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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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.
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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Traffic Pro-X September 20, 2008
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentA traffic exchange that looks different can really be a breath of fresh air. An exchange that can manage to look different, yet still keep it simple to use is even better. Traffic Pro X has done both, and while it’s yet to have any serious impact on the industry, this site has the potential to be an advertising giant.
The first thing you’ll notice here is the thin sleek design. While some might question the heavy use of black in the background and in the main graphics, it definitely brings your eyes right to the important stuff.
The members home page features a big red “start surfing” link, as well as 3 handy links for newbie surfers who may be unsure of where to start. Considering this site has a lot of custom work in place, these quick links can prove useful to even more seasoned surfers as well.
The featured members rotator on the members home page is definitely worth a mention. All upgraded members can add their photo and link here, and grab some bonus exposure throughout the length of their upgrade. Definitely a plus to upgrading at Traffic Pro-X, how much of a plus really comes down to how active this exchange is.
And that is where unfortunately Traffic Pro-X falls short. Boasting 5,000 members on the front page, you’d expect a better level of activity here, but sadly, this is not the case. Really disappointing as I REALLY wanted to like this one. Some great ideas here and the potential seems endless. The activity needs a serious boost though, and until something is done about it, this one’s not going to get a blue number from me.
Final Rating: 3 (out of possible 10)
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Dare 2 Click September 19, 2008
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentDare2Click is a manual exchange running on the ever popular LJ Script. My primary concern here is the seeming lack of active members.
When I’m surfing an exchange, a serious red flag for me is when I see the same member ads over and over at extremely frequent intervals. Repeat exposure is great, but there comes a point when I feel as though I’m simply burning through this member’s credits, not to mention, it seems they are one of only a handful of members with credits assigned to their sites. A situation like this makes me seriously wonder how many people are actually surfing this exchange.
Aside from the apparent lack of surfers, Dare 2 Click appears to be a site designed with the best intentions. There’s an addictive surfing game that awards you a prize every so often while surfing, and you have the option to keep the prize, or take a chance on doubling your prize… but you may lose it all. You can win either credits, banners or text links in this fashion and it’s a bit addictive.
In the end, it seems Dare2Click just needs a serious boost to activity. Everything appears to be in place except for the surfers to actually provide the traffic.
Final Rating: 2 (out of possible 10)
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Major League Hits
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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TS25
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentOf all the Logiscape traffic exchanges, TS25 is by far my favorite. Sporting a huge active membership, and some of the fastest traffic delivery ever seen, this old workhorse is a real class act. But, it’s not without it’s flaws…
Like all Logiscape exchanges, the traffic generation system is a bit complicated, and can be quite overwhelming to the newbie marketer. While surfing for for credits is simple enough, actually setting up your sites and assigning credits is a bit of a chore.
As a free member, you will need to surf rather intensively to gain any real benefit from TS25. The 5:1 ratio is anything but rewarding, and with the lighting fast traffic delivery that TS25 has, most free members will feel like they aren’t getting anywhere surfing here.
There are however bonuses up for grabs, though the method in which they are calculated leaves most new comers scratching their heads. In a nutshell, surf as long as you can, every day, and make your breaks short if you hope to win a share of the jackpot.
So while TS25 is far from newbie friendly, there is some great exposure to be found here. Just consider an upgrade unless you plan to make a full time affair out of your surfing here.
Final Rating: 7 (out of possible 10)
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Help Hits
Posted by The Secret Surfer in : Reviews , add a commentHelp Hits is a multi-featured traffic exchange with over 2,000 members. The first thing you’ll notice here is the fact that free members here surf at a 1:1 ratio with a 10 second timer. It may seem like a dream come true to some, but there seems to be a real flaw with this formula as you’ll soon see.
As you can imagine, the flow of traffic is here is akin to molasses running uphill. Without free members surfing away at a lower ratio, there’s not a whole lot of surfing going on here. It’s really disappointing as the site itself is packed with useful features.
You’ve got everything from a personalized rotator to link trackers available here, though it seems the tools provided here will be best used at other exchanges.
The surfing however is clean, no nasty sites in rotation here as this is “the second walker (exchange) to have the HitsConnect Website Checker”. The admin appears to be keeping an eye on things as well which leaves me wondering why he hasn’t done something about the surf ratio.
Final word on Help Hits. A traffic exchange that struggles to actually deliver traffic is in trouble. Maybe in an effort to supply members with every cool add on possible, the owner has lost site of what every traffic exchange must do… deliver hits. If something doesn’t change here soon, I doubt we’ll be seeing much more of this one.
Final Rating: 3 (out of possible 10)
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