Banner Exchange questions

This section provides answers to questions about our banner exchange system.

What is a Banner Exchange, and how is that different from a Traffic Exchange?

A Banner Exchange provides a way for you to promote your sites OUTSIDE of the Traffic Exchange.  A traffic exchange revolves around other members surfing, while a banner exchange revolves around the member's sites.

To members who run their own websites, a banner exchange represents another way to earn tokens.  Put our banner exchange script on one or more pages of your website, and you will receive tokens every time the banner is displayed.  The short-description of the code to place is in the "Important Links" box on the Members/Your Info page.  We will provide a more detailed example here.

To members who want to promote their banners as widely as possible, a banner exchange represents a whole new set of 'eyeballs' for your banner.  The cost is the same: 1.0 Tokens per impression.  But now you're showing banners, not just to other members, but to other members' website visitors.  You can take your advertising to a whole new level.

What do I earn with the Banner Exchange?

You earn 0.25 Tokens per impression of a standard banner (468x60), or 0.50 Tokens per impression of a 'wide banner' (642x60).  The extra width puts a reference to our exchange on the left edge of the banner.  Here's the best part: the image link uses YOUR REFERRAL ID, so you can make even more if they click through to us.

Note: If you have 'emails from upline' enabled, you get the same 3.5 multiplier bonus on the exchange that you get from surfing, so banners can earn you even more Tokens per exposure.

Can I show banners on my site without showing my own banners?

Yes.  On the Members/Your Info page, change the 'self-viewing option' to 'no', and your own banners will not run on your site.

Am I REQUIRED to show my banners on the exchange?

Absolutely not.  In fact, our default when you create a banner is that it is NOT on the outside exchange. 

I've enabled some banners for the exchange, but they are not getting exchange hits.

Check your "Allow Banner Exchange" setting on the  Members/Your Info page.  Setting this to 'yes' will allow banners that are set to Banner-Exchange=Yes to display.  This setting allows you to control all your exchange-marked banners at one time.  For instance, if you had a site-down, you could switch this to 'no' to prevent displays from happening until your outage is over.

How do I put the banners on my site?

You just put a small piece of javascript on your page(s) where you want the banner to appear.  It will look something like this:

For a wide banner (642x60):

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://castlesurf.com/Surf/BanrExL.php?ID=#"></script>

For a regular banner (468x60):

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://castlesurf.com/Surf/BanrEx.php?ID=#"></script>

In either case, replace the '#' with your User ID number.  Save the page and upload it to your website.  Every time your page is displayed, it will pull one of our members' banners, and credit your account appropriately.

What if I do it wrong?

If there was a problem with your user id, some red text will appear below the banner area, explaining the problem.  When there is a problem, no tokens will change hands.