How can I track my efforts, you may be wondering?..........tracking can be done using a tracking service which you pay for monthly, or by using tracking software that you purchase and install on your server. Whatever option you choose, be sure to find a solution that will give you as much information as possible. Many will tell you how many clicks you get, how many are unique visitors versus return visitors and where they were referred from. Some even give you conversion information by telling you which visits resulted in sales........so basically, the more information the better. So conduct research, before parting with your hard earned cash.
Get to Know Your Audience . The prime goal of everyone using Traffic Exchanges is to have their own pages seen. Just like you, they all want to drive traffic to their sites. This means that you have to make the effort to develop creative, eye-grabbing pages to entice them to take action. Just using the same affiliate stuff that everyone else is using will not get you far.
Ensure Your Page Loads Quickly . Now these next sentences are very important to you. Read them through a second time if necessary......your website design and the time it takes for the website to load are very crucial when using Traffic Exchanges. Your page will never be seen if your site takes 15 seconds to load and the exchange rotates the websites every 15 seconds. You want to have at least a 10-second viewing window to give the surfing exchange member time to respond to your offer.
Make Use of Simple Splash Pages. Because time is crucial, it makes sense to send surfers not to your home page, which provides too much information, but to a splash page. This is a page that does not require any scrolling. It’s purpose is to be short, concise without the fuss. It would normally consist of a killer headline, a clear list of benefits and a simple call to action. You want your visitor to be able to make a quick decision whether to ask for more information or pass on your offer.
Include a Persuasive Call to Action. You need to be aware that you need to tell the customer what to do next. So make sure the page has a clear “call to action”. The action could be to join your newsletter, request your free ebook or take some other action. Make it crystal clear to the surfer what they need to do.
Capture Their Contact details. Try to offer visitors something in exchange for their email address. This gives you permission to contact them at a later date and introduce them to your products and services.
Learn From Others. Whilst you surf, keep your eyes open for pages that catch your attention. If you find them attention grabbing, chances are that are enticing others too. What is it about the page that appeals to you? What made you want to take action? This is very valuable information that you can use to improve your own pages. Use it, its FREE.
Test it out! If you’ve installed a good tracking system you’ll be able to run tests to find out what effect they have on your results. Try different headlines, graphics and offers to see which ones get the best response.
Its been proven that the most effective way to test is using Split Run Testing. This involves creating two pages that are similar but have one thing different (for example different headlines). You show the two pages equally to your visitors and see which one converts best. There are several scripts available to help you do Split Run Testing very easily.