How The Bear Surfs!

When you’re looking for something specific on the Web, a search engine (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) is the way to go. But what if you just want to discover, without searching for anything in particular? Genuine surfing for the sheer thrill of discovery? Finding web sites you never would have found by searching, because it doesn’t occur to you what to search for? The best way by far to do this is with Traffic Exchanges. Millions of web site owners link their sites to traffic exchanges in order to attract more visitors. Millions of visitors surf the traffic exchanges in order to discover new web sites, new products and services, new opportunities they would never have found any other way.

Here’s the basic idea of how a mutual traffic exchange (TE) works.

1. You join for free.
2. You add a description and URL link to your own web site.
3. You bookmark the surf bar. This is how the traffic exchange displays other web sites to you.
4. You begin surfing other people’s web sites (Discover sites you never knew existed, and never would have searched for!)
5. You earn “credits” for viewing other people’s web sites.
6. You apply those credits to your own web site, which adds your site to the surf bar, so other people can view your site.
7. As you click and visit web sites in your TE surf bar, other web site owers are discovering your own web site!

That’s the essential idea behind TEs. Visit lots of web sites, and a lot of new visitors will be visiting your web site too. This is the “mutual exchange” that is facilitated by traffic exchanges. The more sites you visit, the more people come to your own web site.

Beyond these basics, there are additional ways to use your time effectively and bring even more visitors to your web site:

• Join multiple TEs.
• Load a bunch of TEs into tabs in your web browser, and surf them all together. (Some TEs reward you for doing this.)
• Grab bonus credits whenever they appear. (Watch carefully or you may miss them.)
• Upgrade your TE account from free to paid, in order to increase your credit ratio. (Usually to 1:1. For every page you view, someone else views your page.)
• Attract more web site owners into your “team” and earn additional credits through their surfing.

The Bear does all these things, and spends about an hour or two per day surfing web sites and discovering gems on the World Wide Web. It’s a bit like panning for gold though — there’s plenty of dirt to sift in order to find a few gleaming specks. Yes, surfing traffic exchanges takes some work, but it’s not difficult or hard work. My advice is don’t over-do it, surf only as much as you feel like, don’t let it interfere with other work you’re already doing. But try to do it everyday if you can, because then it becomes part of your routine and brings new visitors to your web site regularly.

I do my surfing on a laptop so I can do it lots of different places. I use a powerful light-weight MacBook Air, and have all my TEs in one bookmark that opens eight tabs in a single click. I surf in bed while sipping my morning coffee. I surf in front of the TV in the evenings, keeping one eye on the show. I can go to the local (free wifi) coffee shop or cafe and pan for gold there. I can spend an hour cooling down in the lounge at the gym after a good workout. And as opportunities appear, I test and try them out to see if they are golden.

What qualifies as a golden opportunity? That’s different for everyone, but as a general rule, it is some kind of information. It usually comes in the form of a PDF or an eBook. Often it is free (like this web page you’re reading right now), though some information is definitely worth paying for. But normally the only “cost” to you is to disclose your email address and opt-in to an author’s list.

So now you know how Tame Bear Surfs. Here are eight favorite traffic exchanges I use to bring loads of new visitors to my sites. If you want to try out some of these TEs, click each link and sign up. OR better yet, join the Tame Bear Team and I’ll send a generous portion of the traffic I’m generating to your web site. Once you’re on my email list I’ll be able to tell you more about the golden opportunites I have found by surfing traffic exchanges. Hey, I’m looking forward to working with you!

Tags: discovery, eBooks, golden opportunities, Internet, leisure, publishing, traffic, your web site