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Nick Zachary
6,816 PointsAre niche websites really dead? What is the new money making business plan?
The more I research on this topic the more convinced I am that niche website are dead.
The risk/reward ratio is unappealing, because the months of work building a niche website towards the front page of Google can fall off the map in a matter of seconds. Although the benefit of a "passive income" is still very appealing to me. If niche website are really dead. What is the best business model to replace niche websites, that made so many people in the past a lot of money. Is there any viable business model to make "passive income" in this day in age?
I welcome everyone to argue or agree with what I think towards this topic, and hope you share your resources with the Treehouse community.
Best Regards -Nick
4 Answers
Ben Russell
3,667 PointsHaving built a few niche sites in the past, and followed the affiliate site route closely I always remember one point. Content! Provided a site actually provides useful and relevant information, which is updated regularly, tied in with some basic elements of SEO then you'll do well. Google does like to change it's algorithms just to mix it up, but I've seen many niche sites work through it, and still remain successful. Just don't be illusioned into thinking it's a fast buck route to riches. It requires hard work, lots of time and effort, but can pay off. Another point is to try and not have just the one site too. All eggs in one basket situation!
Do I think niche sites are still a viable business? yes. Is it harder than it used to be? yes.
As a side note, I hear theme building, for WordPress for example, can be profitable if done properly, with quality designs.
Lee Hughes
8,380 PointsThey are harder than they used to be but mine still work quite well. I have one website which I haven't touched in years and is still doing fine in Google. It gets hardly any traffic but it converts very well.
Like Ben said, don't put all your eggs in one basket. While you can still throw up a couple of niche sites and make them work today I would also start building something which is a longer term goal for you. Google is a mess at the moment but they are getting smarter every year.
I'm still planning to build niche websites but my main focus is on building something bigger and with more value than a 10 page website so it can deal with the new changes.
deletedaccount
5,089 Points"Niche sites" are dead, but good websites will never be dead. If you choose the right subject, your website will feel more like a hobby than a business. The irony is you'll make more money.
Gemma Weirs
15,054 PointsI agree for the most part, but niche websites aren't dead. As you've just pointed out, the model has changed. In my opinion, niche websites have evolved. What you've described is one way of making money. You're still operating a niche website or blog, it's just that experts advise getting really specific within a niche. Really narrow it down.
There's another way of making money which doesn't include affiliate marketing or adverts. Create a highly useful and authoritative product that fits your audience's needs. This model is very popular.
You'll only make more money if your traffic converts well, on top of using other up-to-date techniques. CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) is key.
I recommend the ProBlogger book - http://probloggerbook.com/ for different tried and tested methods of monetisation.
Nick Zachary
6,816 PointsI gather that money and Google has moved on from 5 page niche sites to 15+ page authority sites(strong content). I'll be moving in this direction and create strong content with larger volume. The "let down" of pursuing this plan is that you won't see results as fast compared to niche sites in the past, but overall I think the web will be a better place getting rid of all the junk.
Gemma Weirs
15,054 PointsGemma Weirs
15,054 PointsThere isn't any such thing as passive income in the world of content marketing (which is what you're talking about). I realise you're probably talking about the old style niche websites that used to be prevalent. But these days niche blogs are the usual format.
Niche websites are not dead, they evolved which is to be expected. The business models evolved too.
SEO is changing a lot, but typically, for those serious about making a living from content marketing, they would hire a reputable SEO to ensure their website didn't slip off the first page in SERPs. You won't get far without SEO or with using low-quality SEO. So your best bet is to learn about it from SEO blogs (I recommend Moz, SEO Journal or SEO Book).
If you want to learn more about it, I suggest spending time researching content marketing and associated fields of expertise before you decide to jump in because it's easy to fail if you're not up to date. It changes all the time, just like web design and development does. Don't expect to build a beautiful website filled with content, and they will come. That strategy doesn't work any more. Having a profitable and popular website/blog requires using several fields of expert such as CRO (conversion rate optimization), SEO, good copywriting skills, social media, sales and lead generation, email marketing, as well as other things.
If you're still interested in jumping in, to start with I recommend reading/following
There are others, if you want a list, let me know but the blogs I've listed are the top ones to learn from, and you'll soon learn what today's popular business models are.
I hope that helps.