NetMarketingForum.com v4.0

O.k., let me put my disclaimer here...I love numbers. I love looking at numbers, and I like to know what is what when it comes to traffic delivery and flow.

But geeeeeeeeez guys.

I mean just looking at that list of the top 50 exchanges you rank...

You don't have some of the better performers on there, but you have exchanges that have pretty Alexa rankings? What the heck is that? Results?

Well you know Hoopla doesn't measure results, it's only traffic flow, Alexa rankings and delivery....So why is something like that listed, when I haven't heard a peep from some exchanges for almost 3 years now...

I'm with Tony on this. I think this year we need to really promote the exchanges where the owners are busting their butt and the results are there. Heck with listing something because they have a pretty Alexa ranking.

Anyways, sour grapes? maybe. I don't care what you rank things, but the problem is that people look to Hoopla as the be all and end all of rankings, and new surfers will now spend more time in something that has pretty Alexa rankings (or about a half dozen other garbage exchanges in the 50 listed) than some program where the owner is doing everything he / she can to better their program.

It's your business model, I know..But I think you guys need to measure much more than just the numbers. You guys have become the 'list' and we all look at that report every week...I know it can be much better...

It's not a rant on you guys, cause you guys are great people, I just cannot understand why good owners get shafted while others seem to get a free ride?

yes well thats it Jon, we have to fill our exchanges with cheaters
and fix the delivery rates with non existant page views to get a
result like that from Bill

There is ony 2 stats worth a hill of beans from any TE

You named one in your last article the number of new people joining each week

and the second stat is how many signups per page view.

The rest is just garbage statistics

Yeah man. I love that. I love knowing how many people signed up every week. I read Traffic Splash's update today and he mentioned 2000 alone last month! Wow!

Now that's somewhere I will concentrate on.

Hey I'm gonna pass that banner on - Soren beat me last month - we were chatting this morning and he told me Dragonsurf bought in about 2,900 in December. Absolutely stunning!

Agreed on those two numbers Robert. As a member of however many exchanges that's all I really care about.

Ranking systems are vital to guide newbies when there are so many poor exchanges out there who cheat their members by providing such crap service.

If my purpose for using traffic exchanges was purely to generate traffic, and I didn't care about signups, then Hoopla would be pretty much perfect. Then again, IF that was my aim, I would use autosurfs I imagine

In a perfect world I would prefer to see a mix of numbers and opinion.

I like numbers and opinions......I have a couple of each

Cheers!

Tony

Waving my new banner with pride

Paul and I compare various stats and numbers on an almost daily basis.
It keeps us on our toes, gives us new ideas and ensures continued
growth in Dragon Surf and Traffic Splash.

Of course I like being in Hoopla because it does add a little extra exposure
and probably quite a few members, but it does not make or break my biz.

Hoopla is a good starting point - But only if you use the list as the basis
for your own testing and tracking (same goes for all other TE lists)

But yes I do agree with you Jon - I can't see why Alexa ranking should
have such high impact and there are a few "dead" exchanges in Hoopla

We are always looking for more exchanges to test. What are some of your better performers that aren't in our current testing list?

Alexa rankings is only a small part of what we look at. It's often a starting point and frequently matches what we see in traffic delivery. New exchanges are submitted to us all the time but most just can't compete with top exchanges out of the starting gate. In general, they don't have the audience size or activity to deliver what has been earned or purchased.

In my experience in reviewing numbers over the long haul, Alexa is not perfect but is another indicator of life in a website. Typically, when there is improvement or decline in Alexa rankings it tends to match what we are seeing in numbers gathered. Not always though.

Keep in mind that the Hit Exchange Report seeks out to answer the question, "Are they delivering as promised?" We are not in the business of ranking based on results as we've never seen a good formula for doing so. We strongly agree that Internet marketers should track everything and their results take priority over our report.

As an Internet marketer myself, when advertising I want my message to be seen by as many people as possible. I first look to audience size and their ability to deliver my ad as earned or purchased. If I am not getting results, as someone who knows the advertising business I will look at what I am selling, and it's presentation and make changes accordingly. And if there are any signs of the resource cheating me, I'm gone and giving my business to another.

There is one thing for certain in our world ultimately the good guy does win out. I have never seen a company remain on top over the long haul who practices cheating and/or deception. It eventually catches up to them. And if an advertising resource is producing no results for their average client, they will go elsewhere.

We are open for suggestions. Our report (The Hit Exchange Report) is not the be all of hit exchange testing/rankings. I personally greatly respect you Jon and your work, I read every issue and every word of HEN, I'm one of the first to run and support anything and everything you do, and I refer others to you as well (including HEN).

P.S. One element that does hold high consideration in our rankings and often overlooked are sitting balances. And we are not talking about sitting balances from hits purchased unless they have been sitting a long time.

P.S.S. Not suggestion this applies to anyone here, but we've found this adage true: "We like you when we have good rankings. When our rankings falter, we don't like you."

Alexa is considered but does not have a high impact.

Keep in mind, the main Hit Exchange Report ranking is a top 20. The report also includes various rankings, benchmarks, summaries, raw data, and advanced info. It then list 50+ exchanges currently being tested.

What "dead" exchanges are in our current top 20?

Aha on the Alexa ranking (obviously I don't know what weight each stat is given)

I did not mention the top 20... I was talking about dead exchanges in the list
of tested exchanges in the Hitexchange report, FastFreeway being a good example.

I think the problem Jon is trying to address is that some of the old exchanges
might deliver traffic, but the quality is abysmal. If there is not visible admin
activity these exchange will just fill up with a bunch of penny cheaters.

ClickVoyager (Last admin message in Feb 2007, TE filled with porn and PTP crap)
FastFreeway (Don't even know what to say about this one)
EzClicking (did it ever get started?)

That's a couple of them

Thanks Soren. We welcome any and all input.

No, we don't consider last admin update, etc. Again, we seek to answer the question, "Are they delivering as promised?" Our focus is on statistical data that can be measured and verified.

It's been so long since FastFreeway has been ranked, I can't remember, but they still have a strong following, and every time we stop testing people ask us to do so again. There are only a few exchanges that I can think of we won't test again unless something drastically changes and TopSurfer and TrafficSwarm are 2 of them. Just because it's listed as being tested doesn't mean anything great.

Clickvoyager is the only one you mentioned that is currently ranked, and they continue to produce strong numbers. We don't take consideration into trashy sites. If people don't like it, they will go elsewhere and this will show in the numbers.

Yes... and that's why I say Hoopla is good but only as a base for your
own tracking and testing (conversion tracking).

I know it's not your problem, but a lot of people read more into the
Hoopla rankings than just statistical data on delivery.

Good call on Swarm and Top Surfer... I guess what I'm trying to say
is that I would like to see more "opinion" in Hoopla and then you can
rank the exchanges left after your normal criteria.

We agree. Your results are #1.

Even so, the average person doesn't track enough statistical data to come to any reliable conclusion. Any of us in this advertising business have seen this time and time again. A person earns/buys 1000 hits and comes up empty. They immediately conclude the resource is worthless, a scam, a waste of time. Well, we know it takes far more than 1000 hits to run a useful test campaign and most often your ad piece (what you are selling, and it's presentation) is to blame.




If I was writing the report it would be filled with plenty of Hoopla! But David, with a degree in mathematics and statistics and a teaching background, is more comfortable working with that which can be measured and verified. And by the way, we view Jon and his work with HEN as important and a good companion to our Hit Exchange Report. I personally tell people to get and use BOTH!

I wasn't being ranked for a while. Then I tried an experiment, I put some credits in your account and magically I was ranking. This was after PMing you a while back and being told it was because the "group of testers" happened to not like my exchange, and maybe I should create a splash page to advertise my exchange?

By "you" I mean the account carrmedia on StartXchange. So I don't believe in the whole there's a group of people testing it thing.

I disagree hoopla is not good its totally misleading, raw stats are about as much use as a chocolate fire guard
and the poor peons reading them are thrown totally into the shitter.

Well yes that's the problem isn't it Robert.

Hoopla stats work for me because I know what to
read into them and then use it as a base for my
own tracking and testing.

Most people don't and then the stats lose all meaning
and could potentially do them more harm than good.