Niche Pursuits Podcast: Find Your Next "Niche" Business Idea! (Spencer Haws: NichePursuits.com)

Welcome back to the latest episode of the Niche Pursuits News Podcast. 

This week, Jared Bauman and guest host Morgan Overholt talk SEO, Google, and AI, inspire with their successful side hustles, and share some weird niche sites that will definitely get you thinking.

They discuss the Google Core Update - https://searchengineland.com/google-december-2024-core-update-rolling-out-now-449255

They talk about the battle between WordPress and WP Engine - https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/10/24318350/automattic-restore-wp-engine-access-wordpress

They share that ChatGPT and OpenAI may incorporate ads - https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-weighs-ads-chatgpt

They talk about Google Gemini 2.0 - https://searchengineland.com/google-gemini-2-0-coming-to-search-and-ai-overviews-449193

Jared’s weird niche site - https://visdeurbel.com/

Morgan’s weird niche site - https://shipyourenemiesglitter.com/

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

This week, Jared Bauman interviews James Oliver, who knows a thing or two about building successful niche sites. And just because the rules of the game have changed, that doesn’t mean it’s not a lucrative business proposition.

In this interview, James talks about the successes he’s had, the SEO strategies he’s using at the moment, his experience with AI, and an iconic SEO tool that he recently acquired.

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week? Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Welcome back to the Niche Pursuits Podcast. I’m your host, Spencer Haws from nichepursuits.com.  

Today, I've got a great interview for you. I've got Adam Steele from loganix.net. Adam is somebody that's been around the affiliate marketing and link building world for a long time. He actually started back in an affiliate network called Neverblue. He started working there and that's how he got introduced to a lot of people doing online business. That led him down the road of link building services that he could offer. 

I’ll let Adam tell his entire story. It's really interesting and he's built a really solid business. In their best year, they’ve done $3 million in revenue. He's got 14 full-time employees and a large remote team behind him. We’ll talk about how he's able to achieve that success. 

Overall, it was great to have Adam on the podcast and interview him. If you want to check out Loganix, his link building company, you can use my affiliate link which I would be very happy if you did. That's at nichepursuits.com/loganix.

Curious how Google's upcoming AI search engine may affect site owners?

Today's episode of Niche Pursuits News has you covered with an in-depth and wide-ranging discussion between hosts Spencer, Jared, and guest-host and MarketMuse founder Jeff Coyle about Google's recent unveiling of Magi.

The guys consider how this new generative AI search feature will account for:

• Intent
• Links
• Biases
• Learning curve
• Authenticity
• And more...

And, of course, they brainstorm how these changes may impact site owners and the display ad networks that so many rely on for income.

The discussion then goes to the increasing importance of brand and community building through various channels, such as email and social media marketing. And the benefits these technological evolutions bring for those willing to persevere.

And as a special bonus, listeners can sign up for MarketMuse using promo code 'niche20mm' for a 20% discount!

Spencer also shares an exciting update about his faceless YouTube channel and how it's now consistently earning over $100 per day - far exceeding his expected earnings of $80 in the entire month of May.

And Jared discusses how he recently launched a free tool during his latest interview on the Niche Pursuits podcast, which has had some excellent results.

The discussion then gets into weird niche sites where Spencer shares a super niche site called Western Mining History with a DR 59 and monetized with both Mediavine ads and a membership option.

Jared then shares his niche site find PenVibe.com, which focuses on pens and related products. The site has a basic design and appears to have quite an interesting history, but it started picking up traffic in 2018, with a surge in March and April 2023.

Overall it's a fascinating discussion with lots of nuggets of wisdom forecasting the future of blogging and search in the age of AI.

So make sure to listen to the full episode to learn 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

Our guest today is Dhanish Semar (those of you in the League of Legends community probably know him by his IGN: DiffTheEnder). Dhanish owns Cloth5.com, a site he built by making great connections, writing premium content, and putting it in front of his audience using the platform that was most important to them.

The result? Cloth5 now gets over 1,000,000 visits per month.

Will Google's new Search Generative Experience (SGE) help or harm site owners?

Spencer and Jared kick off the latest episode of Niche Pursuits News pondering this question with some interesting findings as they look at various examples of search queries.

They also reflect on a recent Twitter poll by Lily Ray and contemplate whether or not SGE seems to be an improvement over the existing Google search experience.

For instance, in the event it turns out to be a glorified featured snippet and not so much AI as it is displaying site content directly on the SERPs, will Google provide attribution to site owners?

They also consider how this GSE may work in YMYL niches.

But in hopeful news, Bing AI has added links to sources of information within their AI results which could help put pressure on Google to do the same.

The discussion then moves onto their shiny object shenanigans.

Spencer shares some recent troubles he's run into with his faceless YouTube channel and what they're doing to fix it.

Plus, he discusses how his upcoming plugin Rank Logic is coming along after beta testers finally got to use it.

Then Jared gets into how he decided to jump into the Amazon influencer program and how he and his 201 Creative business partner Kaitlin managed to create 100 videos within a few days reviewing items in their homes.

And as always, they close things out with some great niche site discoveries.

Jared starts with Snake Dreams, a site that focuses on interpreting dreams about snakes. And although it's not doing so well these days, according to Ahrefs - back in 2017 it was receiving an average of 56,000 organic monthly visitors.

Then it's onto Spencer's site highlight, Dimensions.com.

This is a reference database for product dimensions founded by an architect that provides dimensions for various objects and people, including celebrities and fictional characters. The site is monetized via display ads and a subscription service that offers 2D and 3D downloads, no ads, easy download access, and support. And it appears the site is getting lots of traffic!

So, it makes you wonder what's an problem or issue that people like have that could be turned into a helpful niche site!

Overall, it's another helpful episode to wind down for the weekend, hope you enjoy.

Welcome back, everyone, to the latest episode of the Niche Pursuits News podcast!

This week Spencer and Jared talk about some of the biggest headlines, they share some inspiring side hustles, and they reveal some very lucrative weird niche sites.

They discuss how Meta is getting rid of fact-checkers - https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/07/tech/meta-censorship-moderation/index.html

They talk about how people are leaving Facebook and Instagram - https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/09/google-searches-for-deleting-facebook-instagram-explode-after-meta-ends-fact-checking/?guccounter=1

They discuss Google's launch of Gemini 2.0 - https://blog.google/technology/google-deepmind/google-gemini-ai-update-december-2024/

They mentionGoogle’s exemption from the Online News Act - 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/google-online-news-act-exemption-1.7422690

Jared’s weird niche site - https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/

Spencer’s weird niche site - https://en.akinator.com/

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Anthony Presley and a partner recently purchased Templatic Themes in 2018. The business has over 120 premium WordPress themes and plugins.

When they bought the business they had a vision to grow it, but there have been a few major bumps along the way.

Listen in to hear how Anthony and his team have tackled these challenges and even recovered from the May 2020 core Google update.

If you are interested in SEO, WordPress themes, or buying online business you will enjoy this interview.

Anthony is also offering the Niche Pursuits Audience over 50% off the Templatic Club Membership. This gives you access to ALL their themes and plugins.

Normally the Templatic membership is $299 + $19/month. Use coupon code "NichePursuits" to get access for just $89 + $14/month. Get the special deal here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/templatic

Today's guest on the Niche Pursuit podcast is Jason Mills. Jason chats with Jared about aged domains and blog creation. In particular, the focus is on an aged domain case study website he started six months ago, which currently earns him a monthly income of over $3000 with only 41 articles live.

Several months ago, I ran across a blog that I really enjoyed reading in the personal finance niche.  Before I was running my business full-time, I worked in the finance industry for several years, so I've always been interested in investments and personal finance.

As I researched this blog a bit more, I realized that it was doing quite well!  According to its "About" page, it was receiving over 200k unique visitors a month and I could see that there was a very active community. 

I've always been intrigued how people build their blogs into successful businesses, so I contacted the owner of FinancialSamurai.com and asked him if he'd be interested in doing a podcast interview with me.  He agreed.

So, on the podcast today, I'm excited to share the interview I had with Sam of FinancialSamurai.com.  Financial Samurai is a personal finance and investments related blog that covers all the topics surrounding saving, investing, retirement planning, and more.

In my interview, I dug a little bit into Sam's story of how he was able to engineer his own layoff so he could work full-time on FinancialSamurai.com at the age of 35.  In addition, we dive into how he was able to build a blog of such significant size in an extremely competitive niche. 

The personal finance niche has got to be one the most valuable and highly competitive niches that are out there.  However, Sam has been able to build a significant following and financially do well.  In the podcast, you will find out how he was able to do that.

Welcome back to another episode of the Niche Pursuits News Podcast!

This week, like every week, Spencer and Jared dive deep into the latest news affecting SEOs, publishers, and entrepreneurs relating to Google, AI, and beyond.

The call kicked off with AI Overviews and a letter from Google’s VP/Head of Search, Liz Reid, in response to pushback from the public about the crazy answers users have been finding.

In the last few weeks, the amount of queries for which AI Overviews has appeared has dramatically dropped, and Spencer and Jared share a graph that shows the niches where it has the largest and smallest presence.

Moving along, they return to a popular topic of late: Google’s API leak, confirmed by Google themselves. 

Spencer and Jared share some of the latest and most interesting discoveries from the leak, like how YouTube comments are a ranking factor for YouTube, whether or not small personal sites are really being torched, and how baby Panda is not the HCU.

They also share tips on how to approach SEO going forward, such as author authority and a focus on short, original content vs. longer, regurgitated content.

If you want to hear their thoughts on what you should do differently in SEO, knowing what we now know, check out the episode!

Moving along to their Shiny Object Shenanigans, Spencer goes first and talks about a challenge he recently revealed where he’s trying to drive traffic from a brand new Facebook page to his website to earn $1000 in just 30 days.

Listen to the episode to find out these details, and if you want to see the actual Facebook page, join the Niche Pursuits Community!

When it’s Jared’s turn, he teases the success he’s having with his newsletter side hustle, but ultimately talks about Amazon Influencer. He reveals how many videos he’s uploaded recently and how much he earned in May.

He also did some digging into a drop he experienced in his earnings and made a funny discovery. Check out the episode to hear what he discovered.

As for their Weird Niche Sites, Spencer reveals r74n, a site with lots of mini-games. He plays around with the most popular one and talks about monetization and the site’s unique features.

He also reveals that it gets 180k organic visitors per month, and in some months over a million organic visitors. 

When it’s Jared’s turn, he shares Green Screen Memes, the largest memes download website for green screen video templates. This DR27 site ranks for 6k keywords, gets some good branded traffic, and has done particularly well throughout all the updates.

He talks about how it works and how it would be relatively easy to set something like this up.

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Want the step-by-step strategy a link-building expert uses to exponentially grow the traffic of sites?

Alan Silvestri of Growth Gorilla joins the Niche Pursuits podcast to share some of his awesome growth tips.

He got into SEO and affiliate marketing in 2013 after searching for ways to make money online. He started with affiliate websites and was eventually hired to help the same course creator Alan followed to learn SEO...

From there, he found his passion for link-building and started Growth Gorilla. He now works with 10-15 clients in the B2B, SaaS space and has ranking content down to a science.

In his interview, he breaks down his holistic approach.

Alan describes the 3 main reasons pages may end up in the "content graveyard" (bottom of page 1, page 2, etc.):

• Not having backlinks
• Targeting the wrong keywords
• Not matching search intent or content type with the top 10 ranking results.

And he stresses that content quality is important and should be optimized before building backlinks.

To fix all these issues, he describes his content promotion roadmap. It's a quarterly process that helps prioritize target pages to build links to over the next 3 months.

First, there's the backlink analysis of competitors. He recommends analyzing two competitors, one realistically beatable and the other a North Star competitor that can represent an authority in the niche.

This backlink data will help show the difference in percentages of backlinks pointing to the homepage versus internal pages. If competitors are being more proactive with content promotion, they'll likely have more links to their internal pages. But if a website is not ranking, it could also be the site has a lower domain rating (DR), which can be improved by building more backlinks to the homepage.

From this data, he describes how you can put together a link analysis report. He uses a three-step process for this, including identifying the link gap, identifying the type of backlinks, and identifying the topical relevance of those backlinks.

One tip is to prioritize both page relevancy and domain relevancy for backlinks, but if you can't get both, prioritize page-level relevancy.

Plus, he shares that while no follow links may not have a direct impact on rankings, they can bring in a trust signal that is important for a website to have. Building nofollow links can help dilute the backlink profile and build trust for the site. Good places to get nofollow links include directories, social media links, forums, and Q&A sites like Quora.

He also shares how to spot and avoid bad links from link farms by looking at content quality, links that the content has, and the main business model of the site.

And he also has some great tips on anchor text which can be classified into four main buckets: exact match, partial match, URL, and generic. To improve anchor text, export the backlinks of the top 10 ranking pages for target keywords and classify them into the four buckets to determine the ideal distribution.

Throughout the episode, Alan has a lot of great tips and tactics to share and isn't afraid to get into the nitty-gritty details.

So be sure to check out the full episode 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

And as always, this podcast episode is hosted by Jared Bauman, co-owner of 201 Creative SEO Agency - https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

SEO expert Steve Toth is the latest guest on the Niche Pursuits podcast.

Steve has a long history in the SEO industry. He started in 2010 as a copywriter running a web development company blog, which led him on his journey into search engine optimization.

Welcome back to another episode of the Niche Pursuits News Podcast. 

This week Spencer and Jared discuss the big news related to SEO, small publishers, and Google. They also share updates on their side hustles and more than a few weird niche sites.

The big news is that Google might be sanctioned  

They talk about severe sanction scenarios 

Google responds to the ruling 

They discuss the WordPress vs. WP Engine drama 

They talk briefly about Automatic’s role

Syed Balkhi’s tweet of support

Spencer’s weird niche site is Spaghetti Models

Jared shares more info about McBroken on Reddit and elsewhere 

He also shares his weird sites: Bridesmaid for Hire and Groomsman for Hire

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

During the podcast, Brian provided a ton of very actionable tips for anyone starting a new blog or looking to attract more traffic and links to their existing sites.

Some of the most interesting takeaways that I had are related to how Brian was able to grow his blog so much in the past year.  He did this by blogging LESS.  By focusing more on quality posts rather than quantity, and then working actively to promote those posts, he's been able to become a widely recognized expert.

We discuss the exact tactics Brian has used to grow Backlinko.com and how you can do the same.

In today's podcast episode, I have RJ Bryan as a guest interview.  RJ is a long time reader of Niche Pursuits and build his first successful site around the time of Niche Site Project 2.

RJ has a few niche sites making in total about $6,000 to $7,000 a month.  The largest site is making about $4,000 a month.

RJ has a great story to tell, and also shares some great steps for his process of building a successful niche site.

RJ recently started a blog where he shares his website building strategies at RJBryan.com.

Where do you go if you want to invest money into a website but you don't actually want to operate that website? Or on the flip side, what if you are a skilled website operator but don't have a lot of money to invest right now?

Where can investors and operators find a match?

That's the problem Sam Bass is trying to solve with ChiefOperators.io. Chief Operators is a platform where website operators and website investors can get connected and decide if they want to do a deal together.

Sam summarizes the business as "a community that helps proven website operators that have experience in their niche joint venture with investors to buy websites." So that's the main feature, but there are a few other side benefits as well.

In this interview, he shares a bit about his background and story but focuses mostly on what Chief Operators can offer the online business community today.

Interested in setting up a YouTube channel?

Spencer and co-host Jared Bauman of 201 Creative explore some exciting updates for content creators today on Niche Pursuits News.

First up is a new announcement from YouTube that they're lowering the threshold for channel monetization!

While content creators used to need 1000 subscribers and 4000 long-form watch hours, now you need just 500 subscribers and 3000 long-form watch hours in the last 12 months to start earning money on the platform.

Jared and Spencer talk about why they think YouTube changed the rules, and they also discuss other ways to monetize using the platform, such as channel memberships.

Then they move on to talk about how Time magazine announced its plans to remove its digital paywall and give everyone their content for free. Their plan is to monetize with display ads, using the same model many bloggers and content creators are using. 

The hosts move on to discuss data in a SEMRush report that revealed interesting statistics about search engine users, like the percentage who change their keywords before clicking and how very few searches led to clicks on the first result in the SERPs in 2022. It’s clear that user patterns of search are changing. What does this mean for us?

Jared and Spencer also discuss a recent article in Search Engine Journal about Google making its feedback form more robust. According to Twitter, this move will set the stage for more negative SEO, and the hosts share their thoughts on the implications. Will the positives outweigh the negatives with this new move from Google?

In the Shiney Object Shenanigans portion of the podcast, Spencer talks about recent developments with his faceless YouTube channel. 

Although the channel was making $80 to $90 a day, a copyright claim has almost eliminated all of his earnings. His appeal was ultimately denied, and he talks about his plans for moving forward, as well as other ideas for faceless YouTube channels.

Jared finally reveals more details about his YouTube project, which will revolve around read-alouds for social-emotional learning by his wife, a seasoned school counselor. She'll be working on this project all summer and Jared will report back on their progress.

In the last section of the podcast, Spencer talks about a weird niche site he found years ago based on a scene from Star Wars where Darth Vadar screams. The site was getting around 30k visitors per month back in 2015. 

Although the original website no longer exists, there's a copycat site now, but it only gets a few thousand visitors per month.

Jared talks about the site he found called Awkward Family Photos, created with user-generated content. He talks about how the site is monetized using ads and how it’s ranking for 20k keywords even though it's just a photo site. 

As it turns out, Spencer and his family play the Awkward Family Photo board game all the time. This example certainly makes you think about creative monetization opportunities you might not have thought about before!

Once again, Niche Pursuits News is coming at you with a thought-provoking episode on YouTube, legacy publisher strategies, changes in Google, unique side hustle ideas, and creative monetization techniques.

Don't miss out! Tune in and listen now!

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

Today, Perrin and I discuss SEO.

Can you believe it already been a year since the big PBN update?  This PBN update had a big impact on aPennyShaved.com (the Niche Site Project 2 website) and other niche site we were working on. 

As a result, we have drastically changed how we do SEO and link building.  We haven't talked about these strategies too much, but we definitely are still actively doing keyword research, creating content, and building links for our sites.

In fact, I've gotten emails and comments from people asking if we would ever talk about SEO again (rather than my recent Amazon FBA frenzy).  So, I felt like it was finally time for an update on what our current strategies in 2015 are for search engine optimization, external and internal link building, content, and so much more.

I'm happy to bring you another podcast interview I did recently with an Amazon seller.

The guest on the podcast today is Pilar Newman. She has been selling on Amazon for about 8 years, and has really honed her skills for finding and selling products through the Amazon platform.

Pilar applies a lot of the tactics other guests have shared in the past.  However, where she is different is how she is capitalizing on trending items that are selling really well.  Rather than selling the actual trending item itself, she thinks of unique items that are complimentary to the trending items.

As a result she is able to sell unique products, but still capitalizes on the big trends that are taking place.

Andy Skraga, also known as The Facebook Traffic Guy, has had massive success driving traffic to his websites.  

He currently manages 9 Facebook pages and 5 websites, driving millions in traffic to those sites.

In this interview, he shares a ton of strategies, offers advice on how to get started, and explains his exact approach to getting page likes, creating content, going viral, and much more.

His interest was originally inspired by a site called ViralNova.

All in all, Andy offers an absolute ton of value in this interview and it’s a must-listen to anyone looking for an alternative traffic strategy and a lucrative side hustle.

Links & Resources

• Hike Your Likes
• Andy on Twitter
• Andy on LinkedIn
• Strevio
• Canva
• The Dodo
• PostPlanner

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Thomas Jepsen joins the Niche Pursuits podcast today to share insights and findings from 12 years of SEO experience, some of which may differ from what you typically hear on topics like:

• Topical authority
• E-A-T
• And structured data

Overall, it's a thought-provoking discussion covering a wide range of topics regarding on page, off page, and technical SEO concerns.

Thomas explores the secrets behind low DR, high traffic websites and how they can be used as models for content structure.

Sharing the importance of internal linking, recommending Link Whisper to quickly help for improve crawlability and avoid orphan pages.

He shares a glimpse into his site audit process, including understanding clients' goals, analyzing their website and competitors, and presenting his findings.

He also addesses issues of bloat – like tags, category pages, and thin content pages being indexed. Shares insights into indexation issues found in Google Search Console, like crawled currently not indexed, discovered currently not indexed, and duplicate pages.

And advises when it's best to delete or improve content that doesn't drive organic traffic or impressions from any keywords in Ahrefs.

You'll also learn about the Google Sandbox and its connection to core updates, link accumulation, and quality content creation.

In a nutshell, Jepsen's expertise on website quality and optimization offers indispensable knowledge for website owners and SEO professionals alike. In the age of AI he emphasizes the importance of white-hat practices, believing high-quality content, natural links, and internal linking to enhance crawlability and site structure, will help. And don't overlook indexation issues – delete or improve content that fails to drive organic traffic or keywords.

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

Get ready for an exciting episode of This Week in Niche Pursuits News, where we dive into a rollercoaster of digital marketing stories:

From a $9 million employee theft scandal at Ezoic to weird niche websites and ad network comparisons.

This episode is a treasure trove of interesting discussions to help close out another week!

Things kick off with a jaw-dropping case of employee theft at the popular ad tech company Ezoic. The guys explore how one crafty individual tried to steal $9 million by altering the bank account details on the company's Google AdSense account.

Luckily his plan was foiled, but not before Ezoic faced layoffs and cash flow struggles due to the incident.

The conversation then switches gears to continue last week's discussion on Google's latest update, and how it's expanded to encompass all types of reviews, not just products.

The conversation also gets into the fascinating world of weird niche sites, like sleepinginairports.net – a handy guide for those seeking a good night's sleep during layovers or as a hotel alternative. This unconventional site thrives on crowdsourced reviews and enjoys a whopping 46,000 organic traffic per month (according to Ahrefs, so for sure, their real traffic is much higher)!

They also cover a mysterious travel site whose social media presence is suspended and a Lego site with untapped potential in email marketing and social media.

And the question on every site owner's mind is: which ad network pays more? We tackle this question head-on, comparing Ezoic and Google AdSense, considering factors like ad setup, programmatic display, and site speed.

Spencer then dishes on his latest side hustle – outsourcing product review videos for the Amazon Influencer program. With a team of five videographers and a video backlog, Spencer is set to rake in commissions from product page views.

To wrap things up the guys discuss the perks of starting with ads on a website for that initial burst of energy and income and share an SEO tactic that involves hunting for unlinked mentions and requesting links.

In a nutshell, this latest episode of This Week in Niche Pursuits News covers a wide array of digital marketing topics that are both fun and interesting for anyone involved with online businesses.

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 talk about keyword research, topical authority, and how AI plays a significant role in Emily's content approach.

Want to learn about the new ChatGPT plugins and other new updates that could affect for site owners?

Don't miss this week's episode of Niche Pursuits News!

Spencer and Jared kick things off by discussing new ChatGPT plugins brainstorming the various ways they can help users automate everything from email to SEO. Plus, the new opportunities for entrepreneurs with plugin ideas.

They also discuss OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's hearing before Congress earlier this week concerning the possible risks and implications of AI. A four and a half hour testimony covering everything from the dangers of misinformation to political fallout, with one conclusion being that 'AI is more dangerous than you think'.

But since Google Bard is now available to the public, the guys were able to test it out with some fun prompts including asking it to compare itself to ChatGPT with some surprising results.

They also unpack Google's upcoming Core Web Vitals metric InP, which will offer insights into the 'interaction to next paint' rather than just 'first input delay', which could change the game in user experience metrics.

Then it's onto the side hustles, where Spencer unveils his year in the making WordPress plugin, Rank Logic, a powerful tool for tracking keyword rankings and content performance which is now open for a limited number of beta testers.

Meanwhile, Jared introduces his new service on Weekend Growth that creates email newsletter funnels for niche websites and is already receiving orders and positive feedback!

And as always, they wind things down by looking at peculiar niche sites starting with Unnecessary Inventions. A site created by an inventive content creator who turned his unique thinking into a profitable business followed by millions of fans on YouTube and Instagram.

They also discuss Reality Steve, a site dedicated to spoiling the results of the dating reality show The Bachelor.

In both cases, the sites have sparked interesting careers for their creators but the guys ponder the various ways they could boost their monetization.

So, sit back and enjoy another episode of industry insights, personal projects, and peculiar niches to help you get ready for the weekend!

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

Would these behemoths of the internet make up their minds?  

Do they love my site...or not?!

Google and Amazon appear to be all-powerful and that power has been on full display over the past couple of months.

First, Amazon decreases their commission rates...during a pandemic...because...Bezos money?

Next, Google rolls out a core update near the end of May, and I'm not gonna lie, my niche site took a hit.  Not a fatal blow, but a hit nonetheless.

So, after all this fire and brimstone from the internet "gods", I thought it was time to assess the carnage for OwnTheYard.com.  You know, my Niche Site Project 4 site.

I basically said that last time I did an update post, it was potentially going to be my last update post.  But I wanted to be transparent and share the bad that sometimes comes.

Affiliate marketing is hard, with lots of ups and downs.  But as you'll see in this full income report, it's not all bad.

I mean I still did make about $3k a month without really doing much :). It just could have been...oh, what could have been!

Looking for tried-and-true tips for how to grow your business?

Look no further than Steve Chou, online entrepreneur extraordinaire and master of email marketing, YouTube, SMS texting, and marketing online businesses in general.

You may already know of him from My Wife Quit Her Job. And in today's podcast episode, Steve shares key insights into:

• Lead generation,
• Creating effective email lists,
• Using YouTube to grow your subscriber base
• Repurposing content
• And a whole lot more...

One of his secrets to success is his focus on one thing at a time. He creates systems for each task before moving on to the next, allowing him to outsource tasks to a virtual assistant and streamline his workflow. He also repurposes content across different channels for long-term leverage.

And if you're looking to grow your YouTube channel, Steve has some great advice. He recommends having a website as a home base to gather emails and using YouTube to grow your subscriber base. The most important part of YouTube? The title and thumbnail! Steve also suggests repurposing blog posts into YouTube content and switching up camera angles every 3-4 seconds to keep viewers engaged. And if you need help generating ideas or scripting your videos, Chat GPT using AI PRM can help.

He offers tons of email marketing tips including building an email list before having something to sell and using it to get feedback from your audience. Plus he talks about how he uses SMS marketing to drive action, as he's found it to have a higher open and click-through rate than emails.

Steve encourages cross-pollination of contacts across different platforms to increase the chances of reaching them, and he uses SMS marketing differently for e-commerce and content, sending offers and promotions for the former and event-related messages for the latter.

But in the end, Steve's success comes down to his focus on building relationships, providing value to his audience, and staying consistent. And if you're interested in following in his footsteps and achieving financial freedom without sacrificing what matters most (who doesn't), be sure to check out Steve's book, The Family First Entrepreneur.

So if you're looking to take your business to the next level, be sure to listen to this episode and take notes!

Topics Steve Chou Covers

• How he got into online business
• His 3-pronged approach to growing his eCommerce store
• Targeting repeat customers
• His business portfolio
• How he grows his brand across multiple channels
• SMS marketing
• His email marketing strategy
• 'Build the list before you sell'
• Tips to make affiliate earnings from email
• How to build on YouTube
• How YouTube helps his business
• YouTube tips
• How he's using chatbots in his business
• How he optimizes his time and efforts
• Publishing his first book with traditional publishing
• The importance of taking a profit-first approach

Links & Resources

• How To Start An Online Store And Spend More Time With Your Loved Ones - MyWifeQuitHerJob.com
• The Family First Entrepreneur - The Family First Entrepreneur
• How to Earn Your First Love Dollar – Steve Pavlina
• AIPRM for ChatGPT - Chrome Web Store

During this coaching call number 10 with Perrin, Colleen reveals the site that she has been working on for Niche Site Project 3.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to create truly engaging content that keeps your audience coming back for more?

If so, you're in luck.

Because the hugely successful and inspiring online entrepreneur and founder of Smart Passive Income (SPI), Pat Flynn, is back on the Niche Pursuits podcast to share his valuable insights.

This time, it's all about YouTube and how to succeed on the platform.

Pat's a family man and joined his kids down a Pokemon Rabbit hole.

Eventually, his YouTube suggestions were monopolized by related content, and after reading through comments in the community, he discovered there was still untapped potential.

So he started his Pokemon-focused channel Deep Pocket Monster in January 2021 and, within a year, had 100k subscribers.

Fast forward to today, and his channel has well over 600k subs and has become his most profitable venture to date.

In today's interview, he dives into how he did it.

He provides tons of actionable advice on:

• Why he chose the niche
• The importance of community and connection in the age of AI
• How to hook an audience at the beginning and end of a video
• The 2-3 most important YouTube metrics to focus on
• Whether you should focus on long-form or short-form content

And also deep dives into the power of story - and how it will always outshine production value.

He recommends keeping a close eye on performance after publishing and gives tips on when to try different thumbnails and titles for a second wind in the algorithm.

And Pat offers sage advice on what metrics really matter for your success.

Pat's phenomenal success as a YouTuber in the Pokemon space can be (at least partially) attributed to his deep understanding of YouTube's inner workings and his audience's desires.

His strategy of continually experimenting with video formats and analyzing data has paid off in spades. Even with a lean team behind his YouTube channel, he's managed to amass a loyal following and generate impressive profits.

And this is an excellent interview to inspire you to do the same.

Don't miss it!

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, Niche Pursuits News fans, to the latest episode of the podcast, where Spencer and Jared break down the most recent events in SEO, website development, and content creation into bite-size pieces.

Get ready for their insightful analysis and actionable tips and, as always, a good dose of inspiration for your businesses.

It’s another episode of the podcast and another opportunity to talk about Google completing, yet again, another of its updates. The November Reviews Update has officially concluded, after about 5 weeks.

Spencer and Jared talk about the extended duration of recent updates and what this might mean for sites impacted by the HCU. 

Will these updates be baked into larger updates in the future? What should content creators who do a lot of product reviews do moving forward? And what happens to you in future updates if your site has been deemed “ unhelpful?” Check out the episode to hear their thoughts.

For a bit of good news, they then talk about how Google’s How-To rich results seem to be returning to Search. Check your Google Search Console to see if you’re getting any clicks and look for ways to optimize it.

Moving along, the next topic is parasite SEO and the fact that reviews are currently appearing on Harvard University’s official website. GoogleLiaison’s Danny Sullivan recently tweeted that Google is aware of this and taking appropriate measures, but still, this raises questions.

If Google previously positioned sites based on their link profile and pagerank, the algorithm no longer works when authoritative sites start publishing review content unrelated to their topical authority and ranking on page one, so how do they fix this? Spencer and Jared discuss a few ideas.

The next order of business is Google’s new AI Studio, a web-based tool for developers to allow them to create Gemini-based chatbots. Jared turns to ChatGPT to find out more about how it works, and they both brainstorm about how they might use it. Tune in for some clever ideas! 

Moving on to the Side Hustle Shenanigans, Spencer and Jared both have exciting updates on their Amazon Influencer Program performance. Spencer reports that he’s published over 1000 videos and has already earned over $5.5k for the month.

When it’s Jared’s turn, he reveals that he’s earned over $6200 for the month so far, and shares some details about which video is bringing in the most commissions. They both talk about their ideas for strategies going forward, as well as the importance of just getting started.

When it comes to Weird Niche Sites, Spencer kicks things off with Keep The Score, a very professional-looking DR40 website that lets you keep score of any type of competition you have going on. Traffic could be between 28k (Ahrefs) and 195k (SimilarWeb) per month. 

They talk about some of the site’s unique features, what keywords are driving the traffic, and how it’s earning money.

Jared reveals his site, Belt Checker, for Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners. You can create a profile and then enter all of your information like competition history and belt promotions, you can track your injuries, and much more. This DR46 site ranks for over 10k keywords and has over 18k indexed pages, so it’s a pretty solid website.

How many users does it have? Was it affected by the HCU? Was the site built for SEO? And, perhaps most importantly, what can we learn from it?

You get all this and more when you listen to the latest episode of the Niche Pursuits News podcast, so don’t miss this one! 

See you all next week when Spencer and Jared tackle new topics and offer even more ideas you can apply to your own projects.

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/linkwhi... 

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201crea... 

The income John talks about is staggering, and it's hard not to feel inspired and excited about the possibilities.

Welcome back everyone! It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another episode of the Niche Pursuits Podcast. 

A lot happened this week so there’s a lot to talk about. Join Spencer and Jared as they discuss and analyze the latest happenings in the SEO, AI, and content creation space.

The first news item they cover is the Google Core Update and the fact that it has finally finished rolling out. 

How long did it last in the end? What kind of movement did Jared and Spencer see? Was there a reversal from the HCU? Are there any updates currently underway or coming in the future? Tune in and find out!

Then Spencer and Jared shift the conversation to a slightly more controversial topic: Sports Illustrated allegedly published a ton of content written by AI-generated writers. 

When the articles were deemed as potentially AI-generated, the team at Futurism pressed Sports Illustrated, which then deleted all of the content and issued a response.

What did they say? What do Spencer and Jared think about the situation? And how does EEAT play into all of it?

The next topic is how the Canadian government has reached an agreement with Google on the Online News Act. Google has agreed to pay online Canadian publishers around $100 million a year to publish their news content on Google. 

This is clearly a win for news publishers, who are going to get paid, but it raises some interesting questions. Why did Google agree to pay? Will other countries follow suit? Will it go beyond news publishers at some point?

In more Google news, the number of companies who have blocked Google from crawling their sites and using their data for Bard has increased by 180%. Jared and Spencer have talked about this situation previously, but in that case it was the GPT OpenAI bot; now it’s the case with Google-Extended.

What about this article really riles up the hosts?

Spencer gets especially riled up sharing that Google Bard is now summarizing YouTube videos. Not only can you get a summary, but you can also get a transcript. Spencer gave it a test drive with one of his videos.

What was the result? Was the summary accurate? The result is pretty funny, so check out the episode to see why. 

Moving along, the next topic is X (formerly Twitter), and how some brands have paused their advertising campaigns while others have stopped altogether. As a result, the platform may lose up to $75 million in ad revenue by the end of the year. 

This is attributable to the fact that Elon Musk is a bit of a loose cannon, he's making offensive statements, and there are also lots of changes to the platform. 

What does this mean for other advertisers? Could this be part of Musk’s overall strategy?

Last but not least is news from Amazon, which has launched a new AI chatbot for companies. This chatbot is not a competitor for consumer-facing chatbots but, rather, for companies to use for their businesses. Think financial projections, policies, and procedures.

What is AWS and how is it involved? And what might the name of the chatbot be a reference to? Listen to the podcast to hear what Spencer and Jared think about it.

Moving into the Shiny Object Shenanigans portion of the podcast, Spencer talks first about his progress with the Amazon Influencer Program. With 954 videos currently published, how did he do during Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

Jared then shares his progress with the program. Currently, he has 982 videos live, but how did he do during the big shopping days? After talking with other members of the program, Jared also has an interesting theory about how to increase earnings during this period next year. 

He also talks briefly about Weekend Growth, progress, and new developments. 

As for their Weird Niche Sites, Spencer goes first with Katie Goes Platinum—a site that’s more unique than it is weird. Katie documents the process of letting her hair gray gracefully and seeks to inspire others. 

She’s got ads and digital products, not to mention a YouTube channel and a section featuring her web stories. A little research shows that back in 2020, she was earning $6k per month from her site—a figure that has most likely increased since then.

Jared’s Weird Niche Site is Hood Maps, which creates funny maps for different cities. He and Spencer take a closer look at a few of them and share some of the entertaining descriptions.

This DR41 website doesn’t have any display ads but it does rank for 50k keywords. But how does it collect the descriptions for so many maps? And is it making any money?

And that brings us to the end of a jam-packed episode. See you next week when Spencer and Jared tackle the latest headlines and serve up more information and inspiration.   

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

In podcast 19 of the Niche Pursuits Podcast, I was able to sit down with Elaine Heney and discuss her business of building mobile phone applications.  She has currently built over 200 iPhone or Android Apps and only started about a year ago!

I was completely amazed at the success she is having, and knew I had to have her on the show.

Elaine has an interesting story because she's not a programmer and was just tired of working for someone else (sound familiar?).  After creating her first app, she saw a little bit of success...not much, but enough to keep her intrigued by the app market.  As a result, she did something that I could never do...she quit her job before she was really making much money!

She decided that she was going to give herself a few months to do nothing but work on her iPhone app business...and well, it turns out that it worked big time!

She has now built over 200 mobile phone applications and is comfortably living off this full-time business.  She share tips on building iPhone apps and more on her blog at: TheChocolateLabApps.com.

Today, I'm excited to bring you and interview I did with Greg Mercer of JungleScout.com. 

I don't remember the first place that I ran across an interview with Greg, but as soon as I heard it, it was clear that Greg was a real expert in selling on Amazon.

How expert?  Well, he regularly does over $400k per month in Amazon sales and did over $500k in December 2015!

In addition, Greg has taken those skills for finding great products to sell and leverage that into an AWESOME product finding tool called Jungle Scout.  I personally use Jungle Scout all the time to analyze listings and find those hidden gems on Amazon.

Greg is offering a 10% discount on Jungle Scout to the Niche Pursuits audience right here.

So, in today's podcast, I'm excited to share the discussion that Greg and I have for how he built his Amazon business, as well as his software business.

Craig Hewitt is the founder of Castos, a popular podcasting platform.

I met Craig 4 years ago at RhodiumWeekend.com when Craig ran the podcasting editing and service-based business, Podcast Motor, before he built Castos.

Today, Podcast Motor and Castos have merged into a SaaS company for hosting and analytics for your podcast.  They also still offer a complete podcast editing and transcription service.

As we will dive into during the show, Craig also shares how he purchased the Seriously Simple Podcasting WordPress plugin before he ever started Castos with the idea that they could perhaps leverage it into a SaaS play one day. 

On the podcast, we talk about the new podcasting trends, the struggles of growing Castos, and how the Castos team used the Ahrefs course to train new employees on content marketing, and how those efforts are paying off.

Today's guest on the Niche Pursuits podcast is Lily Ray.

She chats with Jared about Google updates in general and, of course, the latest helpful content update. And, she provides tips and advice on keeping your website clear from the penalties that will negatively impact your organic performance.

Want some timely tips on how to grow an audience and brand from the ground up?

Jessica Holmes is on the podcast to share the surprisingly unique perspectives she's gained from growing a successful food blog.

Just as a sample:

• She wants direct traffic more than SEO traffic
• She uses the principles of quality customer service to help grow her audience
• She rarely looks at keyword tools to source topics
• And she doesn't shy away from showing the good, the bad, and the ugly when testing the recipes she shares on her blog

It all started back in 2014 while juggling a full-time job as a copywriter. Jessica wanted a creative outlet, so she started up her blog sweetestmenu.com.

Initially, she knew nothing about SEO or turning her site into a business so it was a true hobby blog.

She'd promote her content mainly on social media until a pivotal moment in 2016 when she transitioned to an SEO strategy after an audit with Casey Markee.

But this is not your traditional 'SEO' story.

Her content strategy heavily prioritizes the actual reader over any search engine algorithm, and it seems to be working.

For instance, Jessica emphasizes the importance of creating content based on reader demand and feedback rather than the usual keyword research approach.

She looks to the reader, then her own interests, then the season, and then if necessary - a keyword research tool.

She also speaks openly and honestly about the challenges of maintaining a successful food blog, including the need to update old posts and the importance of engaging with the audience and providing excellent customer service.

And the cherry on top is that she does all of this while working 'part-time' on the site!

It really is a wonderful discussion and Jessica has a lot of great advice we could all start testing on our own blogs.

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Perrin and I just finished recording a new podcast, episode 29. 

During this episode, we discuss the April income report from my last blog post, and share some additional thoughts and nuances that I didn't have a chance to cover.

Overall, I hope you enjoy the episode!

If you find any value in the podcast and have a chance to leave a rating or review on iTunes here, that would be great.

Matt Paulson has grown MarketBeat.com to $10 million in revenue through SEO, email marketing, and much more.

Listen in to hear how he uses email sponsorships to monetize his audience and SEO strategies used to grow his traffic (now at over 15 million visitors a month).

In today's episode, I share an interview I did with Grant Baldwin from TheSpeakerLab.com.

Grant is someone that knows the speaking game inside and out.  He has been a professional speaker for years and now teachers others how to book their own speaking gigs.

So, during the interview we discuss these 2 aspects of his business: how to actually get booked as a speaker (and get paid for it) and second, how he has build the training side of his business and how that is going.

As a quick summary, Grant Baldwin shares that he makes over six figures speaking at events.  However, his business as a whole will be close to crossing the seven figure mark when you add in his training courses.  

I was fascinated with how Grant has building the training side of his business through Facebook ads and webinars.  So, if you have a training product (or are thinking about creating one), there is a great discussion about how you can grow that part of your business.

During the course of the episode, Grant shares a few resources:

• TheSpeakerLab.com - where you can learn more about Grant or join his training programs.
• MySpeakerFee.com - A speaker fee calculator that can show you how much you should expect to make when speaking.
• FreeSpeakerWorkshop.com - Grant's free webinar training that teaches you "How To Start Booking (And Getting Paid For) Speaking Engagements Without Having An Existing Platform Or Being Sales-y"

Perrin and I discuss when its time to stop creating new websites and when to just focus on your existing portfolio.

I discuss my own website portfolio, specific traffic stats, and the decision I have made to stop building new sites for the foreseeable future.

I'm excited to have Jon Gillham back on the show! Jon is the founder of the content writing service, Content Refined.

During the interview, we not only talk about how he built the company but the entire process behind how they create content at scale.

They do anywhere between 1,000,000 to 3,000,000 words a month on average! That's a lot of content.

We dive into how they use statistics and competitor analysis to create content that is most likely to rank in Google. Jon also shares a couple of examples of sites using Content Refined that have grown significantly in terms of traffic from Google. Listen in for the mindset behind how to create a large content writing service and how to optimize your content so it will rank in Google.

Read more details about this interview here.

After close to 2000 podcast episodes, Joe Saul-Sehy knows a thing or two about growing an audience. 

In fact, his finance podcast, Stacking Benjamins, has amassed a massive following of 180k listeners, with shows averaging around 40k listens/episode.

Joe’s no stranger to awards, either. 

Stacking Benjamins was named Best Personal Finance Podcast 3 times by the Plutus Awards, it was called Best Personal Finance Podcast by Kiplinger and Bankrate, and it was awarded the Best Business Podcast title by the Tim Ferriss Show, Startup, and others from the Academy of Podcasters. 

Joe shares the details of his journey in this interview: how he initially struggled, what he did to grow the audience, and how "hockey-sticked" his results.

He talks about his recent struggles in podcasting and the events driving his decision to diversify with a view to serving his audience in multiple ways.

He also discusses standing out in a crowd, his ideation process, and why following his “north star” has served him well.

Links & Resources

• Stacking Benjamins - https://www.stackingbenjamins.com/
• Podcast Studio Pro - https://www.podcaststudiopro.com/
• Influencer, by Brittany Hennessy - https://www.amazon.com/Influencer-Building-Personal-Brand-Social/dp/0806538856
• Joe’s YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/stackingbenjamins
• Joe’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/stackingbenjaminspodcast
• Joe’s Twitter - https://x.com/averagejoemoney

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week? Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Well, it happened! 

Niche Site Lady has done her first-ever interview, sharing her strategies and a look inside her businesses, and she does it on the Niche Pursuits Podcast.

If you’re not familiar with NSL, she’s a successful SEO and blogger who has always maintained her anonymity. And today we have an extremely insightful interview where she shares a ton of great information and gives listeners a peek behind the curtain.

She talks about how she started blogging, how she handled the pandemic, and what happened to her site during the HCU. She discusses the pivots she’s made, her strategies for growing on Facebook, and the new tool she recently developed.

Her main site is currently making $70k per month, and less than half of my traffic is from organic search, a third is from Facebook, and the rest is from email. 

Her site is currently getting 280k pageviews per month and she no longer writes around keywords. 

You do not want to miss this interview with NSL, so put in your earbuds, grab a pen and paper to take notes, and hit play.

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week? Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Welcome to another episode of "This Week in Niche Pursuits News!"

This is a show where we talk about the most recent industry news, share success stories, discuss our shiny objects, and reveal a few weird niche sites we've run across.

In today's episode, I'm joined by co-hosts Jared Bauman and Jake Cain.

Watch Niche Pursuits News

“This Week in Niche Pursuits News”

Google Bard opens up to beta users.

• Only US and UK
• Only in English
• Rarely cites sources
• “With Bard having Google's entire index at hand, it is interesting that it struggles to understand areas of content with multiple meanings.”

OpenAI release paper theorizing which jobs will be eliminated by AI: “An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”

“Now That’s Impressive!”

• Koala AI tool
• Baremetrics sold a year ago. The new owners increased price 2.5x and saw a huge spike in revenue. However, the MRR is now in a sharp decline.
• Ian Nuttal sells a 2 site package for mid-6 figures using programmatic SEO. https://visualfractions.com/ and https://worksheetgenius.com/ . Press release from FEI.

Shiny Object Shenanigans

• Spencer's "Faceless" Youtube channel now has over 580 subscribers.
• Jared continues to grow his Weekend Growth newsletter
• Jake is using Hubble AI tools to create a trip planner, hashtag generator, and more

“One Weird Niche”

• SaveTabSoda.com/. Tab Soda was discontinued by Coca Cola in 2020. Passionate fans are trying to bring it back
• PrisonInsight.com. Making $3,500/month - 100k pageviews. Ads only.
• Dog-Checks.com

If you want to get more of this type of content, be sure to join the Niche Pursuits Newsletter here where I share similar topics 3 times a week.

Today, I interview Will Blears from OneMansBrand.com and discussing how he built an Amazon Affiliate website from scratch to $40,000 a month.

He shares his content strategy, link building strategies, and more.  We also dive into how he sold this website and what the process was like.

Today, I’m excited to bring you a guest interview with Nick Hasche, a niche website builder.

Nick started building niche websites just a little bit over a year ago. He actually started right alongside Niche Site project 3.0, which is why I’m really excited about this interview because he learned how to build niche sites by following along with that project and implementing the things that I was teaching.

Nick has taken what we taught and implemented some of his own unique angles as well. His portfolio of sites has reach revenues of $10,000 a month.

If you’d like to hear how Nick has done that, go ahead and listen to the interview. We go through his entire process from keyword research, content creation, and of course, link building as well. He has some very unique strategies to consider. Overall, I hope you enjoy the interview.

Are you ready for an inspiring story of determination, experimentation, and growth?

In our latest Niche Pursuits podcast episode, we're excited to have Grady share his incredible journey of building a profitable niche site with zero SEO experience while juggling a full-time job.

Grady's journalism background brings unique insights into the website building and writing process but his website had a slow start. Luckily it eventually skyrocketed to 170,000 page views and a whopping $9,000 a month (Australian)!

He gets into the specifics of his keyword research strategy for selecting winning keywords using Google search.

But he also gets into some of the challenges he's faced.

Grady's website operates in a highly seasonal niche, so he's had to navigate the challenges of fluctuating traffic and revenue.

Plus, as an Australian running a hobby niche site monetized with ads, Grady targets regions like the US, Canada, and the UK. He delves into the pros and cons of targeting different markets and how to approach it successfully. If you're considering expanding your website's reach or building a new site for a specific region, Grady's insights will be indispensable.

And beyond the practical lessons, this episode is a testament to Grady's enthusiasm and followthrough. His story is relatable and inspiring and will leave you eager to tackle your own website-building journey with renewed energy and determination to succeed.

So be sure to listen in on another jam-packed episode filled with valuable insights, battle-tested wisdom, and heaps of motivation!

Topics Grady Hudd Covers

• His journalism background
• How he got into niche sites
• Importance of starting
• How he chose his niche
• The alphabet soup keyword research method
• Advantages of knowing your niche
• Revenue split
• How long it took to make money
• Trying out different monetization methods
• Seasonal niches
• Targeting different countries
• Goals for next 12 months
• When to start a new site

Links & Resources

• Grades 🗨 (@nichegrades) / Twitter
• Join Grades' Newsletter (nichegrades.carrd.co)
• Stop Using Keyword Research Tools (And do this instead!) - YouTube
• LowFruits : Analyze the SERPs faster
• Geniuslink - URL Shortener for Creators and Affiliates
• The All-In-One Affiliate Marketing Plugin for WordPress | Lasso (getlasso.co)
• Google Trends

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

I've just had the opportunity to interview Ricky Kesler from IncomeSchool.com.

This is an interview that you're not going to want to miss because he has a huge announcement - Jim is leaving Income school!

While the news is about a week old now, we're going to hear a lot more on what's been happening behind the scenes.

Ricky is taking over full ownership of Income School and all that the business entails. That includes multiple successful niche sites, Project 24 (their niche site course), the Income School YouTube channel, and everything else associated with the business and brand.

Listen to the interview to find out what Jim is going to do now, why Ricky is taking over, and what it means for the future of Income School.

It's a great interview - you'll hear the story of Income School and the big changes that it's undergoing. Ricky shares how they've built it into a 6-figure+ per month business and what his plans and for the future. I know you'll enjoy it!

Welcome back to another episode of Niche Pursuits News, with Spencer Haws and Jared Bauman of 201 Creative. This week, like every week, the hosts serve up the latest SEO news as well as inspiration for listeners.

They started by addressing the changes Google announced to the how-to and FAQ rich snippets. Specifically, Google will be limiting how-to rich snippets to desktop results and reducing FAQ rich snippets, and the roll-out should be completed by next week. 

They talk about what this means for niche site owners and content creators, whether FAQs generally drive significant traffic, if this is Google’s attempt to use SGE to provide that information, and whether or not creators should still include them in their content.  

Then Spencer shares a post on LinkedIn from the COO of Word Agents, David Peterson, where he talks about how AI put them out of business, causing them to lose 70% of their revenue. He talks about how Make Lemonade suffered a similar fate, as discussed in a previous episode. 

They talk about this unprecedented shift in the way content is created and how it’s having a major impact on content agencies. Whether website owners are using AI to create their own content or taking a wait-and-see approach until the dust settles, major changes are happening and who knows what the landscape will look like in 8 or 9 months.

The last news item they tackle is that Google is in talks with the Australian government as it wants to be able to scrape publishers’ content and use it for AI training unless publishers specifically opt out. Spencer and Jared share their opinions on how they think they may affect content creators.

In the Shiny Object Syndrome portion of the podcast, Spencer begins by giving an update on his faceless YouTube channel. His channel was doing very well initially, earning about $1800 in display ads in the first month, in particular thanks to a video that went viral. 

When Google found that video to contain copyrighted material, it had to be demonetized. Although Spencer appealed the decision, he could not reverse it. 

He talks about how he recently started adding more content to the channel, and earnings over the last month were $1.66. Spencer’s not throwing in the towel, though. He’s going to keep working on the channel though and is even starting a second faceless channel on YouTube.

During Jared’s turn, he talks about his faceless YouTube channel that he started and completely forgot about. He shares the strategy he used when he first created the channel. It currently has 23 videos and hasn’t been touched in almost a year, yet it’s got 400+ subscribers and 219k video views. He’s very close to fulfilling the monetization requirements and he shares his strategy to move forward with this channel. 

Jared and Spencer then talk about their weird niche sites, and Jared goes first with Fail Army. This entertaining website shares people’s “fails,” like falling down and running into things. This DR47 website only ranks for 500 keywords and is more like a landing page. The action is over on their YouTube account, which has +16 million subscribers, and Jared talks about the potential they have to grow their website and drive traffic.

When it’s Spencer’s turn, he shares his very weird niche site: Cyberspace and Time. He struggles to explain what this retro-looking website is all about, mainly because the creator also has trouble explaining what it is. What’s really interesting are the stats: 500k visitors per month just a few months ago and 78k clicks from desktop users. All in all, the website is very weird!

And that brings us to the end of another episode of Niche Pursuits News, with a lot of food for thought and no shortage of ideas for listeners!

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

Listen in to this episode to hear from Matt Diggity, a well-known SEO expert.

We discuss his business model of buying, growing, and then flipping affiliate websites.  In addition, we dive into some very specific link building strategies.

Overall, it's a great discussion on SEO and building successful online businesses!

I'm excited to have Larry Ludwig on the podcast!  

Larry has been building websites for decades.  He was doing web development and web hosting in the 90s.

However, he eventually started building his own blog, InvestorJunkie.com.  He grew this site from scratch to a 7 figure exit in 2018.  In fact, he sold the business for $6 million!

That's a life-changing amount of money!

So, during the interview, we dive into the weeds on how he built the site.

We discuss why he built the site, keyword research, content strategy, why user intent is so important, the type of team he built and so much more.

Want a great story filled with practical insights from someone who successfully jumped into online business without any prior experience?

Will I.O. joins the Niche Pursuits podcast this week to share with host Jared how he transitioned from teacher to full-time site owner.

It all started with a teacher training program he started growing prior to 2020. He started the side hustle because it was about something he knew well. But then Covid hit and he was forced to pivot and move his business online.

This was all new to him but with the help of Project 24 he managed to get started and building momentum.

Soon he was building his site and email list to sell info products and teacher training courses.

His email marketing strategies were crucial for this. Will even says that 50% of his revenue came from his email list.

And the email strategies he shares are very practical for any niche.

Eventually, he sold that site for over $100,000 and used the profits to start buying and selling more sites.

He now has a portfolio of five websites but primarily focuses on three.

His strategies are working though as he recently enjoyed a successful flip after buying an outdoors site for $5k, improving it, and selling it for $82,000.

Some of the best tips he shares is how and where he finds sites to buy.

He emphasizes the importance of backlinks and domain authority when evaluating sites for sale. He looks for low-hanging fruit opportunities, such as improving ad revenue and utilizing underutilized email lists. And he prefers niches that are less competitive and seeks out sites with steady or increasing traffic.

When it comes to content production, he emphasizes the importance of keyword research and creating tightly clustered content around successful topics. Will also mentions using AI tools like ChatGPT for content creation, but heavily edits the output to make it sound more human.

He plans to continue buying, building, and flipping websites while maintaining a measured approach to minimize risk and ensure profitability.

Overall it's a great success story. And it's interesting to hear how a relatively new site owner is finding success with. strategic approach to growing a profitable portfolio.

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

Today's guest on Nichepursuits podcast is Kevin Espiritu.

Kevin has grown an incredible brand and 8-figure-a-year business, dominating the gardening niche in many significant ways, and he shares how his gardening niche site grew a community of loyal brand followers and got into selling products.

We’ve got another (much more exciting) update about our Amazon FBA business. It’s been a week, our products are live, and we’ve finally got some hard numbers to report.

Welcome back to the latest episode of the Niche Pursuits News Podcast! 

This week Jared and guest host Brooks Conkle take on the latest headlines revolving around Google, large and small publishers, and SEO. They also talk about what's working and what's not for their side hustles, and they share some (successful and not-so-successful) weird niche sites.

They discuss the couple that took on Google - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr431lr72jo

They discuss how to get your brand to appear in ChatGPT -https://sparktoro.com/blog/how-can-my-brand-appear-in-answers-from-chatgpt-perplexity-gemini-and-other-ai-llm-tools/

They talk about Google AI’s inaccuracies - https://www.searchenginejournal.com/googles-ai-fails-at-43-of-finance-queries-study-finds/530542/

Jared shares a weird niche site called Spotto - https://spottogame.com.au/

Brooks reveals a very successful site called Omni Calculator - https://www.omnicalculator.com/

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

In today's episode of Niche Pursuits News, we cover several digital marketing topics. 

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

Jared and I cover the following topics during today's podcast:

1. The March 2023 Google Core Update Finishes rolling out and I have poll results to share that show how many sites gained or lost traffic.
2. Elon Mush and 1,000 other tech leaders sign a pledge to pause AI developments for 6 months.
3. Adobe Launches Firefly
4. Google Launches About this Author and Perspectives
5. How Much Money Noah Kagan Makes on YouTube (and how much he spends).
6. Quick Update Spencer's "Faceless" Youtube channel experiment
7. Jared continues to grow his Weekend Growth Newsletter at: https://www.weekendgrowth.com
8. The incredibly weird niche site: CostcoHotdog.com 9. Another weird niche site: SendCatFacts.com

We hope you enjoy the show!

Welcome back to another episode of the Niche Pursuits News podcast! 

This week Spencer and Jared decided to do things a little bit differently. As the year is coming to a close, they decided to talk about the 3 top Niche Pursuits podcast episodes for 2023, as well as their personal favorites.

Spencer explains how he collected the data to determine which episodes were the most listened to this past year, and then they kick off the episode by talking about the third most listened-to podcast, which was the interview with Grady Hudd.

Grady grew his niche site to $9k per month in 2 years with no SEO experience. Spencer and Jared talk about why they think this was such a popular podcast. Grady’s relatability was probably key, and it’s likely that many beginners connected with his situation.

The second most listened-to episode was Forrest Webber, who talked about how he grew his portfolio to $40k a month after replacing rental properties with websites. They talk about his story, the important mindset shift that brought him so much success, and how he scaled his business.

The most popular podcast for the year was with Shelly Marmour, a travel blogger who grew her monthly income from $700 to $52k per month in 1 year with affiliate SEO. Shelly’s story was also relatable and inspirational, as many people could probably identify with where she was in the beginning and were interested to see how she grew her business so incredibly. 

Then Spencer and Jared share their favorite episodes of 2023.

Jared’s favorite was Cyrus Shepard’s episode on internal link building and he described the interview and the information shared as incredibly succinct and easy to understand. The episode was packed with actionable tips and insightful details about internal linking based on a data-heavy study that Cyrus did, and he talks about everything from Link Whisper to link sculpting.

Spencer’s favorite was how Kevin Espiritu grew his gardening site from $400 per month to 8 figures per year, which is also a story that most people can relate to. He started out like most of us, building his site back in 2016, and today he’s making over $10 million per year. 

He did it by growing his website first, then his YouTube channel and his social media channels, and then he launched his own products. What Spencer and Jared especially like about this episode is his approach to plateaus in his business and how he acquired another website and merged the two into a massively successful brand.

And that brings us to the end of this episode of Niche Pursuits News and the end of another year of Niche Pursuits podcasts that seek to motivate, educate, and inspire. 

Here’s to another year of learning from one another and to a very successful 2024!

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

I'm really excited about our guest today on the podcast - Nick Loper from Side Hustle Nation!

Nick is not only a really well-known blogger and podcaster, but he's also one of the nicest guys that you could meet. While he runs multiple sites, Side Hustle Nation is his focus right now, which has grown massively since Nick was last on the podcast all the way back in 2013.

In the interview, we talk a lot about the Side Hustle Nation blog, covering:

• how it's making money through affiliate revenue
• his really well put together SEO strategy
• how he selects keywords
• how he writes the content out
• and updating old content

Nick has a lot of tips and strategies not only related to SEO and content creation but also having a business mindset in general as well. I know you'll enjoy listening to this successful entrepreneur. 

Stephen Regenold is a true digital media success story.

Around 2010, when print media was starting to really feel the effects of the Internet, he decided to start his own outdoor blog.

Early in his online journey, Steven made wise decisions in the site's revenue model for direct ad sales, affiliate commerce, and SEO strategies.

These, combined with some viral luck when a term they helped coin was being considered for the Oxford Dictionary, helped the brand become a massive success.

(He also touches on how video content, from shorts to documentaries, played a crucial role in their strategy.)

Gear Junkie's achievements led to multi-million dollar revenue and partnerships with major brands, positioning the site and its editors as an influencer proposition. They engaged audiences through influencers like YouTubers and Instagram personalities, along with their SEO success.

In 2018, acquisition offers started pouring in, and Gear Junkie eventually sold to Lola Digital in 2020. Post-acquisition, the company rebranded as All Gear Digital, raising $40 million, making eight additional acquisitions, growing into an outdoor media conglomerate, and bringing back Stephen to help them grow.

This was well-timed as the outdoor industry saw surprising growth during the pandemic, with a surge of interest in outdoor activities and gear.

Stephen discusses how All Gear Digital's brands are doing today, providing numbers and sharing strategies for adding value to conversations and maintaining a unique voice in a competitive space. As a result of all this, you won't believe how long their dwell time on site is.

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and here from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

I started a case study about a month and a half ago to try and revive a dead email list. This is an email list that has been collecting dust for a "Mom" blog that I own.

The site makes several thousand dollars every month from Ezoic display ads and Amazon associates. However, I wanted to see if I could monetize the email list that had been ignored for over a year.

My earnings since the project started?  $11.15!

Well, the numbers don't lie...I still have work to do.  Listen in to hear the update and plans moving forward.

Welcome back to another episode of the Niche Pursuits News Podcast! 

This week, Jared Bauman and guest host Thomas Smith are back at it again, bringing you the latest headlines about AI, Google, and content creation. They cover a lot in this episode, so you won’t want to miss it.

They talk about the ban details -
https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/01/20/tiktok-ban-live-updates-trump-halts-ban-for-75-days-after-ceo-attends-inauguration/

They talk about possible future scenarios - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyng762q4eo

They discuss a potential TikTok merger - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/18/perplexity-ai-makes-a-bid-to-merge-with-tiktok-us.html?&qsearchterm=perplexity

They chat about Google blocking SEO tools - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-blocking-seo-rank-checking-tools-volatility-continues-38759.html

They discuss the new AI infrastructure - https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/21/tech/openai-oracle-softbank-trump-ai-investment/index.html

Jared’s weird niche site - https://water.usgs.gov/edu/activity-drip.html

Thomas’ weird niche site - https://ozbcoz.com/

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

I'm excited to have Doug Cunnington back on the podcast!

Doug and I connected back during the first Niche Site Project (2013) and he enjoyed my project so much, he started his blog and stole the name for his domain from my project!  : )

NicheSiteProject.com is where you can follow along with what Doug is up to these days. 

Even though Doug has been in the niche site game since at least 2013, he's now gotten heavily involved in Youtube and growing a significant channel.  With about 20,000 subscribers, he's definitely gained some great traction there.

Today, Doug shares how to grow a Youtube channel.  He shares his journey and the strategies that have worked well for him.

And of course outside of YouTube, I had to ask a few hard-hitting questions related to KGR and his project "go white hat" that had mixed results.

If you want to get access to Doug's Trello board for content creation, a Google Spreadsheet process doc, and a case study on publishing 60 videos in 30 days, you can get those right here.

Overall, I hope you enjoy the interview!

Why is updating website and content auditing popular right now?

Well, 10 years ago, people didn't need to audit their websites. It wasn't a thing. Generally speaking, websites we're pretty new.

Now that sites are getting to be 10, 15, or 20 years old. There's a lot of upkeep and maintenance. Some are referring to this problem of old "blog content decay".

If I'm looking ahead to the future, I think this will be a much more common topic and problem, and process that people follow in the coming years.

In my latest podcast, I sat down with Tom Drake, the owner of MapleMoney.com, and a partner at GetRichSlowly.org.

To revive old content, Tom is no stranger. He started his blog a decade ago.  And Get Rich Slowly (founded by JD Roth) was one of the original personal finance blogs started about 15 years ago!

With over 5000 old blog posts to update and audit, it's no easy task. Tom breaks down precisely the process he uses to update (or delete) content.

Welcome back, everyone, to the latest episode of the Niche Pursuits News Podcast!

As always, Spencer and Jared offer a quick overview of the most important news items affecting content creators, publishers, SEOs and entrepreneurs.

On this week’s podcast, they decide to lead with positivity, kicking things off with potentially good news for sites pummelled by the HCU. 

Recent comments from Danny Sullivan and John Mueller suggest that sites may see a recovery with the next core update, whenever that may be.

Should we believe them? Find out what Jared thinks about all of this. 

Also, Spencer has some very interesting insider details about this, so check out the episode to find out what he knows that may or may not affect you and your site!

Moving along, they talk about Google usage over time. 

Studies show that people are spending more time looking at search results compared with 5 years ago. So what does that mean exactly? Are people dissatisfied with the initial results, or are they more savvy? Or, is this a strategy from Google?

Spencer and Jared have a few theories about this. And Spencer shares some stats that are completely shocking to him. Tune in to hear it all.

The next news item is about the site The Wirecutter, which is owned by the NYT and has come to be an example to follow in affiliate marketing over the years. 

Spencer reveals how the site has seen its visibility decline following the HCU, potentially losing half of its traffic. 

According to Jared, they are seeing a very slight uptick recently, according to Ahrefs, which could be a sign of hope for others.

As for Shiny Object Shenanigans, Spencer goes first and talks about the challenge he announced last week where he’s trying to earn $1000 from a new Facebook page in one month.

He’s currently 10 days in and nowhere near $1000 in earnings, but he does highlight some positive results of his experiment so far.

How many followers does he have? What’s his ad spend so far? What interesting and potentially profitable advice does Jared offer him? Tune in to hear all the details!

When it’s Jared’s turn, he talks about a strategy he’s using to try to revive traffic to a site hit by the HCU with a newsletter and a Facebook page.

He also shares his stats and progress from the last 7 weeks: Facebook followers, ad spend, email subscribers, cost per lead, etc. 

He’s also working on a digital product that he wants to sell to his audience. What’s going well and what’s not? Check out the full episode to find out.

Then it’s time to discover some weird niche sites. Spencer shares Million Dollar Homepage, which was created by an entrepreneur in 2005 with the goal of selling pixels on the homepage to earn a million dollars. 

As it was an unusual idea at the time, the creator got some press coverage and was able to sell out all the pixels and he did, in fact, earn a million dollars. 

What happened after he reached his goal? How is his site doing now? What did he go on to create? And did his success streak continue or did it die? Check out the podcast to find out.

Jared then shares his site, US Beer Labels, a DR19 website created in 1999 by a guy who collects and trades vintage beer labels. It only ranks for 242 keywords and gets minimal traffic.

What’s Jared’s theory about this very niche website? What’s so fascinating about it and what can we learn from it?

And that concludes another episode of Niche Pursuits News. Thanks so much for tuning in! We hope you feel informed and inspired, like every week.

See you next Friday!

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Brandon goes deep and provides some great tips and solid advice for a range of topics that most website builders will find super interesting.

A few days ago I shared the monthly income report for a few sites that I purchased this year.  The site buying case study is one that I've learned quite a bit from and has helped expand my business.

In total, I've now bought 4 sites this year, and as you can see from the what I've learned from spending $37,100 on buying sites, I've been able to do pretty well!

Today, I'm sharing a podcast that Perrin and I recorded to review our monthly earnings from just a couple of sites along with a discussion of what else we have going on in our business.

Today's guest on nichepursuits podcast is Jen Biswas.

Are you side-hustling on your blog? Working on it whenever you can find time while balancing a job, family, or whatever other obligation you may have?

If so, then today's Niche Pursuits podcast episode will give you an incredible boost of inspiration.

Perrin and Colleen complete coaching call 8 for niche site project 3 and discuss the progress of her content and how to start link building and outreach.

In today's episode, I interview Stephen Hockman of SEO Chatter and we discuss everything about starting up new websites the right way, internal linking, SEO, site structure, and a whole lot more.

He's grown many affiliate sites, been through Google penalties, recently sold a niche site, written a book, and is currently building an SEO site in public, all the while sharing his strategies.

Prolific site owner James Dooley joins the podcast to give a masterclass into the rank and rent business model.

This is where you rank a website and rent it out to a local business seeking inbound inquiries.

It's an approach that has helped him become a millionaire many times over.

And with over 14 years of experience and over 850 paying sites in 650 niches, he has lots of important advice site owners of all types need to hear.

In general, he emphasizes the importance of having a strategy for your site.

For the rank and rent model, in particular, he suggests starting with a broad domain and creating industry-related content to attract traffic and engagement.

He believes traffic and behavioral signals are key ranking factors. And with this ranking site, you can engage local businesses to understand their needs and discover the most profitable subtopics within the industry.

This strategy involves building location-specific pages targeting niche keywords, using various on-page optimization tools, creating a diverse backlink profile, and foundational links like citations, a social fortress, and internal linking.

As you can imagine, there is a lot of overlap with building affiliate marketing content sites, and the conversation covers the similarities and differences between these types of sites.

James also has a lot of important advice regarding maximizing the profits of all kinds of sites, common mistakes found, and easy solutions.

Overall, this is a dive into the rank and rent model, with valuable insights and strategies all site owners can benefit from. Don't miss it!

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

How would you like to buy a site making $70 a month and then 10 months later its making $6,000 a month?

Well, that's the exact story we are going to tell with Gharav Dhir.  Gharav has been building niche sites for a while, but he happened to buy a site from MotionInvest.com in April 2020.

Gharav also runs the content service called ContentForWeb.Site.

In our call today, Samara and I discussed basic link building strategies for her niche site project 3 site.

On one hand, some people feel like link building is so critical to a sites success; on the other, you have people that never do any linkbuilding and do really well with niche sites.  I personally tend to be somewhere in the middle.

Brock McGoff owns the website TheModestMan.com which now generates over 400,000 visitors and $30k in revenue per month.

Over the years of building websites, Brock has learned a lot. Including getting hit by the first Google Panda update taking his traffic down to virtually zero.

Since then, Brock has made every effort to make sure a Google penalty would never happen again and only aims to build content and links that he is genuinely proud of creating.

So how does someone go from a corporate employee to a fashion influencer? Listen to this interview to find out.

Almost exactly 5 years ago was the last day I worked for someone else.  I've been self-employed ever since and have been LOVING it!

I've learned some important business lessons along the way that I wanted to share with you in today's special podcast episode.

Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of the Niche Pursuits News Podcast! Dig into the latest news in SEO, AI, and content creation with Jared and Spencer!

They kick off this week’s episode talking about Google’s March Core Update.

They talk specifically about scaled content abuse and how Google is going in and manually deindexing sites, sharing a study that looked at 79,000 websites on certain ad networks, of which 1146 were deindexed.

Could this be a scare tactic by Google? Is it doing this manually to save its crawl budget? What exactly is going on?

Google updated its quality rater guidelines to ensure that they ding those sites that don’t disclose which articles were written with AI, describing AI-generated articles as the lowest form of content when ti comes to EEAT.

Spencer offers some advice for content creators using AI and says that Google is going after sites with AI-generated content. He does make an important distinction, though. Tune in to hear what he says.

Then they discuss how Google put out an FAQ on “pure spam” manual action notices, but as Jared notices, there is one important thing missing from the post. What is it?

They then move on to a funny news item. John Mueller, one of Google’s Search Liaisons, saw his site get dropped from Google, although it was recently reindexed. It’s not clear why this happened or if it was a stunt, but it’s definitely news!

Spencer and Jared have some encouraging words for listeners about the core update overall, so listen to the episode to hear what they have to say.

Moving along, they announce Mediavine’s new program, Journey, for sites getting around 10k sessions per month. This is a great alternative for people with smaller sites to allow them to get monetized with Mediavine.

As this is a new program, Spencer and Jared have a lot of questions about it and about how it will run, and why it’s being launched now.

Things take a “nerdy” turn afterwards as Jared talks about how Google Search Console has rolled out the new core web vitals. What changes have been made, and what is INP all about?

Moving along, they share that Reddit has announced a new tool for business growth, allowing companies to spot trends, track mentions, monitor post performance, etc. 

The goal is to help brands promote themselves organically, and it could be a good platform to use as people consider diversifying away from Google. Tune in to listen to what Spencer and Jared think about this idea.

And the last item on the agenda is the news that the Associated Press has launched an e-commerce site with product reviews. 

What is so unsettling about this headline for Spencer? What do they say about presidential campaigns, blenders, and multivitamins?

As for Shiny Object Shenanigans, Spencer gives an update on his Amazon Influencer Program side hustle. He reports that his earnings are steady this month, at $1,600, with no major dips but also no major growth. Jared chimes in with his earnings this month, too!

He also talks about his new premium Niche Pursuits Community, for which he just did an expert call to talk about the program, sharing all of the juicy details about how he built this income stream. 

When it’s Jared’s turn, he talks about adding a new, professionally edited video and thumbnail to his Weekend Growth YouTube channel. 

He also talks about how he’s using SparkLoop to grow his newsletter subscriber list, and after spending +$200, he has acquired +200 subscribers. Tune in to hear all of the details and learn more.

As for their Weird Niche Sites, Spencer goes first and reveals Horse Name Ideas. This weird website has hundreds of categories as well as a name generator, and perhaps what’s most surprising is what he reveals when he looks at Ahrefs.

But when Spencer and Jared discuss the site owner’s photo, the About page, the mission statement, and the contact phone number, what happens? Listen to find out.

When it’s Jared’s turn, he shares Healthy Wage and even reads from its Wikipedia page. This DR60 site is only ranking for 3.6k keywords, but it does have social proof and is very popular.

How can the principles of this page be used by other site owners? Check out the episode to hear what they say.

And that brings us to the end of another episode of the Niche Pursuits News podcast. See you all next week for another hour of inspiration and information from Spencer and Jared.

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and here from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

Jon Cooper is a sophomore at the University of Florida studying finance.  Even though he's "younger", he happens to be a respected expert in the SEO arena; particularly when it comes to link building.

I had the absolute privilege of interviewing Jon Cooper recently to discuss niche sites, link building, and more.  Today I am excited to share that podcast interview with you!

Today I'm talking with Ron Stefanski from OneHourProfessor.com.  Ron talks about a site that is making $18,000 a month and he shares the exact things that help the site take off.

We cover his keyword research strategies and link building strategies. Then we talk about his overall business structure, how he has a full-time virtual assistant, an editor, writers, how much content he has on his sites, and so much more.

Overall, this is an awesome story about a "normal" person who has had enormous success building niche websites. Hope you enjoy.

Want a masterclass in effective link building strategies?

Aaron Anderson joins the Niche Pursuits podcast to share all the tricks of the trade he's learned over the years.

Aaron's journey into marketing came as an offshoot of his time cold calling and doing door-to-door sales.

He figured link building in particular matched his skillset and he was right.

His agency focuses on earning links through outreach rather than paid or guest post links. And they have found success with broken link building, resource page link building, and unlinked mentions as their core strategies.

In fact, Aaron's agency has managed to earn links from top-tier sites like the New York Times and Men's Health through broken link building alone.

The key challenge in this strategy lies in actually finding the broken links, which can even be best accomplished without tools - Aaron describes how.

Then comes the process of manually finding the right person to contact. And Aaron also does a great job of explaining how the outreach email template used should be short, straightforward, and avoid fake flattery.

The focus in broken link building is on finding broken links with intent problems rather than just 404 errors. The goal is to provide a replacement for the broken link that aligns with the original intent. And conversion rates can vary, but campaigns with recent broken links tend to have higher success rates.

Then when it comes to resource page link building, the value of resource pages varies depending on the number of external links and the credibility of the curator.

To be successful with this approach, brands need to have something of value to offer. And positioning the brand as altruistic and offering free resources can increase success rates.

Unlinked mentions can also be an effective strategy, but it requires using multiple tools and search operators to find all opportunities. But Google search operators can help identify unlinked mentions and refine the search for better results.

These types of earned links don't work for every industry though. And Aaron is honest about where it doesn't.

Overall, Aaron does a great job of sharing ways you can get powerful and free links with tons of actionable tips to help along the way.

And as he says, link building is merely one part of the equation. His focus is on finding opportunities where Google already likes the content and using links to accelerate or solidify Google's opinion to maintain a high ranking in the SERPs.

Hope you take notes!

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Welcome back, everybody, to another episode of the Niche Pursuits News Podcast!

This is the place to hear the latest news in the SEO and content publishing industries and it’s where Spencer and Jared break it all down. This week, as always, they also share progress on their side hustles as well as two very, very weird niche sites.

The first topic up for discussion is Google’s decision to rebrand Bard as Gemini. Google certainly is putting a lot of effort into building out AI tools, and this will be one of their flagship products. 

What do Spencer and Jared think of the company's decision? And what new features will this tool have? 

The next topic is how Google's updated its SEO Starter Guide.

The guide originally dates back to 2008 And is a guide specifically for beginners. Although there's probably nothing meaty there for people that are familiar with SEO, Spencer and Jared did highlight a few interesting items, in particular, from the section on things you should not do.

What kind of advice did they share? What does Google say about article length? And how about PageRank and EEAT? And what about business cards? 

The last news item they discuss is how Google won't be able to proceed with third-party cookie deprecation. This means that the phasing out of third-party cookies may or may not be delayed as Google has been asked to comply with additional safety requirements in the UK.

This is big news because it could potentially affect content creators’ earnings, Although it's true that advertising is Google's bread and butter and it will likely do everything it can to maintain it, this is definitely a topic you'll want to keep an eye on!

In the Shiny Object Shenanigans portion of the podcast, Spencer goes first with an update on his Facebook traffic side hustle. He was able to reduce the cost of his likes campaign to grow his page. He shares a lot of the data behind the campaigns, but the real question is whether those likes are driving traffic to his website.

Is it working? What does his Google Analytics reveal? And what is he going to do moving forward?

When it’s Jared’s turn, he provides an update on his Weekend Growth YouTube channel, which officially qualifies for monetization. He shares the stats behind his growth and reveals that the site is less than a year old. 

He also offers an update on his public speaking side hustle with an exciting announcement. Check out the episode to hear what it is!

When it comes to weird niche sites, Spencer takes the lead with a very weird site called Is It Friday Yet. According to Ahrefs, the site doesn’t get any traffic, although there is a very entertaining video on YouTube that reviews the website, so tune in to hear more about that.

When it was Jared’s turn, he revealed a 1-page weird niche site: The Office Stare Machine, which lets you input an emotion and it will show stares from Office characters conveying that emotion. They test it out, and the results are pretty funny! 

This DR30 site ranks for just 28 keywords, but it does have 49k likes from Facebook. It doesn’t get a lot of organic traffic, and Spencer and Jared talk about the potential strategies the owner might be using on Facebook. Where does it have the potential to do well?

And that brings us to the end of another great episode of The Niche Pursuits News Podcast. We hope this weekly dose of the latest news has brought you up to speed in the SEO and content creation space and you’re feeling inspired by Spencer and Jared’s side hustles.

See you next Friday!

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

This week on the podcast Jake Cain is interviewing Austin Tuwiner.

Austin is a marketer who dropped out of college at 19 to pursue online business. He wanted to focus on his niche site in the crypto space. He had bought the domain, which had many great backlinks, in a private deal, and grew it to an estimated 150K traffic per month (Ahrefs).

He has since sold this site and is now working on another in the scuba diving niche. He is also bootstrapping an affiliate marketing SaaS tool called Afflytics, which is perhaps his main focus right now.

Jake and Austin cover a lot of ground in this podcast, but the theme throughout is affiliate marketing! There are some excellent tips and strategies on how you can grow your niche site and increase your earnings - even with Amazon Associates!

Well, Hayden Miyamoto is at it again!  I decided to bring Hayden back onto my podcast for the 3rd time because he continues to build his business in unique ways that I think we can all learn from.

In my interview with Hayden today, we discuss how his niche site business has fared over the past year, and what he is doing differently now.  In particular, Hayden has been able to build a huge business using expired domains and his own private blog network.

You may recall my previous 2 podcast interviews with Hayden of NoHatSEO.com.  They were very in-depth and groundbreaking for many people.

• In my first interview, Hayden shared how he was making 30,000 dollars a month with niche sites, post penguin.
• In my second interview, Hayden shared how to find valuable expired domains for just $9.

I HIGHLY recommend that you listen to those podcasts if you haven't already.

Kyle Kroeger is our guest on the podcast this week - he's been building niche sites for 10+ years as a side hustle, but has recently quit his job to go full time into online marketing.

Jared and Kyle discuss his larger than average website portfolio, How he gets rapid growth in the first year and much more.

On today's podcast she walks us through the steps she took to grow the site. She shares her strategy for SEO, keyword research, backlinks, and specific tips that anyone can use today on their own websites.

Today's guest on the podcast is Emilia Gardner.

Emilia is a former Lawyer turned website builder who quit her job to learn how to make money on the internet. In this podcast she offers advice about the tangible and intangible benefits of website creation. She talks about the importance of accountability and staying focused on a project until successful.

Spencer is back this week so everyone’s favorite duo is together again for the latest episode of the Niche Pursuits News podcast. As always, he and Jared Bauman, of 201 Creative, bring listeners up to speed on the latest in SEO and digital marketing news.

Spencer begins by sharing that Google has announced a brand new broad core update, the biggest kind of update Google does. It kicked off on August 22nd and usually takes about 2 weeks to complete. It’s too early to say how it’s going to pan out, so keep an eye on your rankings!

The next news item they cover is the article in The Verge reporting that The New York Times has blocked OpenAI’s web crawler. But not only has this huge news media outlet rejected OpenAI crawling its site and training its models for ChatGPT, it’s also considering legal action against OpenAI for intellectual property rights violation. 

Spencer and Jared talk about the implications of this decision and what this may mean for content creators. Spencer shares a study whch shows that 9.2% of the top 1,000 websites in the world are currently blocking the GPT bot. They talk about what this means for Google and, potentially, the future of AI.

The conversation then shifts to SGE. Spencer shows his search page results, where the information now has down arrowhead symbols next to it, allowing users to access the sources for additional information. Is this good news or bad news for content creators? Hear what they have to say.

Jared and Spencer then move on to talk about their Shiney Object Shenanigans. Spencer kicks it off by talking about the latest news with his WordPress plugin Rank Logic and some new features he’s adding, which should be ready in about 2 months’ time. These include a Google Analytics 4 integration and the ability to update your content using AI.

It’s Jared’s turn, and he talks about his Faceless YouTube channel, for which he now has over 5k subscribers, unlocking some monetization features, but not all of them. He also talks about the Amazon Influencer Program and how Amazon is offering bonuses to influencers who create product comparison videos. Jared and Spencer share their thoughts on the program, a tip or two, and where they think it’s headed in the future.

In the Weird Niche Site portion of the podcast, Jared starts by talking about the site Always Judge a Book By Its Cover, which covers books that are “confusing.” The DA30 site is monetized with display ads and affiliate links but doesn’t rank for many relevant keywords, and probably isn’t making too much money. That being said, it does have scope for growth, and it can serve as inspiration for anyone looking to set up a humorous website or something that’s off the beaten path. 

Spencer shares his weird niche site, Watermark Remover, which likely gets 5 million visitors a month, both organic and direct, and is monetized with display ads. This well-designed website removes watermarks for free, although there is pricing available, and is owned by a larger company that has several image-related tools. Spencer and Jared talk about launching a single-tool website and the strategies that can be used to do so successfully.

That wraps up another episode of the Niche Pursuits News podcast. Tune in next week for the latest news and a large dose of inspiration!

This week we're joined on the podcast by Jason Lee from TheFBAFlipper.com.

The FBA Flipper helps buyers to purchase reputable China-based Amazon FBA Businesses and the discussion therefore largely revolves around Amazon FBA businesses.

Jason started out in the industry working at Empire Flippers, one of the top brokers for online businesses. They sell a wide range of online businesses from Amazon FBA to affiliate sites. During this time Jason was living in China and became an expert in the Amazon FBA market in that market specifically.

Jared Bauman is our host on the podcast, and he and Jason spend a lot of time talking about the FBA market today. He shares a lot of tips on how to start an FBS business in the current environment, focusing on the changes that have taken place since the start of the pandemic.

It's a really interesting interview about where Amazon FBA is today and where it's heading in the future.

Don't tell Jon Haws that he doesn't own a tech company.  Even though he currently spends his days pushing lawn mowers and leading a crew of landscapers, Jon has embraced the internet and so much more to market and run his business.

In fact, if you ask him about his business, the fact that he cuts grass may never come up.  Instead you'll get an earful about long tail keywords, niche sites, subscription based business, auto-billing, lead generation, and more.

Because Jon has been able to think of his company as a tech business, he's been able to build it to over $70k in revenue in less than 6 months!

Yes, Jon happens to be my cousin (what up cuz!); which is how I got the scoop on his fascinating story.  Not only is his experience very interesting to businesses of all kinds, but the priciples he discusses can REALLY help you in your marketing efforts.

Rather than go over his entire story, please listen to the podcast below!  Here are just some of the topics covered:

• Why Jon put nursing school on hold to start a landscaping business.
• How Jon got his first few customers without a crew, equipment, and living 1500 miles away. (A true lean start-up!)
• Why Jon had to write a business plan and executive summaries for his wife before leaving school.
• How niche sites and long tail keywords bring in 40% of his business.
• The importance of understanding the life-time value of a customer.
• How these online marketing tactics can be applied to any business (and local service businesses in particular).
• How average monthly billing, additional services, and "passive" tactics are all part of Jon's plan for business growth.

Welcome to another episode of the Niche Pursuits News Podcast. 

This week Jared Bauman and guest host Morgan Overholt team up to break down the latest headlines around Google, ChatGPT, and SEO. They also share their similar side hustles, along with an important message for content creators. Lastly, they talk about some very weird, annoying, and snarky niche sites they’ve found.

They talk about the November Core Update - https://searchengineland.com/google-november-2024-core-update-rolling-out-now-448083

They discuss keyword analysis in AI Overviews - https://ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overview-keywords/

They compare ChatGPT vs. Google vs. Bing - https://www.searchenginejournal.com/chatgpt-search-vs-google-and-bing/531573/

Morgan shares a weird niche site - https://findtheinvisiblecow.com/

Jared shares one too - https://anthonyrendonthefttracker.com/

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

In today's episode we interview Carl Broadbent.

Carl shares his knowledge, strategies, and approach to many aspects of website building and affiliate marketing.

We discuss how entering a competition at Income School changed his life and the pearls of wisdom he received from the experts who came to his home to coach him one-to-one.

Podcast 50!  I started my podcast a couple of years ago almost as an after thought, but today I'm hitting a major milestone with 50 episodes!

For now I'm excited to share an interview I did with Justin and Joe from EmpireFlippers.com.  These guys are well known for their website marketplace where all sites are listed for sale at 20 times monthly income.

Today, I'm excited to bring you an interview with one of the Niche Site Project 4 participants!  During the most recent monthly income report, most people reported no earnings.  

However, today's guest reported earnings of $889 after just one month!  That's almost unheard of with a new niche site.  As a result, I wanted to have him on the podcast to discuss what has been working so well and how he was able to earn so much so quickly.

Today's guest is Jae Jun from GorillaROI.com.  Gorilla ROI is the site that he started as part of the project.

Now in all fairness, Jae had been working on this software project before Niche Site Project 4 started.  But he didn't launch the site until after, so it still "counts".

If you listen to the full podcast episode, you'll hear how Jae was able to hustle his way to his first few sales using Reddit and Amazon Seller forums.  But he also has plans on how he can consistently grow the business as well.

It's great to have Richmond Howard on the podcast this week.

Rich has found a way to successfully grow his niche sites all while working full time as a pastor, studying for a master's degree, and being a husband and new dad!

3 or 4 years ago he was in a job that he hated and was looking for something new. He heard about blogging and affiliate marketing through listening to podcasts and decided to give it a go.

He started a finance blog and worked half-heartedly on that for a couple of years, but it didn't really come to much. However, there were a couple of posts he'd put together on meal prepping that were ranking really well.

After investigating the meal prepping niche further he saw a lot of opportunities and decided to start a site dedicated to that instead. He moved those successful posts from the finance blog in August 2019 to his new site mealprepify.com.

He doubled down on content and links and now this site is making over $6K per month. In January 2021, traffic was at 140,000. Pretty incredible!

In mid-2020, Rich made a move that really helped to fuel this growth.

He bought a site from Motion Invest that was making around $600 per month. This site was in the same or similar niche as Meal Prepify and had about 150 articles on it.

Kyle is a long-time SEO expert. Besides running many successful businesses in the space, he's also known for running hundreds of tests on Google's algorithm over the years to see what actually works.

Today he makes his third appearance on the Niche Pursuits podcast to discuss his latest findings on E-A-T!

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 Podcast, where Spencer and Jared cover the latest news in SEO, AI, affiliate marketing, and content creation.

As always, there’s a lot that happened since the previous episode, and they talk about the best Black Friday deals, so don’t miss this one!

The first news story they cover was the major upheaval at OpenAI over the last few days. Essentially, the board ousted Sam Altman as its CEO due to a lack of confidence and trust in him. 

This led to a whirlwind of events: other employees quit in solidarity, he was hired by Microsoft, and then the board at OpenAI changed course and hired him back. 

What does this all mean and how will it eventually play out? How did Sam and Microsoft really fare in this debacle? And how does this ultimately impact content creators? Tune in to hear Spencer and Jared’s takeaways.

The next bit of news they cover is that Google is testing out a “Simple Search” function, which would allow users to filter their search queries and simplify them. 

How exactly does it work? What does this mean for the Search Generative Experience? What is Google really doing as it implements all of these changes? And what does it mean for bloggers? Listen and find out.

The next topics are about shopping, which could not be more appropriate, since it is Black Friday after all.

Google is now using AI to help people shop for their holiday gifts. Spencer and Jared discuss how it works and show the demo. Essentially, AI will help refine gift categories and help people find exactly what they’re looking for. The new functions even let you virtually try on clothes!

In other shopping news, Amazon has announced that, on Black Friday, its Prime Video will feature shoppable ads, allowing users to scan QR codes to make “instant purchases” during the NFL game.

Speaking of shopping, as it’s Black Friday, Spencer and Jared forgo the usual Shiny Object Shenanigans portion of the podcast to share some of the biggest and best deals they’ve seen this season.

They talk about special discounts on Spencer’s tools, like Link Whisper and Rank Logic, as well as on Jared’s photography course. To save big on the best tools, check out the Niche Pursuits Black Friday Deals page!

As for this week’s Weird Niche Sites, Spencer goes first and reveals Rhyme Zone which, as the name suggests, identifies words that rhyme with your chosen word. The extensive results are organized by syllable. But what’s really shocking is how much traffic the site gets! It’s off the charts!

How is it monetized? And what could it do better to earn more from ads? Listen to the episode for all the details.

Jared’s site is a bit more whimsical: Cloud Appreciation Society. This weird site features everything from the cloud of the day and cloud of the month to a “Recent Clouds Spotted” section.

It also has a very cool UGC feature that Jared and Spencer discuss, as well as the possibility of buying a membership. Is this DR69 site ranking for a lot of keywords? How is it probably doing in terms of revenue? 

And that brings us to the end of another episode! Hopefully, you feel like you’re in the loop and caught up on recent happenings with Google and SEO. See you next week for another jam-packed episode!

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

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative