Wenchy's World

Diversifying Your Traffic Sources

By

Wenchy

Adult Copy

One of the first things all adult webmasters learn is the importance of traffic. There is some debate as to whether quality or quantity is more critical, but the fact remains that without traffic you're just spinning your wheels. Probably the most common question I hear is, "What are the best sources for traffic?" I don't know that there are any simple answers to this query, but the general consensus is, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket."

There are a number of sources for getting traffic, namely TGPs, link lists, top lists, traffic trades, and search engines. I'm sure there are others, but for the sake of argument (and space), I'm going to stick with this list. A smart webmaster will attempt to pull traffic from all these sources, although not necessarily in a balanced fashion. If you prefer link lists over TGPs, that's fine; but don't completely eliminate TGPs from your daily traffic diet. Diversification is the ultimate key to your success! That being said, let's go through these items one at a time.

TGPs, or thumbnail gallery posts, are a hotly debated topic these days. There is no question that they can provide large amounts of traffic... staggeringly large in some cases... but it's also a fairly well-known fact that the quality of traffic is less than favorable. Most TGP surfers are well trained. They are bookmarkers who are simply looking for as much free porn as they can get their hands on. They've chosen a favorite site and have pretty much figured out how to avoid the precious few tricks webmasters are allowed to use in an effort to make a buck. They're also wise to crappy thumbs and small full-size pics, and will all but ignore any and all advertising on your page.

The good news is that it is possible to make huge money from TGP galleries... or at least that's what they tell me anyway. I personally know a couple of webmasters who absolutely make a killing day after day with their galleries. From what I've been able to ascertain so far, the key is to submit to the same sites on a regular basis, following their rules to the letter and doing your best to make your galleries somewhat unique. You'll have to decide for yourself which TGPs you want to use based on performance and traffic volume. I prefer not to endorse any particular sites and, even if I did, what works for me won't necessarily work for you.

The bad news is that TGPing uses up massive amounts of bandwidth and you may or may not be able to generate enough revenue for it to be profitable in the long run. If you can afford the BW, I suggest using TGPs more extensively. But if BW is something you really have to watch to keep expenses down, I suggest using them sparingly... perhaps a only couple of days a week... and being much more selective about the sites you submit to. Ask around; your fellow webmasters are usually more than willing to give you their two cents on the subject.

Link lists are an extremely popular source for short-term large-volume traffic. In most instances, your site is listed as "new" for a few days or a week and is then moved to the archives. You will more than likely continue to receive hits after this move, but the numbers will be drastically lower than in the beginning.

The main drawback to link lists is the oftentimes extreme differences in their rules. One site wants 20 pictures, FPAs are okay, and you are allowed to place your full-size pictures on HTML pages. Another site wants 30 pics, two banners per page, no HTML pages for big pics, and no FPAs. Yet another site refuses sponsor-provided content, doesn't allow FPAs, and only wants 20 pics. It's enough to make you crazy!

My best advice is to go through the link lists and select those with similar rules. Always be sure to follow the rules carefully and to place your recips in a decent location. Being blacklisted by even one link list can spell disaster for you and your domains, so tread lightly and use caution.

Top lists are another topic of many a heated discussion lately. They are a good source for traffic, but the quality is rather questionable. Webmasters also have to be on the lookout for the "scam" top lists, those that redirect surfers or pop 15 consoles, or pull other nasty crap making the odds of the list actually being seen fairly small. The upside is that top lists seem to be becoming more niche specific, which makes them excellent sources of targeted traffic (as opposed to a more generalized surfer population).

There are a number of decent and fair top lists out there. Finding them will definitely take some diligent research on the part of the webmaster, but the time and effort will be well rewarded.

For the more advanced webmaster there are traffic trades, a situation in which webmaster A approaches webmaster B and says, "Hey, I have X-amount of traffic. Wanna trade?" Creativity is key when doing traffic trades... as long as both parties are satisfied with the terms of the agreement and are receiving a fair amount of traffic back for what they are sending, pretty much anything goes. Networking is vitally important when initiating traffic trades. Very few established sites will work a trade with a complete stranger... just a little something to keep in mind.

Finally we come to the creme de la creme of traffic sources, search engines. Contrary to popular belief, the SEs will not accept any site or page that gets submitted. They have established an ever-growing and constantly-changing set of rules and they DO enforce them. The good old days of search engine spamming are long gone... pull that crap these days and you'll soon find yourself banned from the larger SEs and missing out on some hella good traffic.

SE traffic is the most likely to make you money. Thousands, if not millions, of people utilize these massive databases every day to find exactly what they're looking for. These surfers target themselves, meaning that their journey to your page or site is decided by their carnal craving at the moment. They're looking for something very specific and they use the SEs to find it and find it fast. It is, therefore, in the webmaster's best interest to strive for good listings, which requires time, patience, and a ton of research.

Rule number one is look but don't touch! NEVER steal anyone else's page or even their META tags. Now that we have that out of the way... the best way to find out what works is to go see it! Go through the top 20 listings for each keyword you want to use and look at their source code. Find out how their pages are put together, then utilize what you learn to take your own stab at a good listing. There are absolutely no guarantees! Most of the SEs use algorithms that change frequently, so your listings will go up and down the list according to what algo is being used that day or week. But in the long run, a few good pages listed during each algo phase can eventually mean a fairly steady stream of SE traffic. It's all trial and error unfortunately, but well worth the work to figure it out.

Any experienced webmaster will tell you that diversifying your traffic sources can mean the difference between success and failure in this industry. The good will eventually outweigh the bad and you will see your profits increase. Sure, there are a few other things you might need to implement to "encourage" Joe Surfer to click, but I'll leave those thoughts and deeds to each of you individually. The important thing is that you learn how to maximize the potential for each of these traffic sources, as well as any others you might opt to use, by watching your numbers, tweaking your pages when necessary (without violating anyone's rules, of course), and by learning about traffic flows and management. Get a handle on those areas, and the sky's the limit!

Check them out, do your homework, and figure out what works best for you. A little time, patience, and effort will result in improvements in your click-through and signup ratios which means more profit in your pocket. Have fun with it, and best of luck!

Wenchy