Audie says: "I read on ClickNewz several days ago (somewhere!) your comment about having several websites that you built several years ago that still earn money, but you no longer do anything to them. Have you written about this model on ClickNewz and can you point me in the right direction?"
Hi Audie (and everyone!),
If I did say "websites", I actually meant "pages". It is true that I have pages (both web pages and blog posts) online that I created years ago that still make money consistently. And those pages require no maintenance, or very little. I'm happy to explain, and point you to the posts & tutorials on this topic...
We've been talking about my online marketing strategy and organic marketing this week. Those two posts will give you some insight into how I market my content and get consistent targeted traffic.
The simple explanation is this:
I create quality content on a specific topic, and optimize that content for a specific relevant keyword phrase - called a Long Tail Keyword Phrase. That content is either on a web page or in a blog post on a related domain.
To give you an example from a post here at ClickNewz, I wrote about how to make money online for beginners. I wrote that post a year and a half ago (April 2010).
That post currently (still) ranks #2 on Google for that phrase:
That's just one example of one page on one domain.
Each piece of content you create, properly optimized, will continue to work for you for years - simply by remaining available in the search results to the people who are searching for it.
The goal is to create content that targets very specific phrases, which reach a much more targeted market and tend to convert much higher than general keyword phrases. Every single page or post you create is one more opportunity to get in front of your target market.
The more content you write, the more traffic you'll get - it's as simple as that.
This is why I focus on Content Marketing as a strategy, and ENJOY sitting down to create content: because I know the ROI is awesome, and that little bit of time invested will continue to bring traffic & revenue for years to come. 😉
As promised, here are links to specific posts that explain this in more detail:
- 8 Elements of an Organic Marketing Strategy
- Web Page Optimization (Checklist)
- Keyword Strategy It’s Not Just Numbers!
- Content Marketing Strategy (Questions to Ask Yourself)
- How to Write a Blog Post
- SEO Content: Choosing Keywords & Phrases
- Using Keyword Modifers to Qualify Visitors
These are the very methods I use myself to create passive income streams with SEO & Content Marketing. The key is to create Evergreen Content that will be as relevant next year as it is now.
And on that note, I remove the date stamp in the single.php file on WordPress posts. That way individual blog posts are not "dated", and are less likely to be dismissed by the reader on the assumption that it's "old news".
Great content will be shared. Content that ranks well will also be found and shared. So the core to your marketing strategy should be creating properly optimized high quality (engaging!) content, and making it easy to share that content by providing social media share buttons.
I hope that helps. 😀 If you have ANY questions, leave a comment below!
Best,
About Lynn Terry
Just one question Lynn, how is it possible to earn money from that particular page you have on #2? Does that page has some specific links? Adsense? The keyword takes people to that specific page but how do you still earn money with it?
Hi Laura,
Great question 🙂
It was more an example of old pages/posts ranking well for specific phrases and bringing in consistent traffic over time. But that particular post is very informational - and links to pages that do have offers and specific call-to-action.
It's just one of thousands of pages I could have used as an example, and I might have chosen a more commercial page to show, so good point. 😉
Wow that's interesting. But how can that keyword make you money? I mean, it doesn't sound like a buyer keyword. If it makes money for you, then any keyword can make money, whether it's a buyer keyword or not.
It's a gateway post. An informational post that appeals to beginners looking for more information, and leads into choices that need to be made.
I have done an experiment about the ranking and organic traffic of the site.With frequent posting of unique articles on site dish up instant ranking to your site.
Lynn makes a terrific point here and I've noticed it for some of my pages as well as other websites in my niche. In fact, one technique that really works is being the first to publish about a particular product. I've done this a few times and those reviews still rank in the top 1 to 3 spots to this day ... about a year after the fact.
When I research new keywords for products and buying keywords, often it's an older post that ranks in the top spots. I assess whether I have a shot of ranking well. Those older posts are likely earning those webmasters tidy sums of income.
Those older "competing" posts that rank well are good opportunities to do a comment or trackback 😉
Good point Lynn. I've moved into top ranking spots after some SEO elbow grease and it sure is gratifying. Often it's with the help of my competitors as you suggest plus looking at their incoming links for more linking opportunities.
Hello Lynn, thanks for the Great article. I have a question though: so you so any linkbuilding additionally?
Thanks!
That's pretty much it in a nutshell Lynn. You nailed it.
That is the beauty of SEO in combination with affiliate marketing.
I started blogging about a year and a half ago and posts I wrote then make sales...;)
I love it!
Great post, as always...:)
Mark
It's a heckuva ROI when the content you write keeps working for you for YEARS 😀
I have a blog which i created almost 2 years ago and until this day it still brings a steady income each month. It's true that i like to create a real business in a specific subject, but the fact of creating small niche blogs that keep generate me income while i'm sleeping is irresistible.
Thanks Lynn;
Chris
You can also create a blog that complements your "real business" and reaches your market with information they're searching for, and achieve the same results. 🙂
Thanks for the share. I'v been trying to learn content marketing lately. And I know I am still a newbie. I have a blog and is giving me passive income for 6 months now. But not actually the pages that is on top. Only the homepage. I guess I have to do SEO also on pages.
If you can rank on page 1 for such a competitive keyword,then I think the answer as to how you monetize itis: "Anyway you like!" Just think of the endless amount of Clickbank products that are in this niche.
Hi Lynn, it's funny to run into your article right now, because only these last few days i came to the same conclusion. Well, i've been kind of doing half of it for some time, but on a smaller scale. So starting from now i'll try to get as many articles as i can, even if that means hiring some content writers since i wouldn't be able to keep it up alone on all my blogs. But i believe the results will be satisfactory in time.
The best thing about blog site is you'll be able to play with words on according to your target keyword if it will not work then you just have to make another one without buying another domain. I just hope that bing and yahoo will recognized second to the third level instead only the top level cause it's very hard to raise your article if it's not in a top level domain.phew...
thanks for this great article it gives me a lot of motivation to work
more on content I just test the example you gave I mean "how to make money online for beginners" and your website rank is 1. this is so great
I like your idea about removing the date stamp. I have often turned away from a post that was written over a year ago thinking it is probably out of date. By the way, in Firefox you rank #1 for the phrase "how to make money online for beginners". Well done, that is a hard one to rank well for I'm sure.
Hey Lynn,
Just starting to get my feet wet and your blogs/articles have been very helpful. Wish I had started doing this years ago when we first met. It's true...faith is believing 🙂 and after a week I already have an article ranked on the first page of Google!