Internet Marketing Coach
Should you Target Long-Tail Niches or Competitive Niches
March 6th, 2008 | 60 comments
Mark Wielgus over at 45n5 recently asked the question “Is Niche Marketing Stupid?.” Although he was simply asking the question, I was a little disappointed in his implication that it was a waste of time to target long-tail keywords. I pointed out 2 good examples of people who are successful with niche marketing; myself and MAJ Tim Gorman (previously CPT.) I’m not quite up to 5 figures a month (most months,) but Major Gorman has been for several years now, primary through his many niche sites.
However, Marks post did make me think about it and I did start to see his side of the story.
First, let me answer his question; No, niche marketing is not “stupid” in the least bit.
I’ve done quite a big of niche marketing, but I’ve also competed and “conquered” several keywords that many people would consider to be competitive, so I have a pretty good understanding of both.
What is Niche Marketing?
Niche marketing is an Internet Marketing business model, where low-competition “niches” are targeted, as they are very easy to get front-page results for. A common niche marketing technique and one that I have and still use is to put up several, small, white-hat sites, each page targeting a separate long-tail keyword and promoting these sites and pages through article marketing.
The goal is to get each page to rank on the front page of the SE’s for their respective keyword, while at the same time the articles you submit to article directories do the same for variations of that keyword.
The Pros and Cons of Niche Marketing
Pros:
- Much quicker ROI. If done properly, a niche site can be created, promoted and bringing in $5 or more daily within the first week. Mortgage, Loans, some Health topics etc. are known to bring in $1+ clicks with Adsense.
- Much less competition, so it’s easier to retain your rankings.
- Ability to test and track different niches. If one niche doesn’t pay as well as you initially thought, only minimal time was invested, so you can put more time into those niches which have higher payouts.
Cons:
- More management is involved, as you will be managing multiple domains.
- Can get costly is you outsource much of the work, as I do. However, it is very possible to do everything yourself.
The Pros and Cons of Targeting Competitive Niches
Pros:
- Mass exposure and recognition. Conquering one competitive keyword can really brand your name/company name and bring in loads of exposure.
- Less management, as you only have one domain (depending on how many competitive niches you’re competing in.)
- Can be done with no capitol. If you have sufficient knowledge on the niche, you can do everything on your own with only the cost of registration and hosting.
Cons:
- MUCH more competition, so you really have to concentrate on the SERPS daily. You always have lots of other people trying to rise above you in the Search Engines!
- Slower ROI. You won’t be seeing much income through your niche for quite some time; until you start seeing decent rankings.
- Inability to target other markets. You can only target that one niche (in most cases) so if it turns out to be a low-paying market you’re stuck.
So there you have it. These are two completely different business models. Neither are a waste of time if done correctly. It’s really all about what you prefer. I personally do both.
photo credit: irchriscdk
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6th March, 2008 at 5:17 pm
It seems that you can start as a niche but as traffic builds, you can expand it into a major site.
Is this blog nofollow?
6th March, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Josh,
Great post and cleared up some thoughts I had about a couple of my niche blogs.
Think it’s an interesting thought that Mark came up with, but I think that bloggers should start with niche marketing blogs, as well as a ‘flagship blog’ (from courtney tuttle) to concentrate on a bigger area and to think big as Mark said.
Afterall, many things can change on the internet and I think those of us who have diversified their portfolio will do a little better.
Oh, and good that you sent an email out to your newsletter list when you put up the post. That’s got to be on my list to do when I get my list stuff sorted.
6th March, 2008 at 5:24 pm
@ David - True in a way, but if you initially target low-competition keywords it’s going to be hard to turn around and compete for competitive keywords.
Commentators with 3 or more legit comments get followed links.
@ Nick - Thanks, I’m glad it helped you. Diversification is definitely a good thing and one that I’ve been doing all along
I think pointing my list to blog posts is a great way to teach team things, rather than composing a monster email. It seems to convert very well.
6th March, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Hi Josh,
Some interesting points, including:
“Much quicker ROI. If done properly, a niche site can be created, promoted and bringing in $5 or more daily within the first week.”
Would you care to elaborate on how this can be achieved?
6th March, 2008 at 5:43 pm
JS> David - True in a way, but if you initially target low-competition keywords it’s going to be hard to turn around and compete for competitive keywords.
Since you are getting top rankings for highly competitive keywords, that indicates that the niche is succesful. Why would it be hard after that to turn it into a major site? It would seem that you would have the inside track?
6th March, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Can’t one do both ? I’m using database generated stuff which delivers several hundred to a few thousand pages, with obscure and also obvious keyword appeal. Its an interesting and enjoyable challenge, but I wouldn’t claim great profits.
6th March, 2008 at 6:03 pm
I’d be curious to here what you think the major things are that must be “done properly.” I have not been able to create a niche site “…bringing in $5 or more daily within the first week.”
However, I did buy AMD. Is that really the key (promotion)?
6th March, 2008 at 6:41 pm
How do you determine which niche is worth pursuing?
Does it depend on user desperation or developer passion?
6th March, 2008 at 6:42 pm
@ David E. - Sure, if you choose a high paying market like mortgage etc. you’ll receive $1 or more per click via Adsense. Put up a small, 5-page or so Website targeting long-tail keywords, write 10-20 good articles and submit to article directories. It is very possible to be bringing in $5 or more within your first week.
@ David F. - If you have a site that is ranking well competitive terms, then you’ve already got your major site.
What I’m saying is that long-tail don’t have alot of competition and 99% of the time they receive very little search volume. This is why they are considered “long-tail.”
With that being said, unless you completely change the targeted keyword and start over again, you wouldn’t be able to turn a nich-site into a “main” site that competes for competitive terms. Does that make sense? I’m not the best at explaining things at times
@ Charles - Sure you could do both. You can create separate sites and pages. On one site you’ll target a competitive niche with it’s internal pages targeting sub-niches and your other site(s) will target long-tail niches. Or you could target a competitive term on your index and long-tail keywords in your sub pages.
I’m not a big fan of black-hat stuff, so I won’t comment on your strategy!
@ Mark - It’s all about targeting high-paying niches then submitting as many quality articles as possible. It’s very possible. I’ve done it many times and several other people have as well. When you’re targeting a niche where Adsense clicks average $1+ per click all you need is 4 or 5 clicks to get your daily $5.
@ David F. - Of course “developer passion” always helps, but a good researcher can produce a quality site without necesarily being a SME. I use http://www.spyfu.com which gives me an idea of the possible payout then I just test and track. After a while you have a pretty good idea of what niches pay well and what niches don’t pay so well.
6th March, 2008 at 6:59 pm
cool followup josh
certainly there are many ways to climb a mountain.
Just offering some different point of views
thanks for the mention
6th March, 2008 at 7:06 pm
@ Mark - Yeah, after I thought about the whole thing I realized you did have somewhat of a point and it’s definitely a good conversation piece
6th March, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Josh
Thanks for relaying the post - very interesting. I just wanted to clarify roughly where you would consider “long tail” keywords start. I do appreciate that it’s really a matter of the competition for a keyword vs the search volume but if you could give some examples of the type of search/competition volumes you are thinking of it would be useful.
Speaking as someone trying to establish a 2nd income at the same time as having a full-time job (and young family), I find it hard to consider managing multiple domains! On the other hand I have been working on my domain for a while (because it’s something that interests me) but I haven’t got to $5/day yet - so maybe I need to admit defeat and try something else. I think I’ve picked a “competitive long-tail” area to work on - the worst of both worlds!
6th March, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Josh,
I am fairly new to blogging, I have only been at it for close to 6 months now. I really don’t use my blog to make money presently. I do use my blog to drive people (future clients) to me though. I will be creating a few more websites in the near future and look forward to reading more posts on the subject of the different types of marketing. I believe that both will work given the right person with the right sense of direction. Just because what is good for one doesn’t mean it will be good for all.
6th March, 2008 at 7:39 pm
@ Neil - I begin by coming up with a main market I want to compete in. Let’s say it’s the mortgage market. I come up with this by doing a few searches over at spyfu.com. Then I go over to http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/ and do a search there to find related keywords.
Since this is a niche site I’m looking for long-tail keywords, so I’m looking for keywords with reoughly 10-30 daily searches.
I copy a list of all the keywords in that list, which have a daily search volume of 10-30 (roughly.)
I then do a Google search for each of those keywords to look at my competition. If a good majority of the sites/pages on the first page look pretty solid (authoritative) then I move on to the other.
If many of the top 10 results are of low-quality then I stick with that keyword.
I do that over and over until I have primary keywords for each of my 5 or so pages of my new niche site.
Then I do the same for the topics of the articles I’m going to submit to promote it. The only difference is I will be targeting different keywords, as I don’t want my articles to compete for the same keywords my site pages are competing for.
The more articles you can write and submit the better!
I just coached a close friend of mine with his first niche site and he’s making $5/day after about 2 weeks using the exact same strategy. He has about 20 articles submitted so far and he’s targeting the World of Warcraft niche.
@ The - Good luck with it all. You’re absolutely right, there is more than one way to skin a cat
6th March, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Thanks for all that Josh - very useful info. I feel slightly better at not being able to crack my chosen keyword - has about 12,000 searches a month, so not quite long-tail by your definition!
Interestingly I have been able to get a page 1 position on http://www.google.co.uk but I’m down on page 3 on google.com. Probably something to do with my original poor decision to register a .co.uk domain name. I could write a book full of the mistakes I have made along the way
(actually that’s not such a bad idea, but I suppose I need to fix them all first!)
I have just registered with hittail.com (do you/have you ever used this?)- which should start giving me a few long-tail suggestions soon. So far it’s telling me to do more work on my primary keyword!
Late nights and lots of coffee in store for me!
6th March, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Josh, sorry to plague you (I presume there’s some ocean between us so I can’t turn into a stalker
)
Just re-read your post and was interested to see that you use different long-tail keywords in your articles to the ones on the site. I had always thought that you should be using the same to reinforce the relevance of the links. Yet another useful thing I’ve learned.
Many thanks and I’ll leave you alone now!
6th March, 2008 at 8:20 pm
@ Neil - No problem at all, you’re not “plaguing” me
12,000 monthly searches isn’t extremely competitive, but it’s not “long-tail” either. It really all depends on the competition. I mean, if you can find a term that has 12,000 monthly searches, but has very poor competition, then you’ve found yourself an EXCELLENT keyword to target.
“I could write a book full of the mistakes I have made along the way”
We all could, that’s how we learn!
I don’t see anything wrong with .co.uk domains. Why would that be a poor choice?
I played around with hittail a while back, but I prefer the SEO book keyword tool. Simple and provides accurate results. All I need is the daily search volume and I can do the rest.
“interested to see that you use different long-tail keywords in your articles to the ones on the site.”
Yep, It’s counterproductive to compete against yourself
6th March, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Hi Josh,
Your kind words appreciated!
My comment about .co.uk was really just to do with the difference between my ranking on google.com vs google.co.uk. I suppose that this could be more to do with the sites that are currently linking into me.
Also, if you’re going after the global search volume then I would think that a .com domain would be by far the best - it certainly makes me hesitate if I see a .co.us domain name in a search list.
I WILL get there in the end though
Neil
6th March, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Hi Neil,
It’s not the type of TLD that matters, it’s where the site is hosted. If the site is hosted in the UK you’ll do better with google.co.uk If it’s hosting in the U.S. you’ll do better with Google.com rankings.
However, I’ll admit that I haven’t done any testing on the matter, so that is strictly hear-say.
6th March, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Hi Josh,
I just recently read your Article Marketing Domination ebook. Thanks for not making it too long to print out. I found it very helpful although I still struggle with the motivation to write.
How do you gauge the quality of the competition? From what I am reading, the number of backlinks a site has plays a very important role in a sites rank, especially if the anchor text is your keyword.
Do you spend much time and energy getting backlinks to your niche sites besides the ones in your articles?
6th March, 2008 at 9:26 pm
@ Victor - I’m glad you enjoyed it. I don’t believe in stuffing products full of filler, so I’m glad people have been enjoying that.
I guess the quality of the competition by a combination of the pages Google PR, Alexa traffic rank (which is sitewide) and compete ranking.
None of those rankings alone are extremely accurate, but combined they provide a pretty accurate reading of a pages authority. Looking deeper into it at their incoming links is another way, although I rarely go that deep. If you do this be sure to look at the incoming links going into that page and not the site (if it’s a internal page and not the main directory.)
For my niche sites I just promote with articles and do the occasional link swap if it’s worth my time, that’s it.
6th March, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Josh …. your mention of $5 after a week ….. I assume you mean after being indexed by Google and the others.
As a newbie, how long does indexing normally take?
6th March, 2008 at 9:39 pm
I really like the way you showed the pros and cons of both sides. It makes making a decision a whole lot easier. I’d be interested to know the $5 daily plan as well!
6th March, 2008 at 9:58 pm
@ Jim - No, I don’t mean after being indexed by Google and others. The traffic comes from the article directories, but it domes take quite a few articles, I’ll admit. I’m not saying it’s easy, it takes alot of effort, but it’s very doable (< – is that a word?)
*edit* Sorry, Jim I forgot to answer your other question. The indexing of a page depends primarily on where your links are. If they are on a frequently updated site they will normally be indexed within a day or two, possibly even hours. When it comes to article submissions you could probably bet on 1-7 days, but like I said it all depends. The speed of indexing is really something I don’t concern myself with. It will be indexed eventually. Worry about that and looking into it is just a time waster.
@ Courtney - Glad you liked it
I wrote a “nutshell” guideline in the comments above (about 9 comments above yours.)
6th March, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Thank you Josh. I’ve been reading your posts for some time, but never responded. Really appreciate your insight!
As a newbie I’ve learned that there is a huge learning curve in this business, and patience is a virtue.
6th March, 2008 at 10:23 pm
@ Jim - Well, thanks for the support and I’m glad to see you’ve come out of the shadows.
I wouldn’t say it’s “huge,” but it does depend on what your interests are.
If you want o get into a little bit of everything there is alot to learn. If you want to concentrate on one technique or model, depending on which it is, it’s typically about taking in some good info and taking action.
6th March, 2008 at 10:41 pm
hii, there josh i would love get more inputs on steps for $5 from first week…can you give out some plan..basically in terms of no of white hats sites to be put up…
as u use this theroy urself can you reveal one such niche in which u use ur self such “long tail keywords”… to market…the url of such sites would help me lot ..to get the feel and understand how things are to be done..
” AFTER ALL A PIC IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS”
6th March, 2008 at 11:05 pm
@ adrain - The basic plan was posted in a comment above, but since so many are interested I may write a short report in the coming days (or weeks) and give it away for free here.
There are many high paying niches. Mortgage and finance, loans, some Gaming niches etc. If you’re looking for a URL here is one of my mortgage sites: http://www.gethomemortgageloan.com/
6th March, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Yeah, Josh…I was going to point out that it sounds like you’ve got a good hook for an ebook here: $5 per day on a single site within a week (or something like that)
I suspect that would be a real subscriber list builder for ya.
Despite my concerns about article marketing as a long-term business concept, I decided a few weeks back to experiment with it…and finally got my first articles written and posted (including an overview article, with which I did a 50-site submission to article directories):
http://trustedhealth.info
The site still hasn’t gotten any indexed pages in Google after about 3 days, but I’ll let you know if I start to see any movement with it.
I still see the majority of article marketing as akin to web spam, and I’ve shared before why I don’t believe it will work in the long run, but if I can do it in a principled way (as I believe you do, from our discussions), I am not opposed to short-term profit-taking.
6th March, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Josh,
I have had moderate success using articles and LTK.
Sure it is a touch more work but putting in the initial hard yards to benifit later appeals to me.
I’ll stick with a paying formula.
Cheers mate,
Craig
PS: Love the blog
6th March, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Holy Cow, Josh! I don’t know how many people are like me..but I have created Google Alerts for the web addresses of many of my sites. I like to watch as they are linked to, etc. I have an alert for the article site I just referenced above (trustedhealth.info), and within 10 MINUTES of my comment posting here, I received an alert letting me know that Google had seen it. TEN MINUTES. So…Google is watching your site…and a link here seems quite likely to be noticed. Talk about a strong endorsement for commenting on your posts!
6th March, 2008 at 11:56 pm
agree with that. success in either way requires different techniques.
so if one isn’t too good at one thing, can’t be said that it isn’t lucrative
7th March, 2008 at 1:45 am
Heya, good post Josh! And great discussion environment you have here
I notice that your homemortageloan site did not use wordpress.
As far as i know, many people use WP as their platform, why don’t you use it and “exploit WPs benefit”?
It would be great if you could put some light here Josh
I have two niche site (a bit doubt whether it is a niche or not after reading your post&comment here).
Haven’t done the promotion as you mentioned above, but, i’ll try my best to follow what you share here.
Thanks!
7th March, 2008 at 7:02 am
Josh,
Great tip about not targetting the same keywords in your articles that you are targetting for your site. I have a fitness site, so I could target the name of a celebrity (they get a ton of searches)…but then use “fitness tips” as my anchor text in the author resource box.
Loved “Article Marketing Domination”, by the way!
Brilliant!
Note: I’m going after the bigger competitve niche. It is slower to monetize, but once the traffic hits it picks up quickly. I went from 100 to 1,000 daily visitors in a matter of a couple of months. It took me just as long to hit 0-100 as it did to go from 100-1,000 daily visitors.
7th March, 2008 at 11:24 am
Josh,
Targeting the “long-tail” is like riding the coat tails of a popular politician. Make the right choices, build your base, and over time, you to will have authority and be able to dominate your chosen niche. How long it will take and how much effort you have to put into it depends on how large and competitive your district (niche) is.
Beau
7th March, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Josh
Thanks for the post
I’m doing well with the competitive as my index and a number of other pages and the supporting them with long tail sub pages.
I’ve been using your techniques to goof effect to boost the whole site but I’m going to have a go at promote a 5 page subtopic and see how that kicks back into the other pages.
@Neil ( Josh - slightly off topic, hope it’s OK)
I’m based in the UK with a .com hosted in the US.
I’ve just done searches on Google.com & Google.co.uk for the same 4 random keywords.
Google.com :first page for all 4
Google.co.uk:
7th March, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Agghhh! that wasnt supposed to have been sent yet.
To continue:
Google.co.uk: first page for 2, second page for 1, fourth page for 1.
don’t know if that helps
Paul
7th March, 2008 at 3:35 pm
@ Chuck - Yeah, you can probably expect several new, free reports in the future from me with my new project up and running
Great to hear you got some articles out there. I wouldn’t say it’s only short-term. It’s a great way to get a site off it’s feet. Article marketing won’t rise a site to the authoritative status, but those article last forever, so you’ll always have a little traffic from each and you’ll always have those sig links.
I’d imagine that site not getting indexed has something to do with it’s index having very little content. There’s more content in the anchor text than actual content. I just gave you a followed link to it in this post (above.) Maybe that’ll help.
Yeah I have a google alert for my name and I usually get an email within 10 minutes or so everytime a publish to the blog. I think it’s just blogs in general, as they ping services and are updated frequently.
@ Craig - The meaning of “LTK” isn’t coming to mind?? Articles are definitely effective if done correctly. Thanks for the compliment!
@ Louis - Very true
@ Henbima - There isn’t anything wrong with using WP or any other CMS for niche sites, I don’t don’t believe all the hype about how WordPress will help a niche site. Google doesn’t care what platform your using, they care about quality content and incoming links.
Search Engines have never given higher rankings to any site because of the CMS. Blogs tend to be indexed quicker because in general they are updated more frequently than static sites. The pinging thing doesn’t hurt, but it isn’t going to raise your rankings. If that were true it would be automated over and over and become absolutely worthless, as it is!
@ Rusty - Yep, just as long as the two subniches are closely related you wont’ be stepping on your own feet and you’ll still come out on top. Thanks for the compliment. I’m glad you enjoyed “AMD.”
@ TzuVelli - That’s true, but if you target low-competition niches in the first place it’s going to be hard to make that site authoritative. It is possible though.
@ Heart - “I’m doing well with the competitive as my index and a number of other pages and the supporting them with long tail sub pages.”
That’s a great technique. Do it this way means you get the best of both worlds. You can advantage from the quicker ROI from your sub-pages and still rank for a competitive term in the long run.
7th March, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Hi Josh,
This is a really cool tip that you are posting here.
There is just one comment that I’d like to post and you can just discuss with here about it. Though I believe it could be a questions most marketers out there will ask too.
For instance, you know that a niche like “Wow” or maybe “golf” is competitive but extremely lucrative.
Now, the name of the game is to plug some AdSense, create a blog and then submit some articles with links pointing back at the blog site. Do this 20 articles and some good content on the blog site.
Here’s the thing.
If people are like me for instance, a marketer and not someone interested in that niche but want to take the opportunity to capitalize on this… what would you think about this ?
I mean usually someone has to have some kind of interest to post some content about it, or else it will just cost a whole bunch.
Hope to hear something from you soon.
Cheers,
Vern
PS: Josh, when are you going to release something about SEO with articles and blogs or something like that?
(would love to help out if you plan on doing one, after all I have grown from non article - to being able to write an article within 15 minutes now.. just by reading your ebook!)
8th March, 2008 at 5:42 am
I think it’s better to have a major site on a very competitive niche.
8th March, 2008 at 7:44 am
@Heart - many thanks for the info above on domain hosting location. I suppose it’s a good thing that my site isn’t hosted in Luxembourg
I’m sure that Josh won’t mind his site being used as a message board for people in the UK 
Also your comments on using sub-pages on long-tail keywords has given me some really great avenues to explore for my site. I’m quite fortunate that my site covers an area with a lot of related subjects (finance of.., insurance of…,destinations etc.).
Thanks again to Josh for a very thought-provoking topic.
8th March, 2008 at 8:15 am
As a newbie, it is good to know the pro and con.
Thank you.
Rassarin.
8th March, 2008 at 11:21 am
Targeting the long tail is a good strategy. How many people really do one or two word searches. Very few.
Niche marketing is only stupid if you’re working a niche that has no buyers in it and you wont let it go. The most important thing is finding what people are buying first, are their advertisers advertising this product, then doing the keyword research to find out how people are finding these products. If its long tail then good on you !! Go dominate that niche.
Good rebuttal on garry conns blog by the way. Hes quite crazy but has some killer content.
8th March, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Josh,
Your blog comments are starting to get polluted with people who seem to have forgotten their own names.
Ya wants me tuh get the shotgun out and teaches ‘em a lesson, boss?
c-
8th March, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Hi Chuck,
LOL!
Thats so funny man. I wanted to
retaliate when I noticed this but
preferred to keep my mouth
totally zipped.
Josh, do take your time, i know
you’re probably working on a ton
of stuff right now.
Its just that I’d think that niche marketing
is all about content and just making
sure you have a good set of keywords.
Cheers,
Vern
10th March, 2008 at 4:16 pm
@ Vern - You just have to do some good research. You can learn ALOT about a subject just by doing some good research.
What do you mean with “SEO with articles and blogs?” Sorry, I don’t think I understand what you mean?
SEO is SEO.
@ Neil - Luxembourg is too small to have it’s own ISP let alone a hosting company, isnt’ it
@ Make - Alot of true statements there. Garry is one of the good guys I believe, he just wonders into dangerous waters at times
I’ve done the same, so I can’t say much.
@ Chuck - lol get em chief.
I’ve begun to just ignore it. There are so many of them, if I start to get strict it’s just going to drive people away. If they just type a couple word to get a link I delete their link. If they contribute to the conversation I think I’m going to accept it.
10th March, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Alright, Mr. Ethical. I’ll just stand back and watch your standards crumble for the sake of success.
From now on, I’ll be known as Mr. Cheap Home Mortage Loan, or maybe Mr. Germany Tourism.
c-
10th March, 2008 at 4:25 pm
lol whatever, Mr. Cheap Home Mortgage Loan
It’s not unethical to allow anchor text.
10th March, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Hi Josh,
Right, guess I will just have to crank
up a little about niche research.
Yes, that was more like a question on
if you were going to release a follow up
on SEO since your last free report.
Yeah, you’re right - I might need to
rephrase that question. Blogs and
articles is a way to create traffic.
How about this.
What would your recommended
basic plan for SEO.
For example:
write press release -> link to articles -> link to blog post -> link to certain anchor texts -> redirects to an affiliate product
This is just a very simplistic model but
I’m wondering if you already have a traffic
plan or SEO plan of any sort.
In anycase, hoping to hear from you
and let me know if I was clear enough
in my questions?
Regards,
Vern
10th March, 2008 at 4:28 pm
I never said it was unethical. I didn’t create your comment policy. I was just commenting on your willingness to cave on your own policy for the sake of traffic.
So THERE, Gumby.
Love,
Mr. Cheap Home Mortgage Loan
10th March, 2008 at 4:34 pm
@ Vern - Yep it’s all about research. Obviously if you’re creating a niche site on health equipment and you don’t know anything about health equipment it’s not going provide much value. But if you go research it you can come up with some value.
I release follow-ups to my list and to you guys right here at the blog when thoughts come to mind
I feel bad about this, Vern, but I’m honestly still a little confuse
I’m sorry about that. What kind of a plan are you looking for? How to get traffic through Article marketing…?
@ Chuck - I caved on it for the sake of building good relationships, not traffic
Got any good deals in Indianapolis? Possibly the Greenwood are? Just let me know 
10th March, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Hi Josh,
Okay.. last comment really and
I’ll hit the sack.
We know that submitting articles
is a good way to start generating
some traffic.
Or even writing articles is a good
way to generate traffic.
Is there like a kind of basic blueprint
you religiously follow for driving
traffic?
That should be just one basic
question which could benefit
me and others alike but really
if its still unclear… LOL!
I rest my case.
Regards,
Vern
10th March, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Yeah, yeah…the difference between you and me is: I don’t WANT relationships with people who’d rather manipulate my system than show me the respect to remember their own name in conversation.
But, at least you’re in good company. Others have gone down the same path. I just see it as a sad compromise.
The SMART thing would be for someone to come up with a plug-in that would permit sites and anchor text, but also to allow folks to use their names. But no one seems quite clever enough to figure out how to do it. I saw it done on another blog once and approached the guy to ask how he did it…but he couldn’t remember, and then it became obvious that it would have to be re-done with every new WP upgrade. That’s why it needs to be a plug-in. It would be very popular.
Love,
Charity (in a nice pink skirt)
10th March, 2008 at 4:54 pm
@ Vern - haha sorry about that. It’s clear this time.
The main thing we should concentrate on isn’t driving traffic, that’s easy. It’s retaining the traffic we receive.
If you’re retaining the traffic you receive, you don’t need thousands of daily visitors. Maintaining a helpful blog is a great way to do that, but building a list is an even better way.
To get the traffic article marketing is an excellent source! Forums, paid advertising, article marketing etc. all good ways of getting that traffic you’ll need to retain. Offering free reports and composing content that go viral are two great ways to get people to your blog and/or list where you’ll get their attention and keep them coming back.
10th March, 2008 at 4:58 pm
@ Chuck - I had to moderate that one
Of course I would prefer it that way, but if I spend time worrying about things like that, which aren’t going to hurt me or anyone else, I would be limiting the time I spend on the more important things.
10th March, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Yeah, but I have to have SOMETHING to whine about. What else will I do with myself? LOL…
-Charity
15th March, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Josh, just wanted to ask and perhaps
you could tell a few stories in the first
ever niches that actually made you money?
I’m sure its more competitive than ever
but it will sure help anyone wanting to
start from scratch.
Cheers,
Vern
17th March, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Hi Vern,
The very first niche I ever targeted was Germany Travel. Not a very high-paying niche, but it was something I enjoyed talking about, so it was worth it
28th March, 2008 at 5:53 am
Hey Josh,
Your World of Warcraft friend.. Obviously they’ve picked this niche because it’s something they’re familiar with. (Spyfu lists it at $0.40-$1.03).
So, if they’re making $5/day, what kind of traffic are they getting through that site after 2 weeks?
28th March, 2008 at 12:20 pm
@ Web - Yep, his CPC is very low. He chose that niche because he’s very knowledgeable in the game. He’s doing very well with traffic. He’s started a forum and started building a list. All together, last I checked, he was receiving nearly 100 uniques a day primarily through article marketing.