Multi-topic site

[Steph]

Is there a name for sites that talk about more than 1 topic. Are these kind of sites profitable just as much as 1-topic sites?

I want to start a site/blog but cannot decide on just 1 topic, and I have read everywhere that it is better to focus on just 1 site at a time, so I was thinking about just putting all my topics into 1 site. Of course, my topics would have some relation to each other.

Because I cannot decide on just 1 topic for my site, I cannot decide on a domain name and not being able to decide on a domain, I cannot move forward. Being able to talk about more than 1 topic would allow for a more flexible domain name then. Has this happened to anyone?

I am new to this whole affiliate marketing stuff (did a lot of studying and now ready to move forward) and would love to supplement my current income (I am an MT). Hopefully it is possible.

Thanks in advance.

Steph

[angienewton]

Steph, you could definitely talk about more than one topic. For example, I have a weight loss/fitness site and I talk about anything and everything related. Now you wouldn't want to have a blog where you talked about weight loss, pets, eco friendly cleaning supplies, etc.

Another example would be this...a gal in the elite group recently started a blog on large breed dogs so she could always blog about anything related to dogs but would not want to write about or sell anything for cats.

Does that make sense?

What type of blog topics are you thinking of?

[ChristineCobb]

I did that exact thing when I first started and it was not very successful. Now it could be that I didn't really understand what I was doing (LOL) but it's harder to optimize a site when it is not clear to the bots what it is all about.

Like Angie said, you can have a main topic and then branch out to post content about related subjects -- related being the important part.

I encourage you not to let this indecision hold you back. If the two topics are equal in your mind, then flip a coin and go with it. Or make two columns (one for each topic) and list the pluses for each (# of keywords, affiliate products, your expertise, etc) and go with the one with the most pluses. You should have your topic chosen and your domain name registered by the end of the day.

You can do this!

[Karon Thackston]

This is where a lot of people get stuck. I don't remember who said it (long ago), but you need to do something. Don't just sit there and flounder. Pick one topic and go from there. It may not work out to be a million dollar site, but it absolutely won't grow if you never set it up, ya know? ;)

[Steph]

I think part of why I don't start too is that I have a lot of topics I want to write about and think that if I only pick one of those topics I worry it will not be profitable, but I will never know if I just don't do anything. I am just going to start and work on it and see what works and what doesn't.

Thank you all for your replies.

[wade_watson]

Yes, there is a name. It's called "Yahoo" :).

Actually, for IMers, there is a category of site I call a "big site" (more to than the name implies). I'm pretty sure I first got the idea from Lynn. It's based on one of the factors that Google uses to rank web pages: size. It matters a lot. Sites with many pages of content tend to rank well over similar sites with fewer pages. I think the easiest way to rank for a site is usually to pick a narrowly focused and reachable keyword, get a domain name close to it, and put up a site with 30-50 pages of focused content. However... another approach is to create a more general site (on, say, "backyards"), then add lots and lots of content loosely related to that more general topic (like, say, "lawn mowers", "swimming pools" and so on). You want a lot more pages at this type of site.

I once ran across a site that was ranking high in the very competitive market of collectable magazines. I immediately noticed that their root domain name made no reference to magazines. I found the site's front end and realized that what they had done was to copy hundreds of pages of general encyclopedia text simply to pad the site out and look large to search engines. The magazine business in the virtual backroom was the real point of the site.

While I wouldn't push my luck with that approach, one good strategy is to start a more generalized blog site and use it as you would an article site-- for a fair range of topics. Write a quick and useful article, include an affiliate link, free report offer or whatever and spread the word a bit. With this type of site you go for quantity, so don't spend too much time on entries. You'll need a lot of them. You can also throw in the occasional backlink to your other web projects. There are many advantages to using a site of your own this way over someone else's.

After Google's crackdown on EzineArticles, many marketers are looking for alternatives and I think the self-created "big site" may be the best answer. Just be ready to work.