Entrecard Widget No More

I’m not an Entrecard basher but I have removed the Entrecard widget from every blog with the exception of my personal blog. I just couldn’t see any real benefit to it. There may have been a little traffic from Entrecard but what really increased was the amount of visits under one minute (Visits duration 0-30 seconds 57.1 %). I don’t see the benefit in traffic that stays for mere seconds just to click off onto the next site.

To be fair I really wasn’t working the Entrecard system the way it was intended. I didn’t have time to click on the widgets the way it was designed. It was pretty fun at first just from finding all the cool blogs.

I’m not going to say Entrecard is on the same track as BlogRush but clearly they are facing some problems. I had to move their widget to the bottom of the sites a while back because they were causing page load delays. That’s common with any third party content but they are very slow at customer service as well. I submitted a help desk ticket last week and it took five days to get a response.

I have a little over five thousand Entrecard credits with my personal blog and it looks like I may have to say goodbye to those as well. I haven’t been able to log into my Entrecard account all week. I’ll wait another five days to see if my account has been deleted for some reason. No hard feelings, I just don’t see the benefit in displaying their widget right now. I do wish Graham Langdon and Entrecard luck and hope the service continues to grow.

What do you think? Still using Entrecard?

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Brian on February 1, 2009 | Filed Under Blogging

41 Comments

Blogging Tips on February 1st, 2009

It was taken off my blog long ago for the same reason that the bounce rate for the EC traffic was too high. I reckon it has lost its novelty somehow.

Welcome to the ex-EC club, Brian.

Yan

Blogging Tipss last blog post..You’ve Only Got 10 Seconds

Brian on February 1st, 2009

Hi Yan, If I knew it came with a club membership and everything I would have dropped it sooner

Blogging Tips on February 1st, 2009

Didn’t I send you the invitation before?….LOL

Anyway, I’m extending another invitation to renew your ad on TSB another month for FREE. Let me know in advance which banner should I use, Brian.

Yan
PS: Aren’t you using threaded comments?

Blogging Tipss last blog post..You’ve Only Got 10 Seconds

Brian on February 1st, 2009

Thanks Yan, that’s very generous of you. I’ll use it to promote my new blog if it’s ok.

URL:
http://hotblogtips.com/

Image:
http://hotblogtips.com/images/banners/banner_125.jpg

Sherry on February 1st, 2009

I am still having the entrecard widget at my blogs. I am not a serious dropper I see many blogger still dropping 300 cards a day. I used the ec for contest.

Brian on February 1st, 2009

Hi Sherry, That’s what I was saving my 5000 credits for. I was going to give them out in my next contest. Hopefully I still have them. I still can’t log in and still no reply from Entrecard.

Blogging Tips on February 1st, 2009

Will do, Brian. Once the current one expires, I’ll replace it for another 30 days.

Yan

Blogging Tipss last blog post..You’ve Only Got 10 Seconds

Brian on February 1st, 2009

Your a good friend Yan. Thanks

Dalirin on February 2nd, 2009

I like entrecard. I haven’t registered yet, but I would use it to lower my alexa ranking.

Dalirins last blog post..How to Change Your Wordpress Blog Header

Brian on February 2nd, 2009

Hi Dalirin, I’ve read that it can lower the Alexa rank too but I didn’t experience that. I wasn’t a dedicated dropper though either.

Personally, I’m looking for a different kind of traffic than Entrecard provides. Traffic that comes to my site for more than a couple of seconds.

There are a lot of smart people out there and it’s possible someone has found a way to use Entrecard as a better traffic tool. If you register it might be worth a little research.

Dennis Edell on February 2nd, 2009

I may drop the widget, not sure yet. It still remains my #1 source for finding blogs in any niche.

Dennis Edells last blog post..D.S.W.M. Monthly Article Round-Up Is Back!

Brian on February 2nd, 2009

That’s a great point Dennis. I was using entrecard too for the same thing. The toolbar was very handy for that. I don’t need it entrecard for that anymore because I’m following you on backtype.com You do the work and I follow way behind. I already know not to try and keep up with you

Sheryl Loch on February 2nd, 2009

Hey Brian,
A long time ago I watched people talk about Entrecard and how they used it like a traffic exchange, just click and go. That is why I never even looked at it. I could run an auto exchange and get blank clicks.

I guess, I am following Dennis on BackType also. Well, I follow Brian & he follows Dennis….Yep, sometimes I just long in there to see where you all are commenting. I would like for you both to broaden your horizons, I am getting board! Find more blogs guys! LOL!

Sheryl Lochs last blog post..Sig Line and Mini Article Post on Forums

Yan from Review on February 2nd, 2009

You guys can’t go wrong following Dennis. That guy never sleep.

Caroline Middlebrook used to be the “comment queen” and it’s really a no-brainer to guess who the “comment king” is.

Yan@Reviews last blog post..Elegant Themes – Most Affordable Premium WordPress Themes

Brian on February 3rd, 2009

@Sheryl & @Yan: It must be true that Dennis doesn’t sleep. We would be hard pressed to find a blog even close to this niche that Dennis hasn’t already been. It’s not just little generic comments either. He gets involved. Maybe he’s a speed reader

Gennaro on February 3rd, 2009

I consider it for my blog, but didn’t like the fit with a magazine theme (aesthetically). I also read, in numerous places, that bounce rate was very high. It sounds like people click, but rarely stay. It’s nice to have the extra traffic, but the point is to engage readers not have them jump from site to site.

I’m sure it’s working well for some as I see it on quite a few sites.

Gennaros last blog post..Rock Climbing Over Rice Paddies

Dennis Edell on February 3rd, 2009

Thanks everyone lol.

Ya know, I signed on with backtype but haven’t used it yet. I suppose that would be a better way to find ACTIVE blogs.

I have a big problem with my sleep, and yes, it does make you a speed reader lol.

Since your commentluv plugin seems screwy anyway, I’ll point to a post even further back…

Dennis Edells last blog post..How To: 100 Blog Subscribers In Two Months – Listen Closely

Brian on February 3rd, 2009

@Gennaro: I think you’re right about the bounce rate. That’s exactly what I experienced. You have a very cool blog. I was on there last week and Googled the name in the footer to find that it’s the Church WordPress Theme by Brian Gardner. $59.95 isn’t a bad price for a theme that nice.

@Dennis: CommentLuv or not you are welcome to include whatever link you want on any of my sites anytime you want.

Pheak Tol on February 4th, 2009

I registered with entrecard when i first started my blog, i dont see a significant amount of traffic from it even though there has been drop after drop of droppers dropping (lots of drop)

Im thinking about getting rid of it as well, just because it doesnt bring in that much of a traffic spike.

By the way Brian. i saw you’ve mentioned my blog on one that you’ve visited so I added you to my blogroll as well …thanks for the link =]

Pheak Tols last blog post..10 Easy Ways To Get Free Traffic

Brian on February 4th, 2009

Sounds like you are coming to the same conclusion as I have Pheak.

It’s been four days (Jan. 31) and still no reply from the Entrecard support ticket. That’s extremely slow, to the point I wonder what’s going on over there.

No problem for the link Pheak and that’s for the blogroll link.

Dennis Edell on February 4th, 2009

Whoa dude thanks! Now where did I put those pics….

Dennis Edells last blog post..Do You Use Google Alerts?

Turnip on February 6th, 2009

If you want a network that doesn’t require anything other than intelligent forum converation, come chck out CMF Ads. You will probably know most of the members already. Most of them left EC for the same reasons you expressed above.

Brian on February 6th, 2009

Thanks Turnip, I’ll check it out.

Hesham on February 7th, 2009

Oh! I see now that I am the last one who is using EC, You will make me think about it Brian, I have started to use EC since last week only!

Thank you for this nice post, I really appreciate your posts.

Heshams last blog post..Useful Ideas on How to use Auto Subscribe Group plugin for Elgg

Brian on February 7th, 2009

Hi Hesham. LOL, I was just reading a post on Garry Conn’s site MyBlogLog vs BlogCatalog – Which is Better? and now I’m thinking about another cut.

Marketing Business Review on February 7th, 2009

Hi Brian,

I still with Entrecard, but as you point it out the traffic from them its just mere 50 something seconds or so. But it helps me a lot when I launched my site, it lowered my Alexa Ranking a lot.

I had never droped 300, its too time consuming. Now I am building my own list of Entrecard dropers, so at least if they do not last longer than those 50 sec, I will have a link to my site with my badge in their sites. I just drop on them and the ones I know already.

I´ll let you know if I find something useful from Entrecard.

Brian on February 7th, 2009

Hi Luis, Yea, I’m always interested in anything that works.

Update: I finally received a reply from Entrecard after another six days but still can’t login. They said it was a mistake and wanted to know my email address. Did I mention they emailed this question to me? LOL, There’s just no words to explain customer service that bad. They should run a cable company ;0

Frank Carr on February 11th, 2009

I was an early adopter of EntreCard but, after having it on my blog for a while, I found that the traffic quality was poor. Since I started pursuing search engine traffic more heavily, EntreCard no longer had a place on any of my blogs.

Frank Carrs last blog post..How To Earn Cash Online: Boring Memo WordPress Theme

Brian on February 11th, 2009

Hi Frank, sounds like a lot of us have come to that conclusion although you were probably ahead of me.

I don’t want to make this a pick on Entrecard post but I’m amazed that my first support ticket was on Jan. 31 and on Feb 7th they finally replied telling me it was an error and they would take care of it. Now on Feb 11 I still can’t log in. When I check the helpdesk ticket it still says it’s open waiting on staff action. I’m sorry but Entrecard must have the worst customer support that I’ve seen in a very long time. Almost a month and a half. Wow!

How To Make Entrecard Useful Besides The Flash Traffic Dropers in Your Site | Make Money Online on February 16th, 2009

[...] idea come to me before reading a post by Brian D Hawkins from ExtremeEzine about removing Entrecard widget from all of his sites except from his personal [...]

Small Blogging Network on February 25th, 2009

I also have begun to delete entrecard widgets from my blog network.

Entrecard was a perfect place at first to get traffic and advertise MMO type affiliate links for easy referrals, but now it is too much time consuming for low traffic and hard to find quality referrals who will really make considerable money by affiliate marketing.

Small Blogging Networks last blog post..Antalya Turkey Travel & Hotel Reviews Blog

Brian on February 25th, 2009

Hi Muratos, I totally agree. I was just given access to my Entrecard account two days ago by a very helpful volunteer. Over a month and a half I had all but given up. I’ll probably ditch the widget on that last blog once I get rid of the 6,000 credits. I might save them for my next contest.

DeViLnoAnGeL InFo on April 6th, 2009

Recently i’m registering in Entrecard, later i will try to investigate the traffic from Entrecard so i will know is Entrecard benefit for me. Thanks for the article Brian, it make me be watch out with Entrecard.

DeViLnoAnGeL InFos last blog post..Google Offering Free and Legal Music Download In China

Brian on April 6th, 2009

Hi DeViLnoAnGeL, I’m glad you are not discouraged about giving Entrecard a try. What didn’t work for me may work well for you. We never know until we try.

DeViLnoAnGeL InFo on April 6th, 2009

Yeah you correct Brian, maybe it works for me but maybe not too, even now Entrecard is giving paid ads that running on my widget that doesn’t compensate me any credits, they even tell that “Paid Ads” just something to support them for they services costs. Well it annoying me now, but i will see it for the next 3 month. If it really doesn’t make a benefit for me sure i will have to removed their widget.

DeViLnoAnGeL InFos last blog post..How to Maintain Your Security Against Conficker Worm

Blogspot to wordpress on August 18th, 2009

When I was on blogspot and use to cry for traffic entrecard was a relief for me though later on when I moved to wordpress, it seems to be a waste to me.
Infact George my frd, he was using it on wordpress blog for me and he has collected lots of credit and he is trying hard to get rid of it, by selling those credit for traffic or looking for some alternatives.
Blogspot to wordpress´s last blog ..Review Of Hostgator Webhosting Wordpress

Brian D. Hawkins on August 18th, 2009

Hi Harsh, The owners have changed since I posted this article but I’m not sure if it helped or not. I still run the widget on my personal blog but I don’t get too involved with it.
Brian D. Hawkins´s last blog ..Extreme Ezine – Social Edition | Aug09

shaunjudy from blogging tips on October 4th, 2009

I think that the bounce rate part of entrecard sucks, I will remove it one day.

I did find that if you put the widget towards the bottom of your blog it helps a little.
shaunjudy@blogging tips´s last blog ..KnockOut Thursday 10-01-09

Brian D. Hawkins on October 4th, 2009

Hi Shaunjudy, I posted this eight months ago and I still have that stupid widget on my personal blog. I have over 7,000 credits I want to use for my logo design contest on HotBlogTips.com. I need to hurry up with the contest so I can take it down. My personal blog is already too slow and the entrecard widget is almost stopping my page from loading altogether sometimes.
Brian D. Hawkins´s last blog ..Chasing The Guru Ghost

Mar Matthias Darin on October 11th, 2009

You may want to look into “Along for the Ride!” at:

http://matthiaschronicles.tanaya.net/AFTR/

Its non-incentive based so the quality of traffic is good and all blogs in rotation is guaranteed to be high quality. It is also transparent in how it work and it proves the traffic with audit reports.
Mar Matthias Darin´s last blog ..Why Jews hate Blacks

Brian D. Hawkins on October 13th, 2009

That’s a big project you took on Mar, I’ll check t out.
Brian D. Hawkins´s last blog ..Cleaning Up Our Online Act | FTC’s Advertising Guidelines


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