Is Banner Traffic Dead? What are Banner Co-ops?
Banner Exchanges and Co-ops
You may have heard that banner traffic is dead, that the CTR (click through rate) is very low and that people have developed "ad blindness," to an extent all this is true. However, the great thing about banner traffic is that it shows clear intent. People don't click on banners unless they are interested by something they see. The CTR also depends on the audience and niche. In the make money online niche the CTR can be much higher especially if it is offering something of value like free traffic, software, or other resources. Banner traffic can be very valuable if you understand how it works and how to use it properly.
Like traffic exchanges, banner exchanges and co-ops allow you to trade one source of traffic for another or you can earn credits by viewing other people’s ads. Banner exchanges differ in that you are normally exchanging banner impressions, not hits or clicks. So, the best use for a banner exchange is when you have one steady source of traffic that simply isn’t monetizable. This could be informational blogs, social media traffic, or sites that simply aren’t able to run mainstream advertising. By using a banner co-op you can get your ads seen on hundreds of sites whose traffic could convert much better than your own.
Best Methods to Earn Banner Impressions
- Embed Banners on Sites. One simple method is to embed banners on sites you own and control. Simply grab the embed code for the size ad you want to embed and paste it into your site.
- Share Viral Splash Pages. Most banner exchanges also offer viral splash pages that serve two purposes, they display banners and promote the banner exchange. By sharing the viral splash page on Traffic Exchanges you'll earn banner impressions for each banner shown and a bonus for each new referral.
- Downline Builders and Profile Pages. Like viral splash pages downline builders can be shared on Traffic Exchanges. The idea with a downline builder is to increase your referrals by having your referral sign up to multiple websites. Many traffic exchanges offer these for their preferred netowrk of sites and include banner exchanges and co-ops. The effectiveness of these pages depends on the presentation, many people are wary of joining more and more sites and need a good reason to do so. Just listing various sites to join likely won't work.
Best Banner Exchanges
EzBanEx
This is the new banner exchange site from the creators of the EzHitzs system. They are just starting out but have some great features being built out as we speak. One thing they have done is create a customizable profile page that can be shared in various traffic exchanges. It takes some setting up but is well worth it. Once set up it will not only earn you impressions from EzBanex but you'll also earn credits on some other popular banner co-ops. They also have nice downline builder that will help get referrals to some of the best traffic exchanges in the EzHitzs Network. To setup your custom pages click on the "Bonus" tab. From there you should see something like this:
Once you click on "Get Your Link," it will take you through the steps to setup your custom pages. To take full advantage of these you may have to join a few extra programs but these are well worth it and don't require any investments. If you want an idea of what these pages look like check out my profile page and downline builder. For more ideas on how to promote this program they also provide a "advanced strategy guide."
Traffic G
TrafficG is a 1 to 1 free traffic exchange, meaning that for every page you view you earn a view on your offer. They also allow you to convert your credits into banner impressions on their banner co-op network or you can add their code to your site to gain impressions that way. All ads on this network must be 468x60 in order to work properly. To get started scroll down the left side bar until you see the following:
From there you can convert credits into impressions, grab the ad code for your website, and save your banner ads.
Share My Ads
If you refer a new user to ShareMyAds you'll both receive 5000 credits towards your own banners. They allow you to have ads in sizes 468x60, 125x125, and 728x90, some sizes receive impressions faster than others though. They offer an abundance of different splash pages, which serve two purposes, they encourage people to sign up and they also display banners earning you credits. They also have downline builders that can help you build referrals to various websites including other banner exchanges. You can find all this under under the "Affiliate Tools" tab after signing up. To see what the pages look like check out the examples below.
Buckets Of Banners
One of the biggest exchanges is bucketsofbanners which offers 1:2 banner coop and also rewards you for bringing in new members. You can also surf for impressions but this generally isn’t worth it, as you must watch full screen ads with a timer to earn a paltry two impressions. What you can do is add the banner code to your various websites and blogs. You can use blogspot to create free blogs and in the top of the sidebar add a few 125x125 banners. This way it isn’t taking up a ton of space and you earn impressions from a few different programs at the same time. Another effective method is to share your own personal system page. This page shows your profile and displays four banner ads, the top spot is reserved for one of your own banners which are displayed without using any credits. The other spots show random banners from other members which earns you one credit as a free member or 3 as an upgraded member. To find your system link, click on the following in the left side bar:
Page Rank Cafe Method
One method to gain lots of banner impressions is to share viral splash pages on Traffic Exchanges. The best site for this is PageRankCafe, it allows you to post links daily which can earn hundreds of credits. By viewing ten posts you're allowed to post one link to the top of the queue. From there other users will see it until it falls out of the rotation. You can also use your credits to post referral banners which tend to have a pretty good CTR, which can earn you more credits when the user signs up.
Other Sites to Earn Banner Impressions
ClickVoyager. One of the largest traffic exchanges which doesn't use a timer or traditional security checks. This makes it an easy and fun place to earn credits. It is not a one 1 to 1 traffic exchange but you can take advantage of their Sunday Silver offer which will upgrade you to a Silver Membership for one week. Simply surf 250 pages each Sunday to keep your Silver Membership.
EasyHits4U. This is 1 to 1 traffic exchange that also offers banner advertising, text links, splash page creator, and more. With over 2 million users, it is great place to find new referrals because you aren't just marketing the same offers to the same people over and over. Instead you have a large pool of people that you can reach with your offer.
What do you think about banner ads? Are they still worth it? Have you tried any banner co-ops in the past? Leave your comments below!
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