Part II (did you really think I would make you wait? )

Here is how it works.

Someone registers a domain name, and markets and promotes the website related to it. For whatever reason (maybe they go out of business, split the partnership, change their mind, get married, etc) they let their domain name expire. After about 90 days, the registration company will release the domain name for sale to the public. Advertising networks buy these domain names because they still get plenty of traffic from people who type them directly into the browser, select them from their favorites listings, or click on them from left over search engine listings and links from other websites. Once the network owns this expired domain name they “redirect” any incoming traffic to whichever new website they wish.





The new owner will then usually use a network like www.trafficz.com, www.sedo.com or www.seeq.com. These companies take your domain name and place a search engine on the page.



You may have tried a time or two to go to a website and rather than arriving where you expected, you instead got a search engine page! In this way someone uses the ownership of a previously expired domain name to make money from the clicks those networks make from the web site listings in that engine.



These networks collect money from advertisers on a pay-per-click auction and then use this to provide the search data. This means an advertiser pays for each click on the link to their website listed in their search results. The network then pays a commission to the owner of the site for sending the “searchers” to that site.



The theory behind Redirected traffic is that there are advertising networks that instead of using a search engine, will simply send visitors directly to a new website. Advertisers would then pay the network for a chance for their webpage to be viewed, just like in a pop under/over.



For instance, a person might type in www.HostBlade.com into their web browser. This person is obviously looking for low-priced, quality domain name registration and hosting related services. In this example if that domain were in fact owned by an ad network, they would in turn send you to a site owned by an advertiser who paid them for the category “hosting” or “computers”, etc.



Redirected traffic is not always from expired domains, there are various types such as:

Exit traffic (when you leave a website and close the page. Often combined with a pop.)
Bad or error page redirects (when you click a bad link or mistype within a specific site)
Programs installed on your computer that will “force” a page to show in a browser.
And other forms.


Some people believe because a person is actively looking for your type service and it appears as a web site this is more effective than pop-under traffic. This is debatable, and I would say the results generally will be equivalent to any campaign and has a lot more to do with your offer, how you target and how you market on the backend.



You can expect to pay $5-10 for redirected traffic and add $2-$4 for a rush service.



THE EXPIRED TRAFFIC CONTROVERSY!



One downfall to redirected traffic is the traffic does eventually wind down over time. This forces the ad networks to constantly find new sources of traffic. Be sure the company you deal with has an established history and has a stable future.



This leads us to the second downfall of redirected traffic. There are far too many illegitimate companies that claim to sell redirected traffic that is basically non-existent. From most people we speak with, it is very, very difficult to find a company selling legitimate redirects.



I did find one company with real redirects: www.RightTraffic.com. They own their own domains and I have seen them in action. (Here is one: www.ricky5.com, try going back to the site several times or reloading the page by pressing the “F5” key. You will be “redirected” to a different site each time.)



I asked the owner of Right Traffic, Frank Rattay, to comment on his opinion of redirected traffic vs. pop traffic, especially with so many scams related to redirects.



He replied, “I think that True "Re-directs" are great, they serve the purpose just like any other form of traffic (advertising). You are actually redirected to a site instead of a pop-under, pop-up, etc. So, your (website’s) chances of being seen (by a viewer) are greater than just getting the big X (closing the browser).



I think all forms of Advertisement are great, especially paid traffic. Targeted and Untargeted. The main reason why we buy traffic is to get our (web site’s) name out there. If it is pop ups, unders, overs, redirects, it’s getting your web site out there!”



I definitely agree. Any opportunity to get your web site’s name out is a great opportunity. Take it if you can and it fits your plan.



Conversely, as it relates to the legitimacy of redirected traffic, this is an excerpt of a question sent to me:



“The reason I ask is because a client of mine is asking me about (expired traffic company name) and their program. Personally, I don't trust ad companies that buy up old domains and then redirect the traffic the old domains already have to the advertiser because they don't disclose whether or not they use cloaking pages or junk doorway pages to run their services. Such a service could be looked at as search engine spam and the engines could penalize the site associated with it. I'd like to know what anyone else thinks about this scheme. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.”



THE SOLUTION



Be smart! Never let pricing be your sole determining factor in a purchase. If a company offers you a test or trial for 1000 visitors, RUN! The only time to consider it is if it’s a new company and you think they may or may not have real traffic. Then you can take it only if you are going to check the IP addresses in your raw logs for actual traffic. If you have no clue what that means, then it is definitely best to move to the next company.



Considering your click through response rate will be between ¼% and 2½% the odds are that you will see ZERO results from such a small campaign. The fact they will sell you only 1000 visitors for a dollar or two is a good sign they will take any amount of money they can get. This would be like McDonalds offering to sell you 5 French Fries for 25¢ as a “trial”. Surely you do not expect any satisfaction from such a small order, and it is an insult to the intelligence of the customer to offer it.



If you truly want to TRY a service, or better put, test a campaign, then you should purchase around 10,000 - 50,000 and see what results you get from that size sampling. For a sure-fire test – buy about 100,000. It will be hard to see accurate results to evaluate with anything less than 100,000 visitors.



[==SUCCESS TIP==] When Buying Traffic, Do NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK if there any specials or discounts if you buy a certain quantity. Negotiate!



BE CAREFUL! If the company you are looking to buy from:

Has only email support, no phone number, or if there is only voicemail (all the time) when you call- watch out!
Look for a physical mailing address of the company.
Find out if they are listed with the better business bureau (www.BBB.org).
Are there any complaints? Have they been resolved?


These are things to look for with ANY internet business. Better safe than sorry. Also there is nothing wrong with asking for a reference or two.



Here are some important things to note when doing a pop under or redirect: