The dangers of the dreaded 'FREE' word

This is not a rant about there being too much free porn out there. (Phew!) This is something different. I wanted to touch on the word 'free' for the new people here - as it applies to making sales and marketing. The free word is being used all over the internet. Go to a TGP, search engine, or link list if you don't believe me. Look at the site itself and the sites or pages listed there.

If you want my advice stick to the simple rule of getting the surfer's mind away from the word 'free'. Free is a word I would almost banish from any of my adult websites and pages. If I was choosing a domain name, unless I had a specific 4free project in mind, I'd normally also give the 'f' word a wide birth. The message to get out there to the viewers is "the best porn in the world is NOT free!"

In search terms

If you plan to get search engine traffic, then you'll need to start out with the Overture Suggestions tool - http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/ - That tool is an invaluable guide to gauge what people are searching for. One of the things that you'll notice is that many very popular search terms have the word 'free' in them. Look at the examples below:

351241 free sex
283701 free sex picture
277323 free sex story
137247 free sex movie
120931 free sex video
46463 free sex mpeg
41729 free sex gallery

A lot of surfers are working 'free' into their searches. I now totally ignore that word in all of my search engine pages. I don't want to attract surfers who already have the mindset of looking for 'free' content. Sure, I might have a chance of converting them to cash-paying customers but why start with a handicap like that? It will probably be easier to convert the "Milf sex" surfer to a sale than the surfer who searched for "free milf" to get to my site.

I saw a weird site today on the search engines that was listed under a phrase like "free porn". When I looked around the site it continued to say: "this site is 100% free" - and then asked for the surfer to buy an AVS pass. What I'd have done would be to 'talk up' the movies on the site, rather than use the 'free' word - which will probably only hurt the sales they'll make. Promising free and then asking for money? Got to be a recipe for disaster.

In layout

Make sure that you don't fall into the trap of giving surfers a clear path to your free content. If it's a TGP gallery - you're not going to have much choice. That's a one page deal and the thumbs have got to go somewhere. But if you're working something like a free site, I would stay away from having "we've got lots of free pics in the galleries", or "enter here for my free pics". Remember that every part of your site is your site's CONTENT. The adverts are way more important than the free pics.

I'd also avoid having 'free' in the navigation too. Bad examples would be: "Next page has the free pics" or "free gallery 1". As they approach the free pics - you're starting to lose 'em. Don't make it too obvious which links are the free goodies.

In a title or description...

If you're posting to TGPs or link lists, there ain't much space as it is. Don't make one of the precious words 'free'. The free site or TGP description is your first chance to start to filter the traffic. Aim for something that sounds good, but that is also 100% niche related. A bad example would be:

"Free Hardcore Porn Pictures"

Here's a REAL description taken from one of the large link lists earlier:

"FREE PORN - 342 pix, thumbnails"

What the... When the surfer goes to that website, the webmaster has already programmed them in those few words to expect and to look for 340+ FREE pictures. They better have the world's best adverts because they've got some very tough traffic on their hands now. Why should I buy something from their sponsors when there's 342 pics here to keep me busy???

In the legal text

Here's something I saw in a legal disclaimer at the start of a site recently:

"Warning: This site contains free sex pics..."

That to me is not the smartest thing to put on the warning page of a site. It seems more like an admission from the webmaster that they're giving away 'free sex pics'. It would have been far better to just say, "You MUST be over 18 to enter this site..." - or something along those lines. But don't admit you're giving away FREE content...

In your own ads...

In my own ads I like to concentrate on one or more of the things that the surfers can get when they join the Paysite I'm promoting. The only time I use the word 'free' in those adverts is to tempt them to take the tour:

"Free preview - CLICK HERE"
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... for example. Other than that, I don't use it in my ads. I find it's better to do the opposite: If you want to make sales - I think the trick is to get them thinking about the fee involved... and STILL want to click on an ad. It's a mistake to think that all surfers want the free stuff, because some are willing to buy a membership, given half a chance.

Here's a real text link I saw on a site this morning:

"Free Amateur Pics"

This linked straight to an amateur Paysite. If I am a surfer and I click that link, expecting some free pics, what will be my response when it turns out to be a tour? It's likely that this webmaster will get some pretty awful ratios. Tours aren't magic. Search engine traffic isn't magic. That webmaster needs to think about how they're sending the surfers to the sponsor also.

Why not say something like:

"Amateur hardcore pics - the hardest available: CLICK HERE"

Why have that 'free' word in there at all?

Pay per click and the 'f' word

If you're paying for search engine traffic by the click, definitely stay away from 'free' in your adverts. Put the price of a trial membership in the ad somewhere prominent. PPC traffic is too expensive to draw in offering the surfers something free. Going back to the phrases you choose - avoid the ones with 'free' in them with your PPC keywords and phrases.

Exceptions

As I mentioned briefly - there are times when you will want to use 'free'. We have a range of programs out there set up to deal with 'free' traffic. There's 4free email programs and free sign-up programs and a lot more. You may have some luck using the free word in those cases.

OK - enough from me... here's to a great day for clicks and sales to all here...

TOM ^"^

ICQ 12616560
Email tom@tomsnewbiebooster.com

Enter TOM'S NEWBIE BOOSTER

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