How Traffic Exchange Owners Have Crippled The Industry

Traffic exchange is a method of generating traffic to a website by exchanging views with other members of a network. Traffic exchange websites allow users to sign up and submit their URLs, and then view other members' websites in exchange for credits. These credits can then be used to get more views for their own websites, or to buy advertising space on the network.

Traffic exchange can be a useful way to increase exposure and visibility for a website, especially for new or small businesses that have limited budget for marketing. However, traffic exchange also has many drawbacks and challenges, such as low quality traffic, high bounce rate, low conversion rate, and potential penalties from search engines.

One of the main reasons why traffic exchange is not as effective as it could be is the lack of regulation and quality control among traffic exchange owners. Many traffic exchange owners have adopted potentially harmful practices that have crippled the industry and damaged the reputation of traffic exchange as a legitimate marketing tool.

In this article, I will discuss some of these practices and how they have negatively affected the traffic exchange industry. I will also suggest some ways that traffic exchange owners can improve their service and restore the confidence and trust in the traffic exchange industry. One thing to make clear before I continue: this article is about manual traffic exchanges: the ones that you have to click on a button or an icon to move on to the next page, which in turn ensures that the page has been seen by a real human being.

The problem of surfing ratio and timer

In the old days, a traffic exchange was just that, a traffic exchange. People were just looking at other people's pages and they were getting a 1:1 surfing ratio (which means you view one page and in return you get a visitor to your page) as upgraded members or a 2:1 surfing ratio (you view two pages to get a visitor to your page), and in some traffic exchanges a 3:1 surfing ratio. The timer was the same for all member levels in a traffic exchange, so in worst case scenario, an upgraded member was receiving traffic 3 times faster than a free member. This was working really well.

Nowadays, traffic exchanges owners not only sell the better surfing ratio to the upgraded members, but also a shorter timer when upgraded members view other members' pages. There are cases where a free member surfs at a 3:1 ratio with a 10 seconds timer, whilst an upgraded member in the same exchange surfs at a 1:1 ratio with a 3 seconds timer. This means that in a minute a free member would get 2 visitors back to their page, but the upgraded member would get 20! Now the upgraded member accumulates visitors 10 times faster than the free member! So, these traffic exchanges owners say that their traffic exchange is free to join and use (and it is), but with such a difference in accumulating visitors, does free actually work or are they indirectly trying to force their free members to upgrade? Yes, I understand it is a business, and traffic exchange owners need to have profit, but is this really the right way to do it? Especially in the long-term?

This creates a huge gap between the free and upgraded members, and makes the traffic exchange service unfair and unbalanced. It also reduces the quality and value of the traffic, as most of the views are coming from upgraded members who are surfing very fast and not paying attention to the content of the websites they are viewing. They are just clicking away to earn more credits and get more views for their own websites.

This practice also discourages free members from using the service, as they feel that they are not getting enough return for their time and effort. They will most probably quit the service altogether, after they realize how long it takes them to generate a signup or opt-in. This leads to another problem that I will discuss next.

The problem of gamification and surfing for cash

Some traffic exchange owners have introduced games to make surfing less boring (the so-called gamification), but let's be honest here: if you surf at a site where you get proper results, why would you be bored? Gamification is another thing that has adversely affected the industry, in my opinion it does more bad than good, because it distracts the surfers from actually looking closely at what other members have to offer.

Games can be fun and entertaining, but they can also be addictive and time-consuming. Some users may spend more time playing games than viewing websites, and may lose sight of their main goal of generating traffic for their own websites. Games can also reduce the quality and value of the traffic, as some users may view websites only to earn rewards from playing games, and not because they are interested in the content or the offer of the websites.

Another thing that has filled the traffic exchanges industry with mindless clickers is the introduction of surfing for cash, e.g. surf one thousand pages and get 10 cents of a dollar in return. While I recognize that traffic exchange owners do that to increase activity, and they do, but are they increasing efficiency? Definitely not.

Surfing for cash can be tempting and appealing, but it can also be misleading and disappointing. Some users may think that they can make money by surfing for cash, but they may soon realize that the amount they earn is very low compared to the time and effort they spend on surfing. Surfing for cash can also reduce the quality and value of the traffic, as some users may view websites only to earn money, and not because they are interested in the content or the offer of the websites. And do you think that people that are frantically surfing for those cents would be actual buyers? Oh, come on!

All the big and established traffic exchanges that are still producing very good results today never adopted any of the above practices, and that is why they have been around for more than 20 years now and are still growing strong. Which makes me wonder why the smaller traffic exchanges owners don't just copy the recipe for success from these giants. I really don't understand.

Therefore, it is important for traffic exchanges owners to reconsider their use of gamification and surfing for cash, and to focus more on providing quality service and value for their users. They should also educate their users on how to use traffic exchanges effectively and efficiently, and how to create attractive and engaging pages that can capture and retain the attention of the visitors.

The problem of generic emails

Most of the traffic exchanges owners send out an email on a daily basis which is actually a generic email that came together with the script they bought and installed. So no value in the email, no teaching their members on how to market properly, no advice, no experience shared. Again, this is not the case with big traffic exchanges. They rarely send emails to their members and when they do it would definitely be for an important reason.

Generic emails can be annoying and boring, and they can also damage the relationship between the traffic exchange owners and their users. Generic emails show that the traffic exchange owners do not care about their users enough to personalize their communication with them. Generic emails also show that the traffic exchange owners do not have anything new or useful to offer to their users. Generic emails can also lower the open rate and click-through rate of the emails, as some users may ignore or delete them without reading them.

Therefore, it is important for traffic exchange owners to avoid sending generic emails to their users, and instead send customized and valuable emails that can enhance their service and relationship with their users. Customized emails show that the traffic exchange owners care about their users enough to address them by name and tailor their message according to their needs and preferences. Valuable emails show that the traffic exchange owners have something new or useful to offer to their users, such as tips, tricks, news, updates, promotions, etc.

Conclusion and a wake-up call for the traffic exchanges owners

Traffic exchanges can be a valuable marketing tool if used properly and responsibly. However, they can also be a waste of time and money if used improperly and irresponsibly. Traffic exchange owners have a big responsibility to ensure that their service is fair, transparent, ethical, and beneficial for all parties involved. By doing so, they can restore the confidence and trust in the traffic exchange industry, and make it a viable and effective option for online marketing.

Traffic exchange owners, wake up! It is not too late to fix the industry. Just do what the big guys do! They have been around for more than 20 years now and are still growing strong because they keep providing quality service and value for their users. They respect and care for their members, and they deliver what they promise.

If you want to succeed as an owner in the traffic exchange industry, you need to follow their example and learn from their experience. You need to improve your service and relationship with your users. You need to provide quality traffic and value for your users.

You need to be a leader, not a follower! You need to be part of the solution, not part of the problem!