Joining
When you first joined the exchange, you were probably given some credits to start your promotions. If you took advantage of those credits, your site was seen by several sets of eyes. By now they're gone IF you haven't done anything else at the exchange since my last blog. :-) There are several ways to get credits now, so let's talk about that.
Login Rewards
Some exchanges have a Login Reward. That means when you login the first time, you will receive a reward of a few credits, banner impressions, or text ad impressions. Pretty cool! A reward just for logging into your account!
Surfing
The first way you can get credits is by surfing. As a free member, exchanges usually give you a 2:1 (read 2 to 1) or 3:1 surfing ratio. What does that mean? For every 2 or 3 sites you surf, you are given 1 credit. If you decided to upgrade, your surfing ratio is higher. The other bonus of the upgrade? You will be GIVEN credits every month. Hint: If you can afford it, take advantage of the OTO (one time offer) when you join or log into the exchange.
Games/Prizes/Verification Pages
While you are surfing, you need to watch out for other ways you can earn credits, including banner impressions and text ad impressions.Some exchanges have pages that you will see while surfing. Somewhere on the page, it will instruct you to click on an image or a word or phrase to earn your reward.
Be aware that some of these pages are verification pages. What does that mean? It means it wants to see if you are paying attention, are really human, and can interact with the site. If you miss this page too often (say 5 times) in a row, your account could be suspended. What's the purpose of this page? It's part of the anti-cheat system at the exchange. Why not look for it and earn your rewards instead? Much more fun.
Prize links/Letter Hunt
Some exchanges have prize links or letter hunts. A prize look looks like a text ad, but is in another location, usually around the surf bar or image. At some exchanges, it is a link that appears. At others, it can be a link that is shown all the time that counts down to the next time you can click it. When it is time to click it, it might change colors or have a line under it to make it more apparent that it is time to click on it.
Letter hunts are fun too. Some exchanges give you a letter after so many pages of surfing. Usually it tells you when you get a letter, but not in a way that you may even see if when it happens because you are so busy surfing looking at the sites. When you have "found" all the letters to the word or phrase, you could be rewarded credits, banner impressions, or text ad impressions.
Clicking Banners
You can earn credits by clicking banners. So take the time to click those too.
Clicking Text Ads
You can earn credits by clicking text ads. So take the time to click those too.
Another free way to get credits is by referring other to the traffic exchange. When they surf, you are given credits for referring the new member. So when you are told you have a new member, send an email to encourage them to activate their account and surf. The more they surf, the more credits you will receive.
Surfing Competitions or Promos
Traffic Exchanges like to have surfing competitions to encourage their members to be active. They will reward you with bonus credits for surfing a set number of sites that day or those days. They usually send a newsletter letting all the members when it will take place and how to claim the rewards.
Surfing Promos are when 2 or more exchanges get together for one or more days and encourage all their combined members to surf for a set number of sites for rewards. This is to encourage their members to be active AND to gain new members to the other exchanges.
To get into this competition, you will need to be a member of all the exchanges that are taking part in the promo and surf the pages that they require when they require it. If you aren't a member of one or more of the exchanges, you will need to join it/them and surf there too.
For example, 3 exchanges have decided to have a surfing promo this weekend. They will send a newsletter to their members to let them know they are part of the surf promo, the day(s) the promo will take place, the other exchanges that are taking part in the promo, and how many sites must be viewed at each to enter the competition. They should also include links for you to join the other exchanges if you aren't already a member. Usually, you will be required to send in a support ticket to each exchange to be entered into the competition or ticket drawing. This is a great way to try out new exchanges to surf.
So far, we have discussed free ways to gain credits. Now let's mention a few paid ways to gain credits.
Upgrading
If you can afford it, a great way to gain credits every month is by upgrading your membership. Usually there are several membership levels to choose from, so choose the one that best suits your needs, especially if you don't have time to surf as much as you need to.
Buying Credit Packages
You can buy credit packages when you don't have time to surf. These packages can be credits only, banner impressions only, text ad impressions only, solo ads only, daily start (first site in rotation) pages only, or any combination of these.
There are a few other ways to gain or buy credits, but these are the ones that are most common to all exchanges. I hope this helped you learn more about how to use traffic exchanges and make them less confusing.
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