It’s been a wild ride building this niche site and there have been some unexpected bumps in the road.
Just like you learn to navigate traffic jams and detours on a road trip figuring out these obstacles has become a part of the journey.
I’ve been at it for about three and a half months now cranking out roughly 64 articles—all human-written mind you.
I’m not a fan of AI-generated content it just feels too… cold.
Give me the heart and soul of a human writer any day!
This whole site-building thing is a wild ride, but it’s pretty satisfying seeing those rankings climb. Want to learn how to build a niche site that actually makes money? Check out this cool resource 🤑
The Early Days: A Bit of Optimism and a Whole Lot of Links
This whole site-building thing is a wild ride, but it’s pretty satisfying seeing those rankings climb. Want to learn how to build a niche site that actually makes money? Check out this cool resource 🤑
The early days were a bit of a whirlwind.
Getting those initial articles published was exhilarating.
It’s like finally getting the keys to your dream car and hitting the open road.
We started building links and within the last month and a half we’ve snagged almost 10 which is pretty good considering we are still in the early stages.
And the best part? We’re ranking on page one for 14 of our articles! It’s a testament to the quality of our content and the hustle involved.
What surprised me though was the brand impressions and clicks we started getting.
People were actually searching for our brand name which was pretty wild considering how young the site is.
It was a little “pinch me” moment.
It felt like we were making a real impact.
The Challenges: Facing Down Reddit and the Big Boys
But then reality set in.
We hit some roadblocks and it felt like we were stuck in a traffic jam.
The first obstacle was Reddit.
It seemed like they were ranking for almost every single keyword especially the commercial ones.
It was like they were throwing a wrench in our engine.
And then there were those big established sites like Forbes ranking for all the general and broad keywords.
They were like those luxury cars that always seem to be in the fast lane.
It’s frustrating to be honest.
Strategies for Overcoming the Challenges
So how did we navigate these challenges? Well we started by focusing on commercial topics where Reddit wasn’t dominating the search results.
It’s like choosing a back road to avoid the highway traffic.
We kept the ratio of commercial to informational articles at 20% to 8% which has been a good balance.
We also decided to experiment with Reddit using it as a parasite.
It’s like taking a shortcut maybe a little risky but hey we’re always looking for an edge.
We’ll see how it goes.
We’re also covering every possible informational topic around our target subcategories.
It’s like mapping out every possible route just in case we need an alternative.
Link Building: Guest Posting and Niche Editors
From a link-building perspective we’re doing regular press releases and using niche editors.
It’s a more targeted approach than the guest posting we were doing earlier.
We’re trying to build relationships with influencers in our niche which can really give us a boost.
Content Formats and Influencers: Expanding Our Reach
We’re trying out new content formats too.
We started with YouTube videos and we’re seeing great results.
People love visuals! Those videos have actually been a big part of the reason for our brand impressions and clicks.
We’ve also tapped into the influencer world working with three to four influencers so far.
It’s been a fantastic way to collaborate with others in the industry.
They have access to the products we’re promoting create short reviews and send them to us.
We then publish those videos on YouTube with all the right keywords tags and everything else you need to optimize for search.
Programmatic SEO Pages: A New Opportunity
Another avenue we’re exploring is programmatic SEO pages.
It’s like creating a custom map for each product tailored to the specific intent of the search.
Since not a lot of high-authority sites are ranking for these keywords there’s a real opportunity to carve out a niche for ourselves.
Adding Authenticity: Test Samples
To add a touch of authenticity we’re planning to include test samples of the products we’re promoting on our blog.
It’s like showing people behind the scenes giving them a sneak peek into the real deal.
Goals for the Future: Brand Impressions Direct Affiliations and Growth
Now let’s talk about the future.
My main goal is to maximize brand impressions.
I’ve seen amazing results on my client’s websites and even my own and it’s becoming even more important in today’s world with all the Google updates.
It’s like building a strong reputation that resonates with search engines.
The second goal is to become a direct brand affiliate.
Right now we’re primarily relying on Amazon but we’re not quite ready to reach out to brands yet.
We need to build up some stats and show them what we can do.
Thirdly I’m aiming to publish 120 articles all written by humans.
Quality over quantity you know?
Finally we’re shooting for 100 links including guest posts natural links press releases and everything else we can get our hands on.
It’s all about building those powerful connections.
The Road Ahead
So that’s where we are.
It’s been a roller coaster ride but I’m excited about what the future holds.
We’re still in the early stages of building this site and I know there will be more challenges ahead.
But hey that’s part of the fun! It’s all about learning adapting and growing.
Like any journey the destination is important but it’s the journey that really matters.
So stay tuned! I’ll be back soon with another update.
Until then keep on building!
This whole site-building thing is a wild ride, but it’s pretty satisfying seeing those rankings climb. Want to learn how to build a niche site that actually makes money? Check out this cool resource 🤑