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Is it easier or harder to make money online now compared to 10 years ago?

by Shane Williams
16 replies
Many marketers made it online by catching the boat early, building their rankings, their list and reputation. Ten years ago there was less competition, short and catchy domain names were easier to come by and keywords were easier to rank. The phrase "build it and they will come" had some relevance.

In the past a few articles could be throw on an article site and could get a site to rank and bring it in traffic or a low quality site using an article re-writer could throw up some adsense and generate a profit. But ten years ago there was also less traffic and less people had internet access.

Today there may be more competition but there are also many more venues to make money online and also more tools and services available to automate the process and ease the work load, but standards have also risen and content needs to be of a higher standard in terms of both quality and quantity for SEO and to comply with algorithm updates.

What is your opinion? Do you agree or disagree with the above and do you consider it to be easier or harder to profit online now than it was a decade ago?
#ago #compared #easier #harder #make #money #online #years
  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    No matter how surrounded by online marketers you may be...

    ...the average person doesn't know a thing about it.

    They've never seen the back end of a website CMS.

    They don't know a Kindle author.

    They've never heard of PPC.

    We're part of a tiny fraction of society. More and more people, though, are discovering IM every day. That means the market is growing and is huge.

    Knowledge about what tools work and what to do is easily found these days. There's far less barrier to entry.

    The biggest problem I see these days is that of differentiation.

    People coming in look, sound, and act like "everybody else."

    And that does not lead to sales.

    There's also an entitled attitude of "I should be able to pay someone and they should do it all for me," or, "It should all be given to me." That's dangerous because you don't learn anything. And when your foundation is based on somebody else, it can be taken away quickly.

    You have to KNOW something to succeed in this business. There has to be a CORE to who you are and what you do online. You can't just expect fancy tricks and magic bullets to do the work for you. You have to have VALUE at the center of who you are and what you do. If you base your business around an empty center, you will never get anywhere. And that's why it's so hard for many people to make money online.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
    The phrase “build it and they will come” had some relevance.
    No, it didn't.

    content needs to be of a higher standard in terms of both quality and quantity for SEO and to comply with algorithm updates.
    One major difference - Far fewer people are trying to kiss Google's ass.

    A lot has changed but the ease or difficulty has stayed the same because what really matters is the individual. Some will succeed in the harshest of climates while others will fail to take action no matter the conditions.
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    • Profile picture of the author bengteng
      I think there is no definitive answer to this question. It's a little bit of a tricky one. Personally i'd say that it is harder in some ways but easier in others. Ten years ago it was a piece of cake to rank number 1 in google for fairly competitive keywords (I managed to rank a website on the first page of google when I was 14). Now the algorithms have changed and you can't just spam google with a million backlinks - this is a good thing though as you've gotta put in the blood, sweat and tears to get that first page position.

      Also, like someone else has mentioned, they are many more avenues for us to advertise. Digital marketing has evolved so much in the last ten years. There are dozens of forms of advertising that didn't even exist back then! Another thing to add is that a hell of a lot more people are on the internet now compared to ten years ago. Meaning a higher target audience - more people to make money from!

      I think right now we've actually hit a sweet spot of income opportunity and technological evolvement. Now is the perfect time to start an online business because it has become so much more accessible than it was a few years ago. There are so many systems that are automated now that had to be done manually back in the day. For example, someone who only has basic computer knowledge and can do thing like browse email and check facebook has the ability to setup his/her own website, including lead capture pages and autoresponders by literally pressing a few buttons. No complicated HTML, nothing too advanced - everything is so user-friendly now which is fantastic.
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    • Profile picture of the author Shane Williams
      Originally Posted by Brent Stangel View Post

      No, it didn't.



      One major difference - Far fewer people are trying to kiss Google's ass.

      A lot has changed but the ease or difficulty has stayed the same because what really matters is the individual. Some will succeed in the harshest of climates while others will fail to take action no matter the conditions.

      When I used the phrase 'build it and they will come' i used it in the sense of there being less competition in the past and so more chance of being ranked and having a website found for a certain keyword and so 'build it and they will come'

      But I agree that at the end of the day success as it has always been is determined by the individual and their ability to adapt to changes and put in the work and study required.

      The reason I asked the question was because I remember being able to rank a site back in 2008 with relative ease just posting on ezine etc, before getting hit in 2012 by Penguin.

      Yes people in IM do not rely on google ranking so much today and there will always be new and similar challenges to face. Harder or easier as already mentioned by Brent, success today or ten years ago is still dependent on the individual.
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      • Profile picture of the author SiteNameSales
        Frankly, I think it's a mixed bag. There are some great opportunities out there, but you have to know what you're looking for and what might be involved in making it successful.

        Yes, it was great back in the day. The affiliate manager would email you a link and you could post an ad on Google for .25 per click. SEO was easy to master and all the free ebooks had original content (well, most did).

        There's a lot of market saturation now and Google now has all sorts of policies about 'get rich quick' advertising. "The hell with Google," you say, but it speaks to a perception out there about online marketing schemes and scams and deceptive practices.

        I was considering joining a blog directory earlier this afternoon and one of the first things that popped up was a placard that read in essence: "Get Rich Quick Bloggers Need Not Apply." I don't have a Get Rich Quick program - quite the contrary - but a lot of us can get tarred with the same brush.

        I'm sure you get what I mean and hopefully, unlike these folks, you can separate the wheat from the chaff.

        Nevertheless, we now have Youtube and video marketing and Periscope and all sorts of social marketing platforms to experiment with. It's not just for SEO and CPC advertising anymore.

        The internet is still growing. You can find young tech-savvy entrepreneurs in almost every country in the world now. If you have a good, honest program with talented mentors then you should be optimistic about the future. If you've been struggling so far, don't give up because of some bad experiences. Keep plugging away and you'll find something that's right for you.

        Happy Holidays to one and all.
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        • Profile picture of the author jamesfranklyn9
          it must be harder
          when i first got told about online stuff
          i was told it was pretty easy to make money
          but after trying maxbounty,clickbank, peerfly

          i still havent made any money but ive spent 1000's
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  • Profile picture of the author wentzco
    Well I was one those people who was spoiled 10+ years ago. I had great keyword strong domain names that ranked well even with crappy 1-page sites loaded with affiliate links. Adsense revenue was strong as well. I spent a lot advertising those simple sites too as ROI was positive. I honestly didn't work hard & should have had more of those simple sites up as the money was easy... my mistake. Competition was lower back then in all niches. So you know my opinion... it was easier back then.

    However as others are pointing out - we now have many more options to create sites with relative ease. More people are online & most feel comfortable today taking out their credit card to spend money online (not always the case 10 years ago). Advertising options are plentiful & 1st page search engine rank is not a necessity to be profitable. More options to create profit also are available (Kindle, Zazzle-like sites, freelancing, MANY more affiliate programs).
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  • Profile picture of the author YourBizAid
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    The playing field is still even. There's no point elaborating much on this. The field might have changed in terms of new strategies, etc. But it hasn't changed in terms of opportunity.

    The guy who succeeded 10 years ago through learning and implementation will succeed today if he's got that same mindset and attitude.

    Nothing's different. Seriously.
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    • Profile picture of the author shaunybb
      success is never easy, money is earned!
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      • Profile picture of the author Shine2314
        Originally Posted by shaunybb View Post

        success is never easy, money is earned!
        i think so
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        • Profile picture of the author MValmont
          Took me about 3-4 months to quit my job (Finance), and about one year to make close to $10 000 per month.

          I wasn't doing this 10 years ago but I would say it's way easier now then before...We are in 2015, EVERYBODY buys online now. People TRUST the internet. Just look at how Amazon is booming right now, it's crazy. Look the TV business is not going so well and Netflix is doing amazing...Everything is going on the internet these days. In a few years it will be even better...

          I'm so glad I quit my job in Finance and I'm doing this now. The potential is HUGE.

          All it takes is a good system ( I started with selling ebooks on amazon) and focus.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    It's hard to answer. If anything I would just say it's different.
    Years ago, there weren't near as many tools available.
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  • Profile picture of the author derekwong28
    There are more methods available now but most involve hard work. Ten years ago it was much easier to make money with Google, be it Adsense, Adwords, SEO, link sales, automated blogs, datafeed sites etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author mrvendi60
    I think both of the seller & Buyer is increasing daily. In last 10 years ago, there were a small number of buyer & small number of seller. Today there are many buyer & seller available. Today the number of cheater is really increased. Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author Rory Singh
    [QUOTE=Shane Williams;10451990What is your opinion? Do you agree or disagree with the above and do you consider it to be easier or harder to profit online now than it was a decade ago?[/QUOTE]

    A decade ago there was less 'competition' yes but there was also less people to sell to.

    So in a nutshell...

    Back then your success Online came from learning the skill sets of an Internet Marketer, hard work, determination, frustration, depression from time to time and 'transforming' into an Entrepreneur.

    So in that sense, nothing has changed.

    Your success still costs the same price.

    If you think about it...

    There will always be some reason to try and talk yourself out of doing the work that it takes to succeed...

    - Not enough customers

    - Not enough traffic

    - Not enough time

    - Can't please Google ETC.

    One thing that will never change...

    There will always be winners and there always will be losers.

    You must be aware that there are people winning and succeeding this IM Game right now in our time.

    Now pick what side of the fence you want to be on
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