What if Jonas Salk hadnt tested the polio vaccine? Or, what if Einstein never tested his theory of relativity? Do you think they would have been successful? In the science world, definitely NOT, and in the marketing world, testing is every bit as important if you want to achieve success.
Any number of tracking programs are out there from Hits Connect to Track That Ad to the new Link Brander. Even server-side tracking scripts are available for purchase. Regardless of what you use, tracking every ad that you post, whether it be to a traffic exchange or to a safelist, you need to know how successful your marketing is. Why? Because if you dont track your ads, you may spend tons of time and money chasing a dog that youll never catch.
Tracking works simply. You place the ad URL into the tracker, which devises a new URL for you to use in its place. Every time you employ the tracker URL, that hit is recorded by the tracking system.
Lets say you buy 1,000 hits at XYZ traffic exchange. How will you know if they have been delivered, unless youre using a tracking system? You wont, and though its the exception rather than the norm, you may not get the hits you paid...