Adult SEO/SEM

[I, Brian]

I've always seen the adult SEO/SEM market as being entirely separate from mainstream SEO/SEM, with general requirements for technical and resources above the majority of people calling themselves SEOs.

It seems a place for those with unique programming insights, veteran SEOs, and anyone else who is cream enough to profit from serving clients in such markets.

This is especially reinforced by comments and anecdotes about adult traffic figures, as well as on the frequency of adult search terms.

I also figure that adult SEO/SEM is where "Blackhat" techniques are exercised the most, due to the more competitive nature of the industry.

The first question is whether this is all a misperception?

The second is as to what degree adult work forms a part of general SEM work, or whether it represents one of the largest verticals?

What I'm pushing for here is an open discussion on the role of adult markets in SEO/SEM, which otherwise seems a rarely touched upon topic, from those who actually work in it.

[Incubator]

I find currently that the adult industry has many niche markets, so optimizing the pages are targeted towards those areas. This is an industry that is graphically driven and not so much text content available without spamming.

Alot of SEM adult webmasters used targeted PPC (Tier 2 or lower) to get traffic in. these webmasters are smarter now then ever before, since that business is based more on conversions then placement.

Areas that are know as "black hat" have changed dramatically, no ones is sticking the term " Barney" into a doorway page and redirecting to an adult site. If there are any out there, I can assure you there not making any $ from it.

That market is so saturated , these webmasters seem to understand that now longevity and a great amount of time or budget is required. The typical surfer who is looking for adult now is otherwise on the less mainstream route (google Yahoo) to find what they are looking for, for example AVN has already set up there PPC bid system which alone covers 1000's of high traffiecd targeted nich sites.

Aside from Adult, the other vericals like casino, pharma and travel have a tough nut to crack, and I still dont see why Yahoo and Google are banning the bid terms on PPC, alone they must be losing millions and the so called " black hat " techniques within those verticals will continue to come forth.

We are talking about industries here that financially drive the net ...whether we like it or not

Cheers

WC

[randfish]

Brian - I'm glad you brought up this topic. It's like the elephant in the closet that we are always ignoring.

Adult is an industry I've never practiced in and have actually refused quite a few clients in the arena aue to my personal feelings. However, it's been a huge part of what's driven the web's financial growth and the market is enormous.

I do wonder, however, whether Google, Yahoo!, MSN & Ask are the search engines of choice, or whether adult is becoming it's own, completely seperate vertical with it's own search engines, directories, etc.

[Incubator]

I do wonder, however, whether Google, Yahoo!, MSN & Ask are the search engines of choice, or whether adult is becoming it's own, completely seperate vertical with it's own search engines, directories, etc.Randfish- I believe at this point for them to be financially progressive they have to turn inwards and not allow the Googles and Yahoos, dictate to that industry since alot of ppl are either for it or totally against it, the vertical will still be alive within that network

Cheers

WC

[Marcia]

There are also a lot of other methods being used, which you find out if you've ever had a computer thoroughly trashed so it's no better than a paperweight, as I have. Driveby downloads with trojan-like adware installs, BHOs and dialers, etc. that reinstall and evade removal or reinstall after removal. Porn popups (and casino popups) even infecting machines used by small children 8-10 years old.

It's 100% a different market and methodology, according to what I was told by a friend a couple years ago who was in that industry. According to him there was a "tight knit" community of adult webmasters.

BTW, some forums don't allow discussion of topics like this because it can send flags when sites get crawled. Don't know the particulars, but it's a very watched vertical. I do know that COPPA regulations can also come into play with allowing public discussion of these topics.

[Incubator]

There are also a lot of other methods being used, which you find out if you've ever had a computer thoroughly trashed so it's no better than a paperweight, as I have. Driveby downloads with trojan-like adware installs, BHOs and dialers, etc. that reinstall and evade removal or reinstall after removal. Porn popups (and casino popups) even infecting machines used by small children 8-10 years old.

.I agree Marcia, its a terrible thing being done by afffilates to the "mother company" so to speak. In the range of the top casino and adult providers(these being graphical content feeders) many now are pulling affiliate deals since they are finding,that, even if stated what you are not allowed to do is still being abused.

On casinos, there really is only the top 5 corps that make money and these are regulated like Tier 1 land casinos and trying to manage 10-15,000 affiliates can be a nightmare since they are all running desposibale domains.
Once again the thought of the fast buck comes into play with these type of promoters and thankfully they find out the hard way

cheers

WC

[cryptblade]

Seems only the heavy hitters on SEW commented on this thread. I'll just add my 2 cents.

My impression has always been that the adult industry spawned the modern SEO/SEM industry simply because they engaged in nefarious tactics to "beat" the engines like.. typing in barney and getting a porn site.

A year or so ago I recall reading that blogs and other "advanced" strategies were being used by porn sites to drive traffic. They also use a ton of other strategies to build links and promote sites.

It's tough for me personally, because I compromise my personal values/beliefs, but in learning some strategies of these porn sites, there are some interesting tactics that - with refinement and adjustment - may be useful. Whether it is useful for SEO vs. useful in referral traffic is another matter.

I do agree with everyone that the porn industry remains the biggest money mover online

[shor]

My impression has always been that the adult industry spawned the modern SEO/SEM industry simply because they engaged in nefarious tactics to "beat" the engines like.. typing in barney and getting a porn site.
....

I do agree with everyone that the porn industry remains the biggest money mover online

The adult industry is driven by the acronym C.R.E.A.M - Cash.Rules.Everything.Around.Me thus it is no surprise that so much technology is championed if not pioneered by porn kings, who have always had the sustainable revenue stream to innovate & implement:


Widespread VHS porn is one widely cited factor in the demise of the technically superior Betamax
BBS swapping of ascii/gif/pcx porn and cybersex chatting were precursors to today's forums and chatrooms
Championing the adoption of compression techniques - codecs & streaming media, eg. mpeg, realmedia, quicktime
Introduction and ongoing innovation in the "extra features" offered by DVDs
Secure online payment mechanisms especially credit card transactions
Driving leads through banner ads, pop-ups, trojans, diallers, etc


And of course, 'blackhat' SEO/SEM techniques to increase ROI have long been the domain of online porn kings.

It's only natural we would "Learn from the best" and there is plenty of talent in the adult SEM/SEO industry.

[martinibuster]

We've seen aggressive seo techniques applied to pretty much any niche where there is money to be made, and I've seen traditional seo techniques applied to niche adult areas. So it all kind of balances out. :) Y

I find it cool to see someone dominating a range of adult keyword phrases, and upon reviewing their site for what they're doing, seeing that it's meticulously and beautifully well done, like they took the about.com model and substituted mainstream subject matters for tons of adult ones.

Seems like doing adult seo without the cloaking etc., is an uphill battle that needs different link development strategies that are also helpful for non-adult sites. I've never tried to recip link an adult site, and would turn anybody down who asked me to try it. It's like, anyone can eat a hot dog, but it takes a special talent to eat twenty of them. :P

On the plus side, I have observed that it can be easier to bring organic search visitors to a brand new adult site than to get organic to a brand new mainstream ecommerce site.

And let's not forget the long tail...

[BuckfastMonk]

Alot of very interesting posts guys. now I understand perfectly why I'm struggling to employ the services of an seo company for my adult site. So far 15 companies have turned me down and 2 have pulled out at the last minute! Any Ideas?

[SEO Montreal]

so.... should i be signing up for the blackhat seo forums? what about ha.ckers.org?

[NewKidOnTheBlock]

The adult industry is driven by the acronym C.R.E.A.M - Cash.Rules.Everything.Around.Me

I MIGHT be wrong, as that abbreviation could have existed long before, but if you don't know the song "C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)" check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDfToFcJ2J4