How do you think websites were able to get so big back in the day without social media? I had 350,000 visitors PER DAY with not one single social media page. It was all from Google and traffic trades. Traffic trades are when you purposely send your visitors to another site, and that site sends you visitors back. Why would you ever send readers to another site? I knew you would ask that.
Why is trading traffic beneficial?
Traffic trading is beneficial because you’re exposing each other to new readers. There are millions of readers on the web at any moment and you are not going to ever see them all on your website. You are not going to run out of people who want to absorb your content. Do not worry about losing readers, because for every one person you send to another site, there could be 100 more who like your site and start coming back every day.
The best benefits to trading traffic
- Helping each other grow
- Exposing readers to new content
- Some of those readers WILL bookmark, subscribe, follow, and share both of your content.
Why send visitors to a friend’s site when they might click your ad? Well, they may not click the ad. And if they don’t click the ad and they leave, that’s it. Their journey is done. If you send a reader to another website, then you’re getting another reader back from them. Now you’ve got another shot to convert that reader into a bookmark, social share, ad click, email subscribe, etc.
See how it works? It’s like we’re a mall full of stores and if one person doesn’t buy something from me, they might buy something from you.
How to trade traffic? You can do this in many ways.
- Link to their content inside your articles
- Place an image ad to them under your content
- Place a link/image to their content above the fold on your sidebar.
There are many creative ways you can send traffic to other people. The important factor here is that you’re exposing each other’s readers to new content and sending readers back and forth. It’s like you’ve created your own network of content.
Another important task, which can be automated or Google Analytics can be used, is to try and maintain fair and even trades. If you send someone 1000 clicks today, they should send you 1000 clicks back. This can be automated with a traffic trade script, but that’s something you get once you fully understand the concept and have partners to trade with.
Who to trade traffic with?
Always trade traffic with websites who have similar content. If you’re a political blog, then trade traffic with other political blogs. If you’re into sports, then trade traffic with other sports websites. Staying within a certain realm of relevance is important because it makesyour traffic trades more successful
My news website has politics. My other site has celebrity drama. And another blog has food. Trading politics on a food site makes no sense, right? So what I do is find people in the SAME CATEGORY and figure out unique ways we can feature each other’s content and link back and forth to each other.
I have found ways to network with people in various categories, making beneficial link trades and traffic trades at various sizes. Again, the key is to stay relevant to each other. Many categories have an overlap, but don’t go too far away from your main topics, otherwise the readers may not enjoy it.
How to optimize traffic trades?
Optimizing traffic trades is easier than you think. Stay relevant in topics so the customer journey is enjoyable and they return to your sites or share your content.
If you find one method is not working, then be willing to try another method. There is NO single best option for every site because every site and audience is different. You must be willing to explore various strategies and be patient while you try new things. Once you figure out the best approach for your site, then share your strategies with others, because maybe it works for them too.
How do I trade traffic?
I link directly to other website’s articles. I open all links in a new window so the reader stays on my site AND the new site at once. Then the reader can come back to me and click on another one of my trade partners. We can turn one visitor into 20+ page views and ad impressions if we do it right.
How can YOU trade traffic with me?
Just ask! We have lots of ways to trade SEO text links banner ads, widget tools, and ways to help you make your traffic trading easy and LESS work than you think.
We also have a “set it and forget it” method, which I can reveal more of in person if you reach out in an email. If you have any questions, no matter how big or small, then always feel free to ask! I am available for help and happy to work with everyone who is in this to grow and succeed together.