PureHustle's Authority Site Journey
- Thread starter PureHustle
- Start date
PureHustle
Power Member
- Feb 12, 2015
- 593
- 500
Good luck dude! That TF to CF ratio though
Thanks Homie! Yeah lol that ratio is fricken atrocious
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PureHustle
Power Member
- Feb 12, 2015
- 593
- 500
Day #4
I can already tell i chose a highly-competitive niche. I'm totally fine with that, as i love a challenge. However, it just means that it will take more time to achieve my ranking goals. No biggie.
Most of the keywords arnt even in the top 300, but that will all change eventually. I'm really not concerned. I have a few keywords ranking for some highly long-tail keywords. However, here are some of the ranks.
- Added 2 more articles to the authority site today.
- Added a few manual backlinks to niche forums today. They seem to be sticking just fine. The secret to getting links to stick is to provide value and not go in with the mentality of "throwing shit at a wall and seeing what sticks". Since making this change, I've noticed a ton of responses, "thank you's", and overall general appreciation for my comments (even though the comments/posts i make include a link to my website).
I can already tell i chose a highly-competitive niche. I'm totally fine with that, as i love a challenge. However, it just means that it will take more time to achieve my ranking goals. No biggie.
Most of the keywords arnt even in the top 300, but that will all change eventually. I'm really not concerned. I have a few keywords ranking for some highly long-tail keywords. However, here are some of the ranks.
(For Anyone Wondering, I'm Using SerpBuddy To Monitor My Rankings. Not Affiliated In Anyway With Them, Just Love Their Rank Tracker).
Its going to take a ton of time to build this site out and start working on the SEO side of things. As I posted before, my goal is to get into the groove of things and get into a routine - One step forward everyday.
PureHustle
Power Member
- Feb 12, 2015
- 593
- 500
Day #5
There are a total of 43 articles on the site right now. Slowly getting more content up on the site. Getting ready to start Off-site SEO
According to Webworccount, the site has approximately 65.1k words on the site. For the seasoned professionals who build authority sites on a regular basis, this isnt that much, but for me its quite the accomplishment. I cannot wait to outsource the writing down the road.
- Added 2 more articles to the site (both 1000+ words)
There are a total of 43 articles on the site right now. Slowly getting more content up on the site. Getting ready to start Off-site SEO
According to Webworccount, the site has approximately 65.1k words on the site. For the seasoned professionals who build authority sites on a regular basis, this isnt that much, but for me its quite the accomplishment. I cannot wait to outsource the writing down the road.
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PureHustle
Power Member
- Feb 12, 2015
- 593
- 500
Day #6
As with most journeys, mistakes are made, and I finally recognized a giant one I’ve been doing already.
I’ve done my fair share of reading on the topic of keyword research, and seemed to have a relatively good idea on the matter. However, after reading Hekke’s post about doing keyword research, I quickly realized I was walking down the wrong path. Originally, I chose keywords that LTP posted as a difficulty of 25 or less. However, after hopping over to SEMRUSH, I saw the keyword difficulty rating there around 70-80%. These two metrics between LTP and semrush were way off.
Manually looking through the keywords I had choosen, I started to notice huge authority sites dominating the front page. We’re talking PA & DA of 80-95. I’ve finally realized that these keywords are going to beyond difficult to rank.
Stupid mistake – I know. However, I’m glad I caught wind of this finally.
So, today and tomorrow, I’ll be scrapping the list of keywords I previously wanted to use, and will go back and find “lower hanging fruit”. I think im finally understanding the importance of keyword research.
As with most journeys, mistakes are made, and I finally recognized a giant one I’ve been doing already.
I’ve done my fair share of reading on the topic of keyword research, and seemed to have a relatively good idea on the matter. However, after reading Hekke’s post about doing keyword research, I quickly realized I was walking down the wrong path. Originally, I chose keywords that LTP posted as a difficulty of 25 or less. However, after hopping over to SEMRUSH, I saw the keyword difficulty rating there around 70-80%. These two metrics between LTP and semrush were way off.
Manually looking through the keywords I had choosen, I started to notice huge authority sites dominating the front page. We’re talking PA & DA of 80-95. I’ve finally realized that these keywords are going to beyond difficult to rank.
Stupid mistake – I know. However, I’m glad I caught wind of this finally.
So, today and tomorrow, I’ll be scrapping the list of keywords I previously wanted to use, and will go back and find “lower hanging fruit”. I think im finally understanding the importance of keyword research.
PureHustle
Power Member
- Feb 12, 2015
- 593
- 500
Day 6.5 Update
Alright, alright, alright. Seeing as I found myself walking down the wrong path with the site at hand (choosing the wrong fricken keywords and knowing nothing about keyword research), I've been busy learning a ton about keyword research, buyer intent keywords, and actually providing value within the content itself.
Just to recap, over the past few weeks I've been deliberately trying to add content to the site. Unfortunately i was too lazy to manually research each of the keywords, and found out that there was no way i was going to out-rank 10 authority sites in the niche. It just wasnt going to happen. but, semrush did show me this which i thought was quite validating:
** I'll keep the content thats on the site, as I feel it helps with the "inner-linking" and even though it doesnt have a direct purpose, it helps to make the information on the site more "well-rounded"
In spite of all my mistakes, I've re-aligned my goals with the site. Its all about providing value to the readers. I'm completely focusing on buyer-intent, commercial keywords, and have done a complete 180 in terms of a monetization strategy. Additionally, I wont be posting daily updates. that shits boring.
I'll start posting monthly updates from here on out.
Goals for this month:
See Y'all in a month!
Additional Questions I've been asked
How Long Are Your Posts Going To Be?
I've recently changed my philosophy on content length. Its not longer about hitting a "word count" but rather covering the topic completely and providing enough value to the reader.
Will You Be Utilizing Social Media To Generate Traffic?
I have Massplanner following, interacting, and engaging in the niche for 2 social media sites, but thats about it for now. Right now the focus is on content. Eventually i'll use social media, but now is not the time to focus on clickbait titles and grabbing social traffic.
Will You Be Focusing On SEO?
yeah, eventually I will focus on off-site SEO, but i want a ton of content on the site first. after all content is king.
What Are You Going To Do To Stand Out Against Your Competitors?
The forte of the site is definitely going to be the content itself. I want it to be the focal point of the site and to bring additional value to the site. I may implement a few "modules" on the site for displaying multiple videos relating to the article, or spend some time creating a "module" that shows a huge assortment of images that pertain to the niche (as an attempt to provide more value than the competitors of mine and stand out). Think of these "modules" as a way to provide additional value to the readers. However, this is down the road. The focus is content for me.
Alright, alright, alright. Seeing as I found myself walking down the wrong path with the site at hand (choosing the wrong fricken keywords and knowing nothing about keyword research), I've been busy learning a ton about keyword research, buyer intent keywords, and actually providing value within the content itself.
Just to recap, over the past few weeks I've been deliberately trying to add content to the site. Unfortunately i was too lazy to manually research each of the keywords, and found out that there was no way i was going to out-rank 10 authority sites in the niche. It just wasnt going to happen. but, semrush did show me this which i thought was quite validating:
** I'll keep the content thats on the site, as I feel it helps with the "inner-linking" and even though it doesnt have a direct purpose, it helps to make the information on the site more "well-rounded"
In spite of all my mistakes, I've re-aligned my goals with the site. Its all about providing value to the readers. I'm completely focusing on buyer-intent, commercial keywords, and have done a complete 180 in terms of a monetization strategy. Additionally, I wont be posting daily updates. that shits boring.
I'll start posting monthly updates from here on out.
Goals for this month:
- 60 articles up on the site
- competitor analysis to find ways to grab the same links as my competitors
- finding "resource pages" within the niche and manually contacting them
- Looking for "dead links" and manually contacting site owners to see if they'll link to my site.
See Y'all in a month!
Additional Questions I've been asked
How Long Are Your Posts Going To Be?
I've recently changed my philosophy on content length. Its not longer about hitting a "word count" but rather covering the topic completely and providing enough value to the reader.
Will You Be Utilizing Social Media To Generate Traffic?
I have Massplanner following, interacting, and engaging in the niche for 2 social media sites, but thats about it for now. Right now the focus is on content. Eventually i'll use social media, but now is not the time to focus on clickbait titles and grabbing social traffic.
Will You Be Focusing On SEO?
yeah, eventually I will focus on off-site SEO, but i want a ton of content on the site first. after all content is king.
What Are You Going To Do To Stand Out Against Your Competitors?
The forte of the site is definitely going to be the content itself. I want it to be the focal point of the site and to bring additional value to the site. I may implement a few "modules" on the site for displaying multiple videos relating to the article, or spend some time creating a "module" that shows a huge assortment of images that pertain to the niche (as an attempt to provide more value than the competitors of mine and stand out). Think of these "modules" as a way to provide additional value to the readers. However, this is down the road. The focus is content for me.
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PureHustle
Power Member
- Feb 12, 2015
- 593
- 500
so the site was an expired domain it was only a couple years old, but it had some header links from a super authority site (and the links on the authority site are still there).
It may not have been the best domain to start out with, but it worked for me.
Any recent updates mate ?
Totally agree about the keyword issue. Far too many people are selling keywords without actually looking at the true competition.
I stopped using LTP a bit back as I had mentioned. I now use a mixture of different tools and then manually check the sites in the top 5.
If the DA and PAs are all 50+ that's not a good sign, but when I see 2 or 3 out of the top 5 with low metrics, than it is easier to go after.
The onsite scores are a good indicator too .
tokokipiani
Power Member
- Jun 12, 2014
- 638
- 128
You are doing pretty good. Keep thread updated
PureHustle
Power Member
- Feb 12, 2015
- 593
- 500
I definitely owe you guys an update.
After working on this site for a while, I quickly realized I was doing something wrong. Very low traffic, horrible rankings, etc.
Up until this point, I’d focused predominantly on writing content and interlinking, and wondering why I wasn’t a millionaire yet, acquiring millions of visits daily.
First Step: Reflection
As with any failure, it’s important to take a step back and diagnose what is causing the failure. I quickly realized that my issue was - keyword selection. I’d previously been going after keywords that were (a) informational (and not buyer intent), (b) super difficult to rank, (c) super longtail, low-volume.
Additionally, I wasn’t doing much off-site SEO. Maybe a web 2.0 here and there, a few manual comments, but that was about it. I had no formal SEO plan.
Example of a keyword i previously chose:
Second Step: Fixing the Issues
I’ve been reading a plethora of guides/journeys here on BHW to get a better understanding of proper keyword selection. However, there’s no way I can get a better grasp on keyword selection unless I actually try it out first-hand. Since the reflection, I’ve focused on finding buyer intent keywords that where not too difficult to rank.
In terms of SEO, I plan on utilizing more web 2.0’s high PR profiles, parasite pages, press releases, and a heavy push of manually-built PBN’s. Goal will be 20 PBN’s created per month to the site. Of course it takes money to make money, so I’ll be spending quite a bit of time doing some manual labor on sites like fiverr, Iwriter, and freelance sites to earn the needed cash.
TL;DR – picked the wrong keywords. Don’t rely on Keyword tools. I didn’t have a proper SEO plan in-place. Need to focus on keyword research on finding easy keywords. This isn’t rocket science, but if you make stupid mistakes like I made, you’ll have one hell of a time finding success.
After working on this site for a while, I quickly realized I was doing something wrong. Very low traffic, horrible rankings, etc.
Up until this point, I’d focused predominantly on writing content and interlinking, and wondering why I wasn’t a millionaire yet, acquiring millions of visits daily.
First Step: Reflection
As with any failure, it’s important to take a step back and diagnose what is causing the failure. I quickly realized that my issue was - keyword selection. I’d previously been going after keywords that were (a) informational (and not buyer intent), (b) super difficult to rank, (c) super longtail, low-volume.
Additionally, I wasn’t doing much off-site SEO. Maybe a web 2.0 here and there, a few manual comments, but that was about it. I had no formal SEO plan.
Example of a keyword i previously chose:
Second Step: Fixing the Issues
I’ve been reading a plethora of guides/journeys here on BHW to get a better understanding of proper keyword selection. However, there’s no way I can get a better grasp on keyword selection unless I actually try it out first-hand. Since the reflection, I’ve focused on finding buyer intent keywords that where not too difficult to rank.
In terms of SEO, I plan on utilizing more web 2.0’s high PR profiles, parasite pages, press releases, and a heavy push of manually-built PBN’s. Goal will be 20 PBN’s created per month to the site. Of course it takes money to make money, so I’ll be spending quite a bit of time doing some manual labor on sites like fiverr, Iwriter, and freelance sites to earn the needed cash.
TL;DR – picked the wrong keywords. Don’t rely on Keyword tools. I didn’t have a proper SEO plan in-place. Need to focus on keyword research on finding easy keywords. This isn’t rocket science, but if you make stupid mistakes like I made, you’ll have one hell of a time finding success.
issorc
Senior Member
- Feb 20, 2016
- 826
- 765
Went through similar problems as you and started a new journey because of this. Also had problems with my chosen keywords and the keywords of a website are the root of all success. It's always better to accept a mistake or failure and take a new try to get on the path of success than to keep working on a project that will most likely fail.
You did take a huge step towards your success, because you obviously learned from your mistakes, keep it going!
You did take a huge step towards your success, because you obviously learned from your mistakes, keep it going!