Anyone building a mega-site?

21 replies
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Has anyone created any mega-sites (mainly informational website)? If so - how are you doing?

I'm thinking about creating one...
#building #megasite
  • Profile picture of the author sovereignn
    I have a "mega" tech review site

    Monetized with Amazon

    Used to make a couple grand a month, now not so much.

    I stopped updating it when Amazon changed their cookies
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    • Profile picture of the author Bond Girl
      Originally Posted by sovereignn View Post

      I have a "mega" tech review site

      Monetized with Amazon

      Used to make a couple grand a month, now not so much.

      I stopped updating it when Amazon changed their cookies
      Amazon changed their cookies from something other than 24 hours? May I ask how old your site is?
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      • Profile picture of the author sovereignn
        Originally Posted by Bond Girl View Post

        Amazon changed their cookies from something other than 24 hours? May I ask how old your site is?
        Last I checked they made it so if the user clicks any link to amazon even if it isn't affiliate it removes your cookie


        Site was made in October
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  • Profile picture of the author Threaver
    How are you going to monetize you site, primarily?
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Coudriet
    Originally Posted by bigcat1967 View Post

    Has anyone created any mega-sites (mainly informational website)? If so - how are you doing?

    I'm thinking about creating one...
    When you say mega-site? How many pages are you thinking of? Also, hwat is your content creation and posting strategy if you don't mind me asking?

    I have a site that I am looking to get up to 5,000 pages of unique quality content.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    I'm building out a crowd-sourced site that's monetized with Amazon, Linkshare, some PPC, and soon, some paid advertising.

    As folks come onboard and begin submitting their own reviews, the site will experience rapid growth, becoming a "mega-site". I'm still looking for contributors to come onboard.
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  • Profile picture of the author bigcat1967
    When you say mega-site? How many pages are you thinking of? Also, hwat is your content creation and posting strategy if you don't mind me asking?

    I have a site that I am looking to get up to 5,000 pages of unique quality content.
    How are you getting 5,000 pages? just wondering...
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  • Profile picture of the author zoco1
    5000 pages is quite a site. A 1000 pages on the other hand....if you have the money (about $5K ) you can outsource the article writing. A 1000 page site should return those 5K in about 6-7 months or less.
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    • Profile picture of the author jessiepadgal
      Originally Posted by zoco1 View Post

      5000 pages is quite a site. A 1000 pages on the other hand....if you have the money (about $5K ) you can outsource the article writing. A 1000 page site should return those 5K in about 6-7 months or less.
      I wouldn't put all my eggs into the basket of 1,000 $5 articles...
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  • Profile picture of the author esmein
    The megasite approach really resonates with my goals.

    A question remains: what would you create 1,000 - 5,000 pages about? I don't mind personally writing all the content, but I'm out of ideas after about 120.
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  • Profile picture of the author IMSince2003
    This is all I do. I graduated from small niche sites 3 years ago. I used to pay over $10,000/year for domain renewals alone! If you choose the right niche, you can have thousands of keywords to write about. For example, the home electronics niche has tens of thousands of products, accessories, how to article topics, it will keep you going for years. There are hundreds of niches just like it.
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  • Profile picture of the author leorocking25
    I can't create any mega sites...the idea also need to know for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author retsek
    Building one right now. The goal is 1,000 pages of unique content in single niche. I'm paying $20 per article, and currently at 180~.

    Currently in the hole for about $2,500 if you count what I've been spending on link building and off-site content creation.

    But when I'm done i'm expecting $10 - $15,000 per month from this site in a adsense alone.
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
      Banned
      Originally Posted by retsek View Post

      Building one right now. The goal is 1,000 pages of unique content in single niche. I'm paying $20 per article, and currently at 180~.

      Currently in the hole for about $2,500 if you count what I've been spending on link building and off-site content creation.

      But when I'm done i'm expecting $10 - $15,000 per month from this site in a adsense alone.
      At $20 per article I expect the quality is very good.

      My biggest problem & the only reason I haven't moved forward with an article type site is finding a quality writer, someone that actually knows what quality text is & also knows the subject well. I don't want a writer that writes about everything under the Sun, I need a writer that is focused on my niche.

      My question is, how did you find your writer?

      Also, is the $20 partly because of the niche your in (insurance, health, etc...)?

      Thanks,
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      • Profile picture of the author retsek
        Originally Posted by yukon View Post

        At $20 per article I expect the quality is very good.

        My biggest problem & the only reason I haven't moved forward with an article type site is finding a quality writer, someone that actually knows what quality text is & also knows the subject well. I don't want a writer that writes about everything under the Sun, I need a writer that is focused on my niche.

        My question is, how did you find your writer?

        Also, is the $20 partly because of the niche your in (insurance, health, etc...)?

        Thanks,
        It's health.

        My suggestion is the try sites like odesk to find specialized writers. People who actually work in the field/niche your site is about and only do writing part-time.

        You'll have to pay alot more for it, but you usually get quality and a bit more credibility especially if you require rel=author, and treat them (and pay them) more like an employee rather a freelancer.
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      • Profile picture of the author IMSince2003
        Originally Posted by yukon View Post

        At $20 per article I expect the quality is very good.

        My biggest problem & the only reason I haven't moved forward with an article type site is finding a quality writer, someone that actually knows what quality text is & also knows the subject well. I don't want a writer that writes about everything under the Sun, I need a writer that is focused on my niche.

        My question is, how did you find your writer?

        Also, is the $20 partly because of the niche your in (insurance, health, etc...)?

        Thanks,
        Hello Yukon! One way you can find a writer for your site is to go to oDesk and post an article writing gig. Filter the providers to only accept bids from the US. You will eventually get a few American writers and you can give them a sample assignment, 200-300 words or so. You should be able to find your writer. That's how I found several good writers and if it worked for me, I'm sure you'll find one too. Good luck.

        Edit: Retsek beat me to the punch. OK, Yukon, here's another idea that's also worked for me. Go to a forum that's in your niche and look around for the main posters. PM each one and ask if they would be willing to write some content for you. Most of them love their subject and are glad to help.
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  • Profile picture of the author bigcat1967
    Yeah - I've used writers from ODesk before - and they are pretty good. However, my fear is that they are using article spinners - so that's why I'm doing all the writing myself.

    I know my niche very well. So if I can turn out four articles a day (which is easy for me - at least on my days off) - I should be doing good.
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  • Profile picture of the author howinfo
    Originally Posted by bigcat1967 View Post

    Has anyone created any mega-sites (mainly informational website)? If so - how are you doing?

    I'm thinking about creating one...
    To build a mega site you need a big budget or it must be user generated content. I don't know what is the criteria for mega site but our career site stared out quite small but now it is getting close to 5000 pages. It was not the intention originally to build a big website but the site was doing good so we just kept expanding it. It is information site and all user generated content, it took some work at the beginning but now it is just growing on autopilot without much work at my part.
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  • Profile picture of the author bigcat1967
    To build a mega site you need a big budget or it must be user generated content. I don’t know what is the criteria for mega site but our career site stared out quite small but now it is getting close to 5000 pages. It was not the intention originally to build a big website but the site was doing good so we just kept expanding it. It is information site and all user generated content, it took some work at the beginning but now it is just growing on autopilot without much work at my part.
    Well - that's my aim as well. 1,000 pages would be good enough - - but I would keep on growing it.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    Since when is 5,000 pages a big site?

    Here's a site I built back in 2005/6.

    Currently has 320,000 pages indexed in Google

    Housemates | Australia's Best Share Accommodation Website!

    Ive built several sites like this over the years. All just as big.

    Ebay.com.au currently has 49.7 million pages indexed!
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    • Profile picture of the author imMindset
      I too pay $20/article for my "mega-site". Definitely worth every penny. I've hired an awesome writer who specializes in this area. It's amazing who you can find if you do a bit of searching on odesk, guru, or even posting an ad to craigslist!

      I started this newer project prior to all the updates to "hedge" myself, and the site is performing well in the search engines post-penguin. The content on my site is also being shared, liked, and commented on which really helps. You don't get that kind of response with low-quality articles. If your content is good, make sure to leverage it as much as you can with social sites.
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