Purchasing traffic can benefit new websites and make established websites flourish. There are many vehicles through which to purchase traffic. “Regardless of what business model you are doing, one thing always stays the same: The more traffic, the better,” notes Mike Gall, director of operations for CE Cash.
Given this, let’s explore the various vehicles through which to increase traffic.
Pay-per-click systems provide top search engine results in an auction-like environment. Website owners bid to beat their competitors and end up in the top search engine spots. Placing in the first 10 search engine results usually is sufficient to bring in traffic, but the cost of winning can affect a company’s bottom line.
The lower the cost of traffic, the lower the conversion rate (percentage of visitors who purchase vs. total visitors) can be without the effort becoming counterproductive. If bids reach, say, $3 per visitor, then on a $99 membership, the break-even point is 33 visitors. In other words, for every 33 visitors to your site, you need a sale. This translates into a 3-percent conversion rate.
Given the expense in procuring PPC results, many companies look for ways to optimize their search results. For TheBestPorn.com, “by far the most profitable avenue of new traffic has been search engine optimization,” notes owner Rick Meunyong.
Benoit Le Chevalier, managing director of ExpressSubmit.com, urges website owners to hire SEO specialists when starting keyword bidding campaigns on the two most prominent PPC search engines: Google Ad Words and Yahoo! Sponsored Search. SEO specialists have experience dealing with competitors’ websites, so they know which strategies work and which don’t. Their expertise makes keyword searches far more proficient and, ultimately, less costly.
“We believe that if you buy the traffic and take control of your own marketing and branding through good search-engine marketing, you get more bang for your buck,” agrees Charles Hentrich, president of Wildline. His company specializes in utilizing search engine marketing to achieve traffic goals.
When considering agencies that offer to increase traffic through advertising, “don’t lock yourself into a long-term obligation until you’ve proven that the traffic works for you,” Gall mentions. “Not all traffic is created equal, and what works great for someone else’s site might not be the best traffic for your site.” Even if a long-term contract is cost efficient, efficiency mean little unless the agency performs.
Another vehicle that has been helpful in promoting adult websites is thumbnail gallery posting sites, often called “TGPs.” When consumers see content they like at a TGP, they are more apt to explore it. Hentrich notes, “Any membership site with quality content should take advantage of free-hosted gallery placement in TGP gallery listings. These are [also] bought for a flat fee per listing, per day, or per month.”
One thing to avoid in an effort to obtain traffic is buying mailing lists. Spammers have ruined this form of advertising by inundating consumers. Additionally, no one in the adult entertainment industry wants minors to open adult communications. “If you check your spam inbox, you know how much mailers are not reliable anymore,” says Le Chevalier.
“Think smart,” he continues. “The Internet surfer is starting to be educated and can’t be fooled anymore. Traffic is growing by the day, and the key is to offer targeted pages for each traffic source. Traffic trades, TGPs, blogs, and search engines are your most reliable traffic sources today.”
“Unless a business has brand recognition, surfers will not come to a site by themselves,” Le Chevallier adds. “Buying traffic allows a business to create a traffic base. Even businesses with brand recognition can benefit from buying traffic when identifying sources they have not tapped into.”
