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

Want to hear some exclusive insights into the inner workings of the Amazon Associates program? Doug Cunnington joins the Niche Pursuits podcast to share with host Jared what he learned after interviewing an Amazon insider! This is never-before shared access into the biggest affiliate program around. Because despite being easy to join and get started, there's lots of uncertainty and many pitfalls to avoid. So, it's a real treat to have Doug back on the podcast to keep us informed! The convo covers a wide range of topics, including: Tips for maximizing conversions CTA best practices Common challenges faced by Associates Earning more by promoting Amazon to different countries And more... One key aspect discussed was the need to target the right traffic and create high-quality content to drive conversions. Doug also mentioned the importance of diversifying traffic and revenue sources to mitigate risks. He shares tips for improving visibility and providing context to enhance conversions, such as using the "mover and shaker" page on Amazon to promote popular products. The conversation also covers the topic of conversion rates and the types of call-to-action that can be used to drive traffic to Amazon. Plus the restrictions on linking to Amazon in emails and the rules around using images from Amazon on websites. Doug also Amazon's desire to expand into other countries and how this brings with it better commission rates for Associates in these markets. Overall, this is an optimistic look into the future of affiliate marketing. You not only get a comprehensive overview of the Amazon Associates program and a forecast of the future. But also lots of tips regarding various aspects such as labeling requirements, commission rates, traffic targeting, content creation, and the challenges faced by affiliates. 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

It's Friday, so it's time for another episode of Niche Pursuits News, with your hosts Spencer Haws and Jared Bauman. This week, as always, they bring us the latest in SEO and digital marketing news. They kick things off with a big news item: Google has announced that it's testing live links in the Search Generative Experience. The good news is that it looks like an expanded featured snippet that may drive more traffic to our individual websites. Spencer shares an example of what it looks like currently and he and Jared talk about how Google may be testing different formats to see what users prefer. They also talk about Google's announcement of "new" things you can do with generative AI in search, the fact that AI-powered overviews are faster, and Google's focus on article publish dates. Spencer also shares a look at his SGE and he and Jared talk about whether or not the results they get are relevant and what the future might look like for SGE. The next portion of the podcast is Shiny Object Shenanigans. Spencer begins by talking about his Amazon Influencer side hustle, which earned around $1800 over the last month. He talks about how he obtained approval into the program for a Facebook page he's been building (and spoke about on a recent episode) and handed over the entire project to his oldest son. Jared then shares an update on his Amazon Influencer program, which is up to 329 videos and brought in $2870 in July. He only started in May, so growth is quite impressive, and he has plans to continue to add more videos and take advantage of this massive opportunity. The next topic is the Weird Niche Site they've both discovered. Jared goes first and talks about Marcas de Whiskey (Whiskey Brands, in Spanish), a whiskey review site that was started last year. It's a DR 9 and ranks for over 50k keywords. Although it started out in Spanish, it switched over to English and has seen its traffic triple over time, publishing over 1200 articles in a year. Jared talks about how well the author satisfies search intent and how this may be the main driver of traffic. Spencer nails it this week by finding a site that's both weird and very successful: Wheel of Names. This site, a DR 71, gets between 11 and 5 million visitors each month, according to Ahrefs and Similarweb, and traffic is growing. It's ranking for all kinds of "wheel" related queries and is monetized with Google Adsense ads. All in all, another great episode from Jared and Spencer with lots of interesting news, ideas, and advice. Tune in next week for more! 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

We got a true dose of inspiration for you today. Founder of The Wayward Home, Kristin Hanes joins the Niche Pursuits podcast this week to share with host Jared her amazing story: How she started her blog with no prior knowledge of website building and living in a broken-down sailboat to now running a successful online business. It all began after being laid off from her job as a radio news reporter. She decided to start a blog and share interview-based articles about nomads on social media platforms like Facebook and Pinterest. With connections at SF Gate, some of her early articles got republished on the site bringing her some quality traffic and links. After six months, Kristin joined Mediavine and started earning income from ads on her site. But it wasn't until early 2019 that she decided to prioritize SEO, taking courses to help her improve her website's rankings. Implementing SEO strategies and updating old posts, Kristin saw a significant increase in traffic, reaching 120,000 page views per month by May 2019. She continued to publish new content while updating old articles, and her website's traffic grew to 300,000 monthly page views by the summer of 2019. Kristin attributes her success to her focus on SEO, improved writing skills, and targeting low-competition keywords in her niche. Currently, The Wayward Home generally earns between $25,000 to 30,000 per month and has an average of 400,000 monthly page views. Initially, Kristin wrote all the articles herself, focusing on pushing out as much content as possible. However, as her blog grew, she hired writers to help with content creation. Now, The Wayward Home has around 430 articles, with a team of writers specializing in different areas such as RVing, tiny homes, and van life. To assist with formatting and uploading articles, Kristin also has a virtual assistant. One key aspect of Kristin's strategy is prioritizing relevant and experience-based content over high search volume keywords. This approach has helped her establish credibility and attract a loyal audience. Additionally, being quoted in major media publications has provided valuable backlinks to her blog. Kristin is also experimenting with AI-generated content on a new niche site, exploring innovative ways to expand her online presence. Kristin's passion for helping others live a nomadic lifestyle is evident through her blog and social media channels. She offers resources and support to those interested in this lifestyle. Overall, Kristin's journey from starting a blog with no prior knowledge to building a successful online business is a testament to her dedication, strategic approach, and passion for helping others embrace a nomadic lifestyle. 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 back to another episode of the Niche Pursuits News podcast! This week Spencer sits down with Josh Blackburn, a growth marketer at Link Whisper with an extensive background in SEO to talk about the latest news for affiliate marketers, website owners, SEOs, and content creators. They kick off the show by talking about how Google recently released its earnings for Q2 and the CEO, Sundar Pichai, said that the Search Generative Experience is going to gradually get better, faster, and more accurate and that user feedback has been extremely positive so far. Spencer and Josh put those comments into context and were skeptical of his statements, but one thing is abundantly clear: SGE is here to stay. Spencer does a few searches using SGE and he and Josh talk about the results. The next topic is Twitter and Elon Musk's rebranding of the company as X. Musk has a broader vision for Twitter as a massive brand where, in the future, users would be able to send payments, message others, shop, etc. Spencer and Josh talk about the future trillionaire's plans and whether or not they think he'll be able to pull it off. In the Shiny Object Shenanigans portion of the podcast, Spencer starts by talking about his new software, Rank Logic. He shares that it has done better than he expected since its launch and talks about how it works. He also mentions two new features that were recently added which allow users to see how content is performing based on their category or tags. Josh then talks about a niche site he's been working on. It had been growing until it got hit with an algorithm update and lost most of its traffic. Josh is currently experimenting with that site by uploading AI content, sometimes up to 200 articles per day. He reveals that his traffic has increased not from the new content but, rather, from the old content. He and Spencer talk about why this may be, how he does it, and what his plans are for the site. Then it's time to talk Weird Niche Sites. Spencer's site is not that weird, but it is very successful: PDF2go. The site ranks really well for PDF-converting keywords and has lots of display ads. It's probably getting 10 million visitors per month and may be making 6 or 7 figures, also per month. Spencer talks about how the website probably started out with a one, simple free tool and, over the years, grew into a very lucrative business. Josh shares his site for the week: PercentageCalculator. This is just a simple, free, 3-page website that gets between 220k visits per month, according to Ahrefs, and 2.4 million, according to SimilarWeb. Along the same lines as Spencer's example, they talk about the possibility of replicating these sites' success. And that brings us to the end of another great episode of Niche Pursuits News. Thanks for listening, and don't forget to join us next week! 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

Ready for a HARO (Help a Reporter Out) masterclass? HARO is a platform that connects journalists with 'experts' to include their insights into articles. This is great for link building but can lead to a lot of questions on how to do it right. Thankfully, Chris Panteli joins the Niche Pursuits podcast this week to shed light on: How and when you should respond to HARO queries, What you should say, How to vet reporters, How to follow-up, And a whole lot more... All to save you time, increase your success rate and land more links. Chris runs a purely white-hat, digital PR link building agency that averages 100 links per month. And he has a ton of awesome insights to share. He starts off by explaining some context. How valuable HARO links are for building credibility, increasing domain authority, and improving search rankings. And how to succeed with HARO, it's important to position yourself as an expert in your niche and have a well-optimized LinkedIn profile and website homepage. Success rates vary depending on the niche and competition, but having expertise and credentials increases the chances of winning pitches. He suggests starting by targeting websites your competitors have featured on their homepages and then expanding to high DR (domain rating) and high-traffic publications. Chris also believes vetting HARO queries is crucial to save time and increase success rates. The key is to look for relevant queries from reputable domains and avoid low-quality websites. Engage with journalists and editors to ensure your link is included in the final article. And don't be afraid to follow up to convert unlinked mentions into links. Timing is also important in HARO link building. And while subject lines are not a major factor, it's important to follow any specific instructions from the journalist. He even gives an awesome tip on how to use AI to assist with research and generating pitches in a way that'll work like a charm. It's really a great and valuable discussion you don't want to miss. And Chris also offers a free vetting resource (in the shownotes below) and a 20% discount for Niche Pursuits listeners on link building services and a HARO masterclass course with the code NichePursuits20. Hope you enjoy! Links & Resources Home - Linkifi freebie - Linkifi And as always, this podcast episode is hosted by Jared Bauman, co-owner of 201 Creative SEO Agency 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

This week's episode of Niche Pursuits News is hosted by Jared Bauman, of 201 Creative, and Shawn Hill, a previous podcast guest and the brains behind The Grilling Dad. The first topic they dive into is Ezoic's announcement of the end of its affiliate program and its plan to lay off workers. They talk about the blow to affiliates but also mention how it created an interesting juxtaposition in providing a financial incentive for referring people. They talk about the statement from Tyler Bishop, the company's CMO, about the discontinuation of the program, in which he shares some interesting data, as well as the letter from CEO Dwayne Lafleur about the layoffs. They also discuss whether there needs to be an entry-level ad provider for website owners. Jared and Shawn then move on to a different topic: the Claud 2 launch, by Anthropic. Claud is an AI language model which is gaining attention for having more human-like responses. Claud also allows users to upload files and ask questions about different documents, which is a unique feature. Shawn shares his thoughts on it after using it a little bit and comparing it with ChatGPT, and Jared has some ideas about how to leverage Claud for SEO. Listen in to hear what they have to say! Moving on, Jared and Shawn touch on the recent volatility in the SERPs, suggesting that a Google update is underway. While the exact cause of the update remains unclear, there is evidence that changes are happening in the search engine landscape. The next topic on the agenda is Wix's launch of its AI website generator. The tool allows users to create complete websites with just the press of a button. Jared and Shawn discuss the implications of this new tool and its target market, noting that it will help certain types of businesses establish a web presence. In the Shiny Object Syndrome portion of the podcast, Jared goes first with an update on his progress with the Amazon Influencer Program. He continues to rake it in and recently surpassed the 300-video mark. He also talks about taking a brief break from his Weekend Growth newsletter. Shawn talks about helping a friend build his first niche site and documenting the process publicly, and he also has a positive report on The Grilling Dad, which continues to grow and do well despite spending less time on it. As for the weird niche sites, Jared kicks things off with HEIC to JPG, which is a great tool for iPhone users, as photos are sometimes saved as HEIC files. They talk about the site's clean design and ease of use. It has a DR of 62 and only ranks for 5200 keywords, but it has a ton of number-one rankings and ranks for keywords with very high search volumes. They also talk about the idea of creating a tool that adds to your business or your website. Shawn then shares his weird niche site: Cooler Spy. He highlights how the site is dedicated to just one product, how it has lots of addictive YouTube videos, and has just 24 pages. He estimates traffic of around 10k and earnings of up to $1k per month, and although it's a small site, its quality is off the charts. And that concludes another thought-provoking and inspiring episode of the podcast, where you can learn about the latest in SEO and niche site news and what it means for you! 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

Have you ever considered building a project in public? In this week's episode of the Niche Pursuits podcast, Noah Bragg shares his journey of launching, growing, and eventually selling Potion. It's a website builder built on top of Notion that lets users create optimized sites in minutes. Noah started by using the "build in public" approach, sharing his progress and journey on Twitter. And with the support of an open-source community, his own software development experience, and a strategic marketing strategy grew the success story he shares today. Here's a quick rundown of Potion (although you'll want to jump down the page to watch the full interview): Noah initially priced the product at just $6 per site and gained his first 75 customers through Twitter. Of course, he wanted to further expand his customer base and continue building awareness. So, he strategically launched on Product Hunt once he already had a bit of a community to help him promote and upvote it. As Potion continued to grow, Noah focused on compounding growth and reducing churn. There were lots of ups and downs throughout this process though and Noah does a great job of highlighting what seemed to work best for him. In the end, he managed to reach $6k MRR (monthly recurring revenue) and sell it for $300k after just 2 and a half years of work. Noah is now working on a new project in the crypto space called TrustScore which aims to provide data and content to help users evaluate and trust different crypto projects. He plans to share his progress on Twitter and YouTube, and may even continue the build-in-public approach that worked so well for him with Potion. Noah's story is a great example of strategic planning and execution. And the way he thinks about things and solves problems will certainly help get the gears moving for your own projects. Hope you enjoy! 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

It's been another busy week in SEO news, and Spencer Haws and Jared Bauman, of 201 Creative, explain it all here! Don't miss the latest edition of the best news podcast for SEOs, people in the digital marketing and niche site development space, and everyone in between. First, they talk about how Google was recently hit with a class-action lawsuit claiming that it stole data from millions of users to train its AI tools and seeking compensation. Jared points out that we'll have to wait to see how this all plays out and how we address issues like copyright infringement and content rights and ownership. They predict that, even if the suit moves forward, it won't stop AI or make much of a difference in the long run. That being said, lots of people are suing AI tools and there could be quite the legal battle ahead. Jared and Spencer then move on to talk about how Google has sent out emails notifying website owners of Core Web Vitals and INP issues on their sites, giving them until March 2024 to fix the issues. Then Spencer talks about how he was invited to use Google's new Search Generative Experience. By the end of the year, around 30% of all users will participate in a gradual rollout, and the remainder will be provided with access over time. Then Spencer and Jared do a few search queries live and talk about what it looks like, how it seems to work, and what they think of it. Spencer goes on to share a few podcast reviews before shifting to the Shiny Object Shenanigans portion of the podcast. He starts by discussing a niche website he created with his kids, who eventually lost interest. However, he's been working on it for the last 6 months and has been able to build up a Facebook page to +30k followers. His strategy is to post short articles on the website, share them on his Facebook page, and drive traffic back to the website, which is monetized with ads. Although he hasn't seen much success so far, he did have an article go viral, registering 48k users in about a week. Spencer's still wondering what to do with this project and he offers listeners the chance to reach out and partner with him to take it to the next level. Jared talks about his side hustles, focusing on his experience with the Amazon Influencer Program. He talks about the impact of Prime Day on his earnings and clicks, and how he's increased his earnings to more than $2k in the last 30 days. He also gives some ideas of unique places to go to get content for your videos. Jared also talks about the YouTube channel he's developing with his wife and the progress they're making, particularly with regard to copyright issues. He briefly mentions a WordPress plugin he's considering developing. Stay tuned to hear more about it! In the Weird Niche portion of the podcast, Spencer talks about a single-page website with approximately 3.3 million visitors a month, Sleep Calculator. The simple site helps you figure out when to go to bed and explains the various sleep cycles and it's monetized with display ads. He and Jared talk about sleep as a niche and the potential it has as a niche. Jared shares his weird niche site, Dash Lights, which focuses on dashboard warning lights and what they mean. The design is quite generic, it has a DR of just 8, and it's monetized with ads, but it's ranking for 27k keywords, 2000 of which are number 1 rankings, and probably gets over 100k visitors per month. Jared's theory about the success of this website is the great way it has established topical authority, and he thinks it could be earning up to $5k per month. And that concludes another informative edition of the Niche Pursuits News podcast. We'll see you next week! 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 how to create a profitable media business via the Amazon Influencer program? Then don't miss the episode below! Thomas Smith joins the Niche Pursuits podcast today to share how he's making good money with the Amazon Influencer Program. He doesn't stop there, though, as he also profits by repurposing those videos for YouTube and transcribing them into a blog! He's a long-time Youtuber, an Amazon Influencer Program member, and an expert in creating effective content. And luckily for us, there's no shortage of tips he's willing to share. Here are just a few examples: He discusses how the information conveyed in the videos far outweighs the importance of production values. And he suggests finding low-competition or long-tail products to review, as they have a higher chance of standing out and driving sales (with examples that may surprise you). To create better shoppable videos, Thomas advises focusing on using the product in its context of use and sharing genuine thoughts and opinions. Demonstrating how the product is used in real-life situations helps contextualize it for viewers and converts better. Thomas also mentions how he uses Jungle Scout as a helpful resource for product research. And he emphasizes the value of authenticity and relatability in videos, as viewers prefer real people's opinions over highly produced content. He also mentions that the Amazon Influencer program offers various opportunities beyond shoppable videos, including live streaming, shoppable photos, and brand deals. And to maximize reach and monetization potential, Thomas repurposes influencer content for other platforms like YouTube and blogs. Overall, Thomas Smith provides really valuable insights and resources for creating successful influencer content. And his tips on authenticity, low-cost production, and providing useful information will help aspiring influencers stand out in the competitive market. Check out the full interview 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

Are you ready to tune into another exciting episode of Niche Pursuits News with Spencer and Jared Bauman? This episode was actually recorded live on YouTube, so if you missed it, you can check out the replay below. In this episode, Spencer and Jared talk about a new bill in Canada, Twitter's SEO fail, the new Threads platform, and how AI has run a known content agency out of business. They also share updates on their side hustles and discuss some weird niche sites. Let's jump in! The first topic they discuss is a new bill in Canada that was passed where digital properties and media outlets are able to charge Google to display their news. In response, Google has said that it will remove their news links from its search results and will stop sending traffic to their websites. They talk about the possible repercussions and how Canada might be the first country to take this step, but it might not be the last one. Spencer and Jared then move on to discuss Twitter's massive SEO fail when Elon Musk tried to reduce the number of bots crawling it and accidentally limited Google's access. This led to a massive drop in Twitter's search visibility in Google, which Twitter then tried to reverse. The next news item they discuss is Mark Zuckerberg's launch of a Twitter rival called Threads. With 30 million people signing up after its launch, Spencer and Jared talk about the use of a .net domain and a mobile model for the new platform and their plans to use it. Then they talk about niche-specific news, sharing how Niche Website Builders, which rebranded as Make Lemonade, has essentially filed for bankruptcy. The agency, which specialized in content creation for niche website owners, was overtaken by AI and run out of business. The key takeaway for Jared and Spencer is that content agencies must step up their game by offering unique strategies and top-notch content to stay ahead of the curve. In the Shiny Object Shenanigans portion of the podcast, Jared talks about his YouTube project with his wife, copyright issues, and demonetization as that project moves forward. He also talks about the remarkable success story of the Weekend Growth newsletter, sponsorship opportunities, and his Amazon Influencer side hustle progress. When it's Spencer's turn, he talks about his RankLogic launch and his recent Facebook Live on using AI content and tracking its performance. In the last section of the podcast, Jared shares his weird niche site: Weird and Wild Pizza for Weirdoughs, which caters to people who like interesting pizzas. The pizza recipe site has a low DR but ranks for 4700 different keywords and a ton of images and has a solid social media presence. Spencer shares the site he found, Know Your Meme, which is a huge database of all memes ever created on the internet. It has a DR of 85, ranks for 3.9 million keywords, and gets over 50 million page views per month. Jared chimes in with some very interesting details about the site as well and both he and Spencer talk about using a similar strategy to create a niche website. Another episode filled with a wealth of advice and inspiration. Don't miss this week's 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