The State of Link Lists
 

All across the board, I have noticed major traffic drops in the last two years among the top link list. I think the only exception is www.HOES.com and www.PenisBot.com even then their traffic has dropped.

Why is this?
I personally think it is a matter of being stubborn and not evolving. Blaming other factors as tubes is just scape goating the problem.

Back in the day I used to submit my free sites with no problems to all the major link lists. Then they started to get really picky with a lot of rules. Then you had to pay to submit your free site. The traffic was good back then and all the big link list players were high on their horses. I even created my own link list and my SEO traffic was amazing. Then came along sites like MySpace style porn sites with more interaction with the user. Wordpress came out for free. FLV videos to embed on your site became easier to do. All the while the link list stayed the same. Sure some upgraded the design but not the functionality of adding interaction.
Ever since Wordpress came out, I dumped my link list site and replaced it with a blog style review site where people can actually leave their opinion and link to other sites/galleries/videos. It took me about four years to get a major traffic flow without any trade in traffic.

So, are link list gonna keep losing traffic?

Are there any link list out there that has evolved?

What is the state of your link list?

2009 should be an interesting year.

I've started two link lists this year and while they aren't anything that I can support myself off of I'm pleased with how things are running thus far. I'm doing some new things with my sites and have been working on some code to really take some of my ideas to the next level in the coming year. I have some other things I have my hands in and am a full time webmaster. I'm optimistic about where I can take things in the coming year.

I think traffic has dropped to sites in general because there are just so many more sites out there. If you are starting up this year you really need to build build build. You are up against a lot of players who have been building and been building for over 10 years now. I think gone are the days where the average webmaster can jump in and submit some galleries/free sites and straight away be making a decent amount of money.

It really takes time and being really consistent with growing your adult empire.

The key to success in any area of life is "consistency". Newbies come in with MTV bling bling dreams to find out they need to put in long hours every day.

I think it has to do more with google's degrading of directories than a lack of "2.0", but who can say really.

The mystery of the one-way link.

We'll see what happens.

A lot of noobs also think they are going to strike it rich overnight, and that just ain't so unless you have a revolutionary new idea that goes viral. Traffic is off, but then money is tighter than in many recent years. I know of several who have lost their net connections because they just can't pay that bill anymore.

It isn't all doom and gloom though. Smart ones know it takes 6 months to a year of hard work before you see the beginnings of a payoff on the net. That means building, submitting, networking, and diversifying. We know it far from easy work.

Step back and look at things from a different perspective. Maybe the pure link list by itself is history, but what about lists that allow you to bookmark your favorites, share them with others, or have something unique and memorable to offer the visitors? Spend the downtime sprucing things up, and when your visitors start to return, you will be ready for them. Dare to be different!