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"The only stupid questions are the ones you don't ask!" |
This is the first in a series of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers that I hear new webmasters asking about on the message boards. This will be only the first set because I'm sure I will think of a lot more later. You would be surprised at the number of questions that are asked very frequently by newbies!
Q: What is a newbie?
A: A newbie is a new webmaster, one with little or no experience.
Q: Where can I get traffic to my site?
A. There are lots of places to get traffic, it depends on what type you want. There are search engines, link lists, TGP's, pic posts, toplists, AVS lists, banner exchanges, message boards, and so much more! There are numerous of places you can go to find ways to generate traffic. Look for traffic resource sections on webmaster resource sites like this one to find lists of places to submit and to find the differences in these types of sites. You'll discover that some sources of traffic produce better sales ratios than others, and you will also discover, over time, what sources work best for you. Just try different ones and don't be afraid to experiment!
Q: What is a TGP?
A: TGP stands for Thumbnail Gallery Post. It is a type of link site that links to galleries of pictures that you post on your site. You design the gallery yourself with tiny versions of the pictures in a table that link to the larger pictures. Then you put up advertisements for your sponsors. Some will also require you to add a link back to their site. This is called a reciprocal link or a recip. They will send traffic to your gallery and you will try to get traffic and signups to your sponsors.
Q: What is a recip?
A: A recip is a reciprocal link. You add a link to another webmaster's site on your site, then they add a link to your site on theirs. Some webmasters will want only a text link, but some will want you to add a button or banner to your site and link it to them. You will be sending some of your traffic out to the other site, but they will send you traffic in return. It's like exchanging traffic. Usually you will get much more from a link list that you add a reciprocal link to that you will send out to them.
Q: What is DMOZ?
A: DMOZ is a search engine of sorts located at http://www.dmoz.org/ They are also known as the Open Directory Project. It is different from many other search engines in the way that it is not actually an engine like Altavista, it is a human edited directory of sites. Your site must be of decent quality to be listed here. They will not accept SPAM pages with no content. Their adult section can be found at http://www.dmoz.org/adult/ and you will find the link to their submit form there.
Q: What is SPAM?
A: When speaking of SPAM in terms of e-mail, it means an e-mail advertisement that is sent to you without you requesting it. Someone takes your e-mail from somewhere on the Internet and sends you an e-mail, usually asking you to visit a website or buy a product. When speaking of search engine SPAM, basically it means using tactics to gain higher placement for keyword searches. Tactics such as repeating a word or phrase over and over on a page, designing a page with lots of keywords and no content, etc. Usually SPAM pages have little or no content value and are meant to do nothing but drive traffic to a site or sponsor. SPAM of both kinds is HIGHLY frowned upon on the internet and I would advise that you not engage in either activity, as it can get you into lots or trouble, including possible jail time for e-mail SPAM!
Q: What does bandwidth mean?
A: Bandwidth is a complicated issue, but I will try to explain it in the easiest terms possible. Basically, whenever you visit a website and download a page or file, it costs the webmaster of that site a little of bandwidth. Most hosting plans offer a set amount of bandwidth included in the monthly fee, and then you have to pay extra if you go over that amount. For example, say your host charges $50 a month for 20 GIGS (gigabytes) of transfer, and they charge $8.00 per GIG over that limit. If you use 30 gigs, then you would have to pay the monthly fee of $50, PLUS an additional $80 in overages! Bandwidth can cost a lot of money. There are some things you can do to reduce your bandwidth costs, which I will discuss in another article on this site!
Q: What is an AVS site?
A: AVS stands for Adult Verification System (or Service). It is like a mini paysite. You design the site somewhat like a free site, only you design a tour for it like a paysite. It doesn't have to be spectacular, but good graphics and design will probably increase your sales a lot. There are two ways you can make money with an AVS site. The first way is to advertise it on search engines, other link sites and on your own free sites just like you would for your sponsors in order to get signups to the AVS system itself. The other way is by getting traffic from the list of sites each AVS system keeps and selling memberships to your other sponsors to the people who already have an AVS password. You can read more about AVS in other articles on this site and other resource sites.
Q: What is content and why do I need it?
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A: Content is the stuff your visitors come to see! Pictures, videos, stories, games, articles, etc. Content mostly refers to pictures when talking about free sites. DO NOT take pictures from other adult sites and put them on your own! This is theft, it is a violation of copyright and it can get you into serious legal trouble! You can get content for free from many places, just look around! Sponsors, webmaster resource sites, content providers and amateur models are some places to look for free content. But remember, a lot of the free content has been used by many, MANY other people, so you may not always get your site listed at the link lists you want to get listed by using free content. There are many places that you can buy content with the legal license to use it on your sites for very little money. Some places have content for as little as $5 to $10 per set of photos! Look around! Browse Content Providers in our Frog Listings.
Q: Should I start with a paysite?
A: Most definitely NOT! A paysite requires an enormous amount of legal content, graphics work, time and energy to start and maintain. It is HIGHLY recommended that you do not even ATTEMPT to start a paysite until you have at least 1-2 years of experience in the adult business. Start with free sites first until you learn quite a bit about designing sites, graphics, getting traffic and sales, then you might move on to AVS sites. AVS sites are good practice for paysites. They allow you to improve your skills on designing a "tour" just like a paysite will have, and you can use the success of your AVS sites to judge whether or not you feel you are ready to try your hand at a paysite. Once you are making good sales to your AVS sites, you might try your hand at a paysite. Many very successful and very wealthy webmasters do not even own one paysite, so keep that in mind!
This is just the beginning. I will be adding another FAQ, maybe more than one, as I discover more useful questions and answers. If there is a question you have that you can't find the answer to, try asking on one of the local webmaster message boards. You will find that most message boards have their share of jerks, but also have some very kind and wonderful people that just love to take new webmasters under their wing and help them out. I've said it before and I'll say it again (and again, and again!) The only stupid questions are the ones you don't ask!