Entrecard is a free blog advertising exchange network. It is a great way to increase visitors to your blog. I have used it for a couple of years. There are a few downsides to using it though. Some bloggers wonder if it is worth the trouble.
Here are some things that I have learned through using Entrecard.
Pros
- Lots of free traffic. First and foremost, Entrecard does what it says it does. It helps draw tou tons of free visitors to your blog.
- Easy to use. Entreard is very easy to figure out. You drop your card on other blogs to earn credits that you can use for advertising. You can also earn credits when others advertise on your blog. By investing some time each day, it is quite easy to make it to the most popular blogs section within your topic.
- Potential to gain loyal readers. If your 125 x 125 image stands out and your posts are compelling, your entrecard visitors will be more likely to subscribe or return to read your future posts.
- Potential to make money. With such an increase in blog traffic, there is a potential to gain customers if some of them click on your offers on your blog.
Cons
- Increased bounce rate. Sadly, most Entrecard users will just drop and run, causing your bounce rate to soar. This may affect your search engine rankings.
- Most traffic is not targeted. However, you can balance that out by dropping and advertising mainly within your blog's niche or topic.
- Time consuming. You are allowed to drop up to 300 cards a day to gain credits, but it takes awhile to do this. The fastest I've ever been able to do it is a couple of hours. Most of the time, I don't bother trying to drop 300 cards. I prefer to take my time and read blog posts that interest me along the way.
Tips for getting the most out of Entrecard
- Drop at least 100 cards a day. This is plenty to keep you active in the Entrecard community without spending an entire afternoon at it.
- Visit and comment on the blogs that interest you. This is the reason behind Entrecard in the first place. I like to keep my favorites in a bookmark folder of my browser.
- Use the Entrecard toolbar. If you use Firefox, the toolbar makes it much easier. You can set your favorites within the toolbar as well. You can download it here.
- Have fun with it. Write quick reviews for the blogs you like. Most Entrecard users are very friendly and will return the favor.
Overall I think Entrecard is worth a try. It brings lots of free traffic. I have found many blogs that I love through using it. If your blog is new and you are struggling to get those first readers, Entrecard may be just what you need to get you started.
Posted in: Working From Home
7 comments:
I have a love/hate relationship with Entrecard. You're right about the bounce rate - that's the one thing that has always bothered me about it. That and all the spam blogs! :(
Interesting viewpoint. I'd never thought about some of these points. I'm not familiar with the term bounce rate and don't know how to see it, so I guess it hasn't bothered me. I don't have the time to pop in on 100 blogs--how would anyone visit 300?
Joyce
http://joycelansky.blogspot.com
I am with Joyce, I don't know about the bounce rate thingy. I am not very active with EC but I use it once in a while. THe only concern I had with them is the virus or malwares that comes with other blogs.
Bounce rate tells you how often visitors enter and leave your site from the same page (without clicking around and visiting multiple pages). In my opinion, I don't think Google judges blogs as harshly for a high bounce rate as it does static websites. That's because with blogs, we are always adding new posts and fresh content. But for static websites, a high bounce rate could be an indicator that it's content is not very relevant for the keywords it is ranking for.
I don't think it is important enough to NOT use Entrecard because of it. I am one of the strange ones who thinks dropping cards is FUN ;-)
I'm on the brink of leaving entrecard, decided to read some reviews first - then got here. I used to enjoy dropping until I noticed that more zombie/spammy blogs are now linking at Entrecard which is terribly annoying. Well I guess I have to leave it there for a time.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
It is nice to give a try for entrecard...and will come back to give my review:)
I just discovered this post with a quick google search. I have to ask...is it just me or are most of the blogs on entrecard pretty low ranking in general? Most aren't doing that well followers wise...is it just me? (no offense to your blog! I haven't noticed your follower count just yet as I am on mobile...)
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