The adult industry is at an all-time high. The sex industry alone generates $3000 every second. It is no wonder that so many people want to make money with an adult website. But estimates suggest that half of the Internet is adult content. The high potential earnings come with fierce competition for pornographic materials. If you want to get ahead, you have to get the porn marketing right.
Start Marketing Your Own Online Business Here
Do you want to start an adult website? You don’t have to use explicit content to market. From careful search engine optimization to creating shareable infographics, here are five proven marketing strategies you can start working on today for pornos and dating websites.
Start With SEO
Search engine optimization should be on every marketer’s to-do list. Why, you may ask? Because it drives organic traffic by making your content easier to find. Here are the most important aspects of adult SEO:
Optimize For Mobile Devices
One in five mobile searches is for porn. For that reason, no adult website owner that hopes to succeed can afford to ignore mobile device optimization. Some porno strategies to employ include:
• Use simple layouts and clutter-free design.
• Say no to Java and Flash.
• Make all of your content accessible through mobile.
• Avoid pop-ups (they are much more annoying on mobile).
Google recently introduced a speed penalty that works specifically for mobile. Slower mobile sites now have a harder time reaching first page results. However, a lot of adult websites are still way behind on mobile optimization. Not only will these techniques improve the user experience, but they will also boost your rankings and help you stay ahead of the competition.
Focus On Responsive Design
Responsive web design is crucial in the mobile era. Today, people browse the web from all sorts of devices. What's more, all of those devices have different screens, resolutions, platforms, and orientations.
By following responsive design principles, you won’t need a separate version for every device. Instead, when the visitor switches from their PC to a tablet, the website will automatically accommodate the different specifications. For example, you can use CSS media queries to make your site adapt its layout or introduce drop-down menus, which are much more mobile-friendly.
Target Winning Keywords
Keywords are terms that people type into a search engine. Keyword optimization is merely discovering what those terms are and tailoring your content to them. Since there is so much adult content on the Internet, keyword optimization is the best tool to put your website on the radar.
Ideally, you’d use a combination of high-volume keywords and more specific long-tail keywords. Unlike shorter keywords, long-tails don’t have a substantial monthly search volume. However, they are much easier to rank for, as they target particular things that your viewers want.
In order to discover them, think about your target audience, its preferences, and its fantasies. How would you Google these terms? Play around with different words. Then, verify their search volumes and difficulties via keyword research tools (whether it’s the Google Ads Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, or another). Rinse and repeat.
What They Don’t Tell You About SEO
Getting SEO right is a long-term growth strategy. Since search engines will take their time before they “trust” you, it could be up to a year until you reach the first page. Meanwhile, your efforts can seem entirely in vain.
Thus, along with organic visitors, you should still invest in some paid traffic.
Successful Adult Advertising
There are plenty of advertising networks that are open to adult content. From simple banner space to push notifications, the best ones can drive high-quality traffic to your site. When it comes to choosing an agency, here are some things to look for:
• Network size and volume — this is what your reach will depend on.
• Targeting options to help you fine-tune your campaigns.
• Access to data about the effectiveness of your campaigns
• Traffic costs (mind the mobile data traffic price, too).
Start small with paid traffic and see how your campaigns work out. Then, use the stats to your advantage to achieve the best-converting campaigns.
Give Back With Charity Campaigns
Doing good is a reward in itself, but supporting noble causes can come with additional perks. While adult content can be controversial, charitable work is always viewed positively. And you wouldn’t be the first to do charity for noble reasons and publicity.
In fact, one of the biggest fish in the adult industry, Pornhub, does it all the time. Here are some examples of campaigns it did:
• “Dirtiest Porn Ever” video, filmed on a polluted beach. For every view, Pornhub pledged to donate to a beach cleanup non-profit.
• Its “Save the Boobs” and “Save the Balls” campaigns for breast and prostate cancer, respectively.
• “Pornhub Gives America Wood” where they planted a tree for every 100 videos from a specific category played. In the end, they planted over 13,000 trees.
Take a cue from Pornhub’s example. These charitable acts are great for the community, and they keep your reputation solid. It is a great way to show you’re a reputable page and, ultimately, turn your one-time visitors into returning fans.
Take Advantage Of Social Media Marketing
It’s no secret that social media is taking over digital marketing.
Today, many pornstars have a large following and even appear in mass media. Take James Deen, for example — his fans (the Deenagers) have created endless fan pages on Tumblr, Blogger and Sex.com. Unlike Facebook and Instagram, these social media platforms are suitable for adult videos and pictures. And while Tumblr no longer allows explicit adult content, it's still a great place to advertise your adult website thanks to its active community. Use these pages to promote and create buzz around your site.
Another strategy in social media marketing is to make your content Instagram-friendly. There are plenty of ways to tone down your content to fit in the platform guidelines.
Or, you could do as Pornhub does. Rather than sharing explicit videos and pictures, it relies on a fun and authentic social media presence. And it works — it has 1.7 million followers on Twitter alone.
Share Entertaining Data
As an adult website, you have access to plenty of interesting data. Just by digging through your stats, you can answer questions like:
• What kind of porn do people watch the most?
• When do they watch it?
• What adult content is popular in different parts of the world?
Again, Pornhub makes use of this technique very successfully. Through its blog, it frequently gives insight into how the world watches porn. This sort of content is highly shareable. From news outlets to social media and sites like BuzzFeed, people are curious to know these “fun facts.” Share them regularly, and you’ll find an endless source of backlinks, traffic, and engagement.
Final Thoughts
A lot goes into successful adult website marketing. You can drive organic traffic through SEO, pay for traffic, use social media and highly-shareable content as well as charitable campaigns to your advantage. However, the best strategy is the one that combines all of the above. Mix and match our marketing tips to create a winning campaign and drive traffic like never before!
Do you want to start an adult website? You don’t have to use explicit content to market. From careful search engine optimization to creating shareable infographics, here are five proven marketing strategies you can start working on today for pornos and dating websites.
Start With SEO
Search engine optimization should be on every marketer’s to-do list. Why, you may ask? Because it drives organic traffic by making your content easier to find. Here are the most important aspects of adult SEO:
Optimize For Mobile Devices
One in five mobile searches is for porn. For that reason, no adult website owner that hopes to succeed can afford to ignore mobile device optimization. Some porno strategies to employ include:
• Use simple layouts and clutter-free design.
• Say no to Java and Flash.
• Make all of your content accessible through mobile.
• Avoid pop-ups (they are much more annoying on mobile).
Google recently introduced a speed penalty that works specifically for mobile. Slower mobile sites now have a harder time reaching first page results. However, a lot of adult websites are still way behind on mobile optimization. Not only will these techniques improve the user experience, but they will also boost your rankings and help you stay ahead of the competition.
Focus On Responsive Design
Responsive web design is crucial in the mobile era. Today, people browse the web from all sorts of devices. What's more, all of those devices have different screens, resolutions, platforms, and orientations.
By following responsive design principles, you won’t need a separate version for every device. Instead, when the visitor switches from their PC to a tablet, the website will automatically accommodate the different specifications. For example, you can use CSS media queries to make your site adapt its layout or introduce drop-down menus, which are much more mobile-friendly.
Target Winning Keywords
Keywords are terms that people type into a search engine. Keyword optimization is merely discovering what those terms are and tailoring your content to them. Since there is so much adult content on the Internet, keyword optimization is the best tool to put your website on the radar.
Ideally, you’d use a combination of high-volume keywords and more specific long-tail keywords. Unlike shorter keywords, long-tails don’t have a substantial monthly search volume. However, they are much easier to rank for, as they target particular things that your viewers want.
In order to discover them, think about your target audience, its preferences, and its fantasies. How would you Google these terms? Play around with different words. Then, verify their search volumes and difficulties via keyword research tools (whether it’s the Google Ads Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, or another). Rinse and repeat.
What They Don’t Tell You About SEO
Getting SEO right is a long-term growth strategy. Since search engines will take their time before they “trust” you, it could be up to a year until you reach the first page. Meanwhile, your efforts can seem entirely in vain.
Thus, along with organic visitors, you should still invest in some paid traffic.
Successful Adult Advertising
There are plenty of advertising networks that are open to adult content. From simple banner space to push notifications, the best ones can drive high-quality traffic to your site. When it comes to choosing an agency, here are some things to look for:
• Network size and volume — this is what your reach will depend on.
• Targeting options to help you fine-tune your campaigns.
• Access to data about the effectiveness of your campaigns
• Traffic costs (mind the mobile data traffic price, too).
Start small with paid traffic and see how your campaigns work out. Then, use the stats to your advantage to achieve the best-converting campaigns.
Give Back With Charity Campaigns
Doing good is a reward in itself, but supporting noble causes can come with additional perks. While adult content can be controversial, charitable work is always viewed positively. And you wouldn’t be the first to do charity for noble reasons and publicity.
In fact, one of the biggest fish in the adult industry, Pornhub, does it all the time. Here are some examples of campaigns it did:
• “Dirtiest Porn Ever” video, filmed on a polluted beach. For every view, Pornhub pledged to donate to a beach cleanup non-profit.
• Its “Save the Boobs” and “Save the Balls” campaigns for breast and prostate cancer, respectively.
• “Pornhub Gives America Wood” where they planted a tree for every 100 videos from a specific category played. In the end, they planted over 13,000 trees.
Take a cue from Pornhub’s example. These charitable acts are great for the community, and they keep your reputation solid. It is a great way to show you’re a reputable page and, ultimately, turn your one-time visitors into returning fans.
Take Advantage Of Social Media Marketing
It’s no secret that social media is taking over digital marketing.
Today, many pornstars have a large following and even appear in mass media. Take James Deen, for example — his fans (the Deenagers) have created endless fan pages on Tumblr, Blogger and Sex.com. Unlike Facebook and Instagram, these social media platforms are suitable for adult videos and pictures. And while Tumblr no longer allows explicit adult content, it's still a great place to advertise your adult website thanks to its active community. Use these pages to promote and create buzz around your site.
Another strategy in social media marketing is to make your content Instagram-friendly. There are plenty of ways to tone down your content to fit in the platform guidelines.
Or, you could do as Pornhub does. Rather than sharing explicit videos and pictures, it relies on a fun and authentic social media presence. And it works — it has 1.7 million followers on Twitter alone.
Share Entertaining Data
As an adult website, you have access to plenty of interesting data. Just by digging through your stats, you can answer questions like:
• What kind of porn do people watch the most?
• When do they watch it?
• What adult content is popular in different parts of the world?
Again, Pornhub makes use of this technique very successfully. Through its blog, it frequently gives insight into how the world watches porn. This sort of content is highly shareable. From news outlets to social media and sites like BuzzFeed, people are curious to know these “fun facts.” Share them regularly, and you’ll find an endless source of backlinks, traffic, and engagement.
Final Thoughts
A lot goes into successful adult website marketing. You can drive organic traffic through SEO, pay for traffic, use social media and highly-shareable content as well as charitable campaigns to your advantage. However, the best strategy is the one that combines all of the above. Mix and match our marketing tips to create a winning campaign and drive traffic like never before!
