Everyone is looking for more traffic right? Well, I received an email this weekend about a new free tool that was just launched called BlogRush and you might want to take a look at.
I am testing it right now, and although it’s too early to determine if it really does drive more traffic to your site, it comes from a source that is known to produce quality products and services that have always done what they say. Thus, I should think this widget is no different and is worth giving it a try.
If you maintain a blog of any kind (which, if you are not already, you should consider doing), or if you have the ability to feed your products using RSS, then you should consider this free tool as another option for driving traffic to your site.
How Does BlogRush Work?
Good question. BlogRush is very simply in concept. You simply place the BlogRush widget on your blog or website (if it has an RSS feed) and immediately you begin to earn credits each time it is displayed (every time your pages loads.) For each credit you earn, you are rewarded with your content (from your RSS feed) being displayed on other sites in the network that also use the widget, and that are similar in topic to yours.
You have the ability to further target potential sites by adding keywords to your account that specifically work with your market. The system uses a combination of content matching combined with the category you choose for your site and then attempts to place your content on other sites within the network that it thinks are similar to yours.
This concept should increase the click-through rate to your site (although don’t expect miracles.) As more sites join the network and technology improves, I would imagine it would be quite possible to tightly match content; maybe not to the level of Google AdWords, but certainly better than just getting random impressions.
Having said that, BlogRush looks like it could generate some quality traffic to your site – for free. If nothing more, it is worth a try.
It’s Completely Free and Easy to Implement
This tool is completely free, and is super easy to implement. It is a “set it an let it” type tool, meaning once you install it on your site, you do not need to do anything else ever again to start receiving credits and traffic as a result.
Sign up for BlogRush place the code on your site, and begin earning credits. If you don’t have a blog already, you could still implement this system if you have an RSS Feed of your site available (BlogRush automatically reads the RSS Feed you provide them with, and places the items within it on sites of similar interest.)
See what this could mean for your business?
It means that if you feed your products using RSS (through either a blog attached to your e-commerce site, or from another method), then those products would appear with direct links to them on sites of similar interest. Yes, that’s right, by using BlogRush, you’ll have the opportunity to put your products directly in front of more potential customers, for free.
If you haven’t done so already, you might want to setup a free account with BlogRush. As mentioned, if you don’t have a blog, you should consider starting one. However, if you don’t have a blog but have the ability to feed your products using RSS, then this tool could work for you as well.
Will You Really Get Traffic From BlogRush?
Yes, of course you will get some. However I wouldn’t expect miracles. Typically internet research on click-through rates for these sorts of traffic exchanges are not that good. Even with the ability to match using category and content, most users will place these widgets in areas of the site that are not easily seen which means that they don’t get a lot of attention in the first place. Furthermore, if you look at the widget, it contains five other links which are competing for attention. So, naturally the chances of a visitor clicking through to your site is lowered.
Now, having said that and as with all small communication channels for generating more traffic, of which BlogRush is one, the effect of compounding can make a difference and all traffic helps, so it’s worth giving it a try. If not at least for some period of time.
I would like to display RSS feeds on my site. Do you have a recommended RSS reader for Zen Cart?
Josh,
Are you looking to display RSS feeds or make RSS feeds of your site available to others?
Those are two different concepts, and are handled differently.
Actually, I would like to do both.
There is no RSS Feeder that will allow you to currently make your own feed available for others in Zen Cart. However, I have one basically complete that I will release shortly which will allow you to do that.
If you are looking for an RSS Reader (to read other feeds) then there are a number of them out there. Take your pick.
If you want to display other RSS Feeds on your website (from other people’s sites) then you can do a search in the Zen downloads section for a tool called RSS Scroller that is one way to do it. Keep in mind though that displaying RSS Feeds of others on your e-commerce site can distract form the sale process, and may decrease your conversion. I personally wouldn’t do it – but that choice is yours. :)