Why Is RabbitsReviews Still Alive After 10 Years? The Not So Secret History?
 

I figured it was time to post some secrets to the longevity of RabbitsReviews, as well as some general info that gives you an idea of the direction we are heading. You may have noticed the site underwent an overhaul this week. Without looking under the hood, you can see the logo has changed a little, we've moved to using cards for info sections, just about every page has been reorganized and the whole site is now fully responsive. But it's really the backend, behind-the-curtain stuff that has kept us alive for over a decade. So I figured it was time to share a little bit about how Rabbit, AKA Mantas, has built this company and managed to keep it relevant when so much in this industry has changed.

http://www.rabbitsreviews.com/hareal...TS-300x150.jpg

SEO
RabbitsReviews really began to take off after the launch in 2003 through our SEO efforts. We hired a guy to help us with our site structure who also had a pool of resources at his disposal. He was pricy but he delivered. It wasn't long before we began competing with the bigger review sites, and it seems an even shorter period before we began beating them--at least from a traffic/SEO perspective.

These days SEO is still part of the foundation but it's no longer the driving force behind everything we do. Our categories used to have great placement in SERPs for their key terms till tubes came along and rightfully took their place. Now we compete in other areas… and it seems, almost strangely, that we are doing better than ever.

ADVERTISING
We are a pretty remarkable funnel for traffic. We buy spots in the members areas of over 100 programs. It's one of our biggest sources of traffic right now so it deserves a mention. It's not a ton of revenue for us in the grand scheme of things as most of it goes back to the sponsor. In most cases they seem to do better with ads for us than just about anything else they can plug. Why? A sponsor can sell a handful of sites with a spot--send to a traffic partner or something that fits for their site. But that's still a fairly limited number of possibilities to make a sale. Or they can use us and sell thousands of sites with one single spot.

We are a giant filter, allowing users to find whatever they could want at any point. Sponsors know they are going to lose every member at some point, but they might as well make money off it when they do. In the end, buying ad spots may not be a huge portion of what we do--but it's one of the most valuable ways a webmaster/program can use our site.

DESIGN
It has always been a huge thorn in my side that we don't add more design elements to Rabbits. I'd love to have ad spots where I can trade traffic with or more design elements to spice up our look. But Rabbit has always been firm on this one point: we keep the site lean. We ensure it loads fast. We get the surfer to the content they want as quickly as possible. Anything that gets in the way of that doesn't have a place.

Our new site exemplifies this. ZuzannaDesigns deserves a shout out for being able to work within our strict requirements and yet deliver something that even looks good to me, without the crazy colors and flashy content that I lean towards. It loaded fast before but we've managed to improve on that, meaning that Google should smile on us a little more brightly… or so the hope goes. And we can now optimize it based on user interaction. Small changes are often those with the biggest impact and we are happy with what we've released.

STAFFING
A company is only as good as the people that make it. At Rabbits, we have about 20 people that work full time in our Montreal office. A number of us are celebrating 10 years with the company. Mantas (AKA Rabbit) is certainly the reason for that. I've worked with many different people in my time and most are temperamental at best. But Rabbit has a cool head and he's rational. He's focused and professional. He's steered the ship solidly for 11 years and has his sights set on the horizon--where any good captain should. We've kept good talent around and our product is more consistent than ever as a result.

THE HAREALD?
Okay, our blog has never been a secret to our success but I am going to sound off on it here for those that have wondered why we continued with it. It's been a thorn in my side for forever. Holy crap this was a long time coming!

We've had a blog since 2005. Back then, you had two decent choices for a platform. WordPress or MoveableType. You'll never guess which one we chose. :( For years I've been pulling my hair out with a crappy, featureless blogging platform. All of the writing on it was pretty much crap, too. It was all SEO based and we gave writers a half hour to stick something together. Quantity over quality seemed to work for a while. But no more of any of that.

We would have switched earlier but couldn't find a suitable way to move all of our content. It was never a focus so why spend valuable programming time trying to figure it out? Finally, after almost 10 years, we said screw it and ditched the old MovableType blog. Welcome WOrdPress. It's finally a tiny corner of Rabbits where I am running rampant with cans of Photoshop paint, splashing it everywhere I please. I can also trade a little traffic if need be. Sure, now programming is pulling their hair out a little trying to make sure all the bells and whistles work… but better them than me, right? :)

LESS SUCCESS THAN WE IMAGINED
We have taken on a number of projects in our 10 years. Like any business, you create what you can and you see what works and what doesn't. When I first joined Rabbits, I was tasked with building a dating site review portal. Dating was starting to get big. I think I worked solidly on that project for a year. Somehow, though, it never took off--even though dating is still killing it these days.

We tried adding a section to Rabbits that focused on models and their boobs. We figured we could capitalize on our good SEO and have that pass down to thousands of model names. We were wrong. Big. We got spanked by Google hard and have never fully recovered.

We have also started a number of smaller niche review sites. The biggest of which was FetishFish.com. It still gets traffic but we just couldn't duplicate the success of Rabbits. But let's face it, that's a high bar to reach. We have also tried health products, too, but again it didn't live up to our expectations. And every failure has taught us something that has made us better. In failure we've found opportunity.

...AND ACTUAL SUCCESS
We've moved off into other areas that have also been good for us. We've bought other review sites, such as MonicasReviews, BitchReviews, PornLiving and FindAllPorn. We gathered a network of resource sites including SponsorsList, WebmasterVault, GayAW and 1WP. And we own a traffic network that includes Labatidora.net, HQ69and ArtiNude. With each we've gained traffic and experience that we've put to use on Rabbits and some of our newer projects. And though Rabbits continues to take up most of our time, new projects tend to be where our primary interests lie. Who doesn't like a new challenge, after all?

THE FUTURE
Our focus is changing. Reviews remain the backbone but we are seeing fewer and fewer new sites. For many years we've been kicking out 20+ new reviews a week and over 100 updates for existing listings. We switched focus a few months back and are now releasing less than 10 new reviews every week and shifting our emphasis to updates. People will always want high quality porn and we intend to continue to be a primary resource for them when they're looking to buy.

Most of our energy is focusing on one area now. Cams are our most profitable category on Rabbits so it's a logical choice. We launched ReviewMyCam and GoWebcams last year and bought and relaunched TweetMyCam recently. You can earn more when you send a user to a site where his spend isn't limited by a monthly membership. And that's where any new development time for us is aimed.

TA DA! THE END
So there's a little bit about where we are in this time and space in adult. We are trying to adapt as we see necessary, sometimes by big strides and yet others by small twists of the dial. Our relaunch took many months of blood, sweat and beers, but it's a good step in the only direction that counts: forward.

Cheers to all and thanks for reading.

Doug
Director of Marketing
RabbitsReviews.com

How come I don't see anything about a mailing list on the site?

That's a very informative thread (not that suddenly I'm into success or surviving).

Right now it's sort of hidden. It's called MyPorn and it's in the popup footer. We have a ton of features that still need to roll out and that's one of them. We had a goal to get the bulk of it live. Now comes the bells, whistles and mailing list. :)

Hehe... thanks, my friend. And having success and surviving is probably overrated. You seem like you're doing just fine from where I sit ;)

I assumed it was cuz they have a sexy guy like you on staff.

I fakn love GameLink! Seems drinks start early on Fridays. :)

Cheers Jeff!

That's just a given.

Congrats to Mantas, Doug and the rest of the crew on their relaunch and their longevity.

Start!?!! We are still going from last night man :1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Great read! I've learned allot! We still have to talk :P

Nice write up Doug, fun to read.

I remember a talk with Mantas in Phoenix where he mentioned a new project with models and all ;)

Like the new lay out a lot, clean and fresh. Really wonder how it's going to work out for you guys but it's great to see it move forward.

You guys got a good team there, keep up the good work!

PS you guys just had your best month ever with us. Beers on me in Vegas ;)))

He's my fave twink! Love his cuddles!

Cheers bud! 30 years I've known ya... how little has changed. :)

:) Why am I not surprised :P

And we will! I should be getting back to my regularly scheduled work life next week. Fingers crossed.

That's great news on the beers! Also on the stats, but lets focus on what's important, shall we... :)

Always a big one waiting.. but this you know!

Nice write-up and a very modest one at that. You guys have always done a great job focusing on what you do best. I know how much work has gone into your site and it's always been impressive to see the way you've managed it with a true long term view for the long haul while so many others took short cuts toward obscurity instead.

Congrats.

Congrats on the relaunch guys!

The site is looking better than ever. The new projects sound interesting


:thumbsup

good stuff, guys :thumbsup

you think that tubes deserve a better SE placing than you?

Yep... for sure. I don't like thinking it, mind you. Whether right or wrong, they provide a ton of value for a user for free. It's hard to argue that point. But I'd give anything for the old days again.

How can I get in on this Manwich?

Rabbits reviews eh... Never heard of you guys until now.

LIES! You are the guy that bought rabbits.reviews! Don't think I don't know!

And BTW, think you could take that pic down now?? :)

That's a nice read even for myself... puts things into perspective, cause I have a tendency to be like a rabbit on a running wheel, too involved in the moment and always looking for that next project.

I've always said to people that congratulate me on my success: I sure did a lot of things right, but 50% of it was pure luck.

Most people start & fail. I was lucky that my first project was a success. I wish they were all this easy... I probably wrote off 1-2 million of expenses in failed projects over the years as I tried to replicate this success. But each failed project got me closer to the one that made money.

Tubes have displaced us out of the organic results, but I was never bitter about it. Even prior to that, rabbits was banned for almost a year by google and it forced us to look elsewhere for revenue. In the end this made us stronger and by the time the tubes came and took all the search traffic, it sure sucked looking at my analytics, but the dent in revenue was negligeable.

It is sad though to witness a shrinking business space, one that has made us who we are and one to whom we owe quite a lot. There's a silver lining to it though...

Keep up the good work! :thumbsup

What pic... please post pic ;)

Nice job Doug, very good read. Thanks for sharing

Congrats to Mantas, Doug & the rest of the Rabbit's team. I look forward to seeing your future successes!

rabbits.reviews :winkwink:

Cease and desist received, domain transfer in progress :disgust

LOLOL Noice

When I first met you I had no idea Rabbits was as big as it was. Impressed at running such a scale business under the radar like that.

Much respect for staying true to the vision, and running such an honest and ethical site.

Great post Doug!! The new design looks awesome :)

I luv Usagi Reviews

I first met Mantas at a Topbucks dinner probably in 2004. Your entire team has always been a pleasure to deal with.

Congrats on your continued success!

Speaking of those that fly under the radar... :)

Cheers Rob! Beers sooner than later!

Thanks LeRoy! Here's hoping this helps improve our bizz ;)

?!@?&WTF! :)

I met Mantas in 2004 as well. AVN summer show. Bus ride to Players Ball, as I recall. Ah, great days.. :)

looks good.... congrats on the new site, was time for an update certainly


BUUUUTTTTT i can't seem to find our sites listed anymore via these are the searches i performed.
we listed but not in the search from what i can see.
Rabbit's Porn Search Engine
Rabbit's Porn Search Engine
Rabbit's Porn Search Engine

My friend! You have a cookie. Use this link and all should be right in the world.

We should chat next week... maybe we can do a little more bizz ;)

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to work with such a great brand and group of people. The redesign looks amazing and I look forward to hearing how well it does. I know how much work you guys put into this project.

Whoever did the new logo needs a medal and a night on the town. That is a SUPER COOL logo. Congrats on the new look.

I want a t-shirt with the new logo. Gimme, Gimme! :thumbsup
Seriously, love the logo. Nice update to 2015.

Great thread, nice read Doug.

Would be happy for another review, but would rather my old one scrapped & the new one completely new, as we've changed the whole site menu, design & direction of the set up. Skype us anytime x

Never had the pleasure of working with Rabbit's, but I'll be damned if I say that it wasn't a rush to kick you guys off about a dozen #1 results for "[sitename] review" queries just a few months back for a client.

Looking forward to 2015 and taking more off your hands. :thumbsup

But in all seriousness: congrats on still being alive and hopefully the redesign won't dunk you much in the SERPs.

To everyone else:

If you've ever wanted to be serious about building a review website to directly contest with Rabbit's, now's the time!

very nice rabbit mr rabbit! :thumbsup keep up the great work! :thumbsup