The Sex Blogger Directory: Here’s How It Works

Here at Kinkly, our mission is to open up new conversations about sex, answer readers' questions, and help them discover new and exciting things in their sex lives. It didn't take us long to discover that one good way to do that is by shining a spotlight on all the amazing bloggers that help make the web a more sex-positive place.

That's why we built the Sex Blogger Directory, which now compiles four key data points to build a comprehensive list of the internet's best sex bloggers.

Millions of people have visited the Sex Blogger Directory since its launch.

Ever since we got the bare-bones version of the directory up and running in 2013, we've received a lot of interest and support - and a lot of questions. Questions about how it works. Questions about how bloggers are scored. And lots of questions and suggestions about why we built it the way we did. The answers to a lot of these questions make for some long-ass emails. So, we're laying it all out for you here. That said, if you still have questions, comments or criticisms, feel free to send them our way.

Why We Built the Sex Blogger Directory

Sex is a very personal adventure and, while we try to provide a range of viewpoints on Kinkly.com, there's so much more diversity of opinion, experience, tastes and expertise out there. We wanted readers to have access to that - and we wanted to celebrate it too.

Although things are getting better, sex ed still isn't as widely available, as comprehensive or as honest as it should be. Sex bloggers provide resources that many people can't find anywhere else, especially when it comes to topics like sex and disability, kink, and even pleasure-based education. (Many of them do this work in their own communities as well!)

Plus, while we highlight 100 standout blogs every year in our Top 100 Sex Blogging Superheroes List, we also feel that doesn't go far enough. We want to highlight some of the best blogs every year while also providing a year-round resource of some of the top blogs in key categories, including sex toy review blogs, BIPOC blogs, and blogs that cover kinkier topics or publish erotica.

How Blogs Are Added to the Directory

Anyone can apply to add their blog to the Sex Blogger Directory. However, not all blogs are accepted. When new blogs are submitted (you can do that here), they are entered into a queue for our team to review.

Once our team receives your blog, we read it! Not all of it, of course, but we do browse through and sample some of the content to decide if it's a fit for the Sex Blogger Directory.

First, what we don't accept:

• Escort sites or sites that advertise sexual services
• Porn sites (although we may consider a blog attached to a porn site if it includes quality educational content)
• Retail sites (although, again, a high-quality blog attached to one may be considered)
• Sites that haven't been updated in the last calendar year
• Sites that don't include substantial content that may be useful to a reader, whether it's written, video, cartoons or some other format
• Sites that promote non-consent
• Sites that aren't sex positive
• Sites that include misogynistic, racist, homophobic, anti-trans or discriminatory content of any kind

What we're looking for:

• Blogs that have posted content in the past year. We weed out inactive blogs every year in October. If yours is removed and you have started it up again, please let us know - we're happy to reactivate it.
• Blogs with substantial high-quality content designed to provide sex education, personal experiences or erotica. We will consider other types of content on a case-by-case basis based on whether it seems useful to its target audience in terms of their sexual exploration, education and entertainment.

We have hundreds of blogs in our Directory and receive dozens of applications every month. That means we can't catch everything! See something you don't think should be in the Sex Blogger Directory? Send us a note.

Ranking Factors - Quantitative Data Sources

In building out our system, we went to a number of outside data services. These metrics are listed alongside each blog in the Directory.

Our back-end systems poll these services at regular intervals to update data on each blogger in the database on a monthly basis. The third-party data services we use aim to get a sense of site size and popularity. Are those the only measures of a good blog? Nope. But blogs with higher traffic numbers, more backlinks and that perform better in search engines are probably the best proxy of site quality for older properties. We include filters on the page to help people zero in on some of the more niche topic areas that might not land at the top. Finally, our Sex Blogging Superheroes list aims to single out new bloggers and bloggers in specific categories that might not get as much attention.

Here's a breakdown of the metrics we include in our algorithm:

Site Popularity

• Alexa Rank: An estimate of the traffic to a specific website. Lower is better. If you have an Alexa ranking of 50,000, that means that Alexa estimates you are the 50,000th biggest website on the Internet.
• Linking Domains: Links are like currency for bloggers, where each one represents another vote for a blogger's work. The more external sites (domains) that link to a blog, the better.
• MozRank: MozRank estimates the popularity a site will have in the search engines. It is based on a number of factors, and is closely correlated to search rankings. (Get more info here)

Editors' Note: While social media followers on Twitter and Facebook used to be part of the Sex Blogger Directory metrics, they were removed from the algorithm in 2019 because of issues with connecting the APIs for these services.

The final data point in Kinkly's algorithm is an assessment score from our annual contest. This is based on votes from our site visitors, as well as an editorial scoring system. Site editors, without talking to one another, literally review every single blog nominated to be a Sex Blogging Superhero, giving each a rating. This is combined with the other data to filter blogs into the order you see on the Sex Blogger Directory.

The Algorithm - How Rankings Are Calculated

Here's where we get to the nuts and bolts of the list. For each factor, we get data for every site, and then we rank the results from top to bottom. So, for example, for inbound links, more is better. So, we go out and get that number for each blogger, and then list them from highest to lowest. The blogger on the list with the most inbound links will get the maximum available points, while the blogger at the bottom of the list will get no points. This is done for each ranking factor. Then, the totals are added up to get a maximum perfect score of 100. To get this score, a blogger would have to rank No.1 in each and every category.

Speaking of Rank ...

If there's one thing we want to emphasize it's that we have a very loose definition of "rank." We don't necessarily think that a blog at the top of the list is better than a blog at the bottom, or even somewhere in the middle. The algorithm assesses these blogs the way site quality is assessed across the internet, but that doesn't account for niches and the importance and power of small audiences. We've made the Directory easy to filter to help cut down the scrolling. If you think we need a new category, please let us know.

The algorithm assesses these blogs the way site quality is assessed across the internet, but that doesn't account for niches and the importance and power of small audiences. We've made the Directory easy to filter to help cut down the scrolling.

We aren't ranking sites to pit them against each other, or declare a "winner." What our Sex Blogger Directory aims to do is provide a quantitative look at sex blogs and how they're performing according to key metrics. We hope this will help people find blogs that interest them, whether it's for personal or professional reasons. That's how we'll be using it too!

Overall, our aim is to maintain the Sex Blogger Directory as the best resource out there for connecting with a range of amazing sex blogs.

We hope we've answered any questions you have regarding out top blogs database. If not, drop us a line. Oh, and if you have a blog, we hope you'll add it to the list!