100k Dollar Niche Site Part 3
In the first two parts of this series I showed you a site that I built late last year that produced some decent results fairly quickly and pulled in about $1600 dollars in December. I have been guilty in years past of simply celebrating the success and moving on to the next site but as I mature as a site builder, I am studying what I am leaving on the table with sites like this.
I shared with you some statistics around ranking #1 versus chasing the longtails and showed that there is an IMMENSE amount of money to be had if the #1 position can be taken compared to even as low as #5 or 6 and you saw that the top 4 keywords were worth nearly 20k dollars a month if you could capture position 1 for each keyword. No doubt, extremely impressive and I hope it really opened your eyes.
So the question is this, could this simple little bike trainer site produce 100k dollars if we captured the #1 spot for the Top 20 keywords? The answer is absolutely Yes but with conditions. The question that would still remain would be how much time would have to be invested, or money, in order to capture position 1 for the 20 best keywords. That’s another topic but for now we are going to say that it absolutely is possible as none of them are ALL that competitive. I’ve seen far worse.
The Stats
If you recall, the basic stats were that position 1 would capture 42% of the search volume for a keyword and that this site produces .34 cents per visitor on average. So let’s take a look at the Top 20 keywords.
As you can see the search counts drop off dramatically after the top 4 or 5 keywords which is fairly normal for a tight niche. So let’s analyze the numbers, the massive drop off really impacts the earnings dramatically as well but even still a position 1 ranking would earn $35k dollars in one month!! I was pretty happy to pull in $1600 dollars but now I’m thinking a bit differently.
So could this site earn 100k dollars in one year? Not even a question. If you look at the keyword searches for the full year then you will definitely see a bias towards the winter months with December being the highest search counts. If you inspect from October through February then you can see that the search counts would definitively support that this site could actually make 100k in 5 months.
In fact, there are dozens and dozens of long tail keywords that are NOT included in this figure above that would also dramatically impact the earnings of this site in a positive way. When you analyze the numbers, do the math and remove the skepticism then it becomes clear that there is no question that 100k dollars would be possible and you’d have to start wondering if 200k dollars would be possible……hmmm.
What Would it Take
The question has now changed from Is it Possible to What would it take to accomplish it? That’s a great question and one that I am not done studying yet. The Top 3 competitors for the keyword “bike trainer” are PR4 or higher with thousands of links. Easy? No. Possible? Yes but it will take a while to target that kind of keyword but definitely possible by optimizing pages for that specific keyword and then building off-site SEO targeting them with the right mix of anchor text.
It won’t happen in a month or probably even in a year but this site is one I am building for the long haul so I have time and quite honestly, even if I dropped off the super competitive keywords, the long tails and lesser competitive keywords would likely still get us over 100k for the year.
What you wouldn’t want to do with a site like this, is anything stupid. Stupid could be defined as black hat links or link spamming in any way. No link schemes, link trades with dissimilar sites etc so as to stay off the Google radar. Steady and realistic organic growth is the way to go, combined with a lot of hard work via white hat link building techniques.
100k Niche Site Conclusion
So I am sure there are many of you just aching to poke holes in the theory here and that’s ok, that’s great. Reality is that while you speculate what can’t be done, I’ve shared an actual site, actual statistics, my actual keywords, my actual conversion rates and my actual plans around an actual site. I am pretty sure that I’m coming from more of a fact based position than you might be. I don’t blame you for being skeptical, I would have been too before I started dissecting the issue.
If it helps any lingering skepticism, consider this, this site actually converted #1 keyword positions at a rate between 60 and 70% as opposed to the 42% multiplier I am using. If you use a 70% conversion for searchers then that 35k dollar monthly income turns to 60k really quick!
Let’s also consider that we haven’t even mentioned Yahoo or Bing yet. Let’s also consider that we didn’t even mention advertising revenue that a site at position 1 for the top 20 keywords in this niche would be. Let’s consider that we didn’t even mention any Google Adsense income for this site. Let’s consider the clout that a site like this would command in this niche. It’s awesome!
So my challenge to you is this….stop considering what can’t be done and start considering what CAN be done, simply be removing some of the barriers in your brain. I will share more results from this site as time goes on but it won’t be generating much of anything until around October if you trust the the Google search trends chart.
That’s it for now…..the bones of a 100k dollar Niche Site. I hope that no little turds out there are going to try and copy my niche but I am sure some will. There is no need, these kinds of niche site ideas are everywhere. The problem isn’t usually a bad niche, it’s lack of willingness to do what it takes to capture position 1 for the 4 or 5 best keywords around that niche.
Hard….but profitable.
Another great post Bill…
I would suggest looking at one additional thing to help you score the top #1 spot… Add an ACTUAL, Real, and Tangible e-commerce section to the site!
This will allow outside sources to see the site as the end-add resource for the products, instead of being redirected off-site to complete an actual purchase.
1 – Get yourself a PO Box locally.
2 – Post you PO address on the site, About page, and in the footer (Lead to credibility)
3 – Add a simple ecommerce plugin for WP.
4 – Add in 5-10 of the same items you are promoting, to the ecommerce system, but DOUBLE the price…
5 – If an order comes in, you simply collect the funds and treat it like a drop-ship order. (Send it to you, then resend it to the buyer)
The bottom line is that people are NOT going to buy it through your ecommerce side of the site, they will buy it from the cheaper places. BUT… you have instantly converted the site from an affiliate site, to a deal finder + bonifide destination site!
As a side benefit – you get to feed your ecommerce products into Google product search through the xml product feed, which bring more credibility and visitors.
Just a thought…
Mark
That’s borderline evil genius…
Have you implemented that on any of your sites? Any results to share…hit me up with an email if you do.
LOL -
Thats what I was talking about the other day when we were emailing…
Yeah I know…but I want to see it. I am having a hard time picturing what you are talking about. It makes sense but I am just wondering what it looks like when applied. How do you intend to seperate the e-commerce section from the affiliate etc.
That’s all.
… Unfortunately – I don’t have it applied anywhere Bill, so its all just hypothetical on my end as well. Just taking from my experience from ecommerce sites.
I will pop in a page on a site and show you what I mean… but in effect, its just another tab… Really dont care if it ever gets used, as long as its there to give the perception of being a “clicks and bricks” versus just a redirect.
M
Nice post for finishing the series. I don’t think you have much tor worry about with tards copying your site because they are in fact, tards. You analyze these very well, probably more than most, so i doubt it would do them any good anyways. Your analyzing might even scare some away from that niche as they can see that they don’t stand a chance against you, especially if they have kept up with the whole series, but as you said… their are turds in the world, and there always will be.
Anyhow…
Great post and anxious for the next
Never underestimate the power of tards.
I HATE exposing a site, but I think it definitely lends some credibility to the issue compared the usual “trust me” type MMO blogs.
Great post and the series was a great read and lesson. You seem to be on top of your game and are headed in the right direction with this niche. I need to take a step back and follow your lead on the stats for keywords and develop a game plan as you have and then my sites will be better. Thanks for the great post..
Bill,
Great website you have here.
I have a question not specifically related to this post right here, but I can’t find a contact form… so here goes!
I’ve been reading some of your posts (not all of them, because I only recently discovered this blog). In 2008 you wrote a post about treating your niche sites like a business. In the same post, you say that working 6 hours per week on a niche site can yield you 10k (probably per year).
I’ve been in the MMO biz for 2 years now and haven’t had as much success as I could have or should have. I’m making a couple of hundred bucks per month and am looking to increase my income quick.
I feel most comfortable with researching niches and creating content.
The thing that has always bugged me the most is the link building. You’re always dependant on other people. I use ezines, hubpages and infobarrel for linkbuilding. I post spun content to other, lesser known article directories. I do comment blasts to all those web2.0 properties to link them up as well.
It doesn’t seem to be working so well. I need way better rankings. I feel a piece of the puzzle is missing.
I have registered my MMO business officially as a company and I really want to start increasing my income now. If I can just get this right, then I can increase my income to above $1000 per month within 3 months for sure!
Please tell me more about the way you build links.
Greetings from a new fan.
Jay
I am just wondering what it looks like when applied. How do you intend to seperate the e-commerce section from the affiliate etc.
bookmarking demon
I hate when that happens. Unfortunately, like you all said, tards will be tards. Hopefully, your stuff will gel with you in your readers minds to where they’ll recognize the rip-offs immediately.
Till then,
Jean
Great post!! I agree completely to whatever you have written. The only concern is that there are lot many competitors these days and it is very difficult to cope up with that. The work is really tedious but no doubt it is very profitable. The cost that one invests is too less comparing to the profits that he or she gets. The only thing on which this profit depends is how hard you work on it and the understanding on how this whole thing works.
So Bill… do you think you can reply to the comment I posted on February 1st ?
Hi Bill
Didn’t know that was you real name, I read some of your comments elsewhere and put you in with tards, but, fessing up I am impressed with these posts. I too stick stuff in the wind but am still in the “if its bringing in a dime I won’t worry” stage. You have got me really thinking now about what money I am leaving on the table. Bad dreams again.
Would you classify Angela Edwards backlink package as being “white hat” ?
I subscribed to her service and dropped two pages.
It could be a coincidence of course……….
The stats look promising, i will take a closer look and see if i can copy your idea if you don’t mind. Thanks for the great post. Like you said willingness to do what it takes to capture position 1 for the 4 or 5 best keywords around that niche.
impressive… thanks for the series.
@Fletch…naw you’re right…I do belong with the tards.
You need to understand my personality to get half of what I am saying on forums. I have an extremely sarcastic sense of humor and sometimes that doesn’t interpret well…especially if you aren’t American.
@Mark – Angelas links are pure whitehat but a better question is do they bring any value to you at all. In your case, apparently not.
Can I have a reply to the comment I posted on Feb 1st, please?
Jay…I am telling you about how I build links. I’ve shared several of my sites on here, which you can easily examine the links on. For me to give you any meaningful advice I’d have to see your site and what keyword you are targeting. Many people build links fine, they are just targeting keywords that are very difficult.
100K/Year is easy, 100K/month isn’t.
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