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Niche Site Challenge Won - Site Ranks Top 2 in Google!

On the 29th of May 2011, I started a niche site challenge with the goal of ranking it on at least the second page of Google within 2 months.

I wrote this article on July 29th 2011 to conclude the challenge and I am happy to say that I surpassed myself! My niche site is ranking on the first page, second position for its keyword "coping with depression".

In this post I share the benefits of winning this challenge, some tips, the traffic result and my plan for the site now that it's on the top 2 of Google.

If you're completely new to niche sites, then first read the article on niche websites introduction

Don't be Afraid to Push Yourself to Achieve greater Things

I was inspired to start this challenge after seeing the good results recorded by Pat and Tyrone from their niche website duel .

I must say I was worried about not winning the challenge when I started. It's my first attempt on ranking a profitable niche in a short time. And since I was updating my process here, there was the fear of losing and being discredited by visitors as a result.

I know I made my visitors understand I was no expert and it was a learning process, but still, telling your readers you failed at something is not appealing.

So I am really happy about my result and more happy because I really wasn't expecting to be so high on the first page of Google for the keyword since the keyword is quite competitive.

All I wanted was just the first page of Google, it could have been the tenth position and I would have still been happy.

I am mostly happy because like I promised when I started the challenge, I didn't use any paid tool to build backlinks in other to achieve my result, unlike Pat and Tyrone did. So anyone can copy my niche marketing strategy.

Proof of Niche Site Top 2 Google Ranking

As at writing my site was ranking 2nd place in the first page of Google for its keyword. And also on the third place of Google as you can see, thanks to my regular usage of my niche keyword as tags within posts.

In my niche content strategy I discussed the benefits of using tags when publishing a post.

My site has been on the first page of Google, second place for over a week now, falling to the third page at times. I usually have a site above mine, and if you read my second niche marketing strategy update , somewhere I said:

"One thing I can assure you right away is that I can't rank for position one of the first page of Google for this keyword, at least not within the 2 months of the challenge.

That is because the site currently occupying that position is just too tough to kick off. It has a page rank of 5, launched since 1999, ranking for over 30,000 keywords and has 1000 backlinks to the page ranking for that keyword."

So I saw that from the start, and I am not surprised. The keyword is quite competitive and I am even glad I was able to beat off other tough sites. I am quite comfortable where I am. Though I still build backlinks to the site whenever I can.

Niche Site Traffic

Traffic according to Google analytics.

The site is definitely not yet getting as much traffic as it deserve for ranking on the top 2 of Google search results. I hope it will pick up soon.

But as you can see, the search engine is my highest traffic source and my keyword "coping with depression" is the keyword bringing in most of the traffic (though you can't see that from the image report).

Niche Site Monetization

My planned primary monetization option for this site was adsense since it has very high CPC, but sadly adsense is not displaying on the site. I think it is because Google disapproved it for adsense when I used it to apply for the program.

Now after I used another site to get approval for adsense, I placed ads on the site but it's not displaying. I think Google programs their servers not to display ads on site they didn't approve.

Anyway, I had to settle for other alternatives. Few days ago I added bidvertizer and adbrite ads, so far no click yet.

I am really disappointed about the issue with adsense, since bidvertiser are not even giving me targeted ads, and I don't really understand how adbrite works. I think I'll remove adbrite and put infolinks ads instead.

I also added amazon before but eventually removed it. I would have loved to add some click bank products instead but my country is among the countries not allowed sign up at clickbank.

I have joined other affiliate networks such as linkshare and E-junkie I am yet to find a book or product related to the niche that I like to refer to visitors.

So a big challenge I am having with the site is how to properly monetize it.

What is Next for my Niche Site

My overall goal for the niche site when starting it was to rank it and then sell it or flip it. As an additional source of income, I want to start building smaller sites and then sell them.

Though I meant to hold on to this niche site for some few months before selling it. But with the problem with adsense monetization, I have no other choice than to let the site go to someone who can expand on it and then monetize it properly.

I have just listed it for sale on flippa. I am hoping to invest the money from it sale into building more niche sites and expanding my online business.

Update:

I realized later that it was the theme I used for the site that was preventing adsense from displaying. When I changed theme, the ads started showing.

Update: Though the site is still listed on Flippa, I have decided to hold on to the site for 6 months or a year. Write some more posts. My goal is to write 30 more posts by the end of August.

Build more links and sort out the issue with Google adsense. Make some money from it and list it on Flippa again. Then it should be worth much more money.

Update: A prospective buyer for my site on flippa just brought to my attention two days ago that the site copingwithdepressioncenter.com is not ranking top 2 for the keyword "coping with depression" as I thought.

I usually check my ranking on www.google.com/ but I didn't know that the results are manipulated by cookies, thereby ranking sites that one has had recent interactions with higher.

So Google was ranking my site higher for the keyword because I have frequent interactions with the site.

I now check the site ranking with Scroogle which is the search engine recommended for use to get honest rankings since it's not history based, and the site ranks top 40 for its keyword.

But SEscout , a keyword rank checker tells me it's ranked top 27. While Rank checker another keyword rank checker tool by SEOMOZ tells me it's ranked top 24.

The later two rank results makes me doubt Scroogle though, since the ranking is close to each other.

Anyway, the important thing is that the site doesn't rank on top 2 of Google as I said before and I am so sorry for misleading you, though not delibrately.

I am still working on the site just like I said on my previous update. Though someone is willing to buy it now but I don't think the offer I'll get will be worth my trouble. So I am almost sure I will be holding on to the site. I'll keep you updated.

What I Benefited from the 2 Months Niche Site Challenge

If you want to make a decent income online, you have to keep trying and learning new things. The new things you try will provide you with new knowledge, ideas and lessons that you can share with others and make more money.

The fact that you've practiced these things yourself will make you an authority in what you share. You'll know what works and what doesn't.

Knowledge is power especially online. The more you know, the more money you can make.

I have learnt a lot having been working online for about 3 years now.

But this challenge helped me realize that I could have started making money online far earlier by creating, ranking and monetizing smaller niche sites or building and selling them as I have said I'll want to be doing hence forth.

Knowing this now I can help others like you to start making money online sooner without having to wait for years.

You can follow the step by step process of building a nich site as I have documented on this website. Better yet, you can spare some few dollars to buy the ebook on building and ranking profitable niche websites that I will be releasing soon.

Like I said when starting the challenge, among the goals I set out to achieve with the niche challenge was to create new income opportunities for me.

I will achieve that by duplicating the process I used to rank copingwithdepressioncenter.com niche site to build other small profitable niche blogs.

And also from the ebook I'll be launching soon. But it's going to be made available at a very cheap price so everyone can get a copy.

If you're just starting online, you have the opportunity to cut short the learning process, and get right to how to make good money online within weeks. Just follow my step by step process and start your own niche site today.

Have questions or comment about the challenge? Use this link . Or add your comment below.

Update:

Before you conclude that niche site blog is the next best thing please use the link below to go read my last update about niche sites.

My Failed Dreams With Small Niche Content Blogs And Back To What is Really Profitable!

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