The term "traffic exchange" can mean different things in the realm of internet marketing, but for the sake of this article, it refers to the many "surf for traffic" or "auto surf" web sites. A traffic exchange web site consists of a number of free or paid members who earn system credits by viewing other members' web sites. The overall idea is that when enough people view a member's site, that member will make sales, gain opt-in leads, obtain downline sign-ups, or all of the above.



To sign up with a traffic exchange web site, submit username and password information, some personal information and often a primary web site. Most sites will use email confirmation for account activation to ensure the use of a real email address. Once a member it's time to set up the web site urls that are going to viewed by other members on the exchange as they surf for credits. Many sites provide free credits on signup so that the new member's site can begin to be viewed immediately. When a web site is setup for viewing, credits can be assigned to site which will dictate how many times the site will be shown in the network. Some exchanges allow only one site at a time, but most allow for many and even have an auto-distribution feature with can evenly distribute remaining credits to all of a member's active sites that are established in the network.

Most traffic exchanges have both free and pay memberships. Some even have different levels of pay memberships. It is easy to get started with a free membership, but there are many incentives for upgrading. One incentive is that paid members often get a better surf ratio. A surf ratio is the number of sites that have to be viewed by a member in order for their site to be viewed one time. For example, a 3:1 ratio means that the member must view three different sites in order for their site to be viewed once. Most pay memberships offer a 1:1 ratio, but some go further and offer 1:2 or 1:3 ratios, meaning that a paid member need only view one site in order to have his site view two or three times! Surf ratio is an important factor to evaluate when deciding in which exchange one should upgrade to paid status.

Another advantage of paid membership is it often comes with discounts on purchased credits. Most exchanges sell credits to people who have more money to spend than time to surf. Purchased credits, like earned credits, can be assigned to one's web sites in the exchange. A paid member will often get a big break on the price of purchased credits. In addition, most traffic exchanges reward their paid members with free month credit allocations. This ensures a constant exposure to their web sites.

There are ways to use traffic exchanges that can be very effective. Instead of using the main page of a web site that has lots of information on it, create a "splash" or "capture" page. This type of page is simple in design but attractive and attention-grabbing and it's main goal is to get a user to click on a link that takes them to a sales page. Be sure that the link opens up a new browser window so that the user's surfing is not interrupted. Another use for splash pages is to capture a user's name and email address for an opt-in email list. Offer a free eBook, promotion code or other incentive in exchange the surfer's sign-up. When creating splash or capture pages remember that most of the members of the traffic exchange are business owners, webmasters or internet marketers, so offer something that would entice this audience.

When utilized properly, traffic exchanges serve as a power tool in the internet marketer's tool chest. When many are utilized, especially with some upgrades, good, consistent results are very likely.