If you have surfed the internet for very long, you have probably ran into what is referred to as a "traffic exchange". There are absolutlely hundreds of Traffic Exchanges designed in many ways, with many different functions.

I'll attempt to explain what they are and how they work.

A traffic exchange is, in simple terms, an exchange of internet traffic. The basic idea is to view the other exchange member's websites or ads, and in return, different members will view yours. There are 2 basic types of traffic exchanges available today:

1. The manual surf exchange. In this type of exchange, you manually click to vew the other members websites or ads. Usually there is an anti-cheat method of some variety being used to insure that the system is not being cheated.

2. The auto-surf exchange. This system is easier to use, but far less effective. In essence, it runs automatically with no effort on your part, changing websites or ads every so many seconds. Obviously, if you can leave your computer whilest continuing to veiw websites, chances are, people aren't viewing your ads either. However some of this will give high volumes of traffic to your site which could affect search engine rankings

Just about all exchanges will offer new members free "credits" or visitors just for signing up. This amount can vary between 50 free visitors all the way up to 10,000 free visitors or more. Bear in mind though, if everyone is given 10,000 free credits upon signing up...who is left to surf the exchange?

In addition to these and other sign up bonuses, other things to pay attention to when signing up for an exchange are surfing ratios, timer rate, referral bonuses, and extra features.

Surfing ratios.

These can vary from 1:1 to 5:1 and up. What this means is that for every X amount of times you view someone elses site, your site will be viewed in return Y amount of times. So if there is a 3:1 surf ratio, for every 3 sites you view, your site will be shown to someone else one time.

Timer rates.

Is the amount of time that a website is shown to you before you can move to the next site. Average timer rates are about 30-15 seconds per site. On auto-surf exchanges, this is the amount of time before it automatically switches to the next ad. On manual exchanges, this is how long you must wait before you see the next site or else you will not receive credit for viewing the site.

Most exchanges also offer referral bonuses, by giving you extra credits for referring other people to the exchange (referred to as a "downline"). Often, exchanges will give you part of a credit for every page your referrals surf.

Some exchanges offer nifty "extra" features, such as lotteries, games, trivia for points, ways to bet your points, and many other things to keep you from being bored as you click away.

So, how can you use it to actually get traffic? Obviously people will view your site if they see it in an exchange, right? Sadly, the truth is that this is not the case. 95% of all traffic exchange surfers pay no attention to the sites they are viewing, no matter how attractive their design and content. They are focused on the clicking to get credits, or in the case of many traffic exchange "pros" they have 20+ browser windows open and are clicking "next, next, next" one after the other with little regard to what is on the page before them.

However, all is not lost! To get people to actually look at your site and pay attention to it! A few tips and tricks to use are:

1. Don't make the page too large with too much information. In fact, a great thing to do is to make a splash page that catches their attention, with a "bookmark me" and "enter here" link, or a sign up form to a newsletter/autoresponder. With only a 10-30 second window to catch someone's eye, you have to be loud, bold, and fast! Use bright colors, get straight to the point, and offer a fast easy way for them to bookmark you or open your site in a new window so it doesn't interrupt their surfing. That is why is it a good idea to make a seperate page that you use only for exchanges.

2. Offer something that they want that they will see and stay for. Free samples, free ebooks, and especially free advertising. Anything that you can give them that will give them an incentive to take a second look at your site.

3. Most exchanges won't allow more than one popup window, if any. And when surfers hit a popup window, or anything else that interrupts their quest for credits, it merely annoys them and makes them want to leave your site faster.

Free traffic exchanges WILL get visitors to your site, and signups for programs an home business opportunities, using traffic exchanges. But try to think like a surfer in order to do so. Make sure you are active in the exchange.the more people surfing, the more the exchange works.

There are many, many good traffic exchanges. So much so that recently there are many 'downline builder'websites available to help you build referrals in several home business programs at once

So where can you find a good traffic exchange? I could list you many of the dozens I Personally use to build my Home Business Opportunities. Join just ONE traffic exchange and I guarantee within minutes of surfing you are shown promotions for a dozen more. Join how ever many you feel comfortable handling, you can always join more as you gain experience. Cross -promote each taffic exchange in another, or several at once and watch your downlines ( and credits!) begin to grow.

With this information you can make the most of traffic exchanges, and get visitors and customers to your website, promoting more of your Home Business Ideas or Opportunities. Its quick to learn and in most cases totally free of charge!

Happy surfing!