How to Build Traffic on Your Site

For the last couple of days, traffic has been way up here at the old Creative Think blog. "What's causing this?" I thought to myself. Was it:

—Readers recognizing the amazing wisdom of my posts about Vowels and Spaces?

—Another link from Kathy Sierra (known around here as a "Kathvalanche")?

— Bruce Nussbaum wanting permission to put the Ball of Whacks on the cover of BusinessWeek?

— David Armano creating a new line of bathroom icons dedicated to me based on my critique of "Ed the Experience Diamond"?

—Liz Strauss hinting that I'm the mystery speaker at her SOBCon07 in May?

— Paul McEneny giving me control of his blog for a week because I'm the 1029th commenter?

— Mack Collier deciding that Creative Think was an "honorary marketing blog?"

— Seth Godin asking me to write a foreword to his next creativity book "No Skin off of My Head"?

— My link to Nedra Weinreich's Social Marketing University?

—Jonny Baker telling his many readers to find a religious truth or two in this blog?

— Ann Handley, Valeria Maltoni, CK, and Ann Michael putting out a joint announcement that reading Creative Think is good for developing your feminine side?

— Mike Wagner coming out of retirement to promote those amazing vowels and spaces?

No, it was none of those things. What was driving this traffic spike was a post I did last week when I was in Berlin entitled  "Giant Beautiful Naked Older Women In Public!"

The post was about a 40 foot high (12 meter) billboard in downtown Berlin sponsored by Dove skin creams featuring older women. It was attention grabbing, and showed several photos.

Little did I imagine what the search engines would do with the title of my post. Type in "beautiful naked women" in Google and on the first page you've got a link to my post (just above "Russian escorts" and below "Nude Celebrities.) Something similar happens when you Google "older beautiful women" and so on.

I learned a fantastic truth: Sex sells on the Internet!

So, there's your lesson for today: put "Beautiful Naked Women" somewhere in the title of your post and you'll get lots of traffic!

Comments

[Jason]

Turn those browsers into readers and you are set. These same people browsing for older nude women might also get a kick out of browsing "ball of whacks."

[Cam Beck]

ROFL! All the hard work you've poured into developing your brain and writing content is dwarfed by a 40-foot billboard of naked older women.

But it's not all bad. Maybe you should embrace it. After all, Kleenex was originally supposed to be something that women used to wipe off makeup, but when they discovered people were using it to blow their noses, some bright person just made the decision to go with that.

I find your posts are just getting better and better, Roger (and they started off pretty good anyway) - whether your naked octogenarians bring you more traffic or not. :)

[CK]

Point of Fact...the three most effective words in advertising?

Free...Yes...Sex

For all our MBAs and 360-degree, holistic, integrated and of course innovative methodologies we need only have completed 5th grade.

You've proven it once more through "Naked". Good on you :-)

[David Armano]

Roger,

You get my award for the most creative use of linkbait. ;)

Seriously good stuff here. And a big WHAT?? About the Ball of Whacks being featured on the cover of BusinessWeek?

And another WHAT?? about you coming to SOBCon '07.

OK, I thought we were friends. Clearly you are living multiple lives that we can only find out from reading this blog. Another good strategy.

Congrats on everything. If you do crash the SOB party it would be most excellent.

[Roger von Oech]

Jason: We can only hope. But sometimes when readers seeking "beautiful naked women" encounter the "Ball of Whacks," they think it's an S&M costume party.

Cam: Thanks for the kind words. Yes, it is a bit weird to see "beautiful naked women" trump linguistic innovations.

CK: Yeah, if I really wanted to go whole hog I should have called it: "YES! Free Sex Featuring Beautiful Older Naked Women in Public!"

David: All those bits were a tease. I'm sorry I'll miss meeting every one at SOBCon07. However, on that day I'll be doing something even more amazing: attending my son's college graduation from USC.

[David Armano]

Aww shucks. I'm a sucker. ;)

But you're right, your son's graduation will be an event not to miss. Congrats to you, him and your family.

[Matt Jaunich]

that's hilarious! Happy belated birthday too! best, matt

[Clarissa]

Roger, did it occur to you that sex and spaceless words are connected? We see this everyday with domain names. For example: jealousex.com (Is jealous ex really the first thing you see?) lotsextra, bluesexpedition, preciousexcess... sex, sex, sex... Poor fallible human mind.

On the track of clean words that might look dirty, I've moved my blog to pickleparking.com, and am now using word press.

Thanks for the candid advice, Clarissa

[Phillip Marzella]

Well done Roger - Congratulation on all your traffic - well deserved - may it increase...

[David Anderson]

search
retrieve
connect-together

what if your sex sells experience is a fine illustration not simply of the mechanics of net search, but actually of how "the world" works?

with the net providing an accelerated version that we can be objective & conscious of... while the processes of "real life", on the other hand generally are obscured and remain unconscious?

I am pretty sure that this is so, based on my own experience... which is not only fascinating.. but also UNNERVING... to begin to see the automated connectedness of "ask" and "receive", "seek" and "find"...

if & when in "real life" the time delay between output-thought-request and resulting-incoming-experience SHORTENS, the process begins to become apparent, to the participant.. to me.. or to you.

my current theory is that this process is in-effect for all humans, all-the-time... but normally there is a delay of days or even years before "fruition"... and thus, as it is said, the dots are not connected, at a consciously-aware level, and process remains "invisible".

[Valeria Maltoni]

Roger:

You have great sense of humor and that colors your skill and talent. The naked truth is that creativity is looking at things from a different lens; not being afraid to take a chance; and learning to loosen up a little around the edges. That's where the innovative ideas come from.

Are those tiles for sale yet? DA's designs would be the next fashion thing for the ultimate thinker ;-)

[Roger von Oech]

Matt and Phillip: Thanks for the good wishes.

Clarissa: Nice connection between space and sex. Are those real domain names you've been registering over at name.com? BTW, good luck with your new blog name and location.

David: Certainly a lot to think about!

Valeria: Always nice to hear your wisdom! I like your take: loosening up around the edges. Put that up on a billboard!

[Ann Handley]

Great post, Roger!

Sex does indeed sell on the Internet... and pretty much everywhere else, too, I'd say.....

p.s. One of the most-read articles in the MarketingProfs archives is titled, "Sex! Why Getting Your Attention Isn't Always Enough."