When the BlogRush widget was released, I thought I need to write a post about it. But then after learning that this widget works as a way of exchanging ads, I then decided not to write about it.

But the email of Mr. Gonzales urged me to talk about BlogRush since he opened up points for discussion. His email can be read below:

SELaplana… I am one of your followers. I visit your blog daily to read your write-ups. Well, I am thankful for scheduling the publishing of your write-ups, if not I will be wondering when will you publish your write-ups.

… I want to ask you something:

1. Why didn’t you use BlogRush?
2. Do you think BlogRush can help our blog boost traffic?
3. Isn’t it good to use BlogRush as a way of exchanging traffic for our blog with other blogs?
4. What’s your advice to other bloggers regarding the use of BlogRush widget? …

About BlogRush

First, I want to thank you for following me here at my blog and for reading all my writings published on this blog.

Now, before answering your questions, let’s first understand what BlogRush widget is and how it works.

According to the BlogRush About page, “BlogRush is a free service that helps bloggers gain visitors for their blog“.

Your blog will not gain traffic in a traffic- exchange scheme. BlogRush is actually using the promotion-exchange way of gaining traffic. What I mean is that you advertise at your blog via the BlogRush widget the blogs of other members that are under the same category with your blog, and on the same way, your blog will also be promoted on the blogs of other members on similar category of your blog via the BlogRush widget. The number of impressions of your BlogRush widget earned will be your credit for your blog to be promoted on the other blogs via the BlogRush widget.

BlogRush called this system as “Cooperative Syndication Network”:

BlogRush is a “Cooperative Syndication Network” that rewards its users for their contributions to the network — from the impressions they provide of the BlogRush Widget to the referral of other users through 10 ‘generations’ of activity and the impressions of the widget that they provide. BlogRush was designed to be incredibly viral and to provide its users with tremendous distribution leverage to receive exposure for their blog content (onto related content blogs) that they could never achieve on their own; at least without a massive advertising budget.

BlogRush Really Drives Traffic To Your Blog

BlogRush widget can help your blog gain additional traffic for your blog. However, using the BlogRush widget can’t be the guarantee to gain more traffic but it only gives you the chance to gain traffic.

Gaining traffic through this widget still depends on your blog’s traffic and content. The more traffic you have in your blog means more exposure of your blog at the other blogs on the network, and the more chance to gain traffic via this widget.

With the more or less 2,000 pageviews of this blog daily, that will mean that my blog will be promoted at the other blogs via the BlogRush widget 2,000 times. What if 30 users click and visit this blog… then that will be a good number of additional visitors to this blog which might become our feed subscribers or regular visitors.

However, just like what I said above, gaining traffic through this widget depends on your blog’s traffic and your blog’s content too. Your traffic will be the guarantee that your blog will be promoted at the other blogs via this widget. But the clicks or visits will depend on how you write the title of your post. Remember that it’s the title of your latest post that will be shown on the widgets of the other blogs. Interesting title will really tempt visitors to visit your blog.

But what if your blog got no traffic and you wrote the title of your posts badly… then that will also mean that you will never enjoy the advantages of the BlogRush widget. So, you better not use it.

BlogRush widget for my blog

You already knew that my blog got more or less 2,00o impressions per day. In other words, my blog can be promoted at the other blogs on the BlogRush network 2,000 times. And that will be a good chance.

And at the same time, I can also write interesting title of my posts… if I want. Combining the traffic of my blog and my ability to make the title of my posts interesting will really gain additional visitors for my blog.

I really want to use this widget on this blog. But I just couldn’t find a place for this widget. I tried it once at the sidebar of this blog but BlogRush widget is wider than the sidebar.

Traffic exchange using BlogRush widget

Tons of bloggers thought that BlogRush widget is just a tool for exchanging traffic. Even our fellow Filipino blogger, Yuga, considered that BlogRush is just for the exchange of traffic.

But hey! BlogRush is not for the exchange traffic. If you tried the BlogRush, then you’ll understand that BlogRush widget users are not exchanging traffic here. What has been exchanged is the ad.

Adding this widget into your blog is like buying an ad space at the blogs via an ad network. The impression your widget earned at your blog is like the money you pay for the impression of your ad at the other blogs on the the ad network. So, how can you say that we’re just exchanging traffic using the BlogRush widget?

Now, for the question, “Isn’t it good to use BlogRush as a way of exchanging traffic for our blog with other blogs?”… Well. I don’t think you can exchange traffic using this blog. The visit made by other bloggers via the BlogRush widget can’t be a guarantee that the blogger of the blogs they visited will visit their blog too, except if they drop interesting comments or showed their MyBlogLog face on the MyBlogLog widget.

Again, BlogRush widget is not for exchanging traffic but for exchanging ads or promotion.

Against the Adsense TOS?

As of this date, no one can show us the email response from the Adsense rep that tells us that using BlogRush widget into our blog is against the Adsense TOS.

If you consider it as against the Adsense TOS just because you think that BlogRush widget is for exchange traffic, then you’re wrong. I already told you above that what is exchanged here is not the traffic but the promotion. And if you’ll check the Adsense TOS, it doesn’t forbid us to buy ads for the promotion of our blog, except of course if you buy links to play the Google’s algo.

So, why afraid to use this widget. By the way, if you want to make it clear, then why not email the Adsense rep?

My Advice

You can use the BlogRush widget into your blog. But your blog needs to have its own regular traffic and you need to make your blogpost’s title more interesting so that you’ll enjoy the advantages of this widget.

If you don’t have BlogRush account yet, then take one now. Click here.

Technorati Tags: Blog Rush, Widget, Traffic

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