Among adult website owners, it is the classic “chicken vs. egg” debate rehashed, where a discussion of which is more important — content or traffic — is perennially posed. While partisans play their roles in public responses (with content providers claiming that content is king, and traffic brokers pointing to their wares as the secret to success), it leaves many operators wondering which is truly more important to adult website operators today: content or traffic?
To kick it off, the undeniable fact of the matter is that you could have the single most stunning adult website ever created, featuring the highest quality, sexiest, most exclusive content available, coupled with a uniquely amazing user experience — but if nobody visits it, you won’t be able to make any sales.
For those who still believe that content is more important than traffic, one need only look at trends in pricing, where content prices continue to drop as fast as traffic prices rise, giving new insight to value.
If things in life were that simple, it would be obvious that traffic is more important than content — but that is only at first blush. A deeper look at the equation would show that offering quality content is among the best ways to attract visitors (traffic) to a site, especially in the visually oriented adult arena.
One great equalizer in this contested equation is social media, where content turns into traffic by sharing it across networks. Pinterest, the mainstream social pinboard site, comes to mind as one way that good content can equal the importance of good traffic, when used properly.
Another consideration is how traffic statistics can guide content development.
In this example, by studying the keywords that customers used to find your site, its content can then reflect actual demand, rather than the publisher’s personal predilections. This is an ongoing process where new content targets new audiences and vice versa.
For those who still believe that content is more important than traffic, one need only look at trends in pricing, where content prices continue to drop as fast as traffic prices rise, giving new insight to value.
While the adult entertainment industry’s profits hinge on content, without traffic there is no market for this material — a lesson that some have learned too late.
In the final analysis, it was adult industry veteran and XBIZ.net member Nickatilynx who told XBIZ that he “never met a guy with traffic who was broke [but] met literally hundreds of broke content guys.”
It is a sobering perspective that all adult entertainment professionals should heed to succeed, but it is also one to take a moderate view upon, since today, content and traffic may have equal value to many website operators.
Just be sure to offer (and market) high quality content, and use it to drive as much traffic to your site as possible, through image marketing to search engines, and posting sites, plus video promotion to content partner programs and beyond. Then, you will discover which is most important to your particular operation: content or traffic — or if it is a combination of both you will need to focus on.
