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Along for the Ride! Update 2

by Mar Matthias Darin

Along for the Ride! (AFTR) has been enhanced. I have added a click option as well as the MouseOver option. One of my test sites has noted a situation that a click option serves better then the regular MouseOver approach. The scenario is as follows:

The visitor moves the mouse into the side column area, then proceeds to begin reading the main article content using the arrow keys. As the page scrolls, the visitor doesn't realize that their mouse has gone over the AFTR box. The visitor then sees the AFTR mini-window and thinks its a "pop-up" when their actions were the trigger to it.

To handle this situation, I have added a click method to AFTR that requires the visitor to click on the box rather then just mousing over it. Below is each of the methods in display form and code.

What the AFTR box looks like	The code	Description
	<script type="text/javascript" src="http://matthiaschronicles.tanaya.net/AFTR/aftr.xjs"></script>	Mouse over method. Just mouse over the box and a mini-window will open after a three second count down. If the visitor moves the mouse off of the AFTR box during the count down, the AFTR mini-window will not open.
	<script type="text/javascript" src="http://matthiaschronicles.tanaya.net/AFTR/aftr.xjs?click"></script>	Click method. The visitor must click on the AFTR box for the mini-window to open.
No image. See the bottom of page for example.	<script type="text/javascript" src="http://matthiaschronicles.tanaya.net/AFTR/aftr.xjs?embed"></script>	Embed method. The AFTR mini-window is embedded into the hosting page and only loads after the hosting page has completely finished loading. This provides the greatest expoure for member sites, however, it may not be suitable for all sites. The code goes at the bottom on the page before the </body> tag and can be centered if desired.

Recap: AFTR is an innovative approach to traffic sharing. AFTR sites are classified in two ways, the hosting site and the receiving site. Every AFTR member falls into both categories.

As a hosting site, an AFTR member displays the AFTR box via its script. The hosting site's visitors can then (at their choice) mouse over the AFTR box and they will see another AFTR member site in a mini window. The visitor can the browse the site in the mini window, open the site in the mini window into a full sized window or tab. The hosting site remains on the screen for the visitor to continue browsing and reading the content they originally came for. The AFTR member site that was brought along for the ride can then be viewed or bookmarked. That is the hosting site offers a site as a part of the visitor experience that may in turn gain another dedicated visitor.

For the AFTR member that was brought along for the ride, there is the potential of a new reader and exposure that they may not have otherwise received. Thus both sides win. The hosting site has a new and unique method to offer content to its visitors and the receiving site gains traffic and exposure. Both side of this are invoked by the visitor, leaving the owner of both site free to develop their site and enrich their content.

In the short time I have had the AFTR script on this blog, I have received more traffic then I would receive in a month from the typical social networking places and I don't need to spend all day and half the night working my backside off for a marginal gain. This approach works the same for all AFTR member sites. There is no false weighting or ranking system that could rob a site of its visitors. AFTR simply fits in as a part of the services you offer. It was designed to enhance your visitor's experience through your site.

Here are the official rules:

• Relatively family safe. Relatively best describes blogs like mine that are 99% safe with the 1% not safe (but with warnings if needed)
• No pop-ups, pop-unders
• No auto-playing music or videos
• No porn, nudity, hate, or racism
• Nothing illegal (no warez, virus, guns, drugs, etc...)
• No Ads only blogs
• Blogs must be updated at least once a week
• At least 12 articles on the blog
• All member sites must have the Along for the Ride! javascript code on the page.
• All blogs must be in English
• Rules will be adjusted to compensate for anything I missed.

All blog requests are hand verified by me to ensure quality.

If you are interested in helping my test and perfect AFTR, add one of the above methods to your blog. The code goes where you want the AFTR box/Embed to be displayed.

Be sure to leave a comment with your blog url that the code is on and email address so I can contact you if needed. Note, I never give out email addresses or any other personal information.

AFTR is free, so there's nothing to loose. Give it a try today.

Top tags: aftr, site, visitor, box, window, hosting, member, mini, script, click

Comments from Mizé ^{82.154.137.136}

Hello Mathias.

I just installed AFTR code in My Countryhome blog. Email Saved Good Night.

Comments from Peter ^{139.60.220.179}

The code is up and running. Thanks.

Comments from Holly Goodyer ^{121.216.126.194}

Have posted the code on my blog and look forward to the increased traffic. Thank you.

Comments from Sherry ^24.78.34.131

Code has been added. I am looking forward to testing this out. I was wondering if the click based script could be made available in the original colors?

Comments from j. ^{70.184.216.189}

I just installed the code and look forward to seeing how well this opportunity works out!

Thank you!

j.

Comments from darksaturn7 ^68.0.36.2

Hullo, I have the code running on both my blogs

http://diaryofanexwowaddict.com/ http://darksaturn.today.com/

Email saved.

Thanks in advance! ~DS

Comments from Shelly ^{68.105.237.157}

I've added the code and look forward to seeing how it works.

Comments from Shelly ^{68.105.237.157}

Added.

Comments from *lynne* ^69.209.217.8

Hi! Okay I'm joining the fun. I've added the click here script to my http://amalaysianabroad.today.com/ blog. Email Saved cheers!

Comments from Cindy ^{69.131.86.237}

I added it to both my sites http://rewardsofworkingfromhome.today.com/ and http://recipesreviewsandgadgets.today.com/

Thanks :)

Comments from Laurie ^{99.250.111.96}

The code is on my site and is running. Can`t wait to see how this works. Thanks

Comments from Davida ^75.53.143.35

The code is up and running on my blog. Thanks for making this available! Email Saved

Davida

Comments from Davida ^75.53.143.35

I just added the widget to my second blog. Thanks again!

Davida Email Saved

Comments from Leomar ^{203.87.185.154}

I've already added the code on my blog. I can't wait to see how this works. Thanks!

Comments from Mar Matthias Darin

Mizé, Peter, Holly, Sherry, J., darksaturn7, Shelly, lynne, Cindy, Laurie, Davida, Leomar: Thank you. Your site(s) is in the rotation.

Sherry: I went with the seperate color to make the button stand out different from the mouse over version to avoid confusion.

Comments from Not John Chow ^74.199.0.253

I like the idea. I just added the widget.

Comments from Mar Matthias Darin

Thank you. Your site is in the rotation.

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