Bambang $ Hadi

Many times you will hear someone complain about

traffic exchanges because they don’t think the

traffic is of sufficiently high quality for their

at home business needs. On the contrary,

prospects who take the time to surf traffic

exchanges are exactly the kind of prospects you

want! Ideal opportunity seekers! You already know

that they at least have access to a home

computer, they are at least somewhat computer-

knowledgeable, and that they are probably

involved with some affiliate program. Often they

are newcomers to marketing and very anxious to

get started. So why not try to convince them of

the value of your opportunity? After all, isn’t

your opportunity better than most?

You’ll find traffic exchanges everywhere you

look. They are easy to start with the right

program, so many are run out of basements and

spare rooms. Exchanges are simple in concept, and

thus it is a relatively simple matter for

interested webmasters to get the up and running.

But don’t overlook the small-time traffic

exchange–its users may represent a customer base

that would be difficulty if not impossible to

reach otherwise. Once you find a traffic exchange

you like, you complete the brief sign-up form,

and you will soon be in the company of many

fellow marketers, each with a webpage or two that

they wish to promote. Lead with the best

opportunity sales page you have for your at home

business. To promote your own page, you find the

form on the site where you can enter your

website’s URL, and the program will arrange for

its display once you have assigned “credits”

(increasingly exchanges are offering auto-

assignment of credits). From there, you head to

the “Surf” page where you rack up these credits

by visiting the pages of other entrepreneurs.

Traffic exchanges come in both free and paid

varieties–the free ones proliferate, so there is

no need to pay to join unless you receive a

special offer in return. You will observe right

away that some exchanges are more technically

sophisticated than are others.

Of the two basic types, however–manual and

automatic, you will want the manual. After all,

there isn’t much point in having your page shown

if the end user doesn’t even have to be present

in the room while it is being displayed. That

would not benefit your at home business. Manual

exchanges ensure that this user will be

participating in the viewing process, so no

worries there. The webmaster of the traffic

exchange controls the way in which the pages are

viewed–order, time shown, and so forth. The

pages are usually rotated randomly.

Automatic exchanges can have specific uses, but

generally speaking they are not a great way to

get your site seen.-since they are automatic,

such exchanges do not even require a person to be

at the computer-hence, no real traffic for you.

Manual exchanges are far better. Lately, some

eye-catching automatic exchanges have surfaced

that offer cash bonuses on select pages–the

pages on these exchanges certainly can capture

one’s full attention, so don’t rule out

attractive automatic exchanges, either, once you

have gotten comfortable with the traffic exchange

concept. Automatic traffic exchanges are not

without merits of their own, but are more suited

to advanced users who can judge their worth for

at home business more accurately.

You may find it very handy to make use of a

rotator of your own if you have more than one

sales page. A professional rotator such as

Pageswirl can be a great help in showing your

pages smoothly and in the order you choose, while

giving no clue that it is even operating. While

there are some traffic exchange operators that do

not like rotators at all, Pageswirl is very

exchange-friendly, and is usually welcomed.

Because a great many marketers make use of

traffic exchanges, your site has the potential to

be seen by many people–the market is worldwide.

Most traffic exchanges work on the “credit”

program. You will earn a full or partial “credit”

each time you visit another member’s website. In

turn, you forfeit a full credit each time another

member visits your website. Typically, an

exchange allows you to earn from 0.5 to 1.0

credit on each visit you make to another member’s

website. There are often three main ways of

obtaining credits–earning them through surfing

of the traffic exchange as described, purchasing

them in a package, or referring other exchange

users who earn some credits for you when they

themselves surf. Purchased credits can sometimes

be targeted a little more effectively, as a

reward for the purchase. Choose the exchange

benefits that best suit your at home business.

Often there is a “pro” or enhanced membership

which will allow you some favorable terms for

surfing and purchases–often with an higher

number of credits distributed. It is not uncommon

for traffic exchanges to offer bonuses to join–

this can be an effective way to promote your site

if you keep your eye our for new exchanges with a

competitive bonus package. Some traffic exchanges

are very helpful in this regard. Traffic

exchanges have the ability to control how many

websites and banners that you are allowed to

display–this varies widely from exchange to

exchange (although, as mentioned previously, a

rotator such as Pageswirl can bypass such

limitations).

As you become familiar with a favorite traffic

exchange, you will want to consider joining its

referral program as a way to accrue more credits

more often. Again, you will obtain a portion of

the credits obtained by the downline member when

they surf. The downline set-up is determined by

the exchange itself–downline structures can

vary.

Be aware of traffic exchange restrictions. You

may not be allowed to use pop-up windows, adult

content, sites that break frames, rotators,

multiple accounts, URL forwarding, gambling

themes, or banned websites. There are often cash

bonuses available as rewards for certain

activities or for participation in contests.

The speed and ability of your website to load

without difficulty is very important to the

traffic exchange. Most exchanges urge user to

make use of “splash pages”–small pages that load

instantly, often with just a single picture or

message, rather than full loading of a complete,

fully loaded webpage full of graphics and tools.

Your concise message should be one that is

absorbed readily in the 10 or 15 second viewing

period.

Beware of complicated displays, languages or

presentations that drag down the loading time of

your page. Your message should be brief and to

the point, with maximum impact in presentation. A

common goal for many users is to simply obtain

the name and e-mail for follow-up later, either

by e-mail campaign or autoresponder. In this way,

you can market to the list any way you would like

to at a later point in time. This is a more

comprehensive strategy for your at home business.

Make sure that you have a pop-up stopper running

-traffic exchanges can be irritating if you have

to deal with all the pop-ups. Even if not

officially allowed on the exchange, pop-ups have

been known to slip through. A pop-up stopper

allows you to surf more contentedly. And be sure

you are running a good anti-virus program,

because you never know–traffic exchanges are not

better or worse in this aspect than the internet

itself.

Use a web page rotator-it is especially helpful

with exchanges that will only let you list one or

two pages-with a rotator, you can get all your

best sales pages seen. Pageswirl is a highly

recommended professional rotator.

If you really enjoy a particular exchange,

consider upgrading-there are often a lot of

benefits. Some exchanges even offer ways to make

money!

Traffic exchanges can be a lot of fun. There are

a wide variety of them, and used effectively,

they can bring a lot of traffic to your offer.

They should most definitely be a part of your

online marketing campaign. Many traffic exchanges

have recognized that there is a fatigue factor is

surfing site after site, so they have enhanced

their exchanges with contests, bonuses,

entertaining displays, extra advertising avenues

and other perks of “surfing the exchanges”.