The Hit Devil September 8, 2008
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentThe Hit Devil looks great from the outside, but for some reason this program never seemed to get off the ground.
On the inside we find the same features you’ll find on any other exchange running on the dreaded Walker traffic exchange script. Doesn’t seem to be much to set this service apart from the competition.
Looking at the promotional tools, it’s not hard to see why this exchange hasn’t grown much since it’s launch. While there are several splash pages listed here for members to promote, none of the links are working at the time of this review. Further down the page we do find several banners, but I have to wonder how many member’s actually make it past the bad links to even see them.
Traffic stats leave much to be desired as well, with both low rate of delivery as well as low unique percentage.
In conclusion, The Hit Devil has some serious issues to address before I can justify giving a better ranking.
My Rating: 2 (out of a possible 10)
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247 Traffic Pro September 7, 2008
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentThe team at 247TrafficPro have been on fire this summer and activity seems to be increasing by the day. Lets take a look at some of the new additions and see how this exchange stacks up to the competition.
This summer marked the beginning of the Hover Surf craze. Made popular first by the gang at New Way 2 Surf, it was quickly imitated by tons of exchanges looking to cash in on the buzz. 247 Traffic Pro reacted quickly, looking to please members who preferred to hover, they developed a customizable version of the hover surf feature made it an optional feature at their click exchange. But they didn’t stop there…
Looking to reward loyal surfers, 247TrafficPro turned on their “keep the next day” progressive surf ratio. Surf long enough, get an increased surf ratio. Come back and surf the next day and your increased surf ratio remains in place. Surely an incentive to surf daily, but with all these extra credits being earned, won’t member credits begin to stockpile?
Apparently, the 247TrafficPro team was aware of this possibility and quickly developed their “Activity Points” feature. Rewarding active members with points for doing “the most regular tasks on 247TrafficPro”. Each week, the top 5 members based on points win the weekly jackpot. The jackpot contains credits, banner and text impressions, referrals and even a bit of cash.
So the activity is high and the features are full of potential, so why are my results here not consistent with other active exchanges. I can’t answer that question, but if the fellas at 247TrafficPro can, I think they’ll have a real powerhouse of a hit exchange on their hands.
My Rating: 5 (out of a possible 10)
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SWAT Traffic
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentThe effectiveness of any service can usually be measured by the abilities and dedication of the management behind the business. So with THE Te Guy, Jon Olson at the helm, it only stands to reason that SWAT Traffic would be a safe bet for your advertising needs right? Let’s step into the officer’s lounge and see if our logic adds up shall we?
Jon Olson has always been known for his patient, “Slow and steady wins the race” approach to business building. Unfortunately, early this year, things at SWAT Traffic where just plain slow. The exchange seemed to be on Mr. Olson’s back burner and the site was simply not up to par with what you’d expect from the TE Guy.
Now, if you read Jon’s famous “Hit Exchange News” every week. It probably came as no surprise that SWAT Traffic got a significant push this summer, bringing in a slew of new members and traffic delivery literally tripled. Lately SWAT Traffic has been on everyone’s lips and you don’t have to look too deep to see why.
These days, SWAT’s dynamic surf ratio is nothing unique, nor are any of the primary features you’ll find in the navigation bar. The focus is on traffic delivery, and as of late, this manual only traffic exchange has been doing it well. In a time when feature packed exchanges can lose site of the real reason we’re all here, to view each others ads, SWAT keeps the task of getting those page views simple.
What really makes this exchange shine, and by far the highest draw for SWAT is that this is the home of the elite. Upgraded members here get access to live training and consultation. These weekly seminars are hosted by the TE guy himself, and several of the most successful traffic exchange marketers today can be found here every week. Want to learn how a former pizza cook managed to grow his business into a 6 figure per year income source? These guys will share it all. Getting access to this conference room is much akin to getting the keys to the executive washroom. It’s worth the cost of the upgrade alone, and puts SWAT in a class of it’s own.
Although SWAT Traffic has yet to reach the awesome scope of it’s sister site, I Love Hits, it’s still very much a solid exchange. I expect we’ll continue to see a rise in both the activity and the effectiveness of this free advertising resource.
My Rating: 6 (out of a possible 10)
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WebCentreSurf September 6, 2008
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentWebCentreSurf? Yep, I’m a fan. This is an exchange that stands out from the rest and has no trouble delivering a steady stream of hits.
So what’s different about WebCentreSurf? Lets start with their credit transfer system. Through the private messaging system, you can contact either your sponsor, your downline, 100 random members, or the entire list of “opt-In” members. (currently over 27,000). With each message you can attach credits from your balance. But you see, that’s not even the cool part. You can create an “external credit link” which you can use outside of WebCentreSurf. This gives you the opportunity to offer some of your credits as a “bribe” to someone to sign up under you.
I have to also mention the addictive nature of the surf game here. Much like the game show “who wants to be a millionaire”, surfers are subjected to a series of trivia questions, all multiple choice. With each progressing question, you have the option to either cash out or risk moving on to the next question. An addictive way to win credits and if you know your stuff, you can grab some truly ginormous amounts of credits here.
If you fancy an upgrade, you’ll be pleased to find that along with your increased surf ratio, you also get the surf timer reduced to 10 seconds. (15 seconds is the norm here.) On top of the bonus credits you receive you also get a free solo ad to the entire opt in list as well.
When all’s said and done, WebCentreSurf is a solid advertising resource and a regular part of my own surfing routine. Definitely worth a test run if you’ve yet to promote there.
My Rating: 7 (out of a possible 10)
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Click Ranch
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentClick ranch is one of many cowboy themed traffic exchanges online these days, but in my opinion, not one to be overlooked. Quickly nearing 7,000 members, this exchange is making a steady climb in the numbers and has the stats to match.
In the way of site features, you won’t see much you haven’t seen before. Click Ranch does have many of the mods you see in most full featured exchanges, but there doesn’t appear to be anything truly unique going on inside the member’s area. Surely they must be doing something to get the activity up, right?
One source of all the activity may be their weekly surfing contest. Add on a monthly referral contest to bring in a steady flow of new members and we begin to see why this exchange is growing at such a steady pace.
The owners do seem to be onto something with their Monday cross promotions. Surf 100 sites on Monday, get 100 credits at another traffic exchange. I’m sure users with limited time to surf are getting a kick out of this aspect.
Click Ranch may have quite a bit of road to travel before they hit the “big time”, but it looks like the owners are on the right track. I’m keeping an eye on this one.
My Rating: 5 (out of a possible 10)
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Click Voyager September 5, 2008
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentTypically, Traffic Exchanges with a team surfing feature tend to be some of the most active advertising venues on the net. Click Voyager is no exception. You can easily find yourself burning through 1000 or more hits per day, and if you can catch the attention of these power surfing CV teams, you can find yourself pulling in some serious results.
Click Voyager offers multiple different ways to win credits and that’s a good thing since free members surf at what works out to be a 5:1 surf ratio. For example, for every 100 sites you surf in a day, you get a free spin on the click voyager slots where members can win up to 1000 credits.
This seems like a good time to mention the one thing I hate about click voyager. 10 credits equals 1 page view. While I totally understand this approach from the exchange owner’s point of view, I absolutely despise this as a surfer. Can’t we all agree on a uniform credit system? Oh, wait. That’s right. Almost everyone does.
Aside from that minor annoyance, there’s much to love about Click Voyager. Whether you’re bidding for the coveted daily sponsor site ad, Testing your luck in the click voyage, (where you can win up to 50,000 credits), or gambling your credits in the weekly credit lottery, there’s no shortage of ways to score some huge exposure for your business here.
So while there’s no shortage of active surfers here to see your ads, it’s important to note the competitive nature of the average team surfer. These people can be considerably harder to reach as their focus tends to be on clicking as fast as possible, so you’ll have to put in some effort if you want to convince them to stop and read your ads. Luckily the folks at Click Voyager had the presence of mind to supply with you with the tools to do so. Even as a free member you can use the built in splash page maker to create your own custom splash pages to promote your favorite program. You can have up to 3 custom splashes at a time for free. What a great feature and definitely one of the biggest benefits of a Click Voyager membership.
Bottom line, Click Voyager has a large active membership and as such should be a welcome addition to anyone’s surfing schedule. Just keep in mind that exchange specific splash pages and squeeze pages are a must in this environment.
My Rating: 7 (out of a possible 10)
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Web Biz Insider
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentWeb Biz Insider is big. We’re talking HUGE member base to rival some of the biggest exchanges online today. Not long ago, this site was a consistently top ranked click exchange that everyone was using. But in the first half of 2008, WBI seemed to be on a downward slide.
As of late, owner Matthew Graves has been an active little admin, revamping the site to make some, in my opinion, long overdue improvements.
Finally! We have the ability to use text links at Web Biz Insider. Your “enhanced text ads” are highlighted in yellow, and really stand out against the deep blue surfbar. Banner ads are now much more manageable than before and now work much like we’ve become accustomed to in the majority of the exchanges.
All of the features that once made Web Biz king are still in place as well. You can email your downline once per week, adding any available credits you may have as an incentive for readers to open your emails. Having trouble building a downline? No Problem. Mr. Graves will allow you to purchase a downline, and frequently offers special pricing on downline member packages. Yes, these are REAL people too as tracking of your email ads will verify.
So effectively, this site is not only a manual traffic exchange, but a credit based safelist as well. While traffic flow isn’t what it once was, Web Biz Insider appears to be back on the road to the top. As Matthew’s site rapidly approaches 130,000 members, I think we’ll see WBI as a top contender once again in the near future.
My Rating: 6 (out of a possible 10)
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Soaring 4 Traffic
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentRay White’s Soaring4Traffic has been quietly climbing a number of TE ranking lists as of late and having spent some time surfing there this summer, I’m beginning to see why. The traffic delivery is steady, and results have been about what I’d hope for in an exchange of this size. Let’s take a closer look and see what’s keeping s4t members coming back to surf.
A quick look through the navigation links reveals much of what you’ll find in any traffic exchange, personalized splash pages to promote Soaring4Traffic with, and a downline builder featuring a good variety of programs. Ray’s site also has a downline builder exclusively for traffic exchanges which ties into another feature called your “surf center”. Basically, the surf center makes keeping track of your surfing schedule a simple task as you can quickly load up your favorite exchanges, each in their own tabs at the start of each surf session. When a surf session is completed, the date and time is recorded, and the sites you’ve surfed are moved to the bottom of your surf center. A handy little tool, and the video tutorial for new users is a welcome bonus.
Surfing S4t is quite rewarding for a 3:1 exchange when you factor in the generous bonus credits appearing in the surfbar. They rate at which they appear seems to be set just right as it’s hard to tear yourself away from surfing in anticipation of that next bonus. Keep surfing long enough and you may see the game page. Crack open the correct egg, and you can win some healthy bonuses here as well.
All in all, for a relatively new exchange, Soaring4Traffic appears to be offering a quality service for it’s members. Aside from a few unique differences, S4t seems to be sticking with a proven model for traffic delivery and it’s showing in the stats. I can’t see any reason why this program won’t continue it’s steady climb to the top.
My Rating: 6 (out of a possible 10)
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Blue-Surf September 4, 2008
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentScott Martin’s unique exchange Blue-Surf is a class act and you’ll know it from the moment the page loads. The professional yet eye appealing design gives a great impression and the service itself leaves little to be desired.
A completely custom built traffic-exchange, Blue-Surf is one of a kind, yet navigation is simple and intuitive making it a snap for newbies and old pro’s alike to get in and start advertising their pages right away.
Site-wide stats are boldly displayed on the home page, and I really love a site that is willing to share this valuable information with it’s members. A quick glance will show not only the number of members currently surfing, but also how many sites, banners, and text links are in rotation. Stats like these help me decide where to focus my advertising for maximum effect and I applaud Blue-Surf for making this info available.
Automatic daily bonuses for surfing 100-300 sites is a definite plus. That’s on top of the bonuses you can receive on the Blue-Surf prize page which appears often enough while surfing. No shortage of bonuses here.
Some great looking promotional tools go hand in hand with Blue Surf’s commission structure, offering up to 40% commissions on your referrals upgrades. While most exchanges these days have a similar structure, you’ll find referring others to Blue-Surf to be surprisingly easy.
Blue-Surf continues to rank well in the lists, and I have to agree with the trend. Blue-Surf is a winner. The only reason I don’t rank it higher is that it is relatively new, and as such doesn’t have the large reach of the “big” exchanges. However the activity at Blue-Surf is growing like crazy and will no doubt rival the top 5 before long.
My Rating: 7 (out of a possible 10)
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Traffic G
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentSince their inception back in 1999, Traffic exchanges have evolved in many ways. Currently the average surfbar timer is set to 10 seconds (even lower in some cases), but believe it or not there was a time when most exchanges had a 30 second timer. One of the few traffic exchanges to stick to the 30 second timer is TrafficG, and from where I’m sitting, it doesn’t seem to have hurt them one bit.
The 30 second timer isn’t the only thing that’s remained the same. In fact, if you’ve been a member of TrafficG since early 2005 or so, you’ve probably noticed that NOTHING has changed. A quick look at the history page shows the last site upgrade/event dated May 8th, 2005. I suppose the folks behind this exchange decided to stand behind their system taking a “if it ‘aint broke, don’t fix it” attitude. As their service continues to rank well on many ranking lists, and my own results there continue to be above average, I have to think they may be right.
Truly an oddity, TrafficG stands apart in other ways as well. These days most exchanges only award credits for a percentage of your 1st level downline’s surfing, but at TrafficG you earn credits on your referrals activity 5 levels deep. Huge potential for residual traffic building here.
If you’re a fan of banner advertising, you may want to have a look at TrafficG’s free banner exchanger software. Basically, you add your banner link, then load up the software which displays banners while you go about your normal PC activities. The software will prompt you occassionally to click and ensure that you haven’t walked away from the computer. It’s a unique approach to banner advertising and I used to love testing banners this way. Sadly, the delivery of banner credits has slowed down considerably lately, possibly due to the ever increasing size of the TrafficG membership.
Bottom line, while TrafficG may not be a top 10 exchange these days, it’s most certainly top 20 material and that puts it miles ahead of most of the competition in both the size of it’s membership and the results it delivers.
My Rating: 7 (out of a possible 10)
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