At the end of the day it’s never good to share a site that is thin, offers little, and can be easily copied. If you don’t create a strong site then you’ll easily be pushed aside by others. I am tempted though to start my own niche site project. What do you think?

Pat from SmartPassiveIncome.com created his SecurityGuardTrainingHQ.com site a few years ago and it’s grown into a site that regularly brings in at least $2,500 dollars a month from AdSense revenue. Nice eh? When he started disclosing how much he was earning there were many who tried to copy his site but they have never been able to match what he is doing.

Spencer from Niche Pursuits started his own public niche site last year and BestSurvivalKnifeGuide.com is an affiliate site based on product links to Amazon. It’s not been going long and in March it earned around $80 and looks set to keep going and earn more.

Those are two example of two different types of website: Informative/Resource and Product/Review. Each has it’s merits and each has its potential pitfalls.

I have made more money by informative sites utilising AdSense than I have product sites using Amazon and that is partly because I find it harder to rank product sites on Google as it normally favours brands and places them higher in the rankings. That said in 2012 I did sell £20,000 worth of products through Amazon earning me £1,000 in affiliate referral fees so I don’t completely suck.

So I think I’ll start my own public niche site project and see how it goes. I’ll be doing everything from scratch and perhaps you can follow along with me? Is anyone up for making this a competition? Pop a comment below if you fancy taking part and let’s see if we can make some money!

The plan will be as follows:

• Pick a keyword/product to target
• Buy a domain
• Build a site
• Get content
• Start ranking
• Start earning

It sounds oh so simple doesn’t it? I can already say that I will be using Amazon to monetise the site as a bit of a challenge so I just need to start some research into what I can actually create a site about. hmmm. As I said if you want in on the action then just comment below and I will be completely public in everything I do. Sounds like fun eh?

In my last post I spoke about ways I was going to improve my online earnings and I guess I’ve had a slight shift in that small niche sites really, most definitely, absolutely, are not the way to go due to quite a few factors.

1. Too focused on one keyword
2. Less topics to write content about
3. Less searches
4. Smaller earning potential
5. Too easy to lose rankings due to algorithm changes in Google.
6. Unable to create a ‘brand’
7. Harder to promote and love

I guess those are the key factors of small sites. Yes, I’ve had some do very well in the past but with the EMD (Exact Match Domain) update they’ve lost a lot of visitors and I can’t see a potential of growth in my sites. They are still bringing in some money but nothing to shout about and aren’t worth putting in more effort to try and revive them. I probably need to draw a line after them all, and start from fresh.

I have one site I am currently working on that is going to have a lot of content and is hopefully going to be very useful too, but at the moment I’m working on content etc and am a long way from getting it launched.

I still want to have a personal project too and the other month I bought theturkishkitchen.co.uk with the aim of creating a recipe site. I’m half Turkish-Cypriot and love cooking, so what better way of having some fun? I’m on a bit of a health kick at the moment so that’s on hold for now but I will get some content on there soon, especially as I’m visiting relatives over Easter in Northern Cyprus, so maybe I can pick up some recipes there?

So what’s the outcome of this post then? Well, fewer sites will hopefully mean more money, as the sites will be better, have more content, and rank better. Sounds simple eh?

That does leave me with quite a lot of domains that I’ve bought which are still useful for small niche sites, but not for what I want so what should I do with them? I think I’ll create a portfolio post next and see if anyone wants to buy some of them.

Till then….. see ya.

1. Improving my current websites.

2. Build new websites.

Improving my current websites

Although I sold my main earning website I still have others that bring in a combined £150-200 a month and so it would be ideal to simply add more content to these so they get more visitors and more click on adverts (I am mostly using AdSense for revenue). This isn’t actually as easy as it sounds as some of the sites I have are very niche focusing on a single topic within a wider area and so they only really need a few pages of useful content. These generally earn around £25 a month and have zero upkeep so whilst I can’t add more content I am looking to improve the click through rates (CTR) by varying advert colour, style, and location. At the moment I seem to have a better CTR by changing the majority of the adverts to plain text.

I do have couple of sites that could do with more content and I’m taking a slow and steady approach to this ensuring that it’s only good stuff getting publishing. This is slowing increasing visitors to the sites as I’m creating more longtail keywords for them to get through the site.

Building new websites

I’ve bought about a dozen new domains and that was the easy bit as now I’ve got to look at getting websites running and getting lots of useful content on there.

I have bought some content to go on several of the domains but to be honest I wasn’t overly impressed but know that’s partly due to what I’m willing to pay. That has lead me to the decision to write all the content myself. After reading Jamie Farrelly’s eBook ‘How Anyone Can Become an Online Content Writer‘ which I luckily got to download for free, I realised that I actually like writing content and specifically I enjoy learning about new topics for the various niches I write content for.

Writing my own content also means that I am in full control of the quality on the site and I can feel proud of those sites. Yes, it means that the site development is going to be slower but it will hopefully be worth it in the end.

What type of sites are they?

In an ideal world I would focus on one or two sites and purely focus on them but the fact is smaller sites are easier to rank and all these £25 a month sites do add up.  So yes I will still be making some 5-page websites but I have also bought a couple of domains that are focused on quite large topics and these will be long term projects which I hope will make at least £200-300 a month each although it will take some time getting there. Just don’t mention the phrase ‘authority site’ though as it doesn’t mean diddly squat!

Why Adsense and not Affiliate sites

I do have some affiliate sites but they are making very little money for me due mainly to the fact that Google is my main source of visitors and it’s getting increasingly hard to rank for physical products. AdSense has been good to me and I think I’m better suiting to writing about topics rather than products. Yes, I have bought a couple of new domains which are suited to an affiliate site but they’re just sitting on the backburner for the moment.

Will you be publishing Income Reports again?

I last published a proper income report in May 2012 to outline my year in niche sites and I think people enjoyed reading them so maybe I will start again as  way to keep myself to account and try and improve my month on month earnings. I guess I stopped partly because I’d leveled out a bit but now I’ve lost my major revenue stream I need to get back on track.

So expect a few more posts from me from now on.

I’ve sold a website

Yesterday I sold my first every niche site. That’s the first niche site I ever created and also the first time I’ve sold one too. It has been my one constant, full of great content, plenty of visitors, a a constant income stream earning me around £200 (US$325) a month on average but in the end I decided to cash out and get some money up front. If I’ve spoken to you about this website before then you’ll know it as the ‘minicab one’.

How much did I sell it for?

It’s a tough one putting a price on a website that earns through AdSense and in the past people were getting 24-36 times their monthly income for a site, but now it’s generally 12-18 times, and in the end I actually settled for x11 my monthly income which netted me £2,250 (US$3,656). Obviously I would’ve liked more money but that’s what it ended as for a quick deal.

A sure thing

The fact is that my money through AdSense was never guaranteed and although I could reasonably predict that I would’ve got £200 each month from the website I’ve just sold, the fact is it could also suddenly loose all it’s revenue should it lose its rank in Google. The fact is that it’s survived through all the Google updates so far (Panda/Penguin/EMD, etc) so I don’t expect that will happen but I’ve insured myself against that happening but selling up with a lump sum in my bank. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing in a years time so it’s far better to get the money now and I feel happy with the sale.

What next?

Seeing that my best earning website has just been sold I will now definitely have to concentrate on my other sites which cumulatively earn around £150 (US$240) a month and try and get a couple of those to earn bigger. Most of my sites have been on autopilot since the Summer so I’m hoping that it won’t take too much work to get them ranking higher with a spring clean and some new fresh content. I usually write all the content myself but now that I have some extra cash I am going to look at outsourcing some of it as long as I can keep to a high quality.

Who knows, I may even get started on that ‘authority site’ that I’ve been banging on about for the past year!

I started this Blog in May 2004 so it’s been going a while and has seen some big changes along the way mostly due to social media. For what blogging used to be about, an online diary, everything has shifted to Twitter and Facebook, and so what’s left on here? Just me talking about websites etc. To be honest though I don’t really share too much on Facebook and Twitter anyway so you’re not missing much.

Last year was all focused on one thing for me and that was getting married in July. That meant that everything else was put on the backburner and my focus from the time I got engaged was planning, saving money, and then actually doing the biggest and best thing I’ve ever done in my life.

So I got married (July), went on honeymoon(July/August), and then at the end of November bought a new house. Christmas was spent renovating and decorating and with the big jobs done I’ve now got some scope in my life to start new hobbies. So what do I do?

• I’ve neglected my niche sites and so I’d like to get back on track with those as the extra money does come in handy and I also have fun making the sites too.
• I’ve got a massive garden now so I’m looking forward to gardening and growing my own food.
• I’m living in a lovely village and so I’d like to start walking a bit more and also getting back into photography. I’ve got a nice Canon DSLR sitting at home not getting used so that’s another opportunity.

That’s not a great amount of pressure on me so let’s do this!

What are your plans for 2013?

What is an authority site?

My idea of an authority site is one that is focused on quality rather than quality, isn’t motivated simply to make money, is useful, shares knowledge, brings in repeat visitors, and most importantly is a site that I won’t be embarrassed about and which I would happily share to family and friends.

I wouldn’t want to share my niche sites as they aren’t unique, they are focused on making me money, and to be honest they wouldn’t be of any interest to family and friends.

I thought I’d hit upon an idea for my true authority site but here we are months down the line and I have done very little on it and when I do try I find my mind blank which probably means I’ve chosen the wrong subject.

Authority site ideas

This is the tricky part as the topic needs to be something you are interested in and something that other people are interested in reading. Here are a few ways of getting some inspiration for your authority site.

Amazon – There are books about everything so go check out the non-fiction books and have a look at the bestsellers. You may find something that really interests you and which you can write extensively about.

Magazines – People pay for these on a monthly/weekly basis and will also subscribe to them so it shows the demand is there. Can you offer an alternative? If you don’t want to pop down the newsagent then go to magazines.co.uk and magazines.com to get some ideas.

Hobbies – This is an easy one. If you already take part in something, or starting a new hobby then why not document it and provide resources?

How many articles?

I’ve found that with some topics there is a set amount of articles I can write before I run out of ideas and so make sure you pick a topic which has a long lifespan to it and make it something you enjoy.

So what topic will my authority site be about?

This has just come to me but having a look at the bestselling books and the most popular magazines it seems that a website about food could be an option. I’m not thinking about the possibility of making money from it, I’m just thinking about what interests me and what I like, and food seems to be the winner.

I’m half Turkish and I love Turkish and Middle-Eastern food so what better excuse to get to try out and make some delicious food? I know there are plenty of recipe sites out there and that I’m limiting myself with the subject but I think I can do well and as most Turkish recipe sites are on blogger style sites I hope I can do something better. I might have to play with the idea so it’s not just a blog but let’s see how this goes.

So what do you think? Even if it bombs at worse I’ll have had the chance to try out some new recipes.

Anyone involved with SEO and Internet Marketing (IM) will have felt the pressure from Google over the past year with their constant algorithm changes, penalties, and what is seen as constant changing on the goalposts. What was correct last year is now frowned upon and this has seen many drop out from IM as they’ve seen their profits disappear. As I’ve always said this is a hobby of mine, I don’t depend on the money, and I have a full-time job, but the extra money comes in handy so I’m sticking to it and I’m still doing okay.

What have Google done?

Okay, so basically the majority of traffic to niche sites comes from Google and it used to be fairly easy to get your site ranking if you knew the game to play. Pick an exact match domain (EMD), put up some content, get a few links, and hey presto you had a top 10 site for your keyword. Google have removed the bonus that EMDs had in the rankings, penalised sites with poor backlinks, and penalised sites for the quality of their content, and with that it’s seen a lot of sites bomb.

Rightly or wrongly this has had a big effect on the SERPs (Search Engine Ranking Positions) and whilst it has removed a lot of poor quality sites it has also taken some good ones along with it which is hard for those who have done everything right. Of course Google don’t owe us anything, and the way they are changing it may be that Google isn’t quite the place it started off as as they look towards their own profits.

How have I been effected?

With previous updates I’ve managed to get by as generally my content is of a high standards and unique, and I’ve never really build a huge amount of backlinks, so Panda and Penguin (Google Updates) have knocked me a bit but I’ve always managed to get up and get sites ranking again. Profits have fluctuated (see My Year in Niche Websites post) but I’ve always got back to where I’ve been earning and increased on it.

This has been true since I stopped publishing my income reports and Google’s EMD update knocked my back down and this month I have made just over £400 as opposed to just under £800 last month but I think I can get my sites earning more again soon.

Goodbye Amazon Associates

What the EMD update did was knock my big affiliate site off the SERPS and that went from earning £180-£200 a month to earning peanuts and that’s a bit sad and means I am solely relying on AdSense for my niche site income. If I’m honest with myself the site was quite thin but it was nice whilst it lasted and I don’t think I can get it ranking again. I’m actually steering clear of product websites and it looks like the big boys have snuffled the top places and Google are taking the rest with their own results.

Authority Site?

I know it’s the way to go, but my ‘real’ job has taken a lot more of my time and it’s meant I’ve done nothing to the site which I’ve promised for the last 6 months. It’s still there, with one article, and that isn’t enough to launch it so it’ll stay on the back burner. It is something I want to do so it’s not dead yet but it may be a while until it sees the light.

Any Questions?

I know a few people pop by here so have you got any questions about niche sites? Want to let me know how you’re doing? Pop me a comment below.

That’s what I love about the way I’m earning money online. At the moment sites are ranking okay and I’m earning 3/4 of my revenue through AdSense and 1/4 through Amazon and even though I won’t be putting any effort into them they are still ranking well for the moment, still getting visitors, and still earning me around £600 a month (before tax). I expect that figure to drop over Summer as people are out and about, enjoying the sun, enjoying the Olympics, but who care’s? I’ll be off enjoying myself and when I get back from Bali I’ll check to see how I’ve done.

Authority Site

I can reveal that I finally settled on a subject for my ‘authority’ site and that is ‘gadgets’. I’m not revealing the site yet as I only have one article on there at the moment and need to get a few more before the launch, and from then on I’ll be encouraging readers to share, like, tweet, and link to the website as that’s the way it will grow. Gadgets is a competitive market but I think I’ve got a good enough slant on it to offer something different. I won’t be ranking for an Exact Match Domain (EMD), and can’t rely on ranking this site how I do for the niche sites, so it will be telling if this will be a success.

Watch this space… but only after I’m back from honeymoon!

How am I doing?

June was my best income month on record with my Amazon affiliate site improving to earn me £175.46 and my AdSense earnt me £450 to take me beyond my previous best I set in April.

I’m loving affiliate sites at the moment as I can see the potential in them for being able to create a site I can be proud of. Yes, I’m selling products, but I can only do that by creating a site that can attract visitors, can get them to trust me, and then sell them the idea of buying something. This allows me to write informative posts, share great content, and be happy to promote it. With AdSense I’m creating sites that rank well but where I want people to want to leave straight away through an AdSense advert. AdSense is still my biggest earner though so I’m not giving it up yet until the money starts drying up.

Authority Site

I’m made no inroads into this yet as I’ve not had the time to get started and also think that I need to think a lot harder before committing to this as I don’t want to jump into something that I’m not going to get anything out of. I thought I had a big idea but a while down the line and I don’t think I do. Back to the drawing board.

Paying Tax

It’s worth noting that this income hasn’t been taxed yet, so it’s not just free money (yet). I’m putting a third of my money in a separate bank account and at the end of the year I will have to pay tax on the profit I’ve made (I work full-time and niche sites are my bit on the side). I’ll be honest and say I’ve not done a massive amount of research into this as will try and seek out some help from fellow internet marketers, but by putting this aside I hopefully won’t get a big surprise for money I owe to the taxman. If you’ve got any useful info or tips on tax then please leave a comment.

Speak soon

That’s it for this mini update. Done.

ShopperPress

The ShopperPress theme can be installed on any WP site and allows you to sell real products if you wish but also add affiliate products from the likes of Amazon, Affiliate Window, etc which means a really professional looking shop, with shopping cart etc, but with none of the effort of actually stocking products. Great. Obviously you’re going to have to do all the usual SEO to get the site ranking, but the theme allows for pages, articles, custom product descriptions, etc so you can have some really unique content on your site.

My Clay Oven Site

I’ m going to disclose a site I’ve built using ShopperPress and that site is about clay ovens. It isn’t a big niche, it only gets around 2000 local searches a month, and so I don’t see it really doing that much, but I bought the domain and so it seems a waste to not use it.

For the design I’ve used one of the supplied templates, and there are 39 (I’ve just looked) themes styles in total supplied free to give your site a unique look. For the content I’ve used the Amazon product importer to add products (with my affiliate link) and I have manually amended the descriptions so they’re not just a copy from Amazon. Finally for more unique content I’ve added a recipes section and will look to maybe add some more reviews etc too.

The website is getting a trickle of views and ranks between #10 and #15 on Google with a few products and minimal content but now that it’s up and ranking I’m sure it will develop.

ShopperPress is listed for sale at $79 but we all know there are promo codes floating around and in the end I was able to buy it for £30.26, which I thought was a pretty good price as it can be used on unlimited sites etc. This is my affiliate link for ShopperPress and includes a 40% off vouchercode.

So feel free to have a look at my site or you can also look at the demos on the ShopperPress site which includes backend login too so you can see how it all works before buying.

DirectoryPress

Based on my experience with ShopperPress I have also bought DirectoryPress to install on a couple of sites. I’ve not done much with it at the moment but it will allow me to accept paid submissions to directories I’m looking to add to some of my current sites to diversify the income I get away from just AdSense and Amazon. Yet again I’ve got an affiliate link with $25 off the $79 price and this is included on this link to get it for only £31.44.

Conclusion

I usually spend very little on websites but I’m happy to pay £30 to get a great theme that I can use on multiple sites. I’m not spending much time on them at the moment but I like installing a basic site on my domains with some content as you never know how they will rank without it and you could be surprised when your site starts getting visitors.