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May I Ask a Question On My Progress - IDK What Else To Do... =/

by Brekat23
16 replies
Allright so I feel like I'm kind've in a rut right now. I'm going to lay out my situation and any advice, suggestions, and guidance on what I should do and where I should go next would be greatly appreciated.

I have chosen my niche and I have done my keyword research to come up with a list of my top 13 keyword phrases that have relatively good exact and broad daily and monthly searches as well as an average CPC cost above $1.00

Now I'm taking my list of 13 KWP's and determining the top 5 that would be the best out of those 13 to build 5 individual sub-niche keyword targeted affiliate websites around. To determine the top 5 that would be the best to promote I'm of course looking at my competition for all 13 potential KWP's.

Well I've done my competition research and this is what I've come up with, more or less, for all 13 of my potential KWP's. All 13 of my KWP's have, what appears to be, a TLD for all 10 search results when I enter a Google search (both with and without quotes); such as for example: the first result would be www.keyword.com, the second result is www.relatedkeyword.com , and the third result is www. yetanotherrelatedkeyword.com and so on and so forth through to result 10. Some of them however also may have it this way; www.companyname.com/exactkeyword -or something similar...

None of them have any 'user-generated' content within the top 10 results, like there is nothing from yahoo answers, or youtube, or similar sites..

So I'm assuming - all 13 of my potential KWP's are bad? I have no chance of ranking for them?

I'm using SEO Quake to determine this competition as well as Traffic Travis and some (not all) have the robo.txt file but not the sitemap or vice versa, and some have both but I didn't find one that didn't have neither.

Plus, there were surprisingly quite a few of these sites within the top 10 that didn't have the keyword I am targeting within the Title, Description and H1 Tag (which I would be certain to do to my sites) - however most of them have a considerable amount of backlinks as well (I plan on creating backlinks using article marketing but some have so many backlinks I don't know if I could ever catch up)

So you see....I'm just at a standstill right now because I am unsure whether I should be searching for the silverlining and go ahead with 5 of my chosen keywords still, try to rank for keywords that have less competition and are easier to rank for but also bring in a measly amount of daily and monthly searches, or just scrap this entire project and give up IM.

I need some encouragement, advice, suggestions, tips, hints, or anything that will either motivate me in the direction I've been moving or to be told that yes I am wasting my time with this unless I want to work on it for years before I ever rank.

I of course don't intend to rank overnight - but I'm hoping that with alittle hardwork and excellent on/off site seo I would be able to rank within the top 5 for atleast one of my 13 potential KWP's within a month. :rolleyes:

I dunno - am I hopeless? Please help and thank sooooooo much for any and every response I can get, you have no idea!!

P.S. I've also asked this in the SEO discussion forum but I haven't recieved to many responses (actually only 1) so I thought I'd ask here and try my luck as well....
#idk #progress #question
  • Profile picture of the author jhedeen27
    Hey,
    I'm new to IM so I can't give you any expert advise but I can relate to your situation. It looks like you've put a lot of time into this, seems like it would be silly to scrap it all. My suggestion, and maybe it's wrong, would be to give it a shot. If it doesn't work, then do it differently next time, if it works SWEET! You can't hit any home runs if you never step up to the plate ;-)

    Even if these sites flop I would be willing to bet you'll learn something valuable from the experience that will make you an even greater IMer down the road. Giving up on IM entirely seems silly, it is only going to get bigger.

    Keep working utnil you find what works, then do that again. You're going to strike out a few times, in the process but keep plugging away.

    This is coming from a guy who hasn't made a dime in my 6-8 months (in the cracks of my day) of IM experience.

    Anyways, good luck. Hope you can get that ball rolling!
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve L
    i'd say ditch the whole approach. i would broaden the niche you're targeting enough so you can just create one site (preferably a blog). you want it to be broad enough that you can have endless news, products, topics, long tail keywords to write about.

    you want to think long term and this isn't the way to go about it imho.

    check out these blog posts in my sig for more free advice!
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    • Profile picture of the author Brekat23
      Originally Posted by Steve Longoria View Post

      i'd say ditch the whole approach. i would broaden the niche you're targeting enough so you can just create one site (preferably a blog). you want it to be broad enough that you can have endless news, products, topics, long tail keywords to write about.

      you want to think long term and this isn't the way to go about it imho.

      check out these blog posts in my sig for more free advice!

      Thats not exactly what I was looking for, haha. That would take me completely back to square one and thats not something I'm willing to do as I've already scrapped and restarted about 5 different times now. I am thinking long term and I am going to create blog sites with my mini-niches. Ughhh...I just don't know anymore :confused: Either way I go however I would still eventually be doing keyword research and competition analysis so I don't understand how starting completely over would help anyway..? I could potentially end up in this same exact situation what with given how saturated todays internet market is, seemingly for any market.
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    • Profile picture of the author scrofford
      Originally Posted by Steve Longoria View Post

      i'd say ditch the whole approach. i would broaden the niche you're targeting enough so you can just create one site (preferably a blog). you want it to be broad enough that you can have endless news, products, topics, long tail keywords to write about.

      you want to think long term and this isn't the way to go about it imho.

      check out these blog posts in my sig for more free advice!
      I don't think that's good advice at all. You want to have targeted keywords to the affiliate products. If you broaden it into one blog, it could just cause a mess, confuse potential customers and you lose in the end. Always, always target your keywords! You want that good targeted traffic, because if you don't, then you'll get a bunch of lookie loos but no buyers.
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      • Profile picture of the author niplag
        I have been working on IM now for about 8 or 9 years now. Some of the tools and info at your disposal now can overwhelm you. Some days I still run around and chase my tail. But some of my most successful site have been those created through gut feel. There is no way I would create them today, so much info would tell me not to. Jump in and give it a go. To be honest you really won't know until you test it out.
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      • Profile picture of the author Steve L
        Originally Posted by scrofford View Post

        I don't think that's good advice at all. You want to have targeted keywords to the affiliate products. If you broaden it into one blog, it could just cause a mess, confuse potential customers and you lose in the end. Always, always target your keywords! You want that good targeted traffic, because if you don't, then you'll get a bunch of lookie loos but no buyers.
        you can still get targeted traffic, it just depends what you write about. also i don't know about you but i don't want to be managing 100's of websites.
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      • Profile picture of the author Steve L
        Originally Posted by scrofford View Post

        I don't think that's good advice at all. You want to have targeted keywords to the affiliate products. If you broaden it into one blog, it could just cause a mess, confuse potential customers and you lose in the end. Always, always target your keywords! You want that good targeted traffic, because if you don't, then you'll get a bunch of lookie loos but no buyers.
        also, how come the two sites in your sig are sites targeted around pretty large niches but then you are advocating that she build sites around just a few keywords? i think we're on the same page here and you don't even realize it.
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        • Profile picture of the author scrofford
          Originally Posted by Steve Longoria View Post

          also, how come the two sites in your sig are sites targeted around pretty large niches but then you are advocating that she build sites around just a few keywords? i think we're on the same page here and you don't even realize it.
          Well for one, I'm creating the products in the niche, not being an affiliate. My sites are for content and will then link my product page to the blog. The sites you see right now are to build credibility and authority. But when I get those products done for those two markets, each product will have it's own product page and I will be targeting specific traffic to it.

          I just think if you're an affiliate it's probably better to have one site per product instead of a conglomeration of products. You want the site to presell the prospect and then send them to the sales page. It's harder to do that on a blog in my opinion.
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          • Profile picture of the author Steve L
            Originally Posted by scrofford View Post

            Well for one, I'm creating the products in the niche, not being an affiliate. My sites are for content and will then link my product page to the blog. The sites you see right now are to build credibility and authority. But when I get those products done for those two markets, each product will have it's own product page and I will be targeting specific traffic to it.

            I just think if you're an affiliate it's probably better to have one site per product instead of a conglomeration of products. You want the site to presell the prospect and then send them to the sales page. It's harder to do that on a blog in my opinion.
            i don't see why it would be, but to each their own

            for me, i take a product recommendation much more seriously coming from one of my favorite bloggers, than i do coming from a lone page somewhere that is obviously biased, and trying to get you to buy the product in question.

            sure, the blogger is trying to get you to buy too you could argue, but they're more easily held accountable on their product recommendations than is somebody who just sets up these lone page websites.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brekat23
    Thanks jhedeen27! I agree with you actually I just threw that statement in there because I've been working at IM now for a few years on and off and really haven't made all that much. I've been studying it more than I've been applying it however so I do intend to keep up the work I've just had sooooo many failed attempts now that I don't know if I'll be able to withstand another - my heart is getting alil burnt out on it. So once again I hit the 'studies' and am doing it in a way that does seem like the right way, which is why I'm so discouraged to be having the results I am currently having with everything I've described above - so I thought I'd maybe ask on here and see where that lead me. I was hoping it would maybe lead me to something I haven't considered yet. Thankyou so much for your words of encouragement however, they have certainly lifted my spirits if only alittle =) I of course, wish you nothing but the best of luck in your online endeavours as well - I suppose some people can pick this up easier than others I'm not sure haha. I'll keep trying but I'd still like to hear from others out there whom may have some input into my current situation. Thank you ever so much!
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  • Profile picture of the author Brekat23
    I guess my real question (after you have read the pros and cons of my first top post) is whether or not I should forge ahead with the keywords I already have compiled? My keywords have great buying/search potential and about medium competition (I'd say) but I'm not sure whether I have a chance of ranking or not simply beings as the sites already in the top of the keywords I wish to target are brandname.com sites with alot of backlinks. (Not all however, have robo.txt files, sitemaps, and good onsite seo though...)

    I feel so out of control with this right now, I need to take a breather =/
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve L
    it's really hard to say without seeing the keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author mgallone
    Scrap the keywords IMO.

    Keep looking, and find some that you have a better chance of ranking for. Yes, it's more work in the short term- but you'll see rankings/traffic/profit a lot quicker that way, THEN you can move onto the more difficult keywords when you already have some income building up.

    I follow a similar approach (niche minisites) to you, so I know it can be done! I use MS to find my keywords, though I doubt it's much if at all superior to your method.

    Hope this helps!
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    • Profile picture of the author M Thompson
      Here is one big problem with keyword research.... marketers doing keyword research, seriously some of the keywords that are popular probably 75% of the searches are from other marketers.

      So try a different approach, go with you gut and logic... i wrote a blog post about this a while back... Monday Tip – Time To Move Away From Keyword Research?
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      • Profile picture of the author Steve L
        Originally Posted by M Thompson View Post

        Here is one big problem with keyword research.... marketers doing keyword research, seriously some of the keywords that are popular probably 75% of the searches are from other marketers.

        So try a different approach, go with you gut and logic... i wrote a blog post about this a while back... Monday Tip - Time To Move Away From Keyword Research?
        i still do keyword research for ppc, but when it comes to organic traffic... i use what i like to call "topic research" vs "keyword research"...

        "topic research" involves me surfing the webs looking for topics that stand out to me. i only worry about putting up great content. i'm always surprised at the long tail keywords i rank for without even trying!
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  • Profile picture of the author Brekat23
    This is amazing insight and I thank each and every one of you individually. This whole 'situation' was frustrating me so bad last night that I had to stop working and make myself laugh over something completely irrelevant (which, for inquiring minds was the way my boyfriend was pretending to wear our ferret as a scarf) Then, I got back into it and did some research on where I should take my research and where I should apply my knowledge. Thanks to everything I read about last night, including all of these forum replies I read here this morning - I now feel motivated and back in the game. I've decided to forge ahead with my initial research and apply a mixture of all the suggestions I've recieved here which would be to target more long tail keywords and rank for those as I build up authority with the ultimate keywords I wish to target. It'll be alot of work but I'm dedicated to it. The only concern I have now is that if I target lesser keywords, I may rank easier but also have alot lesser traffic - I suppose it varies niche from niche so I'll test it and see how it goes. Wish me luck, and thanks again you guys, your the best!
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