Since Monday, I’ve been exchanging emails with an advertiser interested to replace the space that Google Adsense occupies on my blog. The offer was really tempting so I decided to accept their offer.
Before the agreement can be finalized, they need me to send copies of my traffic statistics, which I gladly complied with. They specifically requested for the screen shots of my daily unique traffic, daily page view, traffic source overview, traffic from referring websites and bounce rate.
Here’s how my traffic source overview, traffic from referring websites and bounce rate looks like.
I thought things are going to be okay after I sent all they requested until I receive their email this morning.
Dear Rocky,
Thank you very much for accepting our offer. It was a difficult decision to make, but, we have decided to decline from our offer because of the following reasons:
- The quality of traffic of your website does not meet our company’s standards. Although we prefer high traffic websites, we also require that the traffic should be of good quality.
- High bounce rate.
We sincerely appreciate your time and efforts.
I was disappointed as this opportunity was the highest offer I have received so I took the time to send them another email requesting for more explanations. I also requested for advices on how I can improve the quality of my blog traffic. Here’s what they suggested.
- Optimize your blog for search engines. Traffic from search engine is better over traffic referred by other websites.
- Don’t use Blog Explosion, Entrecard and similar services to boost your blog traffic.
I don’t use BlogExplosion but I use Entrecard. While it is true that Entrecard could be a reason for my blog to have a high bounce rate, I wouldn’t consider the traffic to be of low quality. I can come up with more arguments to prove that the quality of traffic from Entrecard can be compared to that from search engines but I would like to hear what you think.
Have you had the same experience? Do you think Entrecard Traffic is of low quality? I would appreciate your thoughts on this matter. Kindly share your thoughts through the comment. 
Thank you very much for your time.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed.!
Clement responded on 15 Feb 2008 at 9:33 pm #
Rocky
Traffic from entrecard is indeed of low quality.This happens because visitors are on the EC quest and as a result, they want to visit as many sites as possible and drop as many ECs as possible and as a result, the bounce rate tends to be high.Visitors do not dwell on your site. Another Entrecard user has already complained about this.I have just forgotten the link.
exinco responded on 15 Feb 2008 at 9:42 pm #
i must say that entrecard is great at first start.
in the near future entrecard not relevant any more. even now i saw auto browsing system for entercard user, thus it make low quality traffic and bounce rate are high.
Craw responded on 15 Feb 2008 at 9:47 pm #
I think it’s 50-50. There are Entrecard users out there who genuinely read the blogs they visit. But, there are also a lot of Entrecard users who visit other blogs/sites just to drop their cards, known as chain droppers.
» How to solve Entrecard’s high bounce rate problem? Clement Nyirenda’s blog world: Ramblings on technology and its use in the fight against poverty responded on 15 Feb 2008 at 10:37 pm #
[...] the proper name for this service is Entrecard or Exitcard. Rocky, a great blogger friend of mine, has just missed out on high paying advertizing offer, because the prospective advertiser discovered that his site has a high bounce rate. This [...]
bloggingmix responded on 16 Feb 2008 at 12:43 am #
@ Clement,
Despite the quality of traffic from Entrecard, I personally believe that the advantages outweighs the disadvantages. That’s the reason why I keep Entrecard on my blog. Thanks for dropping by and for the link love.
@ Craw,
I just hope that Entrecard comes up with a way to prevent chain droppers from dropping their cards to discourage them. Thanks for dropping by.
SoupNumber5 responded on 16 Feb 2008 at 12:48 am #
I do check out the site. And if interesting subscribe. But the moment I find out the blog is about making money and HOW I CAN CASH IN BIG, I usually drop and go. But for the most part, if its interesting I read.
bloggingmix responded on 16 Feb 2008 at 2:27 am #
@SoupNumber5,
You can browse by category to filter blogs that you don’t like.
MR-Gee responded on 16 Feb 2008 at 3:36 am #
Entrecard traffic is indeed with low quality if you ask me. They just drop and go.
Sue responded on 16 Feb 2008 at 4:18 am #
I am a fairly new blogger and entrecard has brought alot of new people and some loyal readers in. So, I think for that fact the exposure has been well worth the bounce rate, for me anyhow.
As well as getting exposure on other sites from the free advertising.
JoNathan responded on 16 Feb 2008 at 4:25 am #
I disagree … EntreCard traffic is what you make of it. If you have a good blog and you know how to market then EntreCard is a great asset to have. It’s the content that counts. EntreCard is just a way to get people to your site. Once they are there it’s your job to capture their attention. Even if they are EC Hunters …. Draw them in.
It bugs me when I see bloggers blaming everyone else for their bounce rates or their lack of quality visitors. It’s not nobody else’s fault but your own … That is unless you are using a network that offers a surfing bar. Then yeah … but that is the only case I can think of.
I would be more than happy to help anyone that emails me and requests it.
Sueblimely responded on 16 Feb 2008 at 5:49 am #
Entrecard traffic is just adding to your visitors and not detracting from your search engine traffic. Looking at percentages could be misleading. I can see their point if Entrecard was the only source of traffic as it is no indication of the quality of a blog.
Stelian Andrei responded on 16 Feb 2008 at 6:01 am #
Entrecard traffic has indeed a problem with high bounce rate. But it is also true that it can bring in quality traffic. I for one found this blog through Entrecard and subscribed to it. I guess it just depends on how many people are interested in what you have to say.
It would be nice if you could show the advertisers what is the bounce rate on the traffic you receive from different referrals. That of course could prove just what kind of traffic it is (high or low quality) and it might work to your advantage. Or not.
C-Squared responded on 16 Feb 2008 at 6:09 am #
“I am a fairly new blogger and entrecard has brought alot of new people and some loyal readers in. So, I think for that fact the exposure has been well worth the bounce rate, for me anyhow.”
Completely agree here.
Marketvice » Blog Archive » Links: Some Great Marketing Posts responded on 16 Feb 2008 at 3:37 pm #
[...] Entrecard Traffic. Disliked By Advertisers? - I think think this could be true. As a fairly heavy advertiser, I sometimes skip over blogs with Entrecard. Should I be doing this? [...]
Bloggeries responded on 17 Feb 2008 at 3:00 am #
Personally I wouldn’t say that 70% is that ridiculously high…
From Fat to Fit responded on 17 Feb 2008 at 3:08 am #
Phirate posted a great post today on just this - how to get advertisers to understand why Entrecard traffic is good: http://entrecard.com/blog/?p=151
Technology and the Blogosphere » Entrecard - The Easy Way to Driving Traffic to Your Blog responded on 17 Feb 2008 at 8:56 am #
[...] discovered Entrecard from an article posted over at BloggingMix.com where Rocky pointed out that Advertisers Dislike Entrecard Traffic. According to his post, an advertiser who earlier approached him retracted from his offer after the [...]
Allen responded on 17 Feb 2008 at 12:09 pm #
I agree that entrecard is a big factor in high bounce rates. People usually just drop their cards and leave without reading anything. -_-
Big Blog Contests | Social Media Myths | Blogging Networking Downside responded on 17 Feb 2008 at 5:58 pm #
[...] Entrecard Traffic - Disliked By Advertisers was being put forward by Rocky to describe his experience of losing a potential advertiser just because he is using Entrecard, which might be the troublemaker for his blog’s low bounce rate. Any Entrecard users here? What opinions do you have on this? [...]
Pranav Rastogi responded on 17 Feb 2008 at 6:01 pm #
Many people on Entrecard do chain-dropping and they just drop and go to another blog.
The bounce rate is very high but if you have eye catchy titles then you’re sure to get many readers.
Also, never be dependent on Entrecard alone. I also use StumbleUpon for traffic and i have customized by blog so that i can get the most out of StumbleUpon, the subscribers.
Frank C responded on 18 Feb 2008 at 12:44 am #
Advertisers hate non-converting traffic, no matter the source. Most greatly prefer organic Google search traffic and this goes for Google Adsense as well. Adsense accounts will usually get “smart priced”, earning about 10% of their earning potential, when used on a site that has EntreCard or gets a lot of SU traffic.
Your stats indicate that you get primarily social networking traffic that typically converts very poorly. It’s not all that surprising that they turned you down. But don’t feel bad about it. This means that you have a popular social blog. Simply search for advertisers who want or don’t mind this kind of traffic.
Nang responded on 18 Feb 2008 at 1:16 am #
I would say Entrecard is a must for every
webmaster, it is way for you to advertise your blog or site. If people find your blog/site appealling then, they will definitely take note of it and will always come for visit later. This is a great way to promote your blog or site.The quality of Entrecard traffic depends on the quality of the content that you have in your blog/site.
roel responded on 21 Feb 2008 at 4:04 pm #
It’s rather unfortunate to note that Entrecard was viewed as counter-productive for some advertisers. If probably there’s a way to change the way people are dropping cards - how? that would be a tough question to answer. Perhaps a more serious discussion can be done to ensure that Entrecard traffic be a great source of ‘quality’ traffic. I am an entrecard user, though I can only drop at most 50 cards a day. It is through entrecard that as a Newbie on blogging, I found great blogs that inspired me to be a better blogger myself.
Essential Blogging Tips » More Bang For Your Bucks - Google AdSense Tips - Profiting From Multiple Ad Blocks responded on 25 Feb 2008 at 11:20 am #
[...] Entrecard Traffic - Disliked By Advertisers [...]
Jason Boom responded on 02 Mar 2008 at 11:20 am #
Well, I’m an Entrecard member who found your site through a search engine. I think you must be doing something right.
I also think Entrecard traffic should be considered quality traffic. It’s dependent on how the quality of posts appear. If you don’t have good content, EC users won’t interact.
Free Money maker responded on 13 Mar 2008 at 12:23 pm #
I think this is a temporary problem with entrecard.After few times like all other site entrecard members to get only the real visitors.You can watch that new members of entrecard are visiting your sites regularly.After few times they will visit you if they see you have a good site to read and watch.Perhaps I mean to say that good site will get good visitors and real visitors.The fake visitor who are entering site only for dropping wouldnt come after few times.So dont get bore with entrecard.As you know through entrecard you are getting much popularity as a good site .So for any consideration your previous visitor will come back to you for their own interest.You have much better alexa rank and perhaps google rank too,so why are they not coming back to you.And this time they will be real visitors,visiting for real purpose.Thanks and cheers.
Blogosphere Summary Week #5 | responded on 03 Apr 2008 at 7:54 pm #
[...] Entrecard Traffic - Disliked By Advertisers was being put forward by Rocky to describe his experience of losing a potential advertiser just because he is using Entrecard, which might be the troublemaker for his blog’s low bounce rate. Any Entrecard users here? What opinions do you have on this? [...]
Wakish responded on 12 Apr 2008 at 3:59 pm #
Interesting answers..
Thanks for always sharing your experiences and such replies Rocky! They are really helpful! Keep going!
Also, I have a question: What stats service are you using in the above screenshots? (Feel free to email me if you have the time
)
- Wakish -
Wakish’s last blog post..Get A Free Linkback - Batch 04
Blogging Mix responded on 12 Apr 2008 at 4:08 pm #
@ Wakish,
I’m using three stats for my blog. I used Google Analytics for the stats on this post. You should try it if you haven’t.
Thanks for dropping by.
make money with entrecard responded on 16 Apr 2008 at 9:17 pm #
[...] [...]