xbiz world
xbiz premiere
educational

Nuts and Bolts of Dating Sites — Getting Traffic

From Wikipedia to YouTube, mainstream websites have been a valuable promotional resource for many adult entertainment companies. Comprehensive biographical info on an abundance of adult companies can be found on Wikipedia; adult entrepreneurs often post nonexplicit promotional clips on YouTube. And when it comes to adult dating sites, mainstream search engines like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft’s Bing can be important ways to build traffic and attract customers.

Like any other type of adult site, adult dating sites need traffic—and that is true whether the site is trying to make money from paid memberships, advertising or a combination of the two. Millions of Internet users all over the world are using Google, Yahoo and Bing to conduct searches on adult topics, including people who use adult dating sites. Many of those Internet users know exactly what they want when it comes to adult dating. If they are interested in BDSM dating, for example, they are likely to do searches that include specific BDSM terminology (such as “femdom,” “switch,” “flogger” and “CBT”). If they are interested in gay dating, they are likely to do searches that use specific gay terms (such as “bear,” “daddy” or “twink”). And it is imperative that adult dating sites be as search engine-friendly as possible; owners of adult dating sites need to make sure that whatever specific niche, sub-niche or interest they are catering to, they can be found as easily as possible in a Google, Yahoo or Bing search.

While some dating sites are making money from a combination of advertising and paid memberships, other dating sites only offer free memberships and have a revenue model that is strictly advertising based.

Google Analytics, a free service, can be used to obtain detailed statistics about those who are visiting a dating site. Google Analytics gets very specific; the program can be used to determine how many people have been visiting a site, the specific pages they have visited on that site, the amount of time they spent on that site, and exactly how each user found his/her way to the site. That type of information is crucial to a webmaster’s SEO (search engine optimization) efforts.

Google’s AdWords is another promotional option for adult dating sites. According to Google’s website, “adult and sexual dating sites” are “allowed with limitations” by Ad-Words. Google states: “Google allows the promotion of adult and sexual dating sites. However, these ads will be given a ‘non-family safe’ or ‘adult’ status, depending on how the service is promoted.” AdWords, of course, mainly serves mainstream sites, but it can be used by some adult sites as well, including adult dating sites.

Yahoo and Bing both have their own well-known mainstream dating sites; Yahoo has Yahoo Personals, while Bing has Bing Dating. But for webmasters who are operating adult dating websites and are catering to specific niches, Yahoo and Bing are not real competitors in the dating realm, but rather, promotional avenues. Bing offers a useful service called Bing Webmaster Center; the tools offered by Bing Webmaster Center give webmasters information on, among other things, site statistics, sitemap creation and possible crawling issues (for example, 404 errors).

Yahoo, meanwhile, offers promotional services that include directory listings, search engine submission and keyword analysis. Again, SEO is the goal, and Bing Webmaster Center is an option whether the focus of a dating site is cougars and MILFs, BBWs or trannies.

While some dating sites are making money from a combination of advertising and paid memberships, other dating sites only offer free memberships and have a revenue model that is strictly advertising based. For mainstream dating sites that are getting a lot of traffic, Google’s Adsense program can be profitable. Adsense, however, is problematic for adult dating sites; Adsense has a strict policy against nudity and explicit adult content and is quick to reject dating sites that it deems to be “non-family safe.” And dating sites don’t have to be all that explicit to be rejected by Adsense. In 2010, for example, Cougar-Life.com founder Claudia Opdenkelder complained about her Toronto-based dating site being rejected by Adsense.

So if an adult dating site is even remotely risqué, it runs the risk of being turned down by Adsense. And for many webmasters who operate adult dating sites, it would be counterproductive to tone down a site’s sexiness or erotic content in the hope of being accepted by Adsense. BDSM dating sites, for example, are trying to appeal to people who are into BDSM — and trying to appear less kinky or less sadomasochistic isn’t a plus if one’s target audience is hardcore BDSM daters. Adsense is hardly the only game in town when it comes to online advertising, and webmasters who have adult dating sites would be better off seeking advertising revenue from advertising programs that do not have policies prohibiting erotic content.

When it comes to using mainsteam outlets, the key for adult dating sites is to find the ways in which those outlets can be effective promotional tools but not expect them to be all things to all webmasters. YouTube doesn’t accept explicit adult content, but that doesn’t mean that YouTube cannot be used to point web surfers in the direction of porn and adult dating websites; similarly, a dating site that isn’t right for mainstream advertising programs can still take advantage of the promotional and SEO tools that mainstream search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing have to offer.

Related:  

Copyright © 2026 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More Articles

opinion

How Adult Businesses Can Navigate Global Compliance Demands

The internet has made the world feel small. Case in point: Adult websites based in the U.S. are now getting letters from regulators demanding compliance with foreign laws, even if they don’t operate in those countries. Meanwhile, some U.S. website operators dealing with the patchwork of state-level age verification laws have considered incorporating offshore in the hopes of avoiding these new obligations — but even operators with no physical presence in the U.S. have been sued or threatened with claims for not following state AV laws.

Larry Walters ·
opinion

Top Tips for Bulletproof Creator Management Contracts

The creator management business is booming. Every week, it seems, a new agency emerges, promising to turn creators into stars, automate their fan interactions or triple their revenue through “secret” social strategies. The reality? Many of these agencies are operating with contracts that wouldn’t survive a single serious dispute — if they even have contracts at all.

Corey D. Silverstein ·
opinion

Building Sustainable Revenue Without Opt-Out Cross-Sales

Over the past year, we’ve seen growing pushback from acquirers on merchants using opt-out cross-sales — also known as negative option offers. This has been especially noticeable in the U.S. In fact, one of our acquirers now declines new merchants during onboarding if an opt-out flow is detected. Existing merchants submitting new URLs with opt-out cross-sales are being asked to remove them.

Cathy Beardsley ·
trends

How to Handle Payment Disputes Without Sacrificing Trust

You can run the best-managed and most compliant website out there, but that still doesn’t completely shield you from the risks tied to payment disputes. Buyer’s remorse, an unclear billing description or even a simple misunderstanding can lead a customer to dispute a transaction. Accumulate enough disputes, and both your reputation and revenue could be at risk.

Jonathan Corona ·
trends

WIA Profile: Taylor Moore

With a 70-person team and a growing slate of tools for content creators, the Teasy Agency has developed a reputation for putting talent first. That commitment owes a lot to co-founder Taylor Moore’s own experiences as a cam model.

Jackie Backman ·
profile

WIA Profile: Cathy Turns Creator Platform Experience Into a Model-First Playbook

As both a model and industry executive, Cathy lives in two worlds at once. “Since I do both things, I can act as the liaison between the model community and the rest of the SextPanther team,” she tells XBIZ.

Jackie Backman ·
opinion

From Compliance to Confidence: The Future of Safety in Adult Platforms

In numerous countries and U.S. states, laws now require platforms to prevent minors from accessing age-inappropriate material. But the need for safeguarding doesn’t end with age verification. Today’s online landscape also places adult companies at uniquely high risk for inadvertently facilitating exploitation, abuse or reputational harm, or of being accused of doing so.

Andy Lulham ·
opinion

What Adult Businesses Need to Know About Florida's Age Verification Law

The rise and proliferation of age verification laws has changed the landscape for the online adult industry. A recent and compelling example is the state of Florida, where Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed multiple complaints against major platforms as well as affiliates accused of violating the state’s AV law.

Corey D. Silverstein ·
opinion

Maintaining Brand Trust in the Face of Negative Press

Over the last year, several of our merchants have found themselves caught up in litigation over compliance with state age verification laws. Recently, Segpay itself was pulled into the spotlight, facing scrutiny over Florida’s AV statute, HB 3. These stories inevitably get picked up by both industry and mainstream news outlets.

Cathy Beardsley ·
opinion

How to Switch Payment Processors Without Disrupting Business

For many merchants, the idea of switching payment processors can feel pretty overwhelming. That’s understandable. After all, downtime can stall sales, recurring subscriptions can suddenly fail, or compliance gaps can put accounts at risk. Operating in a high-risk sector like the adult industry can further amplify the stress of transition.

Jonathan Corona ·
Show More