Need Some Clarification

[packerfan]

So I'm still very new to IM, loving it, learning a lot, not making any money, but I digress.

So up until this point I've been building "sites" based around a specific keyword. Then within that site I have some content, reviews, whatever. All of my efforts are around ranking the main domain name for the keyword.

Ok, so now I'm thinking of changes tactics a little. I'm still going to choose a keyword to rank the domain for, but I'm going to make it a general one, with a lot of traffic. Then, I'll create specific pages within the domain and focus on ranking that specific page for a specific keyword.

That way, over time, I end up with an authority site for my general keyword, as well as a bunch of targeted pages to specific keywords.

Maybe this is how everyone does it, and it just took this long for the light to come on; or, maybe I'm an idiot and don't understand.

Thats where you come in! Help clear up my confusion please.

[Devid Farah]

Sounds like a nice structured approach, and if you stick with it the money should come in the long term.

A word of caution on the “general” terms – you find yourself in a large pond fighting big fish.

In your positions I’d advise the long tail keyword route, and start getting some conversions/sales going before you go for “Volume” – this will give you confidence to progress

[dadamson]

Do your keyword research right and aim for low competition kws as well, the medium/high competition keywords will take much longer to rank for.

Seo is what a lot of newbies struggle with so get this part right and a steady flow of traffic and you should be making conversions in no time.

-Dave

[Page-One]

I think your idea of testing one approach against another (or others) is really a good one. But do listen to Devid's advice about not going so general that you're in a huge pond fighting whales with deep pockets, so to speak.

Also, I think it's vital, especially in starting out, not to bog down in focusing on just one part of the process. Myself, I enjoy creating the website and doing the onsite SEO. I'm not nearly as fond of the offsite traffic-building SEO: backlinking, article writing, forum posting, etc. But without that, nothing happens, even if you have the world's most awesome website.

So remember that to make money, you have to tend to the whole process. If you plant a garden but never water or weed it, what happens? Or, if you enjoy watering and weeding, but you haven't planted anything, what then?

All the best, and if you stay stubborn about making this work, it jolly well will!

[Victor Edson]

You've got a pretty good idea, you should run with it.

Setting up authority sites like this can be a LOT easier. Once it's got some age, and PR to it, it will be a lot easier to get rank for your keywords. Also not EVERY post has to be some keyword targeted article, so it's almost easier to provide your readers with better information, build trust(and a list) and make money.

Not to say that the other route is bad either. But if you start with a more general keyword rich domain, that will fit for several keywords, and then start building it, you can also easily have much more traffic potential that if you were just targeting 1 keyword.