Choosing the right blog topics is key to setting up a successful website.
Earlier, in How to Start A Blog, I talked about setting some goals before launching a new site. Having some long term goals helps in every aspect of life – blogging being no different. It is these goals that will drive every aspect of my sites – beginning with what I plan to write about, whether I choose to set up a website or a blog (or both), what platform I use to host my website, and so on and so forth.
This post will mostly be relevant to those people that have a goal of making money from their site. This is because a personal site is likely to cover a wide range of subjects and it’s success is purely measured by the enjoyment of the author and the readers.
An MMO (make money online) site is an entirely different animal. On this type of blog success is measured in dollars – the more the better. And this is why choosing the right subject is more important than ever. Some blog topics have way more profit potential than others. And yet choosing something to write about based on profit alone does not guarantee success.
A Website Should Be Something To Be Proud Of
For me, first and foremost comes job satisfaction. Yes, creating an internet business with my website is my job – and for me to approach each and every day with enthusiasm requires a certain amount of interest and passion for the things that I write about. Some will argue that this really isn’t necessary – and this is totally up to each individual. I have tried blogging both ways – writing about subjects that I care about and about those that I don’t. While I did make money with the sites that did not interest me, I could not keep the momentum going (building a website involves a lot more than just writing posts). Whereas on the sites that are near and dear to my heart I continue to have a zest for posting, article writing, and for the never ending pursuit of backlinks. In the end – it is these sites, the ones that I am proud of, that continue to thrive.
Describe the Website in One Word
Ok – maybe two, but only 3 maximum. To have the potential to make money online, a website should revolve around one broad subject. It is true that there are plenty of successful sites that cover a wide range of unrelated material, but IMHO, it is much harder and will take much longer to hit long term goals with sites like these. I know that we are all multifaceted individuals with lots of different interests – but focusing one area of expertise is probably best. The logic being that it is much easier to monetize a site that is focused on one topic. For example, if Google Adsense is a planned revenue stream then if the website is about Golf, and all of the posts having something to do with the subject of Golf, then the ads that will be served up by Google will all be about Golf as well. Incidentally, most of your posts will eventually rank in the search engines and be found by people searching for things having to do with Golf. If they choose to visit this wonderful site about Golf, they may be interested in the ads about Golf and click on through. The same thought process works for affiliate programs – where readers will click banners and ads that the blogger puts up for Golf related stores and make a purchase, thereby earning the author a commission. And again this is applicable to direct advertising as well – where the webmaster directly sell space to advertisers. A business specializing in Golf equipment is more likely to advertise on a site about Golf than on a site that covers a wide range of blog topics.
Did I Say Broad?
There is a fine line between a topic that is broad and one that is way too broad. It is safe to say that the example that I used – Golf – is way to broad. There are too many big sites in competition for that word. Meaning that a search in Google for this term will turn up a lot of heavy hitters on page one of the search results. For any site that has monetization as a goal – getting to page one of search results for the topic at hand will make that goal more achievable. To get to page one, a website has to beat out all of the sites that are already there. So, narrowing down a subject a little bit is beneficial. Instead of focusing on the entire sport of Golf – a webmaster could pick one aspect of the game. Still keeping the topic to three word maximum some potential subjects could include Golf Swings or Women’s Golf Equipment (can you tell that I know nothing about golf?). Basically, the blog topics should be wide enough to handle several hundred posts (down the line) but narrow enough to draw targeted search engine traffic (people specifically looking for the exact thing that the site is about).
So, to set up a website, my second step (after goal setting) is to make a list of broad topics that I would like to write about. Once I have a good sized list, I start to pare it down.
This is part two in the How to Build A Website series.
Other parts include:
How to Start A Blog (part one)
Blog Topics – What is Yours? (part two)
Blog Topics – Narrow It Down (part three)
Website Monetization Planning (part four)
Return from this page about choosing blog topics to the Internet Business homepage.
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