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Little sites get no respect. So how do you become a big site? Exposure and readers.
So the trick is to find readers, and draw them in.
One of the easier ways to do this is with banner exchanges. You won't get much added exposure (relative to what you are giving out) -- and click-thru's (people who actually visit) are not tremendously high. But you are trying to build clientele -- and that takes time. Sharing exposure with the other small guys, is certainly a way to get around the lack of attention that many sites get at first.
Of course you can also use commercial banner-exchanges. These can either be generalized banner exchanges (lots of different sites), or more specific banner exchanges (like Mac Specific sites). Broad banner exchanges are nice for the diversity of audience -- but the readers that are most likely to come back are ones with similar interests. So "bang for your buck" is probably best expended on specialized banner exchanges, like Mac Specific ones for Mac Websites... or developer specific ones, for a developers WebSite, and so on.
Mac Specific Banner Exchanges
If you are looking for Mac specific banner exchanges, there here are the two you can choose from:
- Macseek. 400x40 banner with 40x40 Macseek logo. 1 exposure per banner displayed.
- Mac Web Network/MacinSearch. 400x40 banner. 1 exposure per 2 banners displayed.
Following is a brief comparison of Mac Web Network and Macseek:
|
|
Mac Web Network |
Macseek |
|
Main URL |
||
|
Administrative access |
||
|
Top Sites list |
none |
|
|
Site statistics |
access from main URL |
|
|
Active members |
180+ |
40+ |
|
Banners per site |
allows 2 or more |
maximum is 3 |
|
Avg. Banners / day |
not reported |
4,500+ |
|
Display ratio |
2:1 |
1:1 |
|
Type of sites |
any Mac-related site |
no commercial sites |
|
Recent statistics |
one week |
one month |
|
List of recent displays |
yes, on statistics page, shows last 19 records for your banner so you can see where it is being displayed |
no |
|
Exchange promotion |
uses available banners |
40x40 graphic plus earned banners (Macseek is a member of Macseek) |
|
Credit per page |
yes, see below (1) |
yes (1) |
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Changing banner |
must be uploaded to MWN, then approved, usually two days |
banners are on user server and may be changed immediately |
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Banner size restrictions |
no more than 7K |
none |
(1) Both Mac Web Network and Macseek give webmasters the opportunity to earn credit for each page viewed by customizing the link exchange code.
MWN is significantly larger than Macseek. Research showed 184 active MWN sites while Macseek has 80 member sites. But bigger may not be better -- what is "better" depends on what attention you can get for your site.
For a more in depth comparison read Banner Exchanges Compared.
Conclusion
Don't be afraid to try new things to promote your site. Track your results and see if it is working for you. A bad click-thru rates may not be the fault of banner exchanges -- make sure you are doing all you can to get the users attention. Read Banner Tips, and see if you can improve your results. If they still don't seem worth it to you, then banner-exchanges are certainly not the only way to promote your site. Don't be afraid to try something else -- be creative, and have fun.
Remember, even a few extra visitors a day can help get the word out about your site, especially early on. So give banner exchanges a try, and see if they are worth it for you. Remember, the web is all about momentum and attention.
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