Let’s settle this “Traffic Quality” debate
Written on October 5th, 2008 by Graham
I’m sick and tired of people with junk blogs slinging mud at Entrecard saying that the traffic is junk traffic. Recently, a spirited debate erupted over at BlogCatalog, and the quality of traffic got dragged into the mess. EvilWoobie gave the best description of Entrecard Traffic I’ve ever heard:
“If you can’t use a free service to your advantage, that’s telling a lot about you. Go download all ebooks on catching traffic and getting eyeballs on your content, buy in any program that tells you how to moneytize your site. If you can’t see how getting people who can read to your site can help you, maybe it’s not the system that’s the problem. Maybe it’s you.
If you don’t actually get real readers from entrecard, then your site is the problem because these are people browsing not scripts. People with credit cards, pets, businesses, houses, spouses, girlfriends (ok maybe not all) and computers. Would you believe it, these people even have INTERNET at home?!?
If these people are not the “real traffic” you are talking about then maybe the good Martians can help you.”
Entrecard traffic is the BEST kind of traffic -real people, bloggers, with interests, opinions, lives, relationships, and literally a click away from publishing a link.
Instead of me spewing forth my own ideas of why Entrecard traffic is great, I’m going to let you do it!
Contest Alert!
We’re kicking off a big “Traffic Quality” contest. If you’re a fan of Entrecard traffic, blog about it! Talk about why you like Entrecard traffic and why you think it’s great. The BEST entry will receive a 10,000 credit prize, the runner up will receive a 5,000 prize, and 20 third place finalists will be awarded 1500 credits each.
The contest is only open for 5 days-which means we’re paying out people on Friday. To be entered, you must publish your post and linkback to it here in the comments section by 12:00AM PST Friday October 10th.
October 5th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Entrecard is the best thing to come down the social networking pike in years, and to try to tear it apart by mudslinging is just the lowest of the low. Here is a free service that benefits us all and we are darn lucky it was created and we can use it. I am sick to death of blog snobs who find fault with blog quality. Do you knuckleheads even READ any of the blogs? Before Entrecard, I know I was working very hard to write quality posts and very few people were visiting my blog. Now, I have a network, and have made some good blog friends. I count Entrecard as one of those good friends. I have to go try to write a good blog post now.
October 5th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I believe in everything going full circle, and that you get out of things what you put into them. “As above, so below”, “karma”, “tithing”, its called a lot of things. I call it “Ma’at”.
EC is no different. If you simply go after drops and do sloppy drops, you will get junk traffic. If you put effort into it and use it to network, you will get followers and a few friends along the way.
But even “junk” clicks are junk because they help increase your ranks, popularity, and so on, which in turn lets you be seen by more people and some of them will become regular visitors as well.
I’ve been on the internet since AOL 1.0, practically BEFORE there was even an internet. When it comes to sites like EC, when people don’t like it, they just cancel and move on. The complainers are usually those that are jealous and wish 1) they would have thought of the idea themselves, and/or 2) someone who wants to change everything but doesn’t have the resources to open their own company and do it their way.
October 5th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I’ve been saying this for years! Well not years, but the point is: Traffic is Traffic as long as it is human and not bots.
Good contents doesn’t mean shistniz if no one sees it!
If EC don’t work for you, just don’t use it. It’s like chocolate cake. Not everyone likes it, but it does fill you up! And there’s people that are allergic to it.
People need to calm down. Go create your own ad company if you don’t like EC.
October 5th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I have not been happy with the traffic from Entrecard. I am not going to call it names or anything like that and the point about traffic being only as good as your site is valid. However, I can spend the same amount of money on AdWords and get better CONVERSIONS with that traffic than if I spend the same amount on Entrecard (comparing $100 spent on AdWords vs. $100 spent on Entrecard credits). That is a fact. So, using a factual argument, not an emotional argument, I would ask people to provide evidence to the contrary. If someone can show me that Entrecard is a better value proposition, then I will pour money back into Entrecard again.
October 5th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Since using EC, my traffic has tripled. Even though I do my very best to create quality content, I barely got any looks before EC. Although my click through rate is high, I appreciate any time visitors are willing to spend on my site.
I’m a happy camper with my EC results so far.
October 5th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Here is my post on:
http://bmw101.blogspot.com/2008/10/jammers-kitty-and-something-very.html
Have a good day.
Beamer
October 5th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Eric, I think your problem is that you spent money for EC credits. Thats not the way EC works. I love Entrecard, not just for the traffic to my blog, but because I enjoy the dropping. I have found many blogs that I really enjoy. Granted, they may be in the minority, but i also often find enjoyable posts on blogs that aren’t my favorites. I also find it useful seeing different layouts, types of ads, etc. Browsing 100-200 blogs a day really keeps me up-to-date. I’ve never spent one penny here and I get more traffic from EC than any other single source.
Anyone that doesn’t find great blogs and real traffic from EC isn’t trying.
Sorry that I can’t enter your contest Graham but my site has nothing to do with blogging so I won’t write a post that wouldn’t fit my blog even though I would love to help you out and I would love to win a contest.
October 5th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Eric – If you feel your time as money, then by all means, you probably will do better elsewhere. I say good riddance. I’m getting really tired of hearing crap about Entrecard. Get out of here and go else where and have lots of fun.
I’m staying With Entrecard, because It suits my needs to a T. I get everything and more Of this place, and I don’t spend all day dropping cards either. I’m not in Entrecard for the Money. I’m in it for the traffic for my blogs and the social aspects of Entrecard. I’m making some very good relationships here and getting to meet new people and learn a bunch about Blogging.
But I’m posting to a blind eye and it’s falling on deaf ears. You have already made up your mind. Your probably thinking I am full of crap and don’t know what I am talking about. I really Don’t care. As I said, I am tired of hearing negative things about Entrecard.
Don’t let the door hit your rear on the way out.
Beamer
October 5th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Hi,
wrote post about it:
http://www.serradinho.com/Blog/2008/10/06/entrecard-traffic-quality-or-not.htm
Thanks
George
October 5th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Wow – that is a great attitude Beamer. With champions like you – Entrecard is sure to be, um, successful?
October 5th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Beamer, that’s pretty harsh and completely unnecessary. Eric hasn’t already made up his mind, if you read his comment you’ll see he is asking for people to offer opinions to the contrary. That can be done without being rude.
Eric, in general Entrecard may work for some sites better than others, whether you buy credits or not. Dropping cards and leaving comments on other blogs is a good way to start. If I was going to buy some credits, I’d do that first to see if there’s an audience for my blog on Entrecard before buying credits. Once people start to see your blog, perhaps leaving comments, you can start to ramp up your activity by dropping more cards, or buying credits.
Some sites may do quite well from buying credits and placing lots of ads, but I find it’s good to test the water a bit first.
October 5th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
I run a very niche blog that provides free printables and reviews of sites that have free printables. I also create custom printables for children with Autism. My target demographic are parents of pre-k – 3rd grade aged children with Autism. Obviously my potential readership is small and I believe I am capturing a significant portion of it. And of course, I’m happy for traffic outside of my demographic and have lots of printables to cater to others as well.
EC is an excellent traffic generating tool. Since introducing EC to my blog one month ago I have experienced a dramatic increase in traffic. EC is responsible for 9% of my current traffic. Considering how tight my niche is I think this is amazing. I define quality traffic as traffic that is recurring. I consider EC traffic to be quality traffic based on the following factors:
1. The number of comments on my blog increased from 1 or 2 every month to 2 to 3 a week. Comments are well written and reflect that the reader actually read and understood my posting.
2. My adsense revenue has increased by 50%
3. My downloads have increased by 50%
4. I experienced my first ever RSS subscribers.
5. I have experienced a 1% increase in traffic coming from bookmarks.
I firmly believe that the quality of traffic EC participants will receive is based soley on the quality of their blog. Without well written, frequently updated content a blog will not generate repeat visitors. Also, EC is a social networking tool and should be approached as one. Paying for credits instead of interacting with the community negatively affects the potential traffic an EC participant could expect.
I currently use the EC toolbar to visit sites on EC. I enjoy the ease of use afforded by the toolbar. I will admit, without shame, that I do drop and run. If a blog does not capture my interest I do not feel obligated to read it. I drop my card (I’m already there, so why not) and go. I also have more than 50 favorite blogs that receive regular, quality, traffic from me. These blogs have subject matter I am interested in, have well written, quality posts, few to no paid postings, and are visually appealing. I enjoy adding new blogs to my favorites and comment on them frequently. I also explore their sites and click on the various widgets and gidgets they have to offer.
Drop and Run should not be looked upon badly. Each time a visitor sees your blog they are being marketed to. Commercials take multiple impressions before people buy a product just as some blogs take multiple impressions before they develop loyal readers. There are many EC blogs that I started reading after dropping and running 6 or 7 times.
I would love to enter this contest because I am a total EC convert, however, since my blog is so narrowly focused a post about EC would inappropriate content for my readers. I would appreciate if EC would create alternate contest entry options for those who have niche blogs not focused on blogging, advertising, SEO, or traffic.
October 5th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
hello people, read nhuong comment up there (no. 3). I fyou don’t like it, leave so that the rest of us who like it can do what we do in peace. Cheers!
October 6th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Entrecard is not he best, it is like stumbleupon at best. People that choose to be there and have a chance of liking what you do. At least on stumbleupone the people choose the subject they want to see.
Good traffic, on the other hand, is traffic you get from ebay. People that found you from ebay were online to buy to begin with and if they come to your site they are targeted towards you and ready to spend.
October 6th, 2008 at 3:50 am
This may be my last comment about Entrecard, simply because I decided to leave. I just published my farewell post and I will remove my widget within 24 hours.
Anyway, I think this post by Graham is very timely for my situation. I have been an active member of EC since last year, and I even made a couple of posts to tell others that it can help and how to maximize its usage. And yes, it really did. Traffic wise, I cannot call it junk since I gained a lot more than traffic. I met a lot of bloggers who eventually most of them became my virtual friends and subscribers. In fact, I also subscribe to more than 30 blogs including EC blog. I also earned a few bucks through points selling.
But then, I think I already reached my peak as a member. Traffic is not junk, but bounce rate is very high. More members became interested in getting points rather than looking for some valuable posts to read. I am not being hypocrite as I also drop and go a few times, but I do that for blogs that I think has “junk” content or just trying to be nice.
I love the dream of Graham – free advertising, and a great way to visit blogs as well as being visited. But I think that’s the problem with free, it is being abused.
Now, I feel that EC is more negative than positive for my blog and I am sad. Graham now I believe is doing his best to uplift its economy, but he cannot do it alone. Since I am anymore motivated to help him, it is better to leave than to be an addition to the pain on his neck.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:22 am
@ Guardian Angel
I am sad to see you leave Entrecard but it is your decision and I respect it. Here is hoping that you will not leave the friends you have made in the blogosphere.
as for me, here is my post: http://seasons.davaobloggers.com/2008/10/06/entrecard-traffic/
More power to Entrecard!
October 6th, 2008 at 4:59 am
I’m very happy with the traffic EC sends my way. I suppose some of it is junk, but a sizeable portion is not. I was looking at the stats for my personal blog yesterday, since I started using EC there the number of return readers has more than doubled and subscribers have increased by 40%. So, yes, I’m very happy with the service.
Not trying to teach my grandma to suck eggs or anything, but maybe some of the people who haven’t found it useful have been those who advertise and drop on blogs which aren’t related to their own in any way. Just because the advertising is free here it doesn’t mean people don’t need to think about targeting.
October 6th, 2008 at 5:18 am
The Full Monty –
http://bmw230.blogspot.com/2008/10/october-6th-2008-this-was-on-entrecard.html
This isn’t my response to the traffic issue. That was posted well above.
Beamer
October 6th, 2008 at 7:05 am
Entrecard Traffic has the potential to be the greatest.
Lower the drop limit and it will be!
But now, I feel 50/50
October 6th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Bloggers are not ideal traffic. They usually are out to get something for themselves or something in return, not just information.
Bloggers are simply the easiest to target.
October 6th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Graham,
Does this allow for one entry per (linked) blog? Or one entry per blogger?
October 6th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Well Graham, my partner was thrilled with EC on her blog. She was getting the traffic she wanted until the blog was deleted.
A WordPress blog running the revolution theme. If you don’t know that theme it allows you to have a dozen categories with multiple articles showing in each. So not only is the blog up to date, the reader can see older posts more easily (not selling the theme, getting to the point).
She was also told that because she was not running a blog and because she has a full page ad of the type “skip this Ad” her account was zapped.
She has a blog. Already said that.
She also has an Aweber pop-up that appears 30 seconds after the visitor arrives. Less time than the average EC dropper will spend on a site (hence the complaint people have for bad traffic). For people that come to the site and choose to stay for 30 seconds the pop up appears, about 20% or 25% of the screen.
Whoever you have running support has deleted an active account and a previoulsy active dropper. She slowed down dropping whne business picked up.
Hmmm, a link between starting EC and business picking up.
No clue why the site was deleted and when she asked why she was given the 2 reasons listed.
When she roved that the reasons were not valid, she was not ignored. But she go no other answer than ‘Your site is not a bolg” (yet it is)
&
“You can’t have full page ‘Skip This Ad’ type pop ups” (yet she does not)
Better EC needs better tech support.
Oh, yeah. They last mail said if you know of any other sites that use pop ups, tell use and we will delete their accounts too.
EC’ers be warned. New rules from someone in tech support.
1) You can not have any kind of pop up
2) Your blog has to look like tech support wants or it is not a blog.
Pissed.
October 6th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Hey Richard,
Since you did not provide a link to your friends blog I don’t know what to say other than to have her email deleted@entrecard.com and request re-instatement.
Yes, your blog has adhere to some basic quality guidelines to be allowed in. Sometimes we make mistakes and we try to correct them. Nobody is perfect. A link, in this case, would help.
October 6th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
@Eric up there at #4 comment
Using your reasoning when comparing adwords to entrecard, then yes, I agree with you. Adwords is the way to go.
But you have to realize that EC are not worth $6/1000. We all know that. It’s worth closer to $0.50/1000, and I think that’s still too high. If you are buying EC, you are wasting your money.
Go drop some cards, make friends and advertise, it’s free. Drop cards for 30 mins a day, find new blogs, comments, blah blah. DON’T CONSIDER IT AS WORK, if you compare it to working $20/hour, then of course dropping cards for half an hour is not worth $10. Once again, if you consider dropping as “work” the maybe this might not be the right place for you. Find connection here in your niche, make friends, advertise.
EC isn’t the right place for you to ditch out $100 to buy advertisement, but it is the right place to find new blogs and have one on one interaction with other bloggers from around the world.
EC might not be the place for you but you are always welcome. A lot of use here are happy with the direction that EC is heading.
October 6th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
i do find these posts quite useful as i’m on the outside looking in. still don’t know if i should sign up for entrecard, especially with these changes.
October 6th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Graham,
Thanks for the opportunity to post about traffic quality at Entrecard. Here’s my post… http://choicebusinessblog.com/2008/10/why-entrecard-works-for-me-across-my-blogs/
I’ve been with Entrecard nearly a year now, and won’t be leaving anytime soon.
October 6th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
@nhuong -
Excellent reply – I agree with everything you are saying. For the record, I was only paying $2 for 1000, so $100 bought me 50,000 credits – not $.50 for 1000, but cheaper than $6. I have also bought credits directly from Graham – I figured that would be the responsible thing to do.
Here is the problem. EntreCard has to make money, else poor Graham is going to have to sell it or let it go extinct. This is a free service – there has to be revenue coming from somewhere. I understand where people are coming from in respect to the traffic that they are getting – and that is wonderful. However, how will the system survive without an injection of money? Help me to understand – thanks!
October 7th, 2008 at 1:15 am
@Richard McLaughlin
Your comment caught my eye because I’m also running a blog using a Revolution theme. Pro Media to be exact, though customized from its default a bit. I just wanted to add that I haven’t had any issues so far because of the revolution theme — and I’ve noticed a lot of sites using various other Revolution Themes that I’ve come across while surfing EC’s catalog. I’d guess your friend’s problem may have been more to do with #1, than #2?
I can’t see anything on the blog standards sheet about site design, but this one is pretty clear:
5. No full-screen ads: Blogs that include a “Skip This Ad” popup or other full-screen ads will be removed.
Just have your partner remove that ad and resubmit if they want back in, and I’m sure there would be no more problem.
I don’t understand the reason given, “your site is not a blog” either though. And am kind of curious what that means in this particular case as well. If it’s a theme issue, then a few of us (me included) may have something to worry about as well.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:28 am
I just typed out a decent response and forgot to enter the email and now I have to start over – possible to correct that?
Anyway I’m responding because I like the terms “junk traffic” and “junk blogs” – it’s a fun phrase when you add “junk” to it.
I don’t think entrecard is as bad as I’ve read in many places. You get drive-by clickers/visitors in any business – in any marketing campaign – and the average response rate is 2% so if you’re on entrecard and you’re not drawing that number then it’s time to reevaluate your blog’s effectiveness.
There IS something to be said about trying to sell to sellers. You have to find your target market and if they’re not on entrecard – then don’t blame entrecard for it.
I saw a blog post from someone who really cared about this topic and he gave out some ideas one of which was that to improve visitor quality, entrecard should rank blogs according to the amount of traffic they receive (as stated by alexa I assume?) and then weigh dropped cards according to a blog’s popularity.
What was the official response to something like that as a way to wade through the JUNK.
What say you?
October 7th, 2008 at 2:53 am
i want to join but my blog is banned.
October 7th, 2008 at 4:06 am
@Graham
maybe I can’t submit links here, I’ve tried twice to answer Graham
the site that was deleted is getinternationalclients dot com there was no widget on that main page
the widget was on all the pages found on getinternationalclients dot com/gic-blog/
I even sent a screenshot yesterday to support showing that the site is indeed a blog.
I re-read the rules and it does not forbid the use of pop-up, just Full screen pop-ups, which was not being used.
October 7th, 2008 at 4:52 am
Here’s mine:
http://www.rantofferox.blogging4life.com/2008/10/07/entrecard-traffic-for-the-small-time-blogger/
I’d been thinking of writing this for a while now, but this was the motivation I needed to get it done.
October 7th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Many people are still using this site, and so general voices can be heard without asking any question at all. I’ve been using it for many months and making quite number of friends here on EC.
On topic: I want to contribute something by posting about this on my blog, but since I’m not good at English -notice my grammar mistakes on this post- I won’t even be looked at on this contest. I can only pray for EC good fortune.
October 7th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Why was my comment not published while other comments after me were, and then deleted before it had a chance to go public? Feel free to private message me the reason. Just curious what it was that I said that warranted that.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:05 am
I don’t power drop like I used to but I still visit a large number of sites that I got introduced to through entrecard, I would say that is quality traffic.
October 7th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Well now my comment shows. Highly weird. Though I only just signed up for sezwho recently. Maybe that’s the problem. Sorry for the mixup. My original comment is question is #28.
This one and #34 can be deleted if you want to clear out my clutter. Sorry!
October 7th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
I’m quite new to Entrecard myself– just a few weeks into it now– but I’ve found it helpful and interesting so far from a few angles…
–I’ve discovered a couple of really well-written blogs which I now visit regularly.
–My networking with fellow bloggers in my own niche– humor– has strengthened. (In fact I met a few bloggers in my niche I can’t believe I hadn’t met before on other venues).
–And I’m even seeing relevant comments from readers who I’ve identified as Entrecard folks.
Considering my advertising has been entirely based on credits, this is exciting for me. May it continue!
October 7th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
I have published a “review” of Entrecard traffic at my site, comparing Entrecard to other services and methods of promoting/advertising your site.
I cannot reiterate enough that the traffic from Entrecard is completely free (minus time), which is the best type of traffic for someone who blogs with a limited budget. In my experience, the community around the traffic and network is more beneficial than anything else – all driven by the traffic from Entrecard.
The link is here: http://entrecard-tips.blogspot.com/2008/10/quality-of-entrecard-traffic.html
October 8th, 2008 at 1:18 am
Its true that Entrecard is real human traffic. But the fact is that most of the people visit your blog just to click, earn credits and leave.
But Entrecard is good if you know how to tap into its potential. Just clicking around 300 times a day is simply not a viable option. Instead write a fresh post with pictures and some good dose of humor, then use the Entrebar to drop into 50 blogs. That would bring you some good traffic.
Entrecard traffic is far better than most other stuff like traffic exchanges, where others visit your site for only 20 seconds or less!
Lets be realistic. Entrecard is not something magical.It can only do some real good if your blog itself is good.
October 8th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
So far there’s 22 prizes offered and half a dozen entries. I think this contest needs a touch more promotion before friday.
October 9th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
[...] and selling credits at EC, things got a little ugly among EC and non EC members. They say that the traffic generated by Entrecard are not real traffic. If there is junk food, EC traffic is considered junk or not real [...]
October 9th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
My entry here: http://sesantos.com.ph/2008/10/10/the-entrecard-traffic-debate/
October 9th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Hello here’s my entry:
http://webhostingblog.synchronicityhosting.com/entrecard-sucks-the-quality-traffic-debate/
October 10th, 2008 at 3:18 am
Entrecard helped my build my Alexa ranking very quickly at the beginning of the year and my rank dropped not because of EC but because I stopped blogging for a while. I also wrote a post about EC in December and at that time my blog was a PR3 and the EC post was a PR4…because of Entrecard traffic primarily.
Entrecard is about exposure in case some people don’t know that.
I have found blogs on EC and incorporated them into my own blog postings and then made sure I promoted them like crazy.
For a free tool it’s been one that I have used the most for EXPOSURE. To say it is junk traffic is asinine. I use it for SEO, social networking and marketing.
I like EC because it is like doing business and networking in the real world. You never know when an unrelated blog/business likes and or needs your services. I’m always up for promoting other people so its fun for me to find blogs on Entrecard.
October 10th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
So, no objective posts to run for the contest? Only EC is great posts?
October 11th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
As someone who only uses Entrecard for promotion (somebody inspired me), I have difficulty in understanding why and to what end people complain. So far, I have found this place as a quality community run by quality people.
October 12th, 2008 at 11:18 am
EntreCard has the potential to provide great traffic.
But for the time being I am VERY tired of the drop & run EntreCard user.
October 14th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
[...] to everyone who entered our two contests, “traffic quality“ and “outage giveaway bash.” For those of you that didn’t enter you missed [...]
October 14th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
[...] recap, the Entrecard Traffy Quality contest was blogging about why you like Entrecard traffic. It was supposed to be announced last Friday, but [...]
October 14th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
[...] was fun to try out, but if you need traffic that converts into sales – forget about it. There is a debate about the quality of traffic that comes from using the EntreCard service and I made my case by presenting facts. Not allowing facts to confuse the issue, EntreCard called [...]
March 17th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Just leave a message about the traffic. Do you think we get much traffic with entrecard? I haven’t seen much results. Or maybe I just am too new with it.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Thanks so much for the great traffic that entrecard is providing. It’s so very great and helpful. Thanks to all that are working so hard to make thies such a great site.
Helen Yelverton