Building an online business costs money or time or both. I don’t see this as a “catch 22″ – it’s just business. It’s the same online as offline.

Consider this – no-one expects to start a milk-bar or a newsagent or a pharmacy without spending money on rent, stock and yes – advertising. Online business is the same (just w-a-y cheaper, with far less downside risk and far bigger upside potential!)

If you don’t have money to test on Adwords to discover the keywords that CONVERT, you will waste a lot of effort ranking your site for non-performing keywords, only to discover you get loads of traffic and nobody buys anything. It’s like handing out “free beer” flyers at the local college for your maternity wear store. Loads of foot traffic. No money changes hands.

My experience is that “spending” money on Adwords SAVES you a fortune in lost opportunity. It gets you to the GOLD faster.

Advertising costs are higher and opportunities more limited in your market. You would have discovered that plenty of sites have terms and conditions that flat out preclude advertising on anything even vaguely related to the pills, porn and casino industries.

Plenty of SEO and Adwords firms (mine included) won’t work in those markets, because it’s simply not worth the hassle, or you’ve got to play “black hat” and risk all of your other clients coming under increased scrutiny. It’s like having a tax accountant who also advises on shady offshore tax havens – sure, YOU might be completely legit, but the tax office is still gonna put you under the microscope!

Does this mean you should “fold your tent” and go home?

Absolutely NOT! Whilst I’d certainly re-appraise whether you’re committed to be in this market / business – if you are, then you can make a successful business out of this – however start by thinking about who your target market is and whether SEO is even the most cost effective way to get in front of them…

Seems like a market that would lend itself to Facebook advertising – demographically targeted and cheaper than Adwords. I’d be trying that.

If you do stick with SEO – YouTube videos (assuming they are approved) with a link can help. Still time intensive though, and you want to make sure you’re targeting the right keywords.

Some other link techniques I would be trying in your position:
- Directories – except for a few biggies like Yahoo! and BOTW, directory links are rarely worth much. I put them in the mix however I use other methods.

- Press Releases
Free press releases will work, paid ones work better.
Keep the content newsworthy – “Buying ‘Adult Toys’ – Far Easier Online!” – and quote yourself as an expert.

- Article Marketing
Some article marketing sites may not accept “adult” content – in which case submit articles about general online shopping.

- Blog Commenting
You could try blog commenting, like you have done here. (I’m presuming yours is a legitimate question and not done simply for the link because you didn’t just write “great post. I’m bookmarking this one!” or some inane rubbish). You will find that many blog owners (like me) will still not link back to your site because of the market you’re in. Sorry!

And read Jay Abraham’s “How To Get Everything You Can Out Of Everything You Have” – eye-opening!

Hope this helps (and sorry if it sounded harsh in parts).

Steve

I find your Linkvana explanation really useful. I was using their service for a while and I saw its amazing influence on ranking of some of my sites, however after some time I couldn’t find any high PR links from Linkvana blogs when I was checking it with Market Samurai.

So, it’s clear for me why:) Still i find Linkvana as one of those tools which I recommend to anyone, especially for its short term huge impact.

Greets
Justyna