Do Traffic exchanges work ?

This question has come to my mind many times as I have been sitting for hours clicking away,and just not getting the results
I am looking for.

Yes, I am getting traffic to my site but it is not the high quality targeted traffic I want and need.

First, let me explain to those that are not familiar just what exactly a traffic exchange is.

A traffic exchange is a site where you can submit your website after registering. You then have to browse other members sites
on the exchange to earn credits,which enable your site to be viewed through the surf system. There is usually a 2:1 to 3:1 ratio for each site
visited, meaning you have to view 2 sites before you earn a credit for your site to be viewed by others, also most sites have a timer on each page you are viewing
which require you to stay on the page for anywhere from 6-30 seconds before you can continue to surf, if you click from that page before the timer runs out you get no
credit.

Almost all traffic exchange programs are free, although many of them offer special features to paid members and offer credits for purchase. Almost all traffic exchange programs encourage users to build their own referral networks, which in turn increases the referrers' amount of credits.

OK, now I know that traffic is the lifeblood of a website, but where that traffic is coming from is equally important.

If you are a new business owner or a webmaster trying to pump up your traffic for page rank,then exchanges are great. I feel that for the most part though you have nothing but a bunch of sellers advertising thier sites to a bunch of sellers with neither party interested in what the other is offering, they are just pushing thier programs, potions or lotions.

Sure every so often you may actually sell something or get a signup after several thousand views but is all your endless hours of mindless surfing worth it?

In all reality I think the only person doing well on a traffic exchange is the actual owner, every registered person is a new opt-in on his personal list and he makes money off the upgrades he is offering.

In order to get the kind of traffic you want "high quality" or "targeted" you need to tap in to you prospective leads mind and figure out where you think they are going to go looking on the net for what you are offering.

I feel keywords,pay per clicks and adwords as well as just advertising on relevant high traffic sites are going to bring you much better
results in the long run.

To sum things up, if you are working on a shoestring budget or have no money for advertising then traffic exchanges are good for getting traffic to your pages, but the quality of the traffic will be low and do not expect great results.

Adam Callahan