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I just noticed that Google searches in the US for ‘gay porn’ are down at least 20% in the past 3 years. It’s a bit worse for straight porn – they’re down 25% over 4 years. Layer on top of that that most of the sites that rank for porn terms are big tube sites and it’s not not a pretty picture.
trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=gay%20porn
trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=porn
I sorta saw this coming. A few years ago I gave up on chasing Google (a huge step for me) and I decided to focus on building community sites. But I took a long circuitous route (too many ideas and a lot to learn) and after 2+ years of development I don’t feel like I have enough to show for it. It’s really frustrating. But I also feel like I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, so I’m cautiously hopeful. But ultimately I don’t know if all my efforts will end in success or failure. I gotta say, it’s really unsettling.
You say that you saw this coming… can I ask what reasons you think that searches overall are down?
I don’t get why Google porn searches are down either… are web surfers spending more time on Netflix or something? Or has the current political climate made people less horny? Also, at the risk of sounding paranoid can we really trust stats like this that come from Google themselves? I think they’ve been trying to distance themselves from porn for years so maybe they’re just putting out “fake news” to help drive their agenda? Sorry… maybe I’ve been watching too much “Silicon Valley”… great show BTW!
I am wondering if while search terms for porn have gone down if brand name searches like “porn hub” “xvideos” have risen and taken the traffic direct.
I imagine people just go to their favourite tube site rather than searching for porn. Maybe if they don’t find something they like they might do a further search for porn. But really, when it takes the average male less than 11 minutes to cum …
I agree with the suggestion that users are going straight to the source and not bothering with Google at all. It makes sense. Every company strives to build brand recognition and it pays off in the long run.
I have not looked for stats on it, but I would assume retail is seeing the same thing, with most people going directly to Amazon or their favorite retailer for what they know they have.
Once you have been to Ikea once you do not need to ask anyone else in the future where you can buy a cheap shelving unit made out of cardboard.
Or maybe people are just typing in “porn.com”. That domain name has probably paid for itself tenfold by now.
@maxaff,
Bingo! That, and the fact that the big tube sites were outranking me with thin, pirated content, is why I stopped focusing on Google.
Interesting but im sure the reason for a downturn is quite complex, yes tube sites would account for a lot but maybe other things too.
But even with a solid community, would you still not need fresh traffic from somewhere like Google?
Yes, Google is still an important source of traffic for my forum. It’s not like Google stopped being important. It’s just I stopped trying to compete with MindGeek.
And as far as the complexity – apparently, at least in straight, niche terms are up while general terms are down. Problem is there’s less traffic in gay, and niche terms get really spiky and you can’t really draw conclusions. So I’d say the more niche you are the more Google is still important. BUT you’re competing with MindGeek (good luck with that).
