Beginning my journey - a few advice requests

[burgertime]

I'm new here and, the more and more I searched for different things on the web, Google kept coming up with results from this site so I took the hint that BHW was the place to be.

I'm looking for some side income to supplement my family. The ultimate goal is an extra $500-$1000/mo. From my research and common sense, this won't likely be created from just one site/idea. I'm ok with that. I'm no stranger to hard work and late nights. I will say that I'm a creative person and very able to create a website. Creation isn't the problem for me, inspiration and properly guided execution is where my shortage appears. Let me explain...

I'm going to create a site about something I'm very interested in(I'm assuming not discussing your specific niche is acceptable etiquette here). Since this niche is something I'm passionate about, I think I'll easily be able to post articles about it.

I'm not glued to a blog site with adsense OR an affiliate site. I sort of see my first site as a "hybrid" of the two. Is this bad practice?

Because our internet age lies in a constant state of flux, I have a few questions which may have been answered a month ago on other forums but may no longer be relavent.

1) Can I accurately research keywords using the free Google Adwords tool?
2) Do I "need" any other tools to increase my time efficiency or effectiveness? Which ones? Cost?
3) Am I correct in assuming that EMD's are bad?

I guess in the end, I've read SO much (no ebooks though), that I feel like I've got a really good idea of where to take this but at the same time, no idea how to go about it. Make sense? I almost feel like I've got analysis paralysis to a minor extent.

Can anyone aid in setting the rudder?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Sneeks]

I'm new here and, the more and more I searched for different things on the web, Google kept coming up with results from this site so I took the hint that BHW was the place to be.

I'm looking for some side income to supplement my family. The ultimate goal is an extra $500-$1000/mo. From my research and common sense, this won't likely be created from just one site/idea. I'm ok with that. I'm no stranger to hard work and late nights. I will say that I'm a creative person and very able to create a website. Creation isn't the problem for me, inspiration and properly guided execution is where my shortage appears. Let me explain...

I'm going to create a site about something I'm very interested in(I'm assuming not discussing your specific niche is acceptable etiquette here). Since this niche is something I'm passionate about, I think I'll easily be able to post articles about it.

I'm not glued to a blog site with adsense OR an affiliate site. I sort of see my first site as a "hybrid" of the two. Is this bad practice?

Because our internet age lies in a constant state of flux, I have a few questions which may have been answered a month ago on other forums but may no longer be relavent.

1) Can I accurately research keywords using the free Google Adwords tool?
2) Do I "need" any other tools to increase my time efficiency or effectiveness? Which ones? Cost?
3) Am I correct in assuming that EMD's are bad?

I guess in the end, I've read SO much (no ebooks though), that I feel like I've got a really good idea of where to take this but at the same time, no idea how to go about it. Make sense? I almost feel like I've got analysis paralysis to a minor extent.

Can anyone aid in setting the rudder?

Thanks in advance.

1. Yes, google is your best tool. Market Sumurai helps out finding the long tailed keywords. SEO is a good practice to always follow. I'm not an expert at it, but know how valuable it really is.

2. Just read here, lots of information here that is free. No ebook will cover everything that is here. I catch myself reading this stuff hours upon hours of the day. Just take notes and don't let it overwhelm you. (This is my opinion)

3. EMD's are good, but not MANDATORY.

Edit: Also, it's good to work on something you are passionate about. Google loves original content.

 

[markkk]

Find profitable niches usually enthusiam isnt enough. Also do note the competition on GKT is adwords comp not SEO competition. You should try SEOmoz.

 

[burgertime]

Thanks for the input! Just so I'm clear on the competition factor, I gather that SEO competition would be the competition for placement in the SERP for a given set of key words. Correct? So, for example, a keyword combination which has a high SEO competition means it will be more difficult to land a good spot on the SERP if a user searches for that combination. Right? So that's why its better to go with something that has a longer tail.

What about Adwords competition though? I'm not totally sure about that or how that factors in.

 

[whiteshark761]

What about Adwords competition though? I'm not totally sure about that or how that factors in.

If you're using the free Google keywords tool, you're using a tool designed for Adwords customers. The "competition" score on there signifies how much competition there is for those keywords among people who are buying ads from Google. So it isn't accurate to use it in a general "competition" sense.

 

[dionysis89]

you can also use keywords tools for longtailed words for free(trial)