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Traffic
Exchange Sites
Traffic Exchange
Sites are websites where you get page views of your own
site in exchange for visiting others. Many such sites
are available. However, choosing the right one or a
combination of them can be a very time consuming
process.
Basically there are two types. Manual surfing and Auto
surfing. Some Traffic exchanges cater for Manual surfing
only, some cater for Auto surfing only and some cater
for both.
Manual surfing - This requires your input by clicking a
button after a specified time period, generally 15, 20
or 30 seconds, although there are a few other
variations. With manual surfing, the surfer is expected
to view each site. However, with most exchange sites, it
is possible to minimize or resize the windows. This
defeats the purpose because it allows multiple sessions
to be run simultaneously. On the better exchange sites,
security measures are often used to deter this. These
are normally random prompts that require user input. For
example, after x number of page views, you may be
required to enter a code, select a color or image or
perform some other variation of this.
Auto surfing - This requires no input. However in
reality, your input may be required because of popup or
frame breakers. Some traffic exchange sites require that
the pages run are maximized and although you can
minimize the page yourself, it will automatically
maximize at the next refresh. You will also find that
with some exchange sites, pages will run on top whereas
with others, pages will run quite happily underneath,
allowing you to do what ever you like without ever
viewing the page content.
Both manual and auto surfing will bring traffic to your
website, but there is a much greater likelihood of your
web pages being actually seen with manual surfing.
Credits - As well as surfing, credits are usually
acquired for subscribing, for referrals and for any
winnings associated with exchange site lotteries, games
or competitions. These credits can then be used to
increase the traffic to your site. Some exchange sites
will also allow you to sell your credits to other
members.
Free or Paid - The majority of Traffic Exchanges offer a
paid option. This option may give you a better surf
ratio, bonus credits, money for referrals or other
benefits. Before paying however, it is important that
you test how targeted the traffic is that you receive.
There's no point in paying for extra traffic if it
doesn't generate any more income for you.
Click for Credits or Buy Credits - Is it worth buying
credits?
This can depend on a number of reasons. The two main
ones are time and money.
Let’s take an example
At the time of writing the cost of 2000 credits for free
members of a well known Traffic Exchange Site was $40.
This works out at $0.02 a click. For pro members the
same $40 bought 2200 credits.
With the number of clicks limited to 250 per day and
page views of 20 seconds this means that in theory it
will take you 250 X 20 = 5000 sec or 83 minutes 20
seconds to view the 250 pages. However in practice you
must allow extra time for clicking the next button,
clicking the title of the page you will be viewing and
any sites worth looking at.
Since I am a firm believer in practical results, I
viewed the 250 pages. It took me 2 hours and 12 minutes
to accomplish this. During that time, I accumulated 854
credits. To buy these credits would have cost $17.08 as
a free member and approximately $15.53 as a pro member.
Allowing for rounding up, this equates to almost 390
credits per hour or $7.80 per hour cash value.
Now ask yourself this. Would you work for $7.80 per
hour?
I must emphasize that this is only one example and that
other results will differ because of the random
allocation of credits. It is shown here only as an
example and to give you an idea of the cost implications
for one particular traffic exchange site. The cost of
credits may differ dramatically for different exchange
sites. If you buy or intend to buy credits from a
traffic exchange site, you can apply what is shown in
the example. There's no need to click on a large number
of websites to find out if your exchange site is giving
you enough credits for your money. A sample of around 20
sites should give you enough information to produce a
rough value-for-money guide.
If you enjoy this sort of thing or want a break from
train spotting, you could expand on this. Increase your
sample size, increase the number of samples, select a
good representation of traffic exchanges and tabulate
your results. Choose enough sites and you will be able
to create your own league table. There’s a market for
everything.
Whether you use traffic exchange sites or not in the
quest for more visitors to your site, you should at the
very least know what they are and what they do. But
don't totally dismiss them. They are part of an
expanding market. I recommend that you try at least one
traffic exchange site. You could read every book on the
subject, but without active participation, you will not
be qualified to comment on their worth or suitability.
The time taken for a few mouse clicks is a small price
to pay. If it works for you, you have learned. If it
doesn't work for you, you have learned.
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