Intellibanners December 18, 2008
Posted by Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentMost surfers know that managing credits in traffic exchanges is really easy if you use a rotator. You can save a massive amount of time by utilizing this tool, but how many of us don’t do much with banners because we just don’t have the time?
Banners you say…
Yes banners. Not long ago Josh Abbott introduced Intellibanners, a rotator for banners. With this new banner ad system you can manage all your banners in one place, and then use one banner URL in all your traffic exchanges or other advertising sources.
Josh makes it easy to manage your banners – you can set up multiple banner campaigns to distinguish between, say, different types of programs or traffic exchanges. Josh also provides useful statistics to track your clickthrough rates and unique hits.
You can set up a free account, or you can become an upgraded member. When free members promote their Intellibanners campaign banners, their own banner ads will be shown 80% of the time. The remaining 20% will go to a co-op.
Josh also purchases a large quantity of banner advertising from leading traffic exchanges for the co-op program. Upgraded members have their own banners shown 100% of the time, as well as have their banners shown as part of the co-op program. A very worthwhile feature and well worth the cost of the monthly upgrade fee.
All-in-all a very worthwhile program. Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of banner advertising, and Intellibanners makes the management of your banners very easy indeed.
Vinterchange Review December 16, 2008
Posted by Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentI used to love surfing Vinterchange. The “Vinterchallenge” trivia game was always fun and because I was good at answering the skill-testing questions, I managed to win a lot of free credits every week. And the quotes displayed on the surf bar were funny, sad, poetic and sometimes inspirational.
But alas, time has moved on for Vinterchange. As with any business, not just with a traffic exchange, either you deliver a service consistent with your customers’ requirements, or your business suffers.
This is what has happened to Vinterchange.
Nowadays free members of a traffic exchange simply will not surf an exchange with a 20-second timer with a surfing ratio of 2:1. Period. For those of us who have used traffic exchanges for several years know if was quite common to have a 20 second or even a 30 second timer four or five years ago. But times have changed. The surfers have spoken. The industry has evolved.
So…why does Vinterchange still have a 20-second timer with a 2:1 surfing ratio? Beats me. But is sure goes a long way to explain why my surfing results are almost non-existent these days.
Maybe Jennifer Herold is trying to make a point. I don’t know. But it really is a shame to see such a fine manual traffic exchange suffer such a pointless defeat.
Final Rating: 3 (out of possible 10)
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Hits Connect December 15, 2008
Posted by Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentAre you still guessing? Or are you serious about your business?
In one of my recent posts I reviewed Jon Olson’s Pizza Plan. In his Plan Jon makes a very blunt point about a must-have tool – a link tracker.
Let’s face it, if you don’t know which links are producing the most results for you, whether those links are on a classified ad or on a traffic exchange splash page, then you are probably wasting money on ineffective advertising.
Yes, there are several free link tracking services available online. But when it comes to tracking your results, you absolutely require reliability and the right mix of some advanced features those free services do not offer.
Hits Connect is full-featured link tracking and rotator system second to none. I’ve used this service for many, many years. I use it to track my traffic exchange, pay-per-click and classified ads results.
Here’s a sample of what Hits Connect offers:
- You can rotate an unlimited number of tracker links;
- You can enjoy access to a rotator which is traffic exchange friendly because it has a built-in frame-breaker tester;
- You can enable and disable specific links at any time without deleting them from your list.
The monthly fee is reasonable and represents a very cost effective solution for all your advertising tracking needs.
Don’t guess – go with the best – Hits Connect can revolutionize the way you measure your advertising performance to ensure maximum profitability.
Traffic Heroes Announces New Owner December 13, 2008
Posted by Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentRich Morris announced today the sale of his traffic exchange, Traffic Heroes, to Brett Phillips.
Rich has been plagued with some serious health issues and is to be commended for his excellent work in keeping Traffic Heroes a decent traffic exchange. He never stopped promoting his business and the golden age comic book theme continues to stands out in almost every crowd.
It will be interesting to see if Brett makes any significant changes to Traffic Heroes. As stated in an earlier post, this super hero themed exchange offers some of the most insane free credit bonuses ever from time to time and somehow manages to deliver every one of them. I hope Brett keeps the surf game intact.
Mr. Phillips is no stranger to the traffic exchange industry. He brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge. If he can make a concerted effort to really promote Traffic Heroes, then this may be a traffic exchange to watch.
I certainly wish Rich the very best and hope he keeps in touch with his traffic exchange friends and colleagues. And I wish Brett much success with his new business.
The Pizza Plan December 10, 2008
Posted by Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentTwo days ago, on December 8, 2008, Jon Olson released his newest eBook called “The Pizza Plan.”
Typical of Jon’s style and character this eBook was launched without much fanfare or publicity. And the eBook itself is very plain in design, with no long winded explanations or fancy illustrations.
But do not be fooled, because looks can be deceiving.
In The Pizza Plan Jon outlines the exact steps he took to build a six-figure income. In his own words “The $75 Dollar A Month Budget That Turned A Former Pizza Store Manager Into A Successful Online Business Owner.”
The report is only 10 pages long. But Jon packs into those ten pages golden nugget after golden nugget. There is no fluff here, just solid, basic, down-to-earth advice that, if followed, could be very profitable for you.
Jon, in his own quiet way, reveals the exact strategies he used to get started. He outlines some basic tools you need to acquire, and why it’s important not to cut corners on these important tools. And he’s not afraid to say it – it costs money. He’s also not afraid to reveal in The Pizza Plan that one must re-invest money into your business in order for it to grow.
You don’t need a 100 page book to learn the ropes – grab a copy of The Pizza Plan, study what Jon recommends, and then apply that knowledge into your own online business. You’ll be glad you did.
Jon Olson’s other online ventures includes I Love Hits, S.W.A.T. Traffic and Click Crazey manual traffic exchanges.
Hit Weasel December 9, 2008
Posted by Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentThis is a great example of an exchange that has all the basic building blocks of a good traffic exchange, but lacks some fundamental elements which currently prevent it from becoming one.
First, the positives of Hit Weasel:
- A 2:1 surfing ratio for free members. Most new exchanges these days start with a 3:1 ratio;
- Progressive surf ratio, meaning the more you surf, the more you earn because your surfing ratio increases with activity;
- Free banner impressions. If you have credits assigned to one or more campaigns, then you can enjoy unlimited free banner impressions on the surfing frame;
- Earn triple bonus credits on certain days of the week (currently on Sunday).
As you can see, there are some unique features with Hit Weasel. I really like the free banner impressions. But unfortunately, there are negatives with this manual traffic exchange:
- The graphics suck. If it looks like you spent $5 on the site design, then what does that say about your perception of your business? Don’t get me wrong, you don’t need to spend $5,000 on the graphics, but if you want to compete in today’s traffic exchange market, you’ve got to look professional;
- 15-second timer. It’s too long. This is a negative for many surfers;
- Almost total lack of owner participation in promoting Hit Weasel. Folks, if you want to own and operate a successful traffic exchange, you must be in front of your membership on a consistent basis, and you must bust your ass off to bring in new members. Without this show of commitment, your exchange will die a slow death.
So what about the results? Well, they suck too. The only bright light is I have received some decent results through the banner impressions. Not on a consistent basis, but just enough for me to keep some splash pages in rotation to receive these banner impressions.
A new paint job and a re-focus by the owner may be able to save Hit Weasel.
Final Rating: 3 (out of possible 10)
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Dragon Surf December 8, 2008
Posted by Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentTwo days ago, on December 6, 2008 Dragon Surf turned two years old. Congratulations!
In the traffic exchange world, that’s a lifetime!
Owned by Soren Jordansen, Dragon Surf has propelled itself into the top ranks of manual traffic exchanges.
With over 33,000 members already after only two years in operation, this traffic exchange continues to bring in new members every month. That is a key statistic for surfers because it means a continuous stream of new people looking at their splash pages on a consistent basis. Fortunately for us, Soren is an owner who understands the success of a traffic exchange is directly related to its ability to attract new members.
At the present time Dragon Surf is a member of the “Super Surf” group, a group of exchanges what when surfed together yields higher surfing ratios on each exchange than if the exchanges were surfed individually.
Famous to Dragon Surf is the “Cave Game.” As mentioned in a previous post, surfing bonuses are in place here and work much like many other exchanges. Every 15 pages you’ll be presented with the Dragon Surf game. You choose to look in cave 1,2, or 3 where you will either find credits, banner impressions, text links, or an angry dragon. If you get the Dragon, you’ll win nothing, but from my experience you win more often than not. Just by surfing long enough to play a few rounds of the game free members can effectively raise their surf ratio to 2:1.(Normally 3:1). Tack on an extra 10% bonus when using the new Super Surf feature and Dragon Surf is a very rewarding exchange to surf.
But as often said within these traffic exchange reviews posts, the results are what matter most. And on that front, Dragon Surf delivers. From my extensive testing, this exchange continues to be one of my top performing exchanges, month after month.
Happy Birthday, Dragon Surf. May you continue to provide exceptional value for your members.
Final Rating: 9 (out of possible 10)
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Blue-Surf December 7, 2008
Posted by Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentIt’s very rare these days to see a custom-built traffic exchange, but that’s exactly what programmer Scott Martin did - he built Blue-Surf from scratch.
The fact that Blue-Surf is a custom-built exchange does not, in and of itself, make it a successful business. But it does say a lot about the commitment and pride of the owner. And in today’s world of cookie-cutter traffic exchanges popping up almost every week, it’s a refreshing change to see someone being unique and original.
Since the launch of Blue-Surf, Scott has continually added new features to his exchange. For example, take his “Average Surf” promotion. To promote consistent surfing - and to reward the “average” surfer - if you surf more pages than the average pages surfed the prior day, then you will get a 15 credit bonus at the end of the day. Scott displays this “Average Surf” number in the members’ area.
Scott has also introduced some cool graphics. In the “Assign Credits” area there is a graph showing hits earned and hits delivered. A neat way to visually see your surfing efforts and the use of your credits.
Best of all, I really like how easy it is to navigate between members’ pages once logged in. Scott uses a very clean, eye-pleasing design to make it easy to find your way around the members’ area.
But at the end of the day, surfing traffic exchanges is about results. Blue-Surf is no different. Unfortunately, my surfing results are average. My results with text links tends to go in cycles – for awhile, the results are great, at other times terrible.
So what’s the bottom line for Blue-Surf? An average performing exchange bolstered by a very attentive and smart owner who is committed to growing his business. And that is a good sign for traffic exchange users.
Final Rating: 6 (out of possible 10)
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eTraffic Freedom December 5, 2008
Posted by Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentI’m not generally a big fan for design makeovers if the original design was professional in appearance. But John Marks, owner of eTraffic Freedom, has significantly improved his free manual traffic exchange by doing just that. Mind you it’s been awhile since the change was made, but the results don’t lie and continue to be good.
Based on the popular LJ script, John has introduced a few unique features like bonus banner and text impressions for surfing 100 pages or more in a single day, and a site rotator. John also provides his members with a very comprehensive library of promotional material to promote eTraffic Freedom, something not all owners provide.
Having tracked my results over an extensive period of time, the surfing results for this traffic exchange is average. But the real value lies in the text links. I experience exceptional results with eTraffic Freedom’s text links.
John now provides daily email updates to his members. For some this may be a turn-off, but John keeps his emails short and to-the-point and keeps everyone informed. For someone who says he never knows what to write, he’s doing a very good job!
Liked and respected by fellow owners, Mr. Marks is quickly becoming a solid player in the traffic exchange industry. eTraffic Freedom continues to grow at a steady pace and appears to be settling in for the long haul. Keep up the good work, John!
Final Rating: 6 (out of possible 10)
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I Love Hits Profile Pages December 4, 2008
Posted by Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentEvery once in awhile a new, revolutionary traffic exchange feature is introduced and yet goes virtually unnoticed by the general surfing population. The “Profile Pages” at I Love Hits is one such example.
Why?
Probably because in typical Jon Olson’s (owner of I Love Hits) style, it was introduced without a lot of hype, fanfare or drum-beating earlier this year.
Those who know Jon Olson know he struggled for some time with this concept of Blogging – it was a pretty big step for him. Yet in his own quiet and effective way he continues to provide true leadership to the traffic exchange industry.
Have you seen them yet: his revolutionary “Profile Pages” exclusively at I Love Hits? They’re just awesome! In a single stoke Jon has lifted I Love Hits into the Web 2.0 clouds!
What’s really cool is that as you surf I Love Hits, there is a little link on the surf bar that says “Create Your ILH Profile Page.”
But wait, Jon’s done something more. If the splash page you’re viewing is owned by a member who has already set up his or her Profile Page, then the link says “Visit [so-and-so’s] Profile Page.” The surfer can then click on that link and, poof, the viewer is looking at the surfer’s unique content and detailed contact information.
Social interaction at it’s best – brought to you by THE leader in the TE industry – Mr. Jon Olson!
My recommendation: if you belong to I Love Hits, go right now and create your Profile Page. If you do not belong to this manual traffic exchange, you can join at no cost to you and then create your own Profile Page.
With over 100,000 members, I Love Hits continues to provide exceptional traffic exchange advertising results for surfers, day in and day out.
