Step 3 – Generate Content For Your Website
So you have done your site research and created your bare bones site. What now?
Now you have to fill that site with content. But not just any content. Content that will enable you to make money with your site. Content that will get ranked in the search engines and give you floods of visitors.
Site content can take many different forms, but it generally falls into two categories: informational content and reviews.
Informational Content
Pretty much what the name says. Your aim is to provide good quality articles, blog posts or blurbs that will answer your visitors questions. The content pulls the visitor from the search engines, article directories or wherever onto your website where you have the chance to make some money off him (we cover monetizing your website in step 4).
The key factor with informational content is that it should be SEO food for the search engines. Do keyword research and find key phrases without a lot of competition, but with a lot of people searching for it (almost like a mini step 1). Target those key phrases when writing your content and each page will help to pull in more visitors.
Informational content is the most widely used and easiest to produce content and there are various ways to get this content.
Write It Yourself
This is the cheapest option, but also the most difficult and time consuming. Not everybody is a Hemingway or Shakespeare – actually don’t write like Shakespeare as nobody will understand you 
If you need to do some research on what to write go to Ezinearticles.com and read through some of their articles on your chosen topic.
Some people also use content creation software. Out of everything I have tested the best one by far is Instant Article Wizard Pro. Have a look at their sales page to see what content can be generated within minutes without you doing anything. Everything is done be the software. In terms of cost effectiveness this is the best option.
PLR
PLR stands for public label rights and just means that you can use the article whose rights you bought any way you want. You can rewrite it, put your name on it, use different parts of it, etc.
If you do use PLR articles, make sure to change it or rewrite it as much as possible, or else you are going to compete with everybody that bought the articles. A good rule of thumb is to at least rewrite the following:
- Title
- First paragraph
- Last paragraph
- A few sentences inbetween to personalize it
By far the best PLR service around is PLRPro. I have been a member for years and am very happy with the quality of their articles. As a bonus they include a number of very powerful tools for free. Some of them feature regularly in my marketing arsenal so you will definitely see a some case studies using PLRPro and their tools.
Outsourcing
The most expensive option but if you need 1,000 articles do you really want to write them yourself? On Elance.com you can get articles for around $4, but please make sure about the quality of the writer before ordering a lot of articles from them.
I tend to order 5 articles. If I think they are good quality, I will order a larger batch. However, keep in mind that for excellent quality articles by native English writers you will pay at least $15 per article.
I almost forgot. I have been trying out a new article writing service called Articlez and it is pretty good and inexpensive. You can buy credits which you then redeem for content, from short blurbs to longer articles. A 350 word article costs $6 and it is written by native English speakers. Check it out if you are thinking about outsourcing your article writing.
Reviews
Again, it is pretty self explanatory. You write reviews about products or services and then offer that product or service through an affiliate link.
Writing a review is more involved than writing an article and to write an effective review you should have used the product or service. However, if you write effective reviews you can earn a lot more money than with pure informational articles.
The main point in writing a good review is to show the reader that you know what you are talking about – you have had the same problems as they do and by using the product or service those problems were solved. It is crucial to convince your reader that you have used the product or service, as that will build their trust. And if they trust you they are much more likely to buy the product you are recommending.
Another tip when writing reviews is to mention at least one negative point, but make sure that it is a minor one. Something like “I tried the 3 day acne cure and after 5 days my acne was cured.” Most people won’t be put off by the fact that it took 2 days longer than the sales copy states.
If you decide to outsource your reviews make sure to slightly change the review and put your own flavor on it. People are not stupid and if the review is too clinical they won’t believe it.
How Many Pages Should My Site Be?
The answer here is another question: “how much information can you give that will help (1) convert visitors into sales or (2) increase traffic to your website.
I have seen 2 or 3 page sites making $500 per month and 100 page sites making $500 per month. It depends on the niche, the products, your competition and a bunch of other factors.
For a good small niche site I would generally recommend 20-30 pages.
So you have generated some content for your site. THe next step is to monetize your site.
Step 2 – Creating Your Website
After you have done your subject and keyword research the next step is to create your website.
I have broken it down into 3 easy to follow steps.
1. Register a domain name
Remember when we did the keyword research in the Research section? When you register a domain you really need to have your main key phrase (in our example it was “golden retriever training”) in the domain name. Something like trainingyourgoldenretriever.com is still available and although it is a little long it explains exactly what your site is about.
You may have noticed that by using “your” in the domain name it speaks directly to golden retriever owners. This type of emotional connection is extremely valuable and profitable. You are showing golden retriever owners how to train their dog, not a dog.
People often ask me what they should do if the .com extension is taken. Try and come up with a .com that is available. Mix the order of words (it should still make sense) like I did to come up with trainingyourgoldenretriever.com when goldenretrievertraining.com was unavailable. Or use hyphens in the name separating the words.
If you really cannot come up with a .com domain name, use .net and as a last resort you can use .info. By the way, I have around 60 .com domains, 1 .net domain and no .info domains so you can see what I prefer
I like to use Namecheap for registering domain names. They have an easy to use interface and I have never had any problems with them. They also change your new DNS settings very quickly (don’t worry, we will get to that in a moment). Whatever you do, never use the same company for domain name registration and hosting. I have heard some horror stories about web hosts that can hold you hostage because they also control the domain name!
2. Set up web hosting
There are a lot of companies offering web hosting online. What they are essentially doing is offering you space and bandwidth on servers they own and run which is why you have to be careful when choosing a web host. Cheaper is not always better!
You also have a range of options to choose from. Shared servers, dedicated servers, reseller hosting, and so forth.
Well, let’s break it down.
If you want to set up one or maybe a handful of normal size sites, choose a shared server package that will enable you to include the number of sites you are planning.
If you are planning a huge site (and I mean HUGE) then get a dedicated server. However, for most people a shared server will have enough space and bandwidth to meet their needs.
If you are planning to set up loads of normal sites (read niche sites with up to a couple of hundred pages each) then reseller hosting will be your best solution.
Be sure to read the features of all the packages and think hard before choosing one. It is a nightmare to change hosting providers.
The best web host I have found is HostGator. They have a range of packages to suit everybody and they are reasonably priced as well. Most importantly, their customer service is outstanding!
After you have set up your hosting, make sure to change the DNS settings of your domain to the DNS settings of your web host. If you don’t know how to do this, get your DNS settings from your web host and contact your domain provider. Most domain providers will be happy to help you change it.
3. Creating your site
I can write a 100 page guide just on creating a site and many guides have been written about it! However, in the interest of time I will give a brief overview of the main ways to create a website.
In the future we will drill into each technique with tips, etc so be sure to check back regularly!
Wordpress
Installing a Wordpress blog as your site is probably the most popular way to create a website. It is easy to install, but you will need some technical skills if you want to customize the site with new graphics or a different template. The reason I like Wordpress is its flexibility. This site was created with Wordpress and if I decide to change the color of something it is only a few clicks away. Want to change my sidebar layout? A couple of minutes and it is changed!
Since an easy Wordpress installation option is included by web hosts using CPanel (HostGator is one) for free, you can create a site without it costing you a cent. However, unless you know your way around Wordpress as well as the different Wordpress plugins to enrich the site you might need an expert.
If you want to go at it alone, then I can recommend Caroline Middlebrook’s free Wordpress guide as a good starting point.
Website Creation Software
There is a lot of different software available that can create beautiful websites. Software like Dreamweaver and Frontpage are the popular options, but unless you have a lot of time to get familiar with the software and know HTML coding I would not recommend using it. Some people swear by them but it is just too difficult and time consuming for an inexperienced person to use.
The software I do recommend and the one I use is XSitePro. It is easy to use, it has a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface, it already has some nice and colorful templates to use and you can create a site without knowing a piece of code.
XSitePro automates a lot of tasks that will not only make your site look nicer but will also help with ranking in the search engines.
Now I have to confess, I started on Dreamweaver (this was long before XSitePro was even created) and in spite of all the good things I have heard about XSitePro I resisted getting it. Years later I eventually got it and I was really annoyed that I have not started using it earlier.
HTML Coding
If you want to learn the “insides” of how websites work you will need to learn the HTML and PHP programming languages. Is it necessary? No, but it will help you significantly when you want to start customizing websites.
Once you have created a couple of sites with Wordpress or XSitePro start learning the basics of HTML. It really is not that hard and you will be delighted about the flexibility it gives you. Later on learn more advanced HTML. If you are REALLY interested give PHP a go as well. A word of warning: php is much harder to learn than HTML.
Now you might ask why people would code their websites instead of using one of the above, easier options. You do get hardcore coders creating their whole website on Notepad! I was one of them for a few years and enjoyed it, but it is just too time consuming, which eats into profits.
Outsourcing
The last and most expensive option is outsourcing your website creation. Chances are the webmaster will use Wordpress, XSitePro or Dreamweaver to create your site, but at least you don’t have to learn how to do it.
You can go to places like Elance.com, post your project and see how much people bid for it. You might even get away with paying less than $200 for the site. Be warned that for such a low amount the site will either not be unique (they would use an existing template and just fill in the blanks) or be a rush job with coding errors, etc.
For a quality custom site with all the bells and whistles I would expect to pay at least $600 and closer to $1,000. Also, ask other webmasters or friends who they have used as it is normally better to use somebody referred by a friend than an unknown person.
Free Websites
“What about free websites like Blogger or Squidoo?” you might ask. I have not included free websites in the site creation options, as I don’t think it is a good business decision to be at the mercy of a third party. What if you created all your sites on Squidoo and they close down? You lose your revenue streams. I would encourage you to pay a small amount of money and get your own domain and hosting. Then you are in control.
I do use some free sites like Blogger, Squidoo and Hubpages to test new niches or products. Throw up a couple of Squidoo lenses in an hour and see if people are interested in the niche or product. If they are you can create your own site around it. So in the case of quickly testing new ideas Blogger, Squidoo and Hubpages are really useful.
Now that you have your own website up and running we can move on to the next step which is to generate content for your site.
Step 1 – Researching Your Site
The first thing you need to do BEFORE you create a website is to decide what the website will be about.
Now this might seem easy, but think about it for a moment. You like dogs and you have heard that the dog training niche is very lucrative so you decide to set up a site about dog training. Now unless you have a lot of money, time and know-how your dog training website is not going to make you any money! The niche is just way too competitive!
So what should your website be about?
Most people would advise you to start a site on something you have an interest in – a hobby maybe? Creating content about something that interests you will be a lot easier. However, your hobby might not be a profitable idea. How will you monetize the site? Will people spend money on their hobby? How many people are interested in your hobby? You get the idea.
The best idea for a site will be a hobby where your answers to the above questions are positive, but they are few and far between. So you will have to do some brainstorming. Look around your house or work place and look for things that people buy. Maybe something they need? A popular toy?
The idea is to develop a website in a narrow niche, as competition is normally much lower. It is all about demand and supply – I bet you did not expect an economy lesson
Let’s go back to the dog training niche as an example. Creating a profitable website on dog training is going to be extremely difficult. Sure, there is the potential to get loads of traffic to your site, but that is only if you rank well on the search engines. Let’s see what Traffic Travis says about demand (how many people search for the phrase dog training):
Wow, Traffic Travis estimates 92,533 searches PER DAY for “dog training” (see the above screenshot).
Now for the bad news. Let’s look at supply (competition) for the phrase “dog training”:
If you type in “dog training” (in quotation marks) in Google you get more than 6 million results! NB – your results may vary depending on your geographical location. Why use quotation marks? This will normally show you the web pages you will have to directly compete with for the phrase. Do you want to compete against 6 million sites?
I thought not
So let’s narrow down our market and drill down into the dog training niche. What about training for a specific breed? Maybe Golden Retriever training? Let’s see what the demand and supply is for “golden retriever training”:
Traffic Travis estimates 582 searches per day. That is a lot less than the 92,000 for dog training but it still means that more than 17,000 people look for golden retriever training every month! Do you think you can make money with 17,000 potential customers every month?
However, let’s not get too excited yet. What about the competition?
Google throws up around 18,000 results for “golden retriever training”. That might seem like a lot, but how many of the results are strong competition? Let’s use Traffic Travis’s SEO Analysis function to analyze the top 20 websites for golden retriever training.
What am I looking for?
In order to analyze competition I generally look at the following things:
Google PR
Although I don’t put a lot of weight on Google’s Page Rank, it is a useful tool to see what Google thinks of the web page.
Backlinks To Page
Search Engine Optimization (SEO – or how to get a high ranking in the search engines) in its simplest form consists of two things – (1) good on page optimization (covered later) and (2)backlinks (how many other websites link back to your web page). The more backlinks to the specific page, the harder it will be for us to rank for our phrase.
Backlinks To Site
Generally web pages rank individually, which is why backlinks to the specific page is more important. However, if you have a website with thousands of backlinks to the site Google might see it as an authority site and the authority of the whole site will influence individual pages.
On Page Optimization
On page optimization covers everything done on the web page that will help it rank well. Good examples are to include your keyword phrase in your web page title and description, as well as use it in headers (H1 html function), mentioning the phrase in the content on the page, etc.
Analysing the competition
The first thing that I noticed is that the domains are generally old, but the PR (Google’s Page Rank) is quite low. This is good.
The first two results are from the same site and although they don’t have a lot of backlinks to the pages, the site itself has a lot of back links. This will make it difficult to beat them.
Let’s look at the third result. It has a PR of 2, the page has 10 backlinks and the site has 261. “Golden Retriever Training” is NOT included in the title, description or H1 tags. Hmmm, this looks promising.
Now at this stage you can decide to create a website on Golden Retriever Training and with a little effort you can easily outrank the 3rd place webpage.
If you are still concerned about your ability to outrank the 3rd place webpage you can analyse the backlinks to the page with a brilliant piece of software called SEOElite.
So let’s analyze the backlinks using SEOElite for the 3rd result:
Very interesting! 2 of the 10 links come from .edu domains. Generally links from .edu and .gov domains carry more weight than the .com, .net and .info domains. Also, a lot of the links are not valid anymore and of the ones that are still valid only one links back with the anchor text “Golden Retriever Training” (anchor text refers to the text of the link).
This is just getting better and better! In fact, I was stupid to have used this example as it would have made a brilliant little website for my portfolio!
So there you have it. A quick and easy way to find key phrases with lots of demand but little supply. The next step is to create your website.
