Getting online traffic is probably one of the hardest part for any new websites. The organic method is indeed slow, so it’s not surprising that people are using programs like Hitleap to accelerate the process. But, is it a worthwhile solution? You may think differently once you find out how it actually works.
What Does It Do
Hitleap is a web company based in Hong Kong that specializes in traffic exchanges, also known as Hits, for websites. It claims that the process is very simple, yet powerful enough to bring online exposure for one’s site.
Controversially, such service is commonly used for the purpose of;
- Increasing page views of a webpage to boost SEO rankings – apparently, more traffic can help to maintain your organic rankings on the SERPs.
- Increasing YouTube video views – again, the number of traffic is assumed to boost video rankings.
- Reselling it as view services in places like Fiverr – ever heard of people selling thousands of traffic for $5? Yup, that’s what those gigs are about.
It may start to look a bit unreal to you, but before we jump into what is right or wrong, let’s try to understand the traffic mechanism here and what it tries to achieve.
How Does Hitleap Work
Basically, the program delivers three functions; earn free traffic hits, buy traffic hits and earn money by referring other people to use the service.
To earn free traffic, you need to download an application called HitLeap Viewer on your PC, which will automatically show you websites from other members. You can run more than one HitLeap Viewer session as long as each has a different IP address. Each viewer will allow up to 2,700 Hits accumulation per day and this can be exchanged for traffic which will later be directed to your website, within 10 minutes or so.
Alternatively, you can also get free traffic through a percentage from your referral. For example, if your referral earns 100 Hits, you’ll earn 10% of that number to be added into your account.
In the buying traffic method, you are actually scaling in several ways. You can either buy more Hitleap Viewer Slots slots (ranging from $9 to $69 per month), buy more Website Slots (ranging from $5 to $24 per month) or buy more Hits (ranging from $7 to $525 per month).
You can also choose the traffic quality based on the following factors;
- Visit duration which is the amount of time each visitor spends on a website.
- Traffic sources which can derive from either Direct (anonymous source), Referrer (specific URL) or Search keyword (through organic source).
- The ability to receive hits with a reduced bounce rate.
- The ability to choose geo targeted traffic, meaning that you can opt for the countries that you wish to receive hits from.
Obviously, in order to get the highest quality, you’ll need to choose between the High ($14 per month) or the Ultra ($39 per month) package. The free membership will only give you certain limits to these features.
And lastly, there’s the referral program which allows you to earn 25% whenever a referral buys any of the packages. Even if you don’t have a website, the links will still be made available when signing up and HitLeap will credit you through PayPal.
On the outlook, it seems like an easy program to get into as long as you have the budget. However, if you’re careful in reading between the lines, the one thing that is obvious is the act of manipulation. Predetermining and conditioning the type of traffic that you want is equivalent to generating unnatural traffic and THAT is a very dangerous thing to do.
Why Hitleap Is a Bad Idea
No matter how much they try to impress you with the system either through earning or buying, know that the traffic coming from this type of program is mostly low in quality. That’s because it’s created by a network of computers frequently used by cyber criminals. Botnets, as they are often called, aren’t real human visitors so no one will be interested in your website offers.
As a result, there’s likely no engagement in reading or sharing the content, no one is going to leave any comments and most certainly, no one is going to buy anything through your site. Following the implementation of such traffic spamming, two things will become noticeable on your website.
- Yes, there will be traffic surge for a short period of time and when you run out of budget, the line will plummet again. This may or may not show on your web analytics, but it doesn’t erase the fact that those are actually fake traffic.
- You’ll see the bounce rate getting higher and user engagement getting lower, often an indication of poor traffic sources. Since the search engines are getting better at catching these suspicious signals, they will know that traffic is being manipulated and eventually delist your website. That’s the worst thing that could happen after all the effort and money that are being invested.
And if you are thinking to offer or recommend such programs to others, you are literally doing a disservice to the online community because this method has ABSOLUTELY no long term benefit and could only do more harm to one’s web presence. So please do yourself a favor – don’t do that.
If you really want to buy traffic, use the professional channels like Google Adwords and other Pay Per Click (PPC) opportunities. This type of programs is completely legit and you are more likely to get laser-targeted and high quality traffic sources that can potentially convert on your site.
If you are still not convinced what I am saying is true, read these comments from the people who have had first hand experience.
Don’t Waste Your Money
The alarming fact is that Hitleap isn’t the only traffic exchange site out there. There are many more who will lure you with high-yielding and cheap packages. They will say all sorts of impressive things about their traffic sources, but don’t be tempted.
Buying traffic is a risky business and if you do it the wrong, you won’t benefit anything at the end of the day. Traffic must be earned by first, providing values for real human visitors and second, it must evolve naturally, not manipulated.
If you don’t have the budget, don’t bother with paid traffic. Learn to do proper SEO and you can still achieve good rankings and get long term traffic. If you do have the money, consider hiring professional writers to come up with good quality content instead. This will increase your overall keyword ranking exposure and drive more natural traffic through SEO.
I hope this article has given you some clarity as to why you should avoid traffic exchange sites by all means. If you are still searching for ways to improve your website rankings or traffic, feel free to browse through some of the tips and tutorials over at my recommended training platform or ask them in the comment space below.
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You’re better off focusing on social media marketing or learning SEO or content marketing. There’s no benefit in paying for traffic that you know beforehand will not convert.
Wow this article is very insightful. I’m currently in the beginners stage, trying to improve on my traffic, but using programs like this doesn’t seem like a good idea. I’ve posted at least 20 blog posts so far, but I’m only getting around 5 to 6 traffics per other day.
Would you know what a good solution to this is? Do you recommend just to keep creating more blog posts?
Hi JD, just keep creating more blog posts and every time you do that, dive deeper into the topics with keyword varieties, write longer and informative article each time and get more comment engagement coming to your blog on a daily basis.
All of these organic methods will naturally improve on your traffic count.
Hi Cathy – thanks for sharing this warning. I really can’t see why people use these type of programs, For me, its all about visitor engagement, not just a set of numbers. Yes, its nice to get a lot of traffic, but if it’s all fake and doesn’t lead to conversions, then it’s just a waste of time. There is no substitute for hard work and determination when it comes to online businesses.
I think that if one’s content has no level of quality, any traffic that comes from being purchased will not necessarily make the visitor hang around the site for long. Web creators should focus on the quality of content instead. This will ultimately bring the type of targeted traffic it deserves.
l never trusted these traffic exchange sites as most of their modus operandi are quite similar. They normally offer free or earned credit, buying traffic package and affiliate program to their members.
I used to buy some traffic from Ibo Toolbox and saw an immediate increase in traffic on my Google Analytics. But the bounce rate was 100% because they are just bots and there was no engagement either. My advice is – don’t do things that will bring more harm than benefits to your web presence. If you want to spend that money, go for Google/Bing/Facebook ads instead.
It all sounded great until you highlighted the negatives which are spot on!
I have messed around with similar services in the past and while you can get instant hits, the traffic is all FAKE and has no positive effect on your business. They are basically just high numbers that are good to look at.
I wouldn’t recommend as it’s simply a waste of money. You’re better off getting online traffic naturally although it means longer time to acquire them.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Josh.
This world of buying and selling traffic is so new to me – I never knew it was a “thing” until about 3 months ago! From what you’ve just shared, this has probably been going on for years. Well, you learn something new every day! 🙂
Purchasing traffic from Fiverr? And I thought Fiverr was only for logos, banners and such. Yikes!
I think the authority in Fiverr has clamped down the activities so it’s becoming less common now. The point is, good traffic source must be earned and not bought through illegal automated system. There’s no point faking something that has short-term effect for one’s site.