Link trading strategy in the adult biz

Without a large volume of quality traffic it would be difficult to monetize your adult sites. It is common practice to trade links with other adult webmasters to improve the frequency that your website is mentioned on the Internet, increase its standing with the search engines and reap rewards in the form of page hits.

You can find many people looking for, and accepting link trading on adult webmasters forums. However, the true value of this strategy really depends on how you go about it. It is necessary to think carefully about your trading partners and the quality of their traffic.

Forms of link trading

Traffic trading comes in several different forms. The simplest of them is a link exchange. Basically, it works like this: you put a link to your partner’s site on one of your pages, and they do the same for you.

Sometimes your trading partner can post the link to a different website. This strategy is called a-b-c trades. In this case there are three sites: site A and site C (your sites), and site B (your partner’s site). You post a link to site B on your site A, and your trading partner links back to your site C.

The advantage of a-b-c trades is that they produce non-reciprocal links, which are more valuable for search engines. There is no need to limit the number of sites in the network: you may use four, five, six, etc. sites. It will make your link exchange less obvious.

Another form of link trading is toplists. They consist of small boxes of links which are shared across several websites. Toplists rank the listed sites not by their order in which they were submitted but by the outgoing clicks to the trading partners. The link sending your site the most surfers will be shown in the first place.

Toplists are a great way to facilitate the exchange of visitors between a network of sites. While this strategy may take more time to set up and administrate, having statistics on traffic patterns and productivity will help you maximize the benefits of incoming traffic streams. There are many various toplist software tools that will help you track inbound and outbound clicks.

Pros and cons of link trading

Link trading lets you generate more traffic to your website in two ways. First of all, you can get more page hits when people click on your links on other adult sites. The trading partner will give you the exact link you want to have, and tell you where your link will be placed.

However, don’t forget that it will also work for your trading partner: by posting reciprocal links, you offer your website visitors an easy way to leave your site. Your traffic can help other webmasters get more page hits and increase their revenue. Is leaving your site is exactly what you want surfers to do?

Another benefit of link trading is that it can improve the frequency that your website is mentioned on the Internet. Search engines like websites that have a lot of back links. They often use this factor for determining the website’s search engine ranking. But keep in mind that the sites that have your back links must be relevant and well-ranked.

In addition, careful analysis of the traffic received from trading partners can help you understand user preference and the overall usability of your websites. You can you this information to attract more visitors to your resources.

Adult webmaster forums

If you want to find trading partners, go to adult webmaster forums. Networking remains one of the most effective methods of finding traffic trades. Typically, there are sections called Links Exchange or Traffic Trades.

For example, you can browse through these sites:
• www.netpond.com/link-exchange
• www.protect-x.com/search/
• www.gfy.com
• www.bbs.adultwebmasterinfo.com
• www.greenguyandjim.com
After a brief introduction to the community, make a post about your intentions. Don’t forget to include as much relevant information as possible: the site’s niche, PR, recent traffic statistics, basic personal information, email, ICQ, etc. Resist the urge to add exclamation points and capital letters – it is not professional.

The devil is in the details

There are many factors that you need to consider when choosing a trading partner. They include (but not limited to):
• Niche. Trade with websites which content is relevant to the topic of your site. If it is a multi-niche site, there should be a section dedicated to the topic of your site. Do you really think that somebody will be interested in a link to teen porn posted on a site featuring hot shemales? Plus, if your partner’s site is not relevant, it can even hurt your search engine rankings.
• Sponsor. Choose trading partners that don’t have the same sponsors as you. Why send your website visitors to another resource where they can buy membership that you also offer? This strategy will decrease your revenue.
• Page Rank. Look for well-ranked adult websites to trade links with. CEO specialists say that a back link from a well-ranked site is more valuable for search engines than a back link from not so well-ranked sites.
• Link position. Where will your potential trading partner put the link to your website? If you are placing their link in front-page then it makes sense to expect the same in return. Otherwise, your deal will not be beneficial for you. However, if your trading partner has a very popular website, high PR, and sends you 500.000 visitors a day, then don’t pay attention to this point.
• Website quality. Check out you partner’s website: load times, trading scripts, pop ups/unders, wares, etc. You should send your visitors to a quality resource, or they will never come back. However, it’s ok if your partner’s site is not as good as your own – you will be able to impress surfers more.
• Traffic quality. Although the exchange of visitors may be equal in terms of numbers, your trading partner can send you surfers form other countries. The quality of such traffic is usually dismal because the surfers often originate from countries that do not speak the same language as your site. That’s why they just watch hot porn pictures but don’t buy a membership.

Last but not least

Link trades are easy to set up but you need to keep a close eye on them. For example, your partners can send you very little traffic in return - and ask a major traffic source for a front-page swap. Other common problems include cheating. For example, some webmasters remove reciprocal links to websites once they start getting traffic. Consider a good traffic script to solve these problems.

Also, try to trade with people you know and respect. In this case you can be sure that your reciprocal link will not be removed. Plus, you will know that the content of their website is not going to change dramatically.