If you are starting a new website or blog you may be tempted to look into quick ways to receive web traffic.  Whether this is by paid advertising, paid traffic or taking part in a traffic exchange, it is hard to know what method is best, especially if you are new to the online world.  Today we will be talking about web traffic exchanges and whether it is worth the time and effort you have to put in.

What is a Web Traffic Exchange?

Almost all web traffic exchange programs are run through a traffic exchange website.  All you basically have to do is add your website and then browse through other websites on the traffic exchange website.  By doing this you will earn credits, which in turn enables your site to be browsed by other members.  The ratio on most sites is around 3/1 meaning you will need to visit 3 sites to receive 1 visit back.

Are Traffic Exchange Websites Free?

The majority of them are, yes.  However if you would like to increase your credit ratio you may be asked to subscribe to a paid program where you will receive more credits and other special features which will in turn give your site more visibility on the traffic exchange website.  Whether this is worth it will depend on the type of website you have and ultimately what you are looking to gain from a traffic exchange.

Are Traffic Exchanges Worth the Time and Effort?

In my personal opinion no, traffic exchanges are not worth the time, effort or money that you need to put into them.  Think about it this way – you are a webmaster looking for an increased number of visitors but so are the others in the traffic exchange program.  It is unlikely that you are looking to purchase anything from any of the sites you “have to” browse so why would any of the other members in the exchange program be looking to buy from you either?  If you are purely looking for an increase in traffic numbers to make yourself feel better then they may be a good idea but there are definitely better ways to increase your traffic.

You should also take into account that most of the visitors that your site will receive will not be targeted.  The best way to find targeted visitors is by optimising your site for specific keywords and undertaking an SEO campaign, and let’s face it, the effort you spend browsing through random sites in a traffic exchange program could be put to much better use if you put the effort into improving your website’s SEO instead.

How Can I Get Quick Traffic?

Like I said above, the best way to increase your traffic numbers is by putting the effort into SEO.  This is by no means a quick traffic option but it is an effective long term plan.  There are other methods to get quick traffic such as paid campaigns on websites like Facebook and StumbleUpon and paid advertising however once the money runs out, it is likely that you will be wishing you spent the time and effort on SEO in the first place.