The use of traffic exchanges to increase web site traffic has been gaining popularity lately. Many webmasters are finding the ease of use, along with the free traffic too tempting to pass up. With very little effort webmasters can direct hundreds of visitors per day to their site. However, there are little "tricks" that can be done to maximize the traffic while limiting the time and effort spent working. While the following techniques are very simple to implement, there will be some work involved. Please be prepared to invest at least 30 minutes a day to this effort at first, and you will notice the time requirements will substantially decrease as time goes on, with it eventually reduced to zero!

Before we begin, I would like to first explain what a traffic exchange does and how it works. A traffic exchange allows webmasters tons of free traffic by viewing other people's sites. It works on the basic function of "you-view-my-site-and-I-view-yours". To gain credits/visitors, the user has to view a particular site for a certain time limit. Although each exchange works on a similar basic concept, the actual workings, time limits, and ratios can vary somewhat between each one.

There are two types of traffic exchanges, manual exchanges and auto exchanges. Manual exchanges require the user to click on a certain link at the end of the set time limit in order to gain credit. This is done to help ensure real people are viewing your site. Auto exchanges do not require a click to proceed to the next site, as it automatically loads upon the timer reaching zero. Auto exchanges can have a greater number of "fake" views because the user does not have to actually view your site, as credits can be acquired without the user present. This does not mean auto exchanges are without any merit however, as real people do use these, and I have personally generated many sales from auto traffic exchanges.

Perhaps the greatest draw of traffic exchanges is the fact that you can gain massive traffic using other people's work and effort. Just about every exchange has a multi-tier type affiliate program that earns referring users a percentage of their downline's earned credits. This can be huge once you are able to build a sizeable group of webmasters under you. This step will be the key to successfully getting the most out of your traffic exchanges and working as little as possible for a huge amount of traffic.

***Just a side note. Most traffic exchanges are free, but offer an "upgrade" package usually at a nominal monthly fee. If you refer users that upgrade, not only will you receive many credits from their efforts, most exchanges offer a monthly recurring commission for each referral. This is like icing on the cake; free traffic to your site AND a monthly residual income for the life of your referral!

Let's get started. The first step is to find a handful of traffic exchanges that appeal to you. A search for "traffic exchange" on any search engine will bring up more than enough options for you to choose from. One traffic exchange that is essential to join is TrafficSwarm.com. This exchange provides you with very targeted traffic, has a large user base, and allows you to promote up to 10 URLs at once for free. You will also want to choose at least four or five more and sign up to each one. Once you sign up, you will receive a referral URL. This referral link is what will help you build a large downline, and is critical to your success in getting the most out of your traffic exchanges. Be sure to get your referral URL for each exchange you have signed up for.

Many good traffic exchanges provide you a premade fast loading splash page with your referral link built into it. These splash pages are great, however they promote only one site. Your next step is to create a similar page promoting all of your traffic exchanges at once. For an example check out http://www.informativeresources.com/trafficexchange.htm.  Please feel free to use this exact format as long as a link is placed back to my sites' home page. Also be sure to replace all referral links with your own. Please keep in mind the short time (usually 15 -30 seconds) a surfer has to actually view your site, therefore your page needs to load quickly and demand action. Using a simple, easy to navigate page such as the one mentioned above, that promotes all of your traffic exchanges will ensure maximum referrals to your downline.

Once your page is complete, you will want to login to each traffic exchange and start promoting your URL. This is where the work starts, I recommend dedicating at least 30 minutes a day surfing your exchanges and promoting your site. You will want to surf all your exchanges at once to maximize your efforts. An easy way to do this is by using a tabbed browser such as Firefox, however I just open up separate windows for each traffic exchange, and just toggle between them all using (Alt+Tab). Following this method should yield you new members in at least one of your traffic exchanges daily.

Now, not everyone will be able to spend the time it requires to build a huge downline. However, there are some shortcuts to achieving a large downline without as much effort. If time is a concern, you could always pay someone to click the exchanges for you. You could also use only autoexchanges which would not require you to actually be there. However, what I would recommend doing is, purchasing a downline. Guaranteed signups are fairly priced and can produce good results. You can search on any major search engine for guaranteed signups and get many great choices or you can go to http://www.informativeresources.com/wholesaleaccess.htm I do recommend USA only signups as International signups do not convert as well. USA only signups may cost a little more, however it is well worth it.

Now this is where the fun begins. With the steady supply of new members joining your programs, you should start to see an increase in your sites' traffic. Perhaps even a few have upgraded and now you are earning a monthly commission on their efforts. Congratulations! Now we can take it to the next step. Many traffic exchanges allow you to email your downline. Send each one of your members a copy of this article, just be sure to leave all the links intact and to include the resource box at the bottom of the page. Once they see how easy it is to create a large downline, earning them a lot of free traffic and even some cash, they will start to promote their referral links thereby giving you even more free traffic and commissions. Many traffic exchanges have affiliate traffic and commissions earned as many as five or more levels deep! Your traffic and earning potential is unlimited.

As you can now see, traffic exchanges provide a valuable service to webmasters across the globe. With every site needing quality web traffic, using free traffic exchanges correctly can provide thousands of quality hits per month. As there is not an easier or more cost effective means of advertising, the traffic exchange industry will continue to grow in popularity and importance for every web site owner in the years to come.

Noah Ulrich is webmaster of http://www.informativeresources.com His site provides top quality resale rights to ebooks and software, real quality guaranteed signups for your program, and real guaranteed web traffic and visitors to businesses worldwide.