How to Cheat Traffic Exchanges

There are many ways to cheat traffic exchanges and generate massive numbers of hits to your website. Some are complex and some are simple. Below is a list of some of the more popular methods of cheating.

Give yourself a point for each method of cheating that you already employ and then rate yourself on our cheat-o-meter.

-- Opening the same exchange in several windows to generate multiple hits at a time.

-- Insert the Start URL from one exchange into the Target URL from another.

-- Open multiple windows and minimise them until just the "Next Page" link is showing. Click away.

-- Use a custom browser (eg - Crazy Browser) to "auto-click" through exchange programs so it generates hits while you watch Jerry Springer.

-- Use custom made software designed to get around the cheat-protection on a traffic exchange.

How did you do?

-- 1pt: You are a liar and a thief

-- 2pts You are a liar and a thief

-- 3pts You are a liar and a thief

-- 4pts You are a liar and a thief

-- 5pts You are a liar and a thief

In truth, if you are a serial cheater, then you have probably stopped reading this article when you realised it wasn't going to teach you anything you didn't already know.

If you have played around with any of these ideas, then you might find the idea of being called a "thief" extreme. I disagree.

If you are using any of these methods, you are one step away from shoplifting sweets from the corner shop.

And this is why.

When someone creates a new traffic exchange a lot of time and money goes into the projects creation and administration. They may give away free hits as an introductory offer but, after that, hits can only be purchased or earned.

This is how the owner makes his income. This is how they see a return on their efforts.

If you earn these credits through fradulent means, this is akin to getting a friend to clock you out of work while you take the afternoon off. You are earning something you haven't WORKED for.

I've heard it argued that traffic exchange owners make so much money, they barely notice the lost credits that cheaters steal.

This is the same ridiculous argument that says it is ok to steal from large department stores because "they can afford it". At the end of the day, the losses are added to the prices that honest people choose to pay. Honest surfer's hard earned credits are wasted by cheats.

And you are still a thief whether the individual you steal from can afford it or not.

I should also point out that the majority of traffic exchange owners are not rich. The successful ones may make a tidy income, but the majority are probably struggling to break even. Stealing credits does not help their endeavours.

If you are using, or considering, any kind of cheat method, please think twice. Think about your reputation, think about the owner you are stealing from, and think about Dylan Campbell whose credits are being frittered away on Crazy Browser enthusiasts who think they have discovered something new.

Theft isn't new. It just keeps changing shape.

And for all those smug surfers out there who are sat back, smugly thinking, "I never cheat". Do you honestly view EVERY website for the ENTIRE time the counter is ticking?

I doubt it. And let's be sensible, it is almost impossible not to break the occasional term or condition. So many traffic exchanges, each with their own unique demands. Who can remember every single last rule?

I'm not demanding perfection from surfers, just a certain amount of fair play. So let me tell you how I surf.

Am I a cheat? No. Do I break terms & conditions? Yes. Do I view EVERY website that I click through? Yes. And I believe that it is every traffic exchange users duty to do the same.

Step 1) Make a list of all the traffic exchanges you belong to. For this example, pretend I am a member of 20.

Step 2) List all the days you know you can spend at least 20 minutes surfing. For this example, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Step 3) Share out the exchanges equally among the days. For this example, I can assign five exchanges to each day.

Step 4) Visit the Start URL of the first exchange on your list. Go to the menu bar of IE and click, "Favourites" and then, "Add to Favourites". Create a new folder called, "Surf Monday" or something similar and add the Start URL to this folder. Repeat for the next four exchanges on your list.

Step 5) Repeat Step 4 for the next five exchanges on your list and place them in a new folder called, "Surf Wednesday" or something similar. Repeat this process for Friday's and Saturday's.

When Monday comes around, open the appropriate folder for Monday's and open all the exchanges in that folder in separate browser windows. Make sure they are ALL full size.

You should see each copy of IE that you have opened, listed in the Windows bar at the bottom of your screen. If they are grouped together, click on the IE group and you should be able to see each Traffic Exchange listed individually. Make sure you haven't acidentally opened the same Traffic Exchange twice.

Click on the first exchange and view the website. When the counter has finished click to the next site and IMMEDIATELY move to the next IE window. Precious seconds are wasted while the next website loads, so use them instead viewing the website in the next IE window.

Once again, view the website until the counter has finished, click to the next site and immediately move to the next browser window in your sequence.

Notice that I am not viewing each website for the full length of the counter, but I am viewing EVERY website. I, for one, would have no problem with my websites being viewed in this manner. Far better, than not being viewed at all because of a cheaters greed.

When you have viewed each browser window in sequence, return to the first browser window and repeat the process. If pop-ups are a problem, try the free Google Toolbar. A good pop-up stopper will make your surfing a lot easier.

If you come across a website that looks interesting, don't stop surfing. If you have assigned 20 minutes for surfing, then you don't want to break your rythym. Instead, right-click the mouse button inside the website you like the look of and select "Add to Favourites?". Create a new folder called, "Look Later" or something similar, and add the website to this folder.

You MUST use the right-click technique rather than using the menu bar. Otherwise you will bookmark the traffic exchange and not the website you are interested in.

At the end of your surfing session, once a day, once a week or whenever you feel is appropriate, open the "Look Later" folder and spend as much time as you want examining the websites you selected and joining/investing in the programs that are worthwhile.

Assuming you can view all five browser windows twice a minute, that you spend 20 minutes in each surfing session and that the traffic exchange ratios average 2:1, this example would earn you 400 hits a week.

If you spent an hour each day surfing, this increases to 1200 hits a week. Not too shabby, especially when you start factoring in down-lines and other traffic generating programs you may use.

Final Thought -- Honesty still prevails in this industry and it will continue to do so while people continue to champion the virtues of conducting business in a decent way. Cheaters may prosper, but so can the honest workers, if they are patient and don't abandon their values. If you are a program owner and you catch a cheater, forget the two strikes, benefit of the doubt rubbish. Throw him out into the gutter where he belongs. I would rather be deleted from a program in error than make things easier for the thieves of this industry.

Dylan Campbell has been quietly making a living on the Internet since 2000. He has a unique, and often controversial, view of the industry.

Dylan Campbell writes exclusively for The Nettle Ezine.