Facilities - You Need For Your Home Based Business

Traffic is the very lifeblood of any website, so it is very important to have as much traffic coming to your website as possible. Of course, traffic from people who have absolutely no interest in your site or your product/s is really of no use from a sale point of view however, it is useful for attaining a lower 'Alexa' ranking (Alexa monitor websites and calculate a ranking based on the amount of traffic which they receive). The Alexa ranking is expressed as how high up in the list of most popular websites (by numbers of visitors) yours is. If you have a higher level of traffic, then you will have a lower 'traffic ranking, i.e. 1 is the website with the most visitors (it's Yahoo.com, by the way)...

When a website is first published it will have a traffic ranking in the millions. However, this can soon be brought down by increasing the amount of traffic, as Alexa update every week.

Although as I said, attracting visitors who are not going to increase your level of business is pretty useless from that point but a lower traffic ranking can have a particular prestige with other websites and also with customers. You will find that other websites will more readily link with you if you have a good traffic ranking. This will increase your ability to gain a higher Google PR and, in some circumstances, it is suggested that more traffic can sometimes contribute towards you gaining a better search engine result when all else is equal..

The ultimate traffic is 'targeted traffic', which is more often than not a result of search engine results pages or direct advertising, however you can increase your 'curiosity traffic', which can help, by using a Traffic Exchange. You can also help to build your downline if you are an Affiliate Marketer because the other people using the traffic exchange will also be, in the main, Affiliates or at least Home Based Business people who are always interested in an interesting or new product to market. Some people will say that Traffic Exchanges are of no use because no-one who looks at your website is interested because they are only looking to get credits so their website will be visited. This is partly true however, as you can see, there are benefits, especially for websites and Home Based Businesses just starting out.

Traffic exchanges work on a 'credits' system, in that you need to earn or buy credits to have your page shown on the network. First you join the Exchange and list you web site/s (some will allow you to list multiple websites or URL's). Then you have to 'surf' the network and view other members pages, which generally involves remaining on the page for a minimum time (usually from 10 - 20 seconds). This way members know that their pages are actually being viewed and have enough time to load before the 'surfer' moves on. You receive credits for each page you view for the allotted time period. The amount of credits varies from exchange to exchange and from page to page. Some exchanges have a 'bonus' page pop up every so often etc.

There are two main types:

• Manual Exchanges - These need to be 'attended' by the surfer, and as each page reaches the 'timed period' for minimum viewing to earn the credits, you need to manually click a link of some type to move on to the next website for viewing.
• Automatic exchanges - These don't need to be attended by the surfer. That means that when the 'minimum time period' is reached the next website will automatically load and credits will be given. I am not completely sure these are a great idea, except because the owners (and members) accept completely that the pages will probably not be viewed and are only in it solely to get 'traffic numbers' and are not concerned with the possibility that someone may be interested in the website (joining an Affiliate Program, a free offer like an ebook etc). Suffice to say, they serve their purpose in so far as they supply the members with the visitors to their websites, which is the main purpose of Traffic Exchanges, I suppose.

Basically, you need Traffic exchanges with a number of members, at least in the thousands, which gives a reasonable rate of exchange for you credits. However, as with many facilities, it's a good idea also to become a member of a newer, smaller one. The reason for this is that almost all of these types of facilities have 'referral programs' whereby members are rewarded for signing up other members by way of a percentage of the credits they earn or even with cash commissions for those that join the 'upgraded' or 'pro' versions of the exchange. If you are responsible for referring many members, you can 'live off' the credits you receive as a result of your 'downline' (those referred under you) earning credits and you receiving your reward percentage. So, for this reason, don't ignore small or new facilities. One day they will be big ones with many members and you could be at the top of the tree, sitting back, with your feet up.

As I mentioned, the rate of exchange for the credits you earn (or buy) is important. By rate of exchange I mean how many exposures your website gets for each credit you earn by viewing other websites. Usually the rate is 1 to 1. You view one website and you get you website exposed once in return. This is the fairest system I feel, however there are some which have different exchange rates, some higher (more for your credits) and some lower (less for your credits). Once you join a couple (most Home Based Business people are members in at least a few), you will get to know which ones are worthwhile and which ones are not.

But for now. I can recommend those to which I belong and use regularly. I see them as the better ones to be involved with. I use them almost entirely for expanding my 'Affiliate Downlines', for which they are useful.

A quick note: All of these facilities employ 'anti-cheat' software and systems and if you get caught using any method designed to earn credits under false pretenses, you will loose you membership (and probably any commissions you may have coming). You also risk getting a 'bad name' around the Internet and once that happens, you will find it very difficult to be successful at anything online.

Recommended Traffic Exchanges