Niche Pursuits Podcast: Find Your Next "Niche" Business Idea!

Want the step-by-step strategy a link-building expert uses to exponentially grow the traffic of sites? Alan Silvestri of Growth Gorilla joins the Niche Pursuits podcast to share some of his awesome growth tips. He got into SEO and affiliate marketing in 2013 after searching for ways to make money online. He started with affiliate websites and was eventually hired to help the same course creator Alan followed to learn SEO... From there, he found his passion for link-building and started Growth Gorilla. He now works with 10-15 clients in the B2B, SaaS space and has ranking content down to a science. In his interview, he breaks down his holistic approach. Alan describes the 3 main reasons pages may end up in the "content graveyard" (bottom of page 1, page 2, etc.): Not having backlinks Targeting the wrong keywords Not matching search intent or content type with the top 10 ranking results. And he stresses that content quality is important and should be optimized before building backlinks. To fix all these issues, he describes his content promotion roadmap. It's a quarterly process that helps prioritize target pages to build links to over the next 3 months. First, there's the backlink analysis of competitors. He recommends analyzing two competitors, one realistically beatable and the other a North Star competitor that can represent an authority in the niche. This backlink data will help show the difference in percentages of backlinks pointing to the homepage versus internal pages. If competitors are being more proactive with content promotion, they'll likely have more links to their internal pages. But if a website is not ranking, it could also be the site has a lower domain rating (DR), which can be improved by building more backlinks to the homepage. From this data, he describes how you can put together a link analysis report. He uses a three-step process for this, including identifying the link gap, identifying the type of backlinks, and identifying the topical relevance of those backlinks. One tip is to prioritize both page relevancy and domain relevancy for backlinks, but if you can't get both, prioritize page-level relevancy. Plus, he shares that while no follow links may not have a direct impact on rankings, they can bring in a trust signal that is important for a website to have. Building nofollow links can help dilute the backlink profile and build trust for the site. Good places to get nofollow links include directories, social media links, forums, and Q&A sites like Quora. He also shares how to spot and avoid bad links from link farms by looking at content quality, links that the content has, and the main business model of the site. And he also has some great tips on anchor text which can be classified into four main buckets: exact match, partial match, URL, and generic. To improve anchor text, export the backlinks of the top 10 ranking pages for target keywords and classify them into the four buckets to determine the ideal distribution. Throughout the episode, Alan has a lot of great tips and tactics to share and isn't afraid to get into the nitty-gritty details. So be sure to check out the full episode below! Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper And as always, this podcast episode is hosted by Jared Bauman, co-owner of 201 Creative SEO Agency - https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Interested in setting up a YouTube channel? Spencer and co-host Jared Bauman of 201 Creative explore some exciting updates for content creators today on Niche Pursuits News. First up is a new announcement from YouTube that they're lowering the threshold for channel monetization! While content creators used to need 1000 subscribers and 4000 long-form watch hours, now you need just 500 subscribers and 3000 long-form watch hours in the last 12 months to start earning money on the platform. Jared and Spencer talk about why they think YouTube changed the rules, and they also discuss other ways to monetize using the platform, such as channel memberships. Then they move on to talk about how Time magazine announced its plans to remove its digital paywall and give everyone their content for free. Their plan is to monetize with display ads, using the same model many bloggers and content creators are using.  The hosts move on to discuss data in a SEMRush report that revealed interesting statistics about search engine users, like the percentage who change their keywords before clicking and how very few searches led to clicks on the first result in the SERPs in 2022. It’s clear that user patterns of search are changing. What does this mean for us? Jared and Spencer also discuss a recent article in Search Engine Journal about Google making its feedback form more robust. According to Twitter, this move will set the stage for more negative SEO, and the hosts share their thoughts on the implications. Will the positives outweigh the negatives with this new move from Google? In the Shiney Object Shenanigans portion of the podcast, Spencer talks about recent developments with his faceless YouTube channel.  Although the channel was making $80 to $90 a day, a copyright claim has almost eliminated all of his earnings. His appeal was ultimately denied, and he talks about his plans for moving forward, as well as other ideas for faceless YouTube channels. Jared finally reveals more details about his YouTube project, which will revolve around read-alouds for social-emotional learning by his wife, a seasoned school counselor. She'll be working on this project all summer and Jared will report back on their progress. In the last section of the podcast, Spencer talks about a weird niche site he found years ago based on a scene from Star Wars where Darth Vadar screams. The site was getting around 30k visitors per month back in 2015.  Although the original website no longer exists, there's a copycat site now, but it only gets a few thousand visitors per month. Jared talks about the site he found called Awkward Family Photos, created with user-generated content. He talks about how the site is monetized using ads and how it’s ranking for 20k keywords even though it's just a photo site.  As it turns out, Spencer and his family play the Awkward Family Photo board game all the time. This example certainly makes you think about creative monetization opportunities you might not have thought about before! Once again, Niche Pursuits News is coming at you with a thought-provoking episode on YouTube, legacy publisher strategies, changes in Google, unique side hustle ideas, and creative monetization techniques. Don't miss out! Tune in and listen now! Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

How do you balance your focus between driving traffic and conversions? If you ever struggle to find a happy medium for your SEO and CRO efforts, you'll want to check out this great convo with Shaun Els. Shaun has been building online businesses and helping others with web design since he was 18. Over the years, he's tried all sorts of marketing tactics. But as an agency and niche site owner, he's found SEO and content creation to be the key foundation for success. And because of his background in design, he takes an interesting design-first approach. He recommends building a pyramid structure for a website, with the homepage at the top, followed by money pages, and then supporting content. The supporting content adds tons of design and content value by building internal links and what he calls 'themed content', which helps create a useful resource for users and increase your site's authority in Google's eyes. Shaun discusses how many people are hesitant to engage with marketing content that is too sales-focused. And so blogging can be a solution to this problem, as it provides valuable information to potential clients. By creating blog posts that address common problems or questions in your industry, you attract search traffic and more. He also shares a framework for getting the most out of this content by repurposing it into smaller pieces for easy sharing. These include posting counter-arguments, summaries, and bulleted lists. The process of repurposing content for social media takes about half an hour and can be done using tools like ChatGPT. And he mentions how it's important to intersperse blog post links with other types of content on social media to avoid penalties. Shaun uses this content structure to funnel visitors to money pages with great lead magnets to grow mailing lists. He uses email marketing to stay in touch with potential clients and nurture relationships. He argues that emails should be informational and include quick resources to help readers achieve their goals. And the ultimate goal of email marketing is to build trust with potential clients. So while his strategy is grounded in SEO, he understands that marketing requires several touch points before earning a conversion. But by building a content ecosystem that includes search engine optimization, social media, and email marketing, you can create a flywheel of lead generation. Don't miss the full interview to get his tips on how to turn this strategy into a reality! Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Want to hear about the latest developments in AI and the potential impact on website owners? Don’t miss the latest episode of Niche Pursuits News! Once again, Jared and Spencer team up for an engaging and informative discussion that covers a range of exciting topics. They start by talking about how the WordPress Jetpack plugin incorporates an AI assistant directly into the editor. This feature will allow users to generate text directly in WordPress and also correct spelling and grammar, generate titles, and uses several different prompts for tone, all for $10 a month. Then they discuss a report on the Search Generative Experience, the “new featured snippets,” and how quotes may be pulled directly from websites without any attribution or backlinks. This would cause quite a stir among SEOs and publishers, and Jared and Spencer discuss the implications and concerns surrounding this development. On a potentially positive note for some, they share a recent tweet by Cyrus Shepard, who crawled millions of URLs to compile a list of 7 categories of searches that are unlikely to trigger AI results in the SERPs. Google Bard is also a topic of conversation in this episode. Jared and Spencer discuss the new location settings, which have been added to help localize queries, and new developments in exporting tables to Google Sheets, which is now easier than ever. The discussion then shifts to Spencer and Jared’s side hustle projects. Spencer talks about his idea for a YouTube series, where he acts as a mentor and host in a competition between two or three people. Their challenge? To start a small online business in just 30 days, with the winner taking home a monetary prize. The journey would be documented in a single, well-edited, and inspirational video. Speaking of inspirational, Jared and Spencer share their experience being part of the Amazon Influencer program. Both believe this is a great program for quick financial wins, and they talk about content ideas as they continue to upload videos to see where this side hustle leads. Jared briefly shares his other side projects, including a YouTube channel he’s working on at the moment. In subsequent episodes, he expects to give listeners a better status update. In the final segment of this episode, Jared and Spencer talk about some of the weird niche sites they’ve discovered. Jared reviews a website called Best Love Text Messages. It was likely originally created as a source of messages for loved ones but eventually expanded into a wider variety of messages, quotes, and captions. The website used to get 300,000 organic page views until a Google update, and although it still boasts a substantial number of keywords and page views and could be easily replicated with AI nowadays, there are also areas for improvement. Spencer shares a website with several web-based games he used around 2010: QWOP. It’s a video game that was extremely popular back in the day and still manages to attract almost 50,000 organic visitors per month. With a DR of 64 and a substantial Twitter following, Jared and Spencer discuss the potential of supporting it through a Patreon-like platform. As always, this is another episode filled with thought-provoking discussions, innovative ideas, and actionable tips. Don't miss out on the opportunity to learn and be inspired by this episode of Niche Pursuits News. Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Is Google at war with affiliate marketers? Head of SEO Branding at Wix and SEO Consultant for Semrush, Mordy Oberstein, joins the podcast today to share his high-level perspective and valuable insights to help you mitigate risk and save your rankings. In the last 12 months, there have been core updates, review updates, and spam updates. And he believes it's important to look to data for patterns to better understand the SEO ecosystem. In his roles, he has access to huge swathes of data, and to help site owners succeed, he has a vested interest in unpacking what Google seems to value in the content it rewards. Here are just a few examples of important recommendations he shares in the interview: Read the content of competitors who outrank you after an update to understand what replaced you. Use the brand sniff test to determine if your content is of high quality. Use internal linking and semantic understanding to build topical authority. Hire a content marketing agency if needed to help translate your expertise into digestible content because readability is important for user experience. He also discusses the continuing rise of AI-written content that is largely generic using similar language structures. And how adding real human experiences is key to providing unique insights and quality content. He even offers a great example people can use in product reviews to accomplish this. But Mordy says quality is a domain-level analysis, not just at the page level. And so, to improve domain-level quality scores, it is important to focus on technical health, content, and user experience. Predicting and understanding user needs is crucial. He believes quality content means targeting the audience and offering the right amount of nuance to predict their needs. And while links are a secondary signal, they may become less important as Google gets better at understanding content, with relevance and domain quality playing a more significant role in ranking in a scenario where content is generic across the web. He does believe that leveraging AI can help automate tasks that were not possible before though. AI can be used for research, understanding topics, organizing information, rewriting content, and automating tasks like writing headers and product descriptions. However, users have become more skeptical of web content due to issues such as data privacy and fake reviews. As a result, the bar for acceptable content has risen, and web content creators need to up their game. So if you're a site owner or online content creator, you'll definitely want to check out the full interview and take lots of notes! Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Will Google's new Search Generative Experience (SGE) help or harm site owners? Spencer and Jared kick off the latest episode of Niche Pursuits News pondering this question with some interesting findings as they look at various examples of search queries. They also reflect on a recent Twitter poll by Lily Ray and contemplate whether or not SGE seems to be an improvement over the existing Google search experience. For instance, in the event it turns out to be a glorified featured snippet and not so much AI as it is displaying site content directly on the SERPs, will Google provide attribution to site owners? They also consider how this GSE may work in YMYL niches. But in hopeful news, Bing AI has added links to sources of information within their AI results which could help put pressure on Google to do the same. The discussion then moves onto their shiny object shenanigans. Spencer shares some recent troubles he's run into with his faceless YouTube channel and what they're doing to fix it. Plus, he discusses how his upcoming plugin Rank Logic is coming along after beta testers finally got to use it. Then Jared gets into how he decided to jump into the Amazon influencer program and how he and his 201 Creative business partner Kaitlin managed to create 100 videos within a few days reviewing items in their homes. And as always, they close things out with some great niche site discoveries. Jared starts with Snake Dreams, a site that focuses on interpreting dreams about snakes. And although it's not doing so well these days, according to Ahrefs - back in 2017 it was receiving an average of 56,000 organic monthly visitors. Then it's onto Spencer's site highlight, Dimensions.com. This is a reference database for product dimensions founded by an architect that provides dimensions for various objects and people, including celebrities and fictional characters. The site is monetized via display ads and a subscription service that offers 2D and 3D downloads, no ads, easy download access, and support. And it appears the site is getting lots of traffic! So, it makes you wonder what's an problem or issue that people like have that could be turned into a helpful niche site! Overall, it's another helpful episode to wind down for the weekend, hope you enjoy.

Ready to take a bunch of notes that could help give your site a competitive advantage in the SERPs? Tony Hill joins the Niche Pursuits podcast to share his experience recovering a website from a Google update. Tony's been building niche websites since 2005 and is very familiar with core updates. For instance, he had some health sites doing big numbers wiped out by the Medic Update. However, it was the May 2020 core update that was particularly devastating, causing his main 18-year-old site to lose almost half its traffic in just a few weeks. To recover from the update, Tony and his 10-person team formulated a bullet-proof game plan to recover the site. The strategy included a comprehensive process to improve the site's existing 1200 pages. They started by using Google's NLP API to analyze their content and improve its salience score. They found that word order is crucial to help the algorithm better understand your content. So at the sentence, paragraph, and article level, they made a deliberate effort to put the subject first. An academic tool called Sketch Engine also helped them to analyze language patterns in top-ranking articles on some of the biggest sites in the world. And found that using second-person language and specific, confident wording can improve content quality. So Tony and his team then reviewed their content to make it clearer and more confident, using specific and directive language. They didn't delete any articles but rather cut out fluffy sentences and paragraphs and added more information when needed. Other specific tactics included improving readability, adding more visuals, and updating outdated information. They also added more categories and subcategories to their website to help users navigate content. By focusing on updating content one category at a time, they continuously experimented and tested to see what worked. They also read competitor's articles word for word to see how they structured their content to make improvements to their own. They also worked with expert writers and editors to ensure quality and establish a persona for the site. They also created a contributor's page, an Ask an Expert section on the site, and paid experts to answer questions on Quora and Reddit. He also made a point to flesh out the schema of every article, going above and beyond the typical author schema and entity data. They also made great use of internal linking, aiming to include at least one internal link in every paragraph of an article, sometimes even linking to the same article twice in an article. Considering their substantial success in Google Discover, they also analyzed their most successful articles and found that related topics were being featured, so they created new articles on related topics and grew their success in Google Discover. And after a year of consistent effort and multiple Google updates, Tony's site not only recovered its lost traffic but experienced significant growth, now receiving nearly 8 million page views per month. Tony's interview is a high-level masterclass in site operations and site recovery that can help site owners at all levels. The way he thinks outside the box to improve the strength of his content will not only inspire you to do the same but also give you actionable steps you can start using today! Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Welcome to another great episode of Niche Pursuits News. This week Jared is joined by his 201 Creative agency co-founder Kaitlin Cooper to unpack all of the latest developments from the week that may impact online publishers. And there was surprisingly a lot to go over. They start by discussing the integration of ChatGPT and Bing, which is powered by Microsoft's Prometheus and offers current results. Kaitlin highlights the composition feature in Bing, which allows for AI writing prompts, while Jared dives into the Expedia and Zapier plugins and their various, exciting use cases. The conversation then turns to Google's public acknowledgment of topical authority in the context of news sites but most certainly all kinds of sites. And they share some interesting takeaways you won't want to miss. They also discuss some of the unfortunate issues happening this month regarding video searches. A reported Google search bug has caused a drop in video traffic, and Google seems to now only show video thumbnails next to search results when the video is the main content of a page. Google's testing reportedly shows that the recent change in video thumbnails will have minimal impact on publishers, but there is still debate about the actual impact. But in more hopeful news, Google Bard is now including relevant images in responses and highlighting the source of the image. Bard is emphasizing the importance of images in communicating ideas effectively. And as a reward, Bard is even sourcing smaller sites for queries that larger websites typically dominate in image search or regular web search. This a potentially cool development if publishers can manage to improve their images for Bard. Next up, they dive into their shiny object shenanigans. Jared shares an update on their newsletter where they've managed to surpass their goal of reaching 1,000 subscribers in 12 weeks. And they get into how it is they're able to average 40-50% open rates and what their next goals may be. Kaitlin shares how she's transitioning her side hustle wedding photography business site Kaitlin Cooper into a content affiliate site, and discusses some issues that others may relate to. As always, they close out the show by discussing a couple of fun and weird niche sites found. Kaitlin shares Hold The Magic, which is certainly not your typical niche site. It's a site created by a mom who wanted to give her daughter something other than money from the tooth fairy. The website sells tooth fairy gifts, has an influencer program, and they even set up booths at dental conferences. Jared then shares his website which specializes in treehouse rentals. Treehouse Trippers is a site dedicated to finding good treehouses to rent for vacations. At first they debate what qualifies as a treehouse and whether some of the site's offerings fit the bill. But then they praise the site's targeted approach to SEO. The site does a good job of producing long-tail targeted content specific to certain states and types of vacations and monetized by offering affiliate links to online booking platforms. But as always, it's possible that these sites are leaving money on the table and so the hosts brainstorm some ways they could boost monetization. Overall, it's another great episode of Niche Pursuits News, covering a wide range of topics related to SEO and niche websites. So be sure to watch the full episode below! Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Ever wonder how to improve your affiliate content and boost conversions? I'm sure we all do. That's why we asked Kevin Meng to join the Niche Pursuits podcast today to share his insights. Kevin's been a web content and copywriter for 7-8 years. During that time, he's honed his skills and reputation for writing content that sells. He's worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, and today, he lets us in on some secrets you don't want to miss. Things like: The general checklist he follows for affiliate content A formula for describing the benefits of features Importance of clarity in web content How to sprinkle in personality And much more... He also explains the importance of being honest with readers and not presenting a product as perfect. Allowing you to build trust and overcome consumer objections. The discussion also includes tips on how to find the sweet spot between writing for Google's algorithm and actual humans. Plus, ways to scale this out with a team using SOPs. And of course, AI is brought up regarding content production and velocity. Kevin shares how the job of an SEO content writer may likely evolve to become more like an editor for quality assurance, with some hopeful and comforting perspectives for writers in the industry. Overall, this episode provides valuable insights and techniques for improving your web content writing regardless of whether humans or AI creates it. Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Want to learn about the new ChatGPT plugins and other new updates that could affect for site owners? Don't miss this week's episode of Niche Pursuits News! Spencer and Jared kick things off by discussing new ChatGPT plugins brainstorming the various ways they can help users automate everything from email to SEO. Plus, the new opportunities for entrepreneurs with plugin ideas. They also discuss OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's hearing before Congress earlier this week concerning the possible risks and implications of AI. A four and a half hour testimony covering everything from the dangers of misinformation to political fallout, with one conclusion being that 'AI is more dangerous than you think'. But since Google Bard is now available to the public, the guys were able to test it out with some fun prompts including asking it to compare itself to ChatGPT with some surprising results. They also unpack Google's upcoming Core Web Vitals metric InP, which will offer insights into the 'interaction to next paint' rather than just 'first input delay', which could change the game in user experience metrics. Then it's onto the side hustles, where Spencer unveils his year in the making WordPress plugin, Rank Logic, a powerful tool for tracking keyword rankings and content performance which is now open for a limited number of beta testers. Meanwhile, Jared introduces his new service on Weekend Growth that creates email newsletter funnels for niche websites and is already receiving orders and positive feedback! And as always, they wind things down by looking at peculiar niche sites starting with Unnecessary Inventions. A site created by an inventive content creator who turned his unique thinking into a profitable business followed by millions of fans on YouTube and Instagram. They also discuss Reality Steve, a site dedicated to spoiling the results of the dating reality show The Bachelor. In both cases, the sites have sparked interesting careers for their creators but the guys ponder the various ways they could boost their monetization. So, sit back and enjoy another episode of industry insights, personal projects, and peculiar niches to help you get ready for the weekend! Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links? Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper