Why Most Websites Never Make Money:
I would love to know the stats, but I bet the vast majority of new websites created by online amateurs never make any money. There are many reasons for this but the end result seems to be the same for so many people they spend a lot of time / money making the site work and then nothing happens for months and they can’t understand why. Before giving up, they usually try out offline marketing methods to try and get things done like flyers, supermarket business cards, and even launch parties (my favorite).
It doesn’t matter what size or function your site is, unless you embrace SEO, PPC, or both, you’re doomed to failure. The problem is, these two skills take time to learn and apply, but that’s not all? Even when you are familiar with SEO it still takes a long time to get results so combined with running the site it can be hard to get part time but anything is possible.
Ok, so after all of this negativity what should you do to make it happen with your site?
You have to go out and connect with other bloggers and websites, this is at the heart of internet marketing. A good way to start is by posting guests, this is where you write a post or article for someone else’s site and in return they give you a link, it sounds simple but believe -me, there is still a lot of work. As we know, inbound links help both search engines and your overall popularity no matter how long it takes you to do so. If you don’t know where to start, myblogguest is a free forum where you can write articles for other webmasters.
You have to at least stand out a little bit, because there are a million sites that all do the same thing. Honestly, if you want to retain your visitors, you need to give them a reason to come back. Ultimately, you have to give your audience what they want and in a clear structure that they can understand. So if your online store offers discounts, the competition can’t because even if you take a short term hit on the price, the exposure you gain in the long term is still worth it.
Consistency is another big part of the equation, are you going to stick with this gig? Will you be receiving new links for your site on a weekly basis. Will you be creating content for your site for the next 12 months each week to keep it up to date? Obviously, the amount of work required will depend on what niche you are in, but even so the work will be there until you reach your goal, are you ready for it?
So that’s my problem, I’m just a realist I guess but better than I think one of the get-rich-quick gurus. I’m always on the lookout for legitimate ways to make money online that actually pay off the time spent. I can’t imagine anything worse than spending a lot of time and money on a system that I fundamentally didn’t understand, are you willing to trust luck? Or do you want to spend some time learning a process like internet marketing that has already been proven successful?
So, is it possible to earn real money on the web?
Well yes, but as mentioned time and time again, it always takes time and effort. Sometimes it’s about finding the idea / concept and sometimes it’s 100% application. My main money making ‘plan’ is web development and internet marketing which, in a nutshell, is about building websites and getting as many people as possible (as I summed up a few years of work in one. phrasing?). In fact, it won’t take years, but at the same time, it’s not like you’re going to hit a certain level and give up, learning it throughout life and not college way.
The idea that I have a system is also a bit of a misnomer, I have concepts and ideas that are never set in stone. The web is constantly changing and so is the way people find websites, just look at the rise of social media companies like Facebook and Twitter. Traditionally SEO people have been terrified of social media, but I think it opens up even more opportunities, ten years ago if you wanted to reach a few million potential customers it would cost you thousands. Now, with a great idea and some effective viral marketing, you can do it for around £ 10!
You’re still not going to see those money making ideas that actually work in the mainstream anytime soon, which is too complicated to fit into a 30 second TV spot. Until next time…