[Journey] This year I will make it happen

[highpointer]

Hi guys,

I have been around on this forum for a while, I do have a steady and if fact, well paid 9 to 5 job. After being in the rat race for a little over a decade I'm not amazed nor inspired by the idea to keep doing this for the next 3 decades or so. I decided to make this post as a mental exercise for me to state that this time I will make it happen. I do know that it will take, at least, 1 year, to start seeing decent results, perfect timing given that we just started this year!

What do I mean with I will make it happen? Well, I do have a background with digital marketing / business development / mobile apps, so I do know that I tick a few boxes, however one of the many issues that I face is that I tend to heavily focus on an idea for a while, to then lose interest after a few months and just switch to something else. Had I stuck with one of the side-job ventures that I started in the past (dropshipping in 2017, app development in early 2018, e-commerce, etc) I would probably be closer to or already financially independent today, that is, not relying on a 3rd party (employer) to make a decent living.


Next steps:

• I do lack SEO insights/knowledge. So one of my first steps is to be more confident with it. I do know that I do require a tool such as SEMRush / Ahref If I'm serious about this venture. For work reasons I do have access to a SEMRush business account (company one) which is barely used, but unfortunately it won't be renewed (at least I had a chance to browse it) so I decided to go with Ahref $7 offer. Tomorrow will be my last day with it running so it's likely that I will keep it at least for the first month till I work out most of my KW's and competition.

• Decide the language of the site. I'm proficient both in Spanish and English. In terms of volume, English is the winner for the niche that I have chosen but there is clearly less competition in Spanish, which means that it is easier to rank higher. Any thoughts on this?

• See what other affiliate products/programs are available outside Amazon. Never put all eggs in one basket! If I pick Spanish instead of English I might have trouble findings good programs to promote though. That doesn't stop me from creating an eBook or similar myself

• Buy domain, set-up plugins, choose language, write content (couple of articles myself). Once I'm comfortable with the niche I will start outsourcing content, no point on investing time on things 2 or 3 steps down the line. I bought a domain already and a hosting with SiteGround, but I think the site is too generic in terms of the subject. I rather focus on a Dog Toys blogs (all KW's will be related to one specific main KW, Dog & Toys) that a more generic site where I review items from several categories (for instance, a man focused site where I review daily use items - wallet, boots, watches, etc). I'm not sure if I'm mistaken here, so keen to hear your thoughts. I guess it would be doable too but a more "generic" site will take longer to rank.

• Work on the list of Keywords to start ranking for. I need to find search queries with low volume that can trickle down to other articles. I'm really interested as well with Google's featured snippet, trying to answer some of these questions could be an interesting way to obtain more organic traffic. Curious to hear if it has proven to be beneficial for you guys

What I do know is that I need to stick with something if I want to make it happen, it might take me a couple of years to be financially independent but this time (I hope) that my willingness to make it happen will make a difference!

 

[TheVigilante]

I am sure you are gonna rock this!

Following

 

[rafark]

Don't burn your money on a full ahrefs license (1-2k a year) if you're just getting started. The $7 trial or a group but is what you should go with and it's more than enough for what you need it.

Good luck, hope to see you quitting next year!

 

[highpointer]

The $7 trial or a group but is what you should go with

Thanks for the insight. Any experience with a decent Ahref group? It seems to be the hardest tool to find.

 

[highpointer]

Update on my journey:

• I'm struggling to still find a decent niche to work on. If I have to focus on this site for the next year or so it better be something that I'm somewhat passionate about. With decent I'm referring that the niche has high priced items on Amazon. The commission is already low, so I rather focus on products that can give me a better commission. What I'm passionate about (video games for instance), has a really low % and shit ton of competition, so I will keep searching. Another niche that I found was too broad and going down to a sub-niche meant again to start working on really low $$ products.

• I found a wonderful post from a fellow BHW member on how to do KW research using Ahref's. It's gives a clear process and provides a framework on what to do with the tool to get started. Unfortunately I alrady used the 7 day trial, now I'm with SEMRush trial and will try to apply part of the method.

• In terms of further SEO/Affiliate training I've been doing the following:

• Listening to many podcasts on my commute, a few that I can recommend:

• Doug.Show - the KGD - Keyword Golden Ratio method, it's an interesting approach on how a new site can easily start ranking on low volume KW's
• The Side Hustle Show - not purely SEO focused but I think it's great for motivation and to see what can be achieved with hard work)
• Authority Hacker Podcast - These guys do shared a LOT of golden nuggets on their podcasts

• Watching many videos / courses. A fellow BHW shared this course on another Journey, here is the link for you to download (it's from 2018 I believe but most of it still applies). Personally I find the Income School guys are a bit annoying BUT they do know what they are talking about. I'm not a huge fan of their approach however, still their Project 24 puts things in perspective in terms of what can be achieved and how long it takes to start seeing results

I will update this journey with a new post hopefully once I already set up the site, etc.