What Is a Traffic Exchange
In a nutshell, traffic exchange is when you visit other people’s websites and they visit yours in exchange. People use traffic exchange networks to build up a steady traffic flow to their websites.
First, sign up on a traffic exchange website and submit your own website. Then, you’ll have to start earning credits by visiting other people’s websites and can further spend these credits on improving your blog traffic. Some exchange sites allow buying a traffic package instead of viewing others’ websites. And, you can trade your credits for cash.
There are two main types of traffic exchanges:
- Auto surf (which allows using a bot for browsing)
- Manual
How Profitable Is a Traffic Exchange
Traffic exchange sites can really help make money if harnessed properly. As you know, traffic quality can even influence Google ranking.
The more quality traffic you get, the better the behavioral factors are and then higher your ranking is. In this respect, traffic exchange is a win-win scenario as it increases traffic influx for both parties and helps them rank higher. As a result, it may help you get ahead of your competition, enjoy increased conversions and, consequently, a boost in profits.
You can use traffic exchanges to drive traffic to websites and blogs in various niches, for example, education, merchandise, travel, etc. If your project is about travel, the Travelpayouts partnership platform is a great way to monetize your traffic. Join travel affiliate programs and promote travel brands in your content to help people travel more and cheaper. At the same time, you can turn your hobby into income.
All this is possible with Travelpayouts, which allows you to work with over 100 well-known brands, such as Booking.com, GetYourGuide, Kiwi.com, and more. Even if your project is small, you can start earning with Travelpayouts, because the scale of the project doesn’t matter. Just join for free today.
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Join todayIn fact, the amount of money you can get from traffic exchange really depends on the quality of your website in general and your squeeze page in particular. To make traffic exchange your powerful lead generator tool, try to make your landing page as attractive as possible:
- Keep your target audience in mind when creating your squeeze page.
- Create a compelling headline encouraging visitors to spend more time on your website.
- Offer a free ebook, trial offer or other promotional product for those who leave their email address.
- Place your offer “above the fold” so that visitors can see it right away.
Pros and Cons of Traffic Exchange Networks
Pros
- There are free options.
- It can increase your traffic flow (sometimes even more than 200%).
- Higher traffic brings more advertisers and more profitable cooperation.
- You won’t have to spend money on PPC traffic or banner advertising.
- It may help you attract a loyal audience if your blog is of top-notch quality.
Cons
- The bounce rate is likely to increase as the average time your visitors will spend on the website is from 10 to 30 seconds. As a result, your ranking may deteriorate.
- Conversion rates are not high because most visitors are interested in driving more traffic to their own sites, not in what your blog has to offer.
- Google AdSense frowns upon websites using traffic exchange networks and may even disable your account.
Best Traffic Exchange Networks
The web abounds in various traffic exchange networks and sites. However, they differ in the quality and principles of work. Below we’ll describe the peculiarities of various traffic exchange services and outline their most important pros and cons.
Rankboostup
RankBoostUp is a trusted autosurf traffic exchange program launched in 2007. The service provides users with the auto-serve browser which runs in the background while you are working. RankBoostUp offers user control over traffic by letting you choose traffic sources, countries, device types, keywords to rank for, number of hits per hour, etc.
Pros
- The service offers a free trial period.
- You get 1,000 hits for free when you sign up.
- The service is integrated with an GA4 (google Analytics).
- The site provides users with a custom timer with the time slot from 10 to 60 seconds.
- The platform offers integrated mobile traffic, which results in better ranking on mobile devices.
- The service can notify you when your points fall below a certain level.
- You can target particular traffic types and regions.
- The service provides users with a white-label solution.
Cons
- Mobile traffic and unlimited sites are only available with a premium plan.
- Payment methods are rather complicated and don’t include Visa or MasterCard.
10khits
10KHits is a traffic exchange that provides webmasters with traffic for free. However, you can upgrade your account for $29 per month and get some additional features such as geotargeting hits, bounce rate reducer, custom traffic sources, etc.
To start generating traffic with this service, you have to download the 10KHits exchange software and browse the websites listed in the app. You’ll earn traffic points for every 10-second visit and can further spend them on leading visitors to your website.
Pros
- The platform provides you with real visitors, not bots.
- It can greatly boost your Alexa rank.
- You can set the maximum number of hits per hour and choose the duration of visits.
- You get 100 points for free after signing up.
- You can earn commission points if you share your referral link.
- Users can either hide or show their traffic sources and make it look as if the traffic was coming from search engines.
- The application is light-weight and user-friendly.
Cons
- The traffic you get is not likely to convert into sales as visitors only click on your website because they have to and are not interested in what you offer.
- The bounce rate is likely to increase as visitors will leave after the established 10-second interval.
- You must surf your first 20 pages to redeem the signup bonus.
Easyhits4u
EasyHits4u is one of the best manual traffic exchanges. This easy-to-use service has 1:1 exchange ratio on the 20-second timer for free users and 10-second timer for ultimate users. Such an exchange ratio means that you’ll receive a visitor to your site for every site you visit. To save time, you can purchase visits.
Pros
- The number of visits per day is not limited.
- Networking is easy on the website.
- Even the free plan includes powerful marketing tools.
- The platform offers detailed statistics and tracking.
- You can earn credits by referring visitors to the platform.
Cons
- The quality of traffic is low.
- Premium and Ultimate plans are quite expensive at $7.95 and $19.95 per month.
- The income potential of the service is low.
Otohits.net
Otohits.net is an autosurf traffic exchange that allows you to add an unlimited number of websites. The platform is totally free and functions with the help of a unique auto surf engine.
Once you’ve added websites you want to drive traffic to, start earning credits with the auto surf (either the app or the browser extension) the service provides. You get points for every second you stay on the auto surf and you can have it running 24/7.
Pros
- The validation process is very fast (less than 24 hours).
- You can add an unlimited number of websites.
- The system offers a dynamic timer ranging from 10 to 60 seconds.
- Adult content is authorized and is in a separate category.
- You can hide the referrer.
- The platform offers the bounce rate optimizer feature. Visitors can earn extra points for doing extra clicking on a webpage.
Cons
- The service is not effective for getting YouTube views.
- The traffic is of low quality.
Hitlink
Created in 2001, Hitlink is one of the oldest traffic exchange sites. It allows you to join the platform for free and features a classic theme and an easy-to-use interface. Upon registration, you’ll also get free credits that you can use to attract views to your page. Hitlink provides an exceptionally low visitor to page ratio and a flow of ever-changing visitors in contrast to other traffic exchange systems.
Pros
- A 1:1 exchange ratio
- Buy traffic from $7
- Targeting feature that allows you to filter your audience by country or region, interests, traffic type, etc.
- Promote unlimited sites
- Free listing in the TrafficG directory
- Upgrade your plan from just $4.66
- 38 languages supported
- Take advantage of great banners
Cons
- You can earn referral credits only after new members become active
- Different surfing rates depending on the tool: SuperSurf, SuperStart, or Exchanger
Autowebsurf
Autowebsurf is a free traffic exchange that automatically drives traffic to your webpages. All you have to do is submit your page, install the viewer app and your webpage will start getting traffic. The service accepts all websites which are family-friendly, including social media and videos.
Pros
- Users can adjust the view timer up to 300 seconds.
- Users can hide the referrer.
- You can earn up to 25% on referral commissions.
- You get 500 credits when you sign up.
Cons
- The traffic is of low quality.
- The service can increase the bounce rate of your website.
- You have to surf 100 sites to get the signup bonus.
Get Free Web Traffic for Your Blog
To sum it up, the success of traffic exchange depends on a variety of factors including the network you use, the type of traffic you target, its quality, etc. That’s why it’s crucial to try different traffic exchange services and track your campaign results to see which of them are more effective for generating leads.
Besides, you should make sure your squeeze page is compelling and the traffic exchanges you join are reputable enough. If you are careful and wise when using traffic exchange, it may become your powerful tool for boosting your blog performance and converting visitors into sales.