a single source, nothing corroborates it

Decide how the site earns before writing a page

Settle the monetisation shape first: a directory charging for leads, affiliate reviews, or a paid information product. The choice changes which keywords are worth chasing, and on affiliate work it changes the price bracket you aim at, since buyers hesitate as the ticket climbs. Reading what a competitor's site pushes you toward first tells you what actually pays them.

The method

1. 01

   Pick between three monetisation shapes for a hobby niche before you build: a directory that charges for leads, affiliate reviews, or a step-by-step information product.

2. 02

   On an affiliate site, aim at products in the low tens of pounds rather than premium ones, because buyers hesitate as the price climbs.

3. 03

   Work out what a competitor really earns from by looking at what their site pushes you to buy first.

What it returned

• 50,000

  Joshua Hardwick ranked first for a best-of term at roughly 50,000 monthly searches, pulling over 20,000 uniques a month to one page and earning £400 to £500 a month on products priced £15 to £30, while an affiliate site he ran on items over $500 sold about three things in total.

• $210

  Glen Allsopp applies the rule to SEOButler, whose site sends you first to content writing at $210 for a 3,000-word article, rising to $405 if optimised with Surfer. Onfolio bought the company for $950,000 against $268,000 of EBITDA, a 3.54x multiple.

• Glen Allsopp derives all three options from two comments on a single tiny house video, and picks reviews for himself.

Sources

• 51 Profitable SEO Niches to Dominate with Low Competition - Detailed.comGlen Allsopp · detailed.com · The Huge Opportunity with Tiny Houses · 2016-08-25
• The $122Bn SEO Industry: 32 Success Stories (with Revenue Numbers) for 2024 - Detailed.comGlen Allsopp · detailed.com · SEOButler – $268,000 in Annual Revenue · 2023-01-23