stay with. Customer service is high on my list and one's who do not have it are soon history. This holds true for myself as the owner of a site. Customer service is top priority. There are many exchanges out there and only so much of your time. You, your membership and concerns are critical to the overall health and well being of my exchange. We also have to weigh what is good for the individual to what is good for the exchange as a whole. The key is building that relationship between yourself and Admin.

The last aspect to discuss in this article is Admin email. As a member you will receive emails from Admin. These are in the way of support, information, and etc. Many times when Admin is having trouble tracking down a site breaking the rules, they will email members to enlist their help. They use emails to announce contests, winners of contests and pass along information regarding other sites. Every site will require that you agree to accept email and that you have a valid box in which to send that email to.
Bottom line: Traffic exchanges are exciting and viable marketing options and well worth adding to your portfolio.
by: Cherie Halliday http://www.xtreamsurf.com/