I’m Kayla. I buy ads for small brands. I was curious about Pornhub advertisers because the traffic is huge and the prices looked fair. So I tried it myself. More than once. I went in with a careful plan, a small budget, and a bit of a knot in my stomach. You know what? It wasn’t a mess. It just took real work.
If you’d rather skim the blow-by-blow case study version, you can peek at the full narrative in this detailed breakdown.
Let me explain how it went, with real campaigns and real numbers.
The quick take (no fluff)
- Big reach, fast. Mobile traffic was strong.
- Cheap CPMs, decent CTR if your ad is bold and clear.
- Brand safety is tricky. You must set blocks and caps.
Setting it up, step by step
I used the self-serve platform (TrafficJunky, which sells Pornhub ads). I started with $500. I verified my account, added a card, and uploaded a few banner sizes: 300×250, 300×100 (mobile), and 728×90. I also tested a short pre-roll video.
Targeting was simple: country, device, site, and placements. I also set a blacklist for content I didn’t want. I used a frequency cap of 3 per day. That helped keep costs sane.
For readers who want extra context, here’s a comprehensive TrafficJunky review that lays out the platform’s features, pros, and cons, plus an in-depth guide to setting up and optimizing TrafficJunky campaigns that walks you through budgets, targeting tips, and creative best practices.
Tip I learned fast: write copy that says one clear benefit. No winks. No clever puns. Just “Keep it private” or “Save 30% today.” It sounds plain, but it gets clicks.
Real campaigns I ran
I ran three very different tests. Here’s what happened, numbers and all.
1) VPN campaign (US/UK/CA)
- Time: 14 days
- Spend: $3,120
- Formats: 300×250, 300×100, 728×90
- Avg CPM: $1.80 US, $1.20 CA, $1.30 UK
- CTR: 0.24% (best unit was 300×100 on mobile: 0.31%)
- Landing page to trial: 2.1% conversion
- CPA to trial: $9.60
- 30-day ROI: 1.6x (helped by renewals)
What worked: black background, white text, simple lock icon, copy “Keep it private. 3 months free.” The word “private” did the heavy lifting. Evening traffic (8 pm–1 am local) hit the best CTR.
What missed: a funny headline. I love clever lines, but here it cut clicks in half.
2) Men’s grooming kit (my DTC brand test)
- Time: 10 days
- Spend: $1,540
- Format: 15s pre-roll + 300×250 backup
- Video CPM: $3.20
- View-through rate: 35%
- CTR: 0.40% on video end card, 0.28% on banner
- CPA (first purchase): $22
- Average order value: $51
- 45-day payback: solid, thanks to repeat blades
What worked: a clean demo, no cringe. Fast cut, big before/after text, a simple “Free shipping today.” I added subtitles. Many viewers had sound off.
What missed: fancy lifestyle shots. The close-up product clip beat them by a mile.
3) Indie condom shop (ecom, small budget)
- Time: 9 days
- Spend: $820
- Formats: 300×250, 300×100
- First try (US only): CTR 0.12%, CPA $40. Ouch.
- Second try (MX + CO, Spanish creative): CTR 0.29%, CPA $8.30
What changed: language and price point. I used Spanish copy, local currency, and a clean badge graphic. I also lowered the landing page load time from 4.7s to 2.3s. That alone cut the bounce a lot.
What I liked
- Scale: Traffic came in fast. I never sat waiting.
- Prices: CPMs were low compared to big social sites.
- Control: Blocks, caps, and device filters worked well.
- Support: A rep answered my ticket in a day. Not bad.
What bugged me
- Brand safety: You must babysit placements. Make a blacklist early and update it.
- Rejections: A few image ads got flagged. The rules are strict and a bit fuzzy.
- Stats lag: The dashboard felt 30–60 minutes behind at times.
- Payment holds: One top-up got held for review. It cleared, but it slowed my tests.
Tips that saved me money
- Start mobile first: 300×100 and 300×250 did the most work for me.
- Keep copy blunt: “Private,” “Fast,” “Save,” “Free trial” beat clever jokes.
- Use dark backgrounds: They stand out. White ads blended in.
- Cap frequency: 3/day was my sweet spot. Avoid ad fatigue.
- Daypart: Evenings and late night gave my best CTR on all three tests.
- Warm them up: A short pre-lander page lifted conversions by a point or two.
- Track right: I used Voluum to tag device, geo, and placement. It let me cut the losers fast.
- Want to run motion banners without drowning in file sizes? I broke down the GIF tools and workflow that kept my creatives lean in this walkthrough.
Who it fits (and who should skip)
Good fit:
- VPNs, privacy tools, antivirus
- Budget ecom with impulse buys (gifts, grooming, gadgets)
- Adult-friendly brands with clean, clear creative
If your offer leans toward casual dating or hookup services, it helps to look at products that already nail the “discreet and instant” value proposition—for example, this detailed Snapsex review breaks down how the app positions quick, no-strings encounters and highlights the onboarding tactics that keep conversions high, giving you inspiration for angles and copy that resonate with the same audience. Likewise, advertisers targeting a city-level audience can study how escort listing hubs present their offers; check out the layout and trust signals on the Erotic Monkey Ithaca page to see how reviews, rates, and verification badges are highlighted—insights you can adapt to improve credibility on your own campaigns.
Tough fit:
- Risk-averse brands
- Anything for kids or families (just no)
- Products with tiny margins and long sales cycles
A quick word on rules
Follow the platform rules. Keep creatives clean. No fake claims. Don’t push where your brand doesn’t belong. It’s your name on the ad, not theirs.
Final thought
Was it worth it? For me, yes—when the offer matched the crowd, and the creative stayed simple. My VPN test made money. The grooming kit held its ground and grew after 30 days. The condom shop only worked once I changed language and speed.
It’s not magic. It’s traffic plus fit plus clean tracking. If you treat Pornhub like any other big channel—test, cap, tweak—you can make it work. And honestly, that surprised me, in a good way.
If you’d like to see how Pornhub stacks up against other adult networks, I also ran budget through Brazzers and shared the raw numbers in this comparison test.
If you’d rather let a specialized team handle the heavy lifting on adult traffic, Hunt Mads is a performance agency that’s dialed in these channels without compromising brand safety.
—Kayla Sox