Whoever says they’ve never looked into adult content ads lies. Men, women, the younger and the older… people from all over the world have always done it, and will surely continue to do so. Call it human instincts or biology, but we’ll call it an amazing business opportunity no affiliate marketer should ever miss out!

Read this quick guide to adult advertising and learn why this vertical should definitely get a chance this summer!

Adult Advertising Explained

Adult advertising is an umbrella term for various kinds of adult entertainment ads, including adult products, online services (adult cams, streaming, chats) as well as the adult dating vertical. But most importantly, it’s an insanely lucrative business that grows every year, despite the circumstances. 

Why is it so successful, though?

Let’s be honest, there’s always been a strong demand for adult content. It really is an ever-green vertical, and although many regulations and limitations have been introduced throughout the years, the adult niche is still on top of the advertising game. What’s more, is that there is really something for everyone, as some adult websites have an affiliate program you can join. So, if you have your own website, or if you are using paid traffic to get conversions via your landing pages then there will be something for you as we know you don’t need an affiliate website to make money with adult sites.

What’s also worth adding is that advertisers promoting various non-adult verticals tend to go for adult targeting, too. This means that although their ads aren’t directly related to the adult niche, there’s a potential in promoting them using both types of traffic — mainstream and adult traffic.

Affiliate Offers for Adult Advertising Niche

Whenever there’s a popular and profitable niche in online marketing or digital advertising, there’s also a ton of information on the subject. Often useless, unfortunately. And when the topic of discussion is generally considered taboo, that’s even worse. 

That’s why, to find only credible and useful information, advertisers need to know where and what to look for. Hence, here’s our own research on a few selected affiliate networks/programs and their adult offers.

MOBIDEA 

Mobidea has been on the market for more than 10 years already. It’d be a huge mistake not to take advantage of their vast experience, excellent knowledge of the market, and a huge mobile offers’ inventory — adult offers included. Have a look at their adult offers insights below.

• Available GEOs: global 
• Targeting: mobile-only
• Funnels: Direct and SMS Billing SOI/DOI, Credit Card Submit, Click to Call.
• Pricing models: CPA/CPL
• Prelanders: yes

CRAKREVENUE

CrakRevenue is a CPA network created by some of the industry’s biggest affiliates. What separates CrackRevenue from other CPA networks is smaller, yet highly converting inventory, tested by their in-house team. There are over 700 dating offers to choose from, guaranteeing a steady stream of profit.

• Available GEOs: global
• Targeting: mobile and desktop
• Funnels: SOI, DOI, 
• Pricing models: CPA, CPS, CPL, RevShare
• Prelanders: yes

CLICKDEALER

ClickDealer is one of the most well-established, multi-national agencies for top advertisers and brands. It provides a huge portfolio of both direct and exclusive dating offers, along with a unique traffic distribution algorithm. Such a combination allows advertisers to monetize their entire dating inventory with 1 link – ClickDealer SmartLink.

• Available GEOs: global
• Targeting: mobile and desktop
• Funnels: SOI, DOI, CC Submit
• Pricing models: CPA, CPI, CPS, CPL, CPC
• Prelanders: yes

OLIMOB

Olimob is a mobile CPA network offering exclusive offers and top payouts for the dating vertical. It has enormous experience with different verticals and a wide range of monetization inventory,  as well as anti-fraud solutions!

• Available GEOs: global
• Targeting: mobile 
• Funnels: SOI, DOI, Pin Submit, FTD, Click-To-SMS 
• Pricing models: CPA, CPI, CPS, CPL, CPC
• Prelanders: yes

Best ad formats for adult traffic

Zeropark data prove that adult ads can bring affiliate marketers amazing results. To give you a head-start, we want to share some traffic insights and let you know what works best for your advertising efforts.

Pop Traffic

Pop ads are cheap, easy to run, there’s loads of traffic to test, and then to scale up. That’s why they’re usually recommended to less experienced marketers. It doesn’t mean that savvy affiliates don’t do pop ads, though. On the contrary, many experienced affiliate advertisers choose pop for their adult ads. Here’s why:

• No creatives are required.
• You may use your own pre-landers, but they’re not necessary.
• Usually, you get a landing page with an offer.
• There’s lots of traffic to test.
• Traffic is cheap. 
• This means you can spend more on testing and optimizing.
• There’s a lot of helpful content and tips on the subject.

Domain Redirect Traffic

When it comes to domain redirect traffic for adult-related ads — it’s a jackpot. But you might want to consider it once you’ve gained some experience.

Domain redirect, or zero-click traffic, is based on keyword matching, so running dating or adult dating ads with domain traffic allows for very precise targeting. Other characteristics are:

• A bit higher prices than for pop, but still reasonable and well-converting type of traffic! 
• Broad or exact keyword matching allows for targeting users who have already shown interest in a given product.
• Users are redirected to your ad the moment they enter a parked domain URL. 
• If they’re looking for an online dating site, and they land on a page offering just that, they’re very likely to engage! 
• Again, no ad creatives or pre-landers are required.
• Lots of traffic to test and buy when scaling.

Push or In-Page Push Ads

Because push and in-page push ads are basically a type of native ad format, they’re a great choice for running adult dating ads. Your message is delivered straight to users’ devices in a non-intrusive, user-friendly, and highly engaging way. Isn’t that the best way for advertisers to connect with their audience, letting them know a sexy individual is in their neighborhood or waiting for their response?

Other benefits are:

• Top-quality traffic.
• A bit higher prices, but conversion rates are worth it.
• Ad creatives are required, but they’re a huge part of push ads’ success.
• Push ads come in the form of native messages delivered directly to users’ mobile or desktop devices… anytime, anywhere.
• High engagement rates leading to more conversions.
• Thanks to in-page push ads, advertisers are able to target iOS users, too.

Desktop vs. Mobile Traffic

To answer the mobile-driven demand and the rapidly growing adoption of mobile devices, adjustments were made for the previously desktop-only services. This allowed mobile traffic to take a slight win over desktop traffic. Allowing users to engage with online dating content wherever they are, whenever they feel like it.

It’s important to remember that it’s only a general trend, and the situation is very dynamic. The device split may vary depending on your campaign’s offer, setup, GEO, or other targeting options. Always check with the Zeropark Support Team what works best for you.

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Want to learn about the best adult traffic sources?
Click here to read everything about it!

Policy Guidelines for Online Adult Advertising

Advertisers must remember about the traffic source’s, offer’s or even the country’s legal regulations regarding adult content promotion. Once you’ve got your traffic source – offer – GEO combination ready, check all the policy guidelines and other resources available to ensure your ads are safe to go.

Zeropark Pop and Domain Redirect Traffic Guidelines 

• Adult landing pages/offers are allowed only on adult traffic.
• Displaying or linking to violent pornography and the sexualization of minors is strictly forbidden.
• Running adult ad campaigns with mainstream traffic is not allowed.

For more information and examples please refer to our official policy guidelines for pop and domain redirect ads.

Zeropark Push Traffic Guidelines 

• Adult landing pages and/or offers pages are allowed only with non-adult creatives and only on adult traffic. 
• Displaying or linking to violent pornography and the sexualization of minors is strictly forbidden.
• Creatives (including images and text) with explicit adult content are prohibited.
• But, creatives with visual plot hints at the sex scene, with no explicit imagery are allowed. Too intimate scenes will be rejected.
• Creatives with bikinis and girls without any explicit poses are allowed. Full or partial nudity (visible nipples and/or genitals) is not allowed.
• Pre-landers with adult content warnings are not required, but a lack of such warnings may decrease the volume of the received traffic.

For more information and examples please refer to our official policy guidelines for push traffic.

Who’s into adult content? Knowing your target audience 

One of the most important rules of successful advertising is knowing who you’re talking to. That’s why we’ve gathered some key characteristics of people most likely to engage with your ads. Have a look at the below list and get a headstart on making adult campaigns that convert!

Men or Women — who’s more likely to click on your ads?
Men are statistically more likely to engage with adult content-related ads than women. Still, the female audience is reportedly growing. That’s why, as much as targeting your ads at men should be a primary focus, adding a few women-oriented ads can do the trick. 

How old are people that engage with adult content ads online?
Age demographics can vary slightly depending on the country. Generally speaking, online adult content ads should be usually targeted at people between the ages of 25-45. The male sector tends to occupy a wider age group than women, though. Most of the time, women engage with such ads, for example, online dating ads, at around the age of 30.

The financial status.
It cannot be clearly stated that either those affluent or less-prosperous are the ultimate target for your ads. But one thing is clear — people of all ages and levels of prosperity engage with adult content online. Still, there’s a huge chance that more men from richer countries would engage with ads offering paid adult services, like paid cams, streaming platforms, or adult gaming than those from less prosperous regions of the world.

A one-time thing or a long-term relationship?
Adult content ads reach both types of audiences. Those new to online dating or adult gaming and those regularly engaging with such content. The truth is adult content ads should catch the user’s attention right from the start. That’s why it’s important to make them general enough to speak to both types of recipients — those who visit regularly, and those who only came here for a sneak peek.

Best advertising ideas for adult vertical

Understanding your target audience is the first step to creating ads that convert. We’ve already discussed some basic characteristics, so the last question to be asked is:

Why do people engage with adult content ads at all?

Let’s be honest — this type of online content isn’t something that you’d necessarily want your boss to know you’re engaging with while at work. Or your close family… or even friends. It’s secretive, intimate, tastes of the forbidden fruit, and often can give you thrills. And ads that signalize that feeling from the very second they get displayed to users instantly capture their attention. The rest is following our human instincts. 

That’s why, most of the time, adult content ads can’t really be called a masterpiece of digital marketing. They’re kind of sketchy, sometimes even a bit aggressive in imagery, “classy and professional” are the last words you’d use looking at it… so why do people keep on clicking if what they’re seeing is clearly some funny-looking business? Well… that’s what best conveys the message, actually. 

Here are some universal tips for making your CTR higher with both ad creatives and/or landing pages made for your adult vertical ad campaigns:

• Remember how we normally suggest that all creatives should appear both credible and appealing to users? Well, talking about adult advertising then yes, that’s very true for push ads. With the rest of the available ad formats, give your ads some adult vibe!
• Don’t go too crazy or lazy, though. People spot shady landers or ad images at once and if it’s gone too far, they’ll realize it and won’t engage with such ads.
• Use landers and pre-landers that match. Users won’t feel that much of the difference when going through the funnel and will continue to do so.
• Always match the language with the country! You want your audience to understand the offer, even if the image says it all.
• Loading speed is of utmost importance! And less is more, actually.
• Creating a sense of urgency helps prompt users to action. Add DON’T LET HER/HIM WAIT, FIND LOVE NOW, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
• Icons imitating unread messages are great elements for engaging users.
• Test your creatives to find the best-performing one.
• Rotate your creatives to avoid creative fatigue!
• Icons or simple images convert better (especially with smaller graphics, like push ad creatives) than a cluttered image.
• Images of people tend to perform better rather than cartoon-like visuals.
• You can always test your creatives using images of men vs. women to see which works better.
• Adjust the theme per seasonal trend, e.g. the Holiday Season, Valentine’s Day.
• Use spy tools for research purposes — but don’t just copycat content.
• Keep your ad visuals according to the policy guidelines or nobody will ever see them.

Adult ad creatives — examples

And for those who still need a bit of help figuring out the best ideas for adult ads creatives, here are a few examples — all workplace compliant, though. For more engaging visuals, just have a look at various spy tools!

Top GEOs for adult advertising

When it comes to targeting GEOs that are currently trending, remember to rely on up-to-date information only. This variable tends to fluctuate a lot, and what’s a top location this month, may not be the best in the next one. 

Still, we’re able to identify areas showing strong or stable performance for the adult vertical. These would be:

• English-speaking countries, like the US, CA, UK, and AU.
• LATAM countries like MX, BR, AR, CO but also SE and PT.
• European countries, such as DE, FR, IT, SE, PT, DE, NT, 
• APAC region with countries like CH, TW, IN, TH, PH, ID.

Remember, though, that the best way of finding out which GEOs perform best at a given time is by contacting our Support Team or asking your dedicated Account Manager. Alternatively, we recommend checking Zeropark updates shared on various community forums or signing up for the Traffic Insights newsletter to receive weekly data straight into your inbox.

Want To Learn All About Tiers of Traffic and Various GEO-locations? Read The Article Here!

Industry tips for running adult vertical ads

As always, the affiliate marketing community is more than happy to help you figure out the best strategies for your campaigns. Have a look below at some of our advertising life-hacks to get your adult campaigns to profitability in no time!

• Choose the right offer for the beginning — adult dating is a great choice if you’re not yet very experienced with adult advertising.
• Don’t choose a very narrow niche to start with. That can limit the reach of your ads.
• Don’t jump into running campaigns you’ve got no idea about, research things first.
• Mind that there’s loads of useless information on adult advertising online. Learn as much as you can, but only from credible sources. Join community forums, read the industry blog articles, hop on the onboarding calls.
• Don’t choose the highest payout offers if you’re not experienced enough. 
• Go for pop traffic to start with.
• Always start broad — run RON campaigns to test your campaign’s setup.
• Prepare ad creatives or pre-landers.
• Ask your traffic source representatives for targeting recommendations. 
• Get a whitelist.
• Dedicate part of your budget for testing.
• Optimize — adjust bids, pause or delete sources, bid on top-performing placements.
• Ask for help if you are not sure how to do that or facing issues.
• Identify the top-performing setup and then get more granular.
• Don’t give up if your first campaign isn’t an overnight success!

Adult Advertising Is Big!
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Kinga Gawron