Making money has always been the number one priority for anyone who starts blogging. It was mine too when I started out but that’s a different story altogether.
There are hundreds of ways with which you can make money online but the best one, according to me, is making niche sites. Making money from niche sites is the most popular way but does it still work?
Making Money From Niche Sites – Does It Still Work Like Before?
As I said, I would consider niche sites as the best way to make money online but you should know that the scenario today is completely different than what it was 2-3 years back.
Back then, you could find a keyword, get a exact-match domain, build a site, create some spammy backlinks and get #1 in Google. This is not the case today as you won’t reach anywhere with such tactics. You can get to the first page but that won’t be long before you are penalized and thrown out of search results.
With the constant algorithmic updates, Google has made sure that no site with crappy content stays on top of the SERPs. The focus is shifted to quality over quantity. You can still rank your niche site but not with the way I mentioned above.
Now that Google is becoming more and more strict in terms of ranking a site, what things you should take care of when you are working on a niche site?
How Can You Make Money With Niche Websites?
Before starting with the article, you must know about different types of niche sites. The most popular is the Adsense niche sites. People build sites on a particular keyword, keep on adding content and make a passive income from Google Adsense.
The other types are affiliate niche sites. Basically you promote products from the site and earn commission when a purchase is made. You can go with Amazon, Clickbank or ClickSure to choose a product and promote it. I normally prefer Clickbank over Amazon or any other network as the commission rate is quite high there.
The biggest question here would be how to find a niche?
You don’t have too.
This is one of the benefits of building niche sites that promote Clickbank products. Such sites are nowadays called Sniper Sites, a term used and made famous by George Brown of Google Sniper.
The only thing that requires some work is finding a profitable and converting product. Once you have zeroed in on a product, be it in any niche, you more than half work is over and now the other thing remaining would be just getting your site ranked.
Back to the product. Once you have found a profitable product, you now need to get some keywords for it.
Try to concentrate on getting keywords with around 1000-2000 avg. search per month.
If you are not able to find such keywords than you should think of finding a new product as you won’t be able to rank your niche site easily.
Getting the domain: Once you have some keywords, get a good domain name. Avoid an exact-match domain as you might get penalized with the EMD update. You can have your keyword in the domain but don’t go with EMD.
Signup with Web Host: Now go with the best hosting provider like HostGator or Bluehost and install a site on it. (Read the comparison)
Theme and Content Get a proper theme, I recommend Theme Junkie or Elegant Themes and add some content on it. Don’t just add all the articles at once. Update the site once a week or twice. You can have a minimum of 10 articles to get your site ranked and stay at the top for a longer duration. If you feel that the site is performing well, you can add articles at regular intervals to keep it up.
Backlinks: Now that your site is up and running, you will need to get it on the front page of search results to get targeted traffic. For this you have to do link building process. Don’t just get some cheap service that builds spammy links as they no longer will help. I suggest you to do this manually as you will know the exact location from where the backlink is coming. I would suggest you to go with Pat Flynn’s backlinking strategy as it is the most effective one.
Once you are done, you will start seeing results within 3-4 weeks and you will see sales coming in and thus more and more commissions. So do you still think that making money from niche sites is tough? No it’s not. Just the way it used to work has changed. So go now and start to make money with niche websites.
Why I Prefer Affiliate Niche sites over Adsense Based Niche Sites?
Here are certain points that will let you know why I go with sites promoting products rather than Adsense based sites.
- There is no risk of getting banned, unlike in Google Adsense.
- You can have multiple account with Clickbank and other affiliate networks.
- No worries of invalid clicks.
- No need of updating the site more often.
- You can change the product to other more converting one.
- You Can easily flip the site. (You will make more money by flipping if the site is making money with Google Adsense).
Don’t forget to check out the reasons, why Ammar hates adsense.
Places Where You Can Learn How To Build Niche Sites:
Pat Flynn’s Niche Site Duel : This is one of the best case studies that you will ever need. Pat Flynn has made each and every point clear and mentioned every step that he took in building a niche site that is now making a passive 4-figure sum every month. He keeps on updating the series, so you will get the best to make money with niche websites.
NichePursuits.com : This complete site is based on building niche sites. Spencer Haws is an expert when it comes to making money with niche sites. You will get some gems from the site that will help you greatly.
Create a Blog Case Study : Zac Johnson is one of the biggest blogger. If you don’t know him then you can’t consider yourself a blogger. He is currently working on a public niche site and gives every possible information. He guides you in building profitable niche sites with this study.
That was all I had to say. If you have any query or any thing that you are stuck at, just let me know via the comments below. I am no expert nor am I making tens of thousands by this method, but I have read many case-studies and many blogs, so I do have more knowledge on what things work and what not.
Don’t think that you will get immediate results, you can get but not always. My first niche site failed because I had done certain things wrong and I don’t want you to do the same things. So don’t keep very high expectations.
Recently Tung also built a niche website which is Ranked #1 in Google and Made $93.32 in 38 days. Read his story
So if you are not making money from niche sites, just drop a comment below and I will try to give you the best possible solution.
Happy Blogging and Happy making money!
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Well, i am also thinking of making niche website, still doing research for this. Problem is the EMD update by google, which makes to research about the domain too. Should i go ahead with any random domain name?
Thanks for sharing this info. I am currently planning on creating niche sites myself both for advertising (direct) and for selling affiliate products. I am trying to learn everything there is to know about niche sites in order to do it correctly and be effective. Planning on having this be one of my new passive income streams as in the past I concentrated more on traditional income streams such as real estate, stocks and brik and mortar businesses. Again some valid points to consider here when building a profitable niche site.
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As everyone saying its not so difficult to earn from niche sites but when the fact comes regarding SEO or site health then it might be in danger. When all the things suit perfect then there are so much chances to earn more than usual. Thanks for this great post.
Thanks Arabz for this post i really enjoyed reading it …
I think now that niche sites owners will find some difficulties in the content
for a man who interest in seo like me i found the biggest problem I face is the content whether it was a niche blog or other …… if you have a new and worth reading content then with a little seo tips you will be ranking in the first page on google :)
hey ammar,
i have a website whose niche is our universe well according to me its undoubtedly cool but still i have no idea how to get money from my website i want you to check out my website and guide me out to earn money from my website.
i would really thankful to you.
Great Article with a lot of momentum to keep blogging and pursue the Online business money making work. It’s good to see about the EMD update and how Google is punishing those sites with banning those sites.
I recently bought a domain for the keyword Home Workout Equipment: homeworkoutequipment.org without ding my research, so after publishing the content and making the site nice found out that the site was previously banned by Google and it was business which was doing well in Texas. Spoke to the person and he said they gave it up as the site got banned and before it made thousands in affiliate and ad sales.
What would be your opinion for this domain? Do you think a reconsideration emails and trying would be able to get the site back to index by the Google?
Thanks for the great post and the sharing about Pat’s new work.
Glad to know that now you are in business, I wish you and Chadrack all the best. Niche sites are those which can turn your hundreds into thousands in as low as six months if there is proper research and hard work. But not all niche sites make it to the top but still start playing with two or three. if not one the other might give the results.
To me I think it is still possible for this. As long as you have the inspiration and determination
Great article, but I would consider updating the part about link building. Pat’s methods are a bit outdated now.
Dear Adam!
Which back linking Strategy you think is effective now, as you mentioned PAT’s method is a bit outdated
Malik, I think the key is content content content. I obviously do some blog commenting, but I think providing link worthy content and then trying to setup some guest posts is critical. I also found that getting on Google+ is effective to spread the word, and developing your “authorship” profile with Google is becoming extremely important.l
Ammar, I love you for what you have written here. Man I have been a Ghost Writer on Odesk for last three years but never thought that this kind of money making exist where writing content can really pay handsome. Thanks dear.
There was a time where I did run a niche site, it ran both Google Adsense, and Amazon affiliate. The premise was never for it to generate a lot of money, but it did do very well at its height.
My question is, can one still generate a good income from providing information, and generating money from Adsense, or has that ship sailed? That question is geared towards a site that sells no other service, or product. Simply provides information.
Thanks!
Hello sir, I found your blog very interesting. As you mention, if any problem, we can comment. I have a problem that I made a niche site on Top 10 but not getting traffic. Please update me to how I can increase traffic On a site on which We can’t make a daily update.
I haven’t tried earning through niche sites. Looks like this is a good way to make money. I should learn more about this to do things effectively.
I had also thought about it earlier but never thought that it can be leaded in such a high work. Really a very informative post and i had got several ideas about how to accomplish it now.
Very awesome share….keep sharing!!!
They say anything is possible, well anything isn’t, but this is one of those anythings that is possible. Just the case of being patient and doing what needs to be done in a correct way. There is still plenty of money in a niche website.
Hi Arbaz,
Thanks for your great information. I mostly prefer affiliates than google adsense. And sure as you said new comers are always wanted to get quick income and that is not possible nowadays.
thanks for your reply Arbaz. But I do think that it is not that harmful to not have a particular niche for your website as you might want to make your readers get knowledge on a single website or blog of yours.
hey Arbaz
I took a careful look at what Pat, Spencer and Tung did with their sites… it just confirmed to me what I’ve been working on in the last years… that SEO/content marketing principles will still remain, while tactics might not.
Seeing these niche reports/case studies gave me once again the right impulse to keep pushing my niche sites/network harder, and outsource the process more efficiently. Without external help you cannot multiply yourself or your earnings/traffic, isn’t it?
Anyway, these niche studies I’ve been reading lately also motivates me to create something similar (and why not, better/more in depth) for my HWA blog soon… actually I plan to create 100 mini sites and detail everything from A to Z by end of this year.
I feel like transparency and commitment are the two traits of successful bloggers and super affiliates… what do you guys think?
Hey John,
Thanks for the wonderful comment.
Of course, proper content and SEO and proper marketing will only take your niche site to a new level. Going for cheap tactics will give you nothing but failure.
Also if you are planning to build 100 sites by the end of the year, I would love to see the report for it. Do give it a thought of creating a case study on the complete process. It would surely help all of us.
Thanks :)
I donot think niche sites could now create money, it is simply impossible now, earlier it was possible but today Google Search Engine is very much smarter
Thanks for the comment, Siddhartha.
It’s not true that you can’t make money with niche sites. You can make money and that too big money.
It’s true that Google is smart but its only trying to wipe out low quality pages from search results. If you build a niche site that offers high quality and informative articles, then Google will love it and place you at the top.
So don’t think that you can’t do anything with niche sites.
Hope you get it :)
yes Arbaz, making money online by building a niche site seems quite easy but the very difficulty arises in setting a particular niche for your blog. You have to work hard and do a lot of research to make your blog a great find for your daily readers.
Thanks for the comment, Yogesh.
Of course, it seems quite easy but it isn’t that easy. You will have to find a proper niche and that’s where many people fail. Proper research is needed in every aspect.
Hi Arbaz,
I enjoyed reading your post. I like reading Pat Flynn and I know Spencer Hawes but I have not read Zac’s blog. Thanks for recommending it. I went and checked it out and you are right.
I too prefer affiliate niche sites as opposed to Adsense sites. I often found these sites just very thin and not really very informative.
Thanks for sharing your ideas.
Dita
Thanks for the comment, Dita.
I am glad to know that I am not the only one who prefer affiliate niche site over Adsense. :)
Great post and thanks for the mention. There is definitely some good money to still be made in niche sites!
I am honored that you have commented on one of my articles.
Thanks a lot :)
Very informative article Arbaaz :-)
I also want to step into Affiliate Marketing as many bloggers are getting paid well from it . And I’m currently going through all the basics before starting affiliate marketing. And this article has really helped me :-)
I’ll surely refer to the links that you’ve pointed out here and I hope to learn :-D
Keep Posting ;-)
Thanks for the comment, Akhil.
Affiliate marketing seems quite easy but once you are into it, you will know that it can get tough if things are not done correctly.
Do refer to all the articles I mentioned above as they contain great information and you will get lots of knowledge from it.
I agree with you,You have to keep away from spammy link building and you will do great.
I my self managed to rank one of my posts in #8 in one month, I use low average monthly search as you mentioned, and this works quite fine with me :)
High quality articles and do-follow links is of major importance in ranking your site.
Thanks for the comment, Dima.
Your approach is good in ranking your posts. Keep up the good work.
Great article. I think the model of a niche site is changed slightly. Micro niche sites (1-3 pages) are dead now but niche sites with some good content is still a very good business.
Thanks for the comment, Dipra.
Yes, the micro niche sites with 2-3 pages are almost dead now. If you build a niche site and its performing really well, then you should keep it updated with all the latest content to stay on top of search results.
yeah you can earn money from niche sites but the problem is how to find a niche, you explain it beautifully, thanks arbaaz :-)
Thanks for the comment, Santosh.
Glad that you liked the article :)
Thanks for a good post.
Its good to make a website on a single niche rather than working on multiple or different niche’s at one time.
The best thing about Affiliate over Adsense is you earn more money by doing less work. Approx you should have a genuine traffic more than a million page-views then only you count your earning up to $100 from Adsense.
But i think we shouldn’t not only focus on keywords with less searches..but focus which have some good number of searches, less competition and more knowledge. :)
Thanks for the comment, Anmol.
Of course, you must find keywords that have great potential and not just low searches. I just wanted to give a rough idea on finding a proper niche.
Going for affiliate niche sites over Adsense is better as you get results based on your efforts only.
Hey Arbaz Khan really this is the info which is really very useful and valuable, generally bloggers just run for Adsense and other Ads they don’t know ways are more than many to make money from their work, this is a superb idea and written in a nice way..
Thanks for the comment, Shivani.
Glad that you liked the article and I totally agree with your point that not many people explore new things, they just follow what others are successful at.
Wow, Great Idea Arbaz Khan; really saying ABT is always comes up with post and people that help all readers not only to be aware of various money making ideas but also proper guide and supported links in it too.
Well you started with Niche’s idea and all the SEO starts here. when we work on one niche, site get more boom then mixed one. how beautifully you took turn to convert knowledge into money with Clickbank.
Advantages of Affiliate Niche over Adsense is quite effective and thanks for giving many Sites for trying best to choose from.
hats off for your Post dear.
Good one keep posting!
thanks ammar for Considring his post for all of us
Thanks for the comment, Thedijje.
Ammar is a good friend of mine and my first guest post was also on ABT and again I wrote one. Though I have stopped visiting more blogs in the past few weeks but I have always loved the posts on ABT.
With a proper niche, your half work is done and the only thing you will need to worry is about the content. If you are able to take care of this two things, your site will start ranking on Google and traffic will come automatically without any efforts.
Hey Arbaz,
Glad to see you once again here on ABT with an awesome article.
I think Niche Sites are the best way to squeeze some money online by targeting a specific reader group.
Thanks for sharing/
Thanks for the comment, Amal.
Glad that you liked my article here. Yeah I wrote an article after a long time.
I have always liked the idea of niche sites and I would surely work more on getting some success with it.
I think that it is alway possible to make money no matter what. But if you niche is poupular and your blog has great traffic then making money will definitely be easier. Thank you for the post.
Thanks for the comment, Tan.
Yes it’s easy to make money but all you need to do that is responsive traffic. Without traffic you won’t get anything no matter how hard you try.
there is no doubt that affiliate based site is much better than adsense based!
i totally agree it is very hard now to earn money online, especially when you are small and dont have any big blog to pull you up
best regards!
Thanks for the comment, Siegfried.
I have always tried to learn everything about affiliate and I personally don’t like Google Adsense at all. I am not using it on any of my sites at the moment.
With affiliate niche site, you get what you work for. If you work more on getting responsive traffic, then you will get more sale and you won’t have to wait to get clicks on ads or fear of some invalid activities.
Hi Arbaz, Thanks for the well written post. I think everything is possible if done correctly, even if its related to adsense site or affiliates. The problem with the majority of new-comers are they don’t have patience, they want to see instant response what they did 1hour ago, so that is why they can never survive.
Thanks for the comment, Sarah.
Yes, almost all the newbies want to see positive results instantly and hence they never ever succeed in what they do. Patience is the key here if you want to make it big.