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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Major League Hits September 19, 2008
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentMajor League Hits is the baseball themed hit exchange from Michael Coursey. While it has a great looking design, this is pretty much your typical LJ Script based exchange.
Launched early this year, MLH is still a fairly young traffic program. The membership appears to be growing at a slower than average pace however and since everything inside is comparable to many a successful exchange. I have to venture a guess that this exchange is simply under promoted.
Surfing here can be quite rewarding as the credit bonuses on the prize page are definitely above average. A free member can effectively earn a 2:1 ratio instead of the listed 3:1 when you factor in the generous bonus credits.
But unfortunately, the value of those free credits is a bit questionable as it’s unlikely that a significant number of people will be seeing your ads at Major League hits. With a good solid push in the promotion department, this TE could probably become a worthwhile program, but as it stands, this one has yet to make it to first base.
Final Rating: 2 (out of possible 10)
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Click Crazey September 14, 2008
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentWith names like Robert Puddy and Jon Olson attached to it, Click Crazey should be a top notch exchange right? Well, what sounds good in theory does not always pan out in the real world, and this project is a prime example.
The only thing out of the ordinary here is a feature called “lucky number”, though it’s not clearly explained how this works. Aside from being told to pick a lucky number between 1-100, and being told how many times it “hit” for “points”, there’s really nothing on the page stating what these points are? I suspect they are credits, but then why not call them such?
The surf ratio starts at the standard 3:1, and bonus credits are few and far between. You will rarely see a surf verification page either, so the usual 2-3 credits for that page is a rarity as well.
Free members must auto assign 90% of their earned credits which I’m sure is a turn off to many a surfer. With so may other exchanges setting auto assign requirements at 75% or lower, CC’s requirement seems a bit overboard.
How about commissions. well, none for free members, but if you upgrade you can earn a whopping 15% on referrals purchases. Cue the crickets, nothing exiting here.
When all is said and done, this site would probably have faired well a couple of years ago, but in today’s super competitive traffic exchange community, Click Crazey just doesn’t offer enough benefit to the free surfers. Without the free surfers to keep the traffic flowing, Click Crazey just isn’t getting the job done.
I’ve been a long time supporter of Jon Olson, but sadly, I cannot in good conscience recommend Click Crazey at this stage.
Final Rating: 4 (out of possible 10)
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Web Biz Solutions September 13, 2008
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentThe team at Web Biz Solutions seem to have approached the business of website traffic with all the best intentions. Plugging away since 2002, this exchange has a plethora of advertising options, and a variety of ways to earn advertising credits.
Where WBS most notably falls short is in the design department. The site does not have a uniform look throughout it’s pages, and while clicking through links you’ll find yourself wondering if you’re still within the same site. A site with the vast number of features and options that web biz solutions has can be confusing enough to the average user, and the poor design here only adds to the frustration.
If you can get past the muddled layout, WBS actually has some really interesting features, and never feels like a carbon copy of it’s competition. With four different surfing options, including surf n chat and 2 variations of their craps game, where the luck of the dice determine how many credits you earn, and of course the standard surfbar format.
Advertising is not limited to the surfbar, as you may secure ad spots in the WBS marquee which displays throughout the site. There are several other ad spots for sale as well throught the website.
At the end of the day though, it all comes down to the traffic. The traffic delivery at Web Biz Solutions is sub par to say the least, and I have to guess that the design is at least partially at fault. If this program was more user friendly, and had a more professional presentation, I have no doubt it would be a contender. As it stands, I have a hard time recommending this service to anyone who takes their business seriously.
My Rating: 4 (out of a possible 10)
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I Love Hits September 12, 2008
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentHow do you describe a Traffic Exchange with well over 95,000 members, that’s been online since 2001, and is owned and operated by THE traffic exchange guy, Jon Olson? I can do it in one word. Results. Always Jon’s top priority, positive results are the biggest reason I love hits has remained an industry leader for all these years. The fact that an exchange this large still consistently brings in hundreds of new users per week speaks volumes about it’s owners advertising skills.
As a member of I love hits, not only do you get fast moving, quality traffic, but you get access to the I Love hits Tutorials archive. This is one of the first places I send folks who e-mail me about their poor results with traffic exchange advertising. Outspoken and rarely wrong, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more knowledgeable expert Than Jon Olson when it comes to advertising in TEs.
I Love Hits has experienced some extensive upgrades this year, first with the ILH Profile pages which brought the exchange into the realm of web 2.0 with some really snazzy social networking tools. And soon followed by it’s participation in the one of a kind Super Surf cross promotion, giving members a chance to earn an incresed surf ratio by super surfing the 5 included exchanges.
In short, I love hits is one of the most consistently reliable traffic providers you’ll ever hope to find. With 7 years under his championship belt, Jon Olson and I Love Hits are a sure thing.
My Rating: 9 (out of a possible 10)
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AdvertisingKnowHow September 11, 2008
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentAdvertising Know How, affectionately referred to as “AKH” by it’s loyal supporters, is the traffic generating, list building, powerhouse of an article directory/traffic exchange/co-reg list builder from marketing mastermind Robert Puddy. *whew* what a mouthful, and If I’ve confused anyone, please, allow me to explain.
1st, let’s note that AKH is much more than just a traffic exchange. As Mr. Puddy, and many other successful TE users will tell you, the most effective way to use traffic exchanges is to build your mailing list. Robert felt so strongly about this, that he integrated a co-registration list builder within his traffic exchange. Set it up once, and you’ll find a nice stream of opt-in leads filing into your auto-responder. That feature alone is worth a slow clap… but wait, there’s more.
2nd, Advertising Know How is an article directory. Looking to gain some credibility? Take the time to research and write a quality article, then submit it here. If approved, it will be added to the AKH article directory. Articles at AKH also allow some limited html so you can use links, and some text styles like bold, highlighted and so on. Another clever addition, but hold the applause please…
3rd, But certainly not least, AKH is a traffic exchange. As one of the 5 exchanges participating in the “Super Surf” promotion, activity here has been better than ever. Surfers seem to be loving all the extra bonuses from Super Surfing, and it’s turned into some excellent exposure for members at AKH.
So, when all is said and done, AKH is a top notch, class act of an exchange. An excellent list building tool, and oh yes, an article directory too. Nice job Mr. Puddy.
Slow clap guy, do your thing. 
My Rating: 8 (out of a possible 10)
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Link Crews September 10, 2008
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentLink Crews runs on a unique, custom script and appears to combine some of the best features of traffic-swarm and logiscape sites like TS25 into a powerful advertising medium.
As a free member, the goal here appears to reach the #1 Crew. While surfing, you work your way up from the bottom, advancing to the next crew by viewing a certain number of sites. Making it into the higher crews, gets you an increased surf ratio. This program uses a “tokens” system rather than credits, but essentially you start out with a 4:1 ratio and as a free member you can work your way up to a 1:1.
The surfbar is quite unique, combining Traffic Swarm’s classified ads approach with a more standard surfbar. You begin with a small thin surfbar which gives plenty of space for member ads. Once the timer has expired, the surfbar extends to about the average size you’d see elsewhere, and you are asked to choose one of 3 sites to view next.
Credits are assigned in the form of campaigns, very much like you’d see at the logiscape exchanges. You have a considerable amount of control here as you can not only set your total visitors and max daily visitors, but you can also set the campaign to start on a specific date and time.
Link crews management has done a fine job of delivering traffic consistently thus far, and it looks like everything is in place to keep the hits coming in down the road. At nearly 23,000 members, this site is just coming into it’s own.
My Rating: 6 (out of a possible 10)
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Magnify Traffic September 9, 2008
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentMagnify Traffic does a great job of distinguishing itself from the hundreds of other traffic exchanges online. From the moment you log in, Magnify has a distinctly different feel, yet it’s layout is focused and simple to navigate.
The team at Magnify have taken huge steps to ensure members return to surf daily, and offer some generous rewards for those who do. Rewards come in the form of surf ratio bonuses. Some of which are good for the remainder of the day, and some you get to keep the next day if you log in and surf again.
You can always depend on Magnify Traffic’s dependable traffic delivery as well. You would think with all these ratio bonuses going around, credits would begin to back up. Quite the contrary here as the hits have been rolling in nice and steady all summer with no sign of slowing down.
If there’s one thing I find lacking at Magnify, it’s text links. Sure, there’s a common belief that text links are worthless, but I for one have always loved the ability to convert credits to text links. It’s a great way to test short n’ sweet ads and I’ve had some great results from these things in the past. Maybe resident programmer (and co-owner) Dan Smith will incorporate text links in the future.
All in all, Magnify Traffic is a quality program that I can feel comfortable recommending to anyone.
My Rating: 7 (out of a possible 10)
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Hit Pirate
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentIs that Captain Jack Sparrow in the top right corner of this site? Can’t tell for sure, but one thing is certain… owner “Captain” Jack Schafer is no stranger to the traffic exchanges.
Hit Pirate has been delivering the page views since late 2004, and continues to fare well considering it’s lack of exposure as of late. The affiliate toolbox here features a treasure trove of promotional tools, and with Mr. Schafer offering some generous commissions, (up to 50%), it’s surprising we don’t see more Hit Pirate ads out there.
This click exchange is rather newbie friendly as well. The sidebar has links to some Hit Pirate specific training as well as some general TE tutorials as well. This is something not enough exchanges take the time to do. I believe many owners have forgotten what it was like to be a newbie. Respect To Captain Jack for not neglecting the land lubbers.
Emails from the captain are rare, and while some would prefer less emails in their inbox, I personally like to hear from the TE owners once in a while. Even if there’s nothing much to report, it’s real easy for surfers to forget about you in this community of program hoppers. A little reminder from the admin once in a while would surely make the activity at Hit Pirate even better.
Bottom line, Hit Pirate is a clean, well managed exchange, that could use a bit more promotion. No Reason this couldn’t be one of the best with a bit of a push.
My Rating: 5 (out of a possible 10)
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