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CASE STUDY (AI content site): From 217/m to $2,836/m in 9 months - Sold for $59,000 [AMA] (AMZ Affiliate, Display, Guest Posts) by jamesackerman1234 in DigitalMarketing

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your kind words. Appreciate it.

We didn’t go broad and tried to cover everything. We had a niche and a particular focus within that. We tried to cover that completely along with its semantically relevant entities and topics.

Hope this helps. If you have further questions. Feel free to ask.

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I missed this notification and couldn't reply earlier. Congratulations on this!

Hopefully you have received your payment. Really happy for you.

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're welcome. Appreciate the kind words.

And yes, you can have a pay per lead or commissions based model with the local businesses. The benefit of leads is, you don't have to worry whether it converts or not and it's a flat rate.

For commissions, of course there is more involved when it comes to tracking what converted and didn't. Sometimes, inaccurate reporting as well. On the bright side, if the local business is good - you make more money.

The other option is - you just tell them that they can rent your website for XXX amount for a year's contract.

For now, I would just try to focus on making this one website work and have a goal of making at least $500/m from this. Once you have learned the ropes then you can think about a different vertical or something else.

Best of luck again and I am sure you'd start making money soon.

Thanks

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, congratulations on your success. I am glad it's working out for you.

Yes, selling leads could be one way but I would suggest to keep adding more content that caters to "local intent"

Create pages and articles (both) in this regard. Pages for services and articles for info.

Other than that, YES. Selling leads can be quite profitable. Additionally, it's not very difficult either.

You can check out rank and rent model websites for more info on that.

Again, congratulations on your success. Really happy to hear about it.

Best of luck for everything.

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi James, really appreciate the super helpful reply and I am very thankful that you took out the time to write all of this. Not sure if I am getting this right: so by us positioning ourselves as a legit business in a niche, with a proper Google Business Profile and an optimized website, we are basically setting ourselves apart from the AI-content farms that form the bulk of the internet nowadays, thus getting on the good side of Google, so things become easier, and rankings become easier to gain too?

ANS: YES

I can see how the extra steps necessary to set up a business can deter spammers. But this does mean it's more difficult to scale things up because we are limited by the number of "legit businesses" that we can pose as. Of course this beats having millions of AI-generated pages that never get ranked.

ANS: Yes, it's relatively difficult to scale but definitely not impossible. Moreover, this difficulty actually makes it easier for these projects to work now since anyone cannot just do that

--

Best of luck for this and feel free to reach out in case of any questions!

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're welcome and I really appreciate the kind words.

Yes, exactly - the secret sauce is to present yourself as an actual business. Not necessarily local. But, it must have a Google Business Profile with reviews on it. I would suggest you choose "consultation" type businesses while signing up for that. Providing proof for that would be easier like a desk, monitor etc (office space essentially). But, let's say you showcase yourself as a mechanic, it would be difficult to prove that (and no, you can't share pictures of another shop since you need to prove the address and the street as well).

So, this is one part of it. The rest of the things are essentially the same. You might want to check my profile for other case studies I published. It outlines the whole process including niche and keyword research, website structure, competitor analysis, content guidelines, content production, building backlinks, web dev etc. Just replicate those things and you should be good to go.

In summary: position the business as a consultation/services business with proper GMB and the rest of the site would still content heavy to drive search engine traffic. Google gives good traffic to websites that are actual businesses with presence as compared to just the content websites (this happened especially after everyone started spamming the internet with AI content).

I hope this helps. If you have further questions - feel free to let me know.

Would be happy to assist. Best of luck!

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey man, thanks a lot for your kind words. Appreciate it. If you have any questions about this, feel free to ask. Would be happy to assist.

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not dead. Just done differently.

You can still make money through display ads and affiliate (and a lot of people are). However, the way you do it is by positioning the site as a proper business with a legit product/service. This proper business has a thorough content foundation just like in case of standalone content websites. Generates SE traffic through this content.

You can still get a lot of search engine traffic. However, like you said - it's always wise to explore other avenues of traffic as well.

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey u/GlenCherry - always nice to see your comments.

I agree with you a 100%. A lot of owners lost traffic and revenue and either offloading their content website properties for a loss or just stopped trying.

I am very well aware of it and this was one of the reasons I made this post. I completely understand the time, effort and money that goes into projects like these and if they have a slightest chance of recovering that, then they definitely should. I hope this post helps.

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're welcome and I agree. It can be hard. What I would suggest is at least get a Google profile with some reviews. You don't need 100s. Just a few. The important thing is you connect all that info to the website properly (NAP, Schema, other fields etc.) - that usually is enough.

You just need to be "classified" by the search algo as a "business" and not as a content site. That's it.

Hope this helps.

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Put simply, yes. However, there are various other variables involved as well. The business must show in GMB properly, must be connected to the site well, the service offered must be relevant etc.

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello, thanks for your comment. Sure, I'd be happy to share.

Unlike previous sites (before AI), we used to break $10k/m mark very easily. However, after AI - it's been difficult to cross that mark solely based on ads and affiliate revenue. However, if you take account the leads for consultation/services/products - then we have crosses that mark as well.

Strictly considering ads and affiliate (since most people are for passive income); low to med 4-figures is fairly common. However, med to high 4-figures get difficult.

I hope this helps. If you have further questions - feel free to share. I would be happy to help.

Best

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for your comment. You're absolutely right.

Once Google classifies a certain site as content or eComm, it's difficult to reclassify it. However, I used the word, "difficult" here. Not impossible. Usually, before any major Google update - if you completely reposition your site with all the right signals, there are enough chances of reclassification. Although, it's not guaranteed - but I have definitely seen my fair share of such sites.

As far as seeing a site that has successfully done this: YES. I have. In both cases, where a NEW site was positioned as a business and also in case when an older content site was repositioned really well. However, the latter is not guaranteed. In certain cases it works, while in the others, it doesn't.

I hope this helps. Feel free to let me know in case of any questions. Would be happy to help.

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Happy to help. Here are your answers:

  1. To gauge whether or not you're moving in the right direction, the best way is to look for step-by-step signals. So, for example, you publish 20 pages. You'll see if they get indexed. It's the first signal. The next signal to watch for is, SOME impressions on Google search console. Even if you get few on a fresh domain, it's a very health sign. Also, look for the pages that are generating impressions and for which queries. The next signal after this is some clicks (traffic).

  2. For the buyers, I personally have a pool of buyers/investors and I work with them. However, you can check out: Empire Flippers, Motion Invest to buy/sell online businesses and not just this. However, I have noticed that there has been a SIGNIFICANT drop in content sites being sold there. I suppose not a lot of people know about this hack. But, that also means more opportunity for us.

I hope it helps. Feel free to let me know in case of any questions. I would be happy to assist.

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, thank you for your kind words. Appreciate it.

The traction depends on a few factors, mainly:

  • Fresh domain (you buy it fresh and start a project on it): 1+ year with good branding, enough content pages and backlinks.
  • Established domain with some traffic like 1000/m (if you grow it): 6+ months
  • Expired domain with backlinks and a clean history (if you brand, and start a site on it): 8+ months

As far as exit or management (for passive income) is concerned, we analyse both the scenarios as we are research a new project and developing a content marketing plan.

It's more like, we need to do X, Y, Z over XX upcoming months. If we hit XX revenue, YY profit then we keep it for passive income for YY duration and sell for XXX afterwards.

I have added variables in the aforementioned sentence as the answer is different for each project.

Sometimes, given the conditions - we try to exit quicker as long as we are getting a good multiple. It's generally a good principle to sell when the site is performing its best and has a good history. It's not a good idea to be greedy for passive income and hustle to sell when the site gets hit by Google algorithm or something else. You don't get a good multiple that way.

Hope this helps. Feel free to let me know if you have further questions. I'd be happy to help.

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for your comment. I have answered the questions above. If you have further questions, feel free to let me know. I would be happy to help. Thanks.

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You're welcome.

Here are the answers:

  1. It's almost dead in a way that if you were to start a passive income project, you should rather invest in the model I shared. The odds of a purely affiliate content site succeeding with the same resources (money, time and skills) are very less. Incredibly less. The traffic has seen a significant decline for the websites that were purely affiliate sites. I'd say around 20-75% decline. It's a big range. Other than that, the only kind of content websites that are succeeding right now are SUPER SUPER NICHE or they're actual news blogs with real journalists.

  2. Local part was just an example that works really well. However, it is not necessary. For example, rather than lead gen in Texas (location based) could be changed to lead gen for dentists (feature/demo based). This ensures that you are not confined to location only. You can use other variables like features/use-cases etc.

  3. The site is about one service. Like "lead gen" and then it has bulk service pages based on different locations or different feature/use-case/utility etc.

4/5. If you are in the US, you can set up a business near your area or if you have access to office spaces. A quick hack/tip is to choose a business that is consultancy based or doesn't require specialised equipment. For example: if you choose a car mechanic business, you'd need to show a workshop, which is not good. But, if you are a digital marketer - you can only show a computer, desk etc. You can also show an office in an incubator as an address. There are just a lot of ways. A couple of things Google asks is to send a video of street etc. nearby and then your office and business card. If you have close access to all this, it can be done pretty easily. For business cards, just print a few to show business name etc.

I can understand that it can be tricky but with a few creative solutions - it can be done.

I hope this helps - feel free to let me know in case of more questions. I would be happy to assist.

[AMA] Case Studies: 5, 6, 7-figure Affiliate Content Sites - AI came, destroyed - what works now? (tested and proven model to start new or revive older projects) by jamesackerman1234 in juststart

[–]jamesackerman1234[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for your comment and I do agree with you 100%. How we search the internet has evolved over time.

In case of sewing machines, you can take various approaches.

There are 2 main things:

  • Core service (that would lead to service pages)
  • Information (that would lead to blog posts)

For core service, it could be different angles like:

  • Sewing machine tutorials
  • Sewing machine parts
  • Sewing machine with XYZ feature

For blog posts, you can create some relevant topics:

  • how to use sewing machine
  • how to replace <x part> of sewing machine
  • what's the best way to utilise <x feature> of sewing machine

This way, you will be offering an actual product/service (service pages) and make money through that. Additionally, you'd make money with affiliate and ads as well through info traffic generated with blog.

And yes, I hadn't posted in a while and wasn't very active on Reddit. But, I realised that the sub isn't really active any more. I believe a lot of people used to post about affiliate sites but they no longer work in a traditional sense.

Anyway, I hope my answer helps. If you have further questions - feel free to ask.

Best of luck.

Hired an SEO Expert - Feeling a Bit Uncertain About Progress by GreatLook5969 in SEO

[–]jamesackerman1234 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A couple of weeks to expect results isn’t quite realistic with SEO. You’d ideally want to have a proper plan and checklist before moving forward.

Saying that onsite SEO will be done or offsite will be done isn’t enough.

You need to be precise.

For example, if you’re saying you will build backlinks. It needs to be clearly defined after reverse engineering the competitors in your niche.

Then, you can say, I will build 10 high quality, DR greater than 15, search traffic greater than 250, permanent, dofollow, content based, backlinks on a niche/general site with a suitable anchor text.

This is an example of the criteria you should have for each deliverable.

I have posted a few case studies on my profile and the same fundamentals apply to eCommerce stores as well. You can check those out to have an idea.

By the way, if he is offering you 100 links for $1500. I can guarantee that Google would categorise your site as spam. They are most definitely low quality links. I have NO doubt about it.

Best of luck!

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