Saturday Theme - New Website Case Study
June 9th, 2007 by CourtIn 30 short pages my ebook shows you exactly how to set up a low-maintenance income online using free traffic from Google. You'll learn:
- How to discover keyword sets where the traffic potential is high but the competition is limited.
- How to set up quick, easy, search-engine friendly websites with no programming knowledge whatsoever.
- How to build those websites around high-paying keywords that will give you your first passive online income.
The ebook is free, but there is a catch - you have to actually download it, read it, and implement what it teaches. I'm not giving you this book for intellectual stimulation; I'm giving it to you so you can make money. Hundreds of my readers have used these principles to either create or increase their online income. You can do the same.
Just fill out the easy form below you'll be redirected to the download page. As a bonus I'll follow up with an email mini-course that outlines some of my biggest successes, failures, and key insights I've gained over the years as a full-time internet marketer. I'll send you the first installment right away. And don't worry - all you'll ever get from me is value-packed content. I'll never share, rent, or sell your personal information. Enjoy...and thanks for visiting!
Are You Sure You Want To Start A Site About ‘Making Money Online’?
There have always been tons of ‘make money online’ sites on the internet. Everyone wants to have one. If that’s the kind of site you want, I hope you already know how to make money online. If you don’t, you’re making a huge mistake! Most people don’t realize that make money sites are a lot harder to monetize than sites in other niches.
My Adsense click-through rates on CourtneyTuttle.com are less than half of what they are on my other sites, even though they have very similar ad placement. The clicks also pay a lot less. Since most of my readers use Adsense ads, they are less likely to click on them. Can you see how that would make it harder to monetize?
For 99% of you, creating a site about ‘making money online’ would be the worst decision you could make. There are 1,000 different topics that would be more profitable. If you want to make real money with the internet, I would highly recommend staying away from ‘make money missions’. Everyone and their step-cousin already has a site where they ‘are trying to make money with the internet, and want to share what they learn along the way’.
Some of you are going to feel like this message is hypocritical. How can I tell you to not have a site about ‘making money online’ when that is the overall message of this site? I’m not trying to discourage anyone! If you feel like you know enough right now to hang with the people that are already doing it, do it! If you don’t, I would recommend starting with an easier niche. Make some money in an easy niche, and then offer what you learned. I was earning a living on the internet well before I started this site. I’m sorry if anyone finds this message hypocritical. It is intended to help you to achieve the maximum results for your efforts.
With this message in mind I have decided to start a new site, one that is more like what most of you should be doing. The purpose of my new site will be to show you how to make a site in another niche. I’m staying away from any kind of ‘make money’ message with the new site. The readers will have no idea that it’s a ‘make money mission’. To them it will be only a useful resource. It will be a legitimate business built from ground zero.
Let Me Introduce… HowToMobile.com
Take a look at the site, nothing has been done on it (6/8/2007). Hosting was set up for the first time on HowToMobile.com yesterday. I installed WordPress and left it at that. I’m going to let you watch it grow, and I’m going to make the stats for the site public. If you visit the site, you will see a ‘view my stats’ link in the sidebar.
What I Intend To Do With ‘How To Mobile’
I’m going to create a resource that helps people to learn how to use their mobile phones. I will basically be taking material from the users manuals and simplifying it for people. It’s not going to be rocket science. I’m going to take information that’s already out there, and make it a little easier for cell phone users.
For the next few months I will be personally doing the writing for HowToMobile.com. After the site is making about $1000 a month, I’m going to hire a writer for it. At that point, it will turn into a true, residual income for me. Eventually the site will be sold - but not until it reaches the point where it’s worth a highly significant amount.
New Theme For Saturdays
From now on, my posts for Saturdays will be dedicated to this case study. I will update you on the progress of the new site, and will show you what I’ve done each week. It will definitely get a lot more interesting in a month or so when the traffic starts coming.
For those of you that are starting out, the weekly updates should be effective reminders of what you should be working on. 
I want this case study to be an open conversation. I want to hear your questions and concerns!
Update: If you found this post helpful, you're going to love our new ebook: The Keyword Crash Course...it's 100% free. Enter your email here to receive the series:
This book contains the methods used by hundreds of my students and readers to create an excellent low-maintenance income online...and it will for your too - if you'll just download it and put it to work.
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June 9th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Great stuff there Courtney! Can’t wait to see more of the new site and learn from it.
June 9th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
June 9th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Great idea to have a case study. Will definitely be coming back on Saturdays to see how you gradually turn the site into a business.
June 9th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
I’ll look forward to seeing you!
June 9th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Hey Court, that is definitely a great idea for a case study. I will check regulary to see how it is going on.
June 9th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
Happy to have you!
June 9th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Court, good idea. I think affiliate sites focusing on one topic are the way forward. I’m going to do something similar but with a sub domain from my site to use the ranking power of the main domain to rank well in the serps. Is this site brand new? You’re more than likely gonna have to wait over a year before your site starts ranking in the serps as it will be in the sandbox
if it’s new.
June 9th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Yes the site is brand new. I definitely won’t be waiting in the sandbox, that’s a guarantee.
June 9th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
interesting, what you got planned? You must have some authoritative links lined up?
June 9th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
The sandbox only exists for heavy-hitting keywords. There are millions of keywords that the sandbox doesn’t have any affect on at all.
There is a real sandbox, but most people that think they’re in it just don’t have enough inbound links.
June 9th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Going after the long tails. You obviously have your head screwed on. I’ll be interested to see how it goes, good luck.
June 9th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Thanks!
June 9th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
I noticed how much easier it is to start a new site after you have already learned how to establish one. This should be interesting.
June 9th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
One thing I’ve seen with Court is that he knows what he’s doing - and I think it’s true that if you’ve made one site or two sites you learn the major lessons and when you start an additional site it’s “wash rinse and repeat”. Things go faster and work better.
June 9th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Thanks Shawn! I think that the site will work out well. It will be helpful to hear what the critics have to say as well.
June 9th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
So true. I would say it’s at least 1,000 times easier after you’ve made it happen once or twice.
June 9th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
What is an example of the heavy-hitting keywords you are refering to that are subject to this sandbox factor?
June 9th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
That’s a great question Michael. Here are a few examples for you: cell phones, make money online, search engine optimization, fitness.
Keyword phrases that are searched for the most are often subject to the sandbox.
June 9th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Cout, great idea! I loved watching the 15k challenge unfold last year and learned a few things from it, I’m sure I’ll pick up a few pointers from you on this project.
Don
June 9th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Thanks Don! I hope it will be helpful for everyone. I think there are a lot of people out there that are approaching ‘making money online’ the wrong way. Hopefully this will shift everyone’s perspectives a little bit.
June 9th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
I have learn alot from you. I am now on my way to design a new blog and in talk with someone that may be can help me set up and support with my blog , hope it work out well.
June 10th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
I hope it works out well for you too!
June 9th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Court, you are a true genius. You even make me excited, and I can’t wait to see how your new site comes along! Every day when I come to your blog I always learn something new and see things in a new, better way. You inspire me to do a test like this in the future myself.
June 10th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
I wish I was a true genius Tay! I would probably be retired by now.
I’m glad that the site has been helpful to you though!
June 9th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Great idea, Court! I’ll be following along to see how well this goes for you and see what else I can learn, too.
Best wishes!
June 10th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
Thanks Angela! I hope that you can learn a lot, because that will mean that I’m doing a lot of things right.
June 9th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
another great idea court. I am also starting a new blog to blog about other subjects. Good luck to you.
June 10th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Any idea what type of site you want to start?
June 10th, 2007 at 4:17 am
Hi Court, this is a fantastic idea! It will be create to see the development of how to mobile!
Andy
June 10th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Well I hope that it helps everyone. It seems to be like it would be really helpful for people to watch as a site grows from start to finish. It seems like most people are all trying the same stuff.
June 10th, 2007 at 5:06 am
I experienced the same. Blog and website AdSense CTR and PPC are no way to be same. Website is far higher than blog.
June 10th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
Definitely! If bloggers are your readers, you have to have a lot more imagination to monetize.
When your audience consists of non-webmasters it is a lot easier to get Adsense clicks.
June 11th, 2007 at 8:31 am
Do you think it is better to go after supposed high-paying topics, or to find a unique niche so obscure that you are the only one out there doing it? I only ask, because Adsense only really works great for me on my one site that is pretty much the only one of its kind and brings in nearly 100% of the traffic that is to be had for such a theme.
June 11th, 2007 at 8:35 am
Niche is the name of the game. Sure you could TRY to pick a topic like “health insurance” which pays a lot for each click - - but you and I know that the market is totally owned by other people already, and its saturated. You need a more specific niche. The holy grail is something people search for with no competition that has high-paying keywords but since that’s impossible to find you need to find a mixture of those three…
June 11th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Shawn, you’re right on with your comment. For most people those heavy-hitter keywords have too much competition.
Most of the companies that rank for those keywords have teams of individuals working on link building.
June 11th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Shawn’s right about this. I think it’s wise to choose a niche - but choose a niche that isn’t overly specific. You don’t want your site traffic to max out after only a few months, you need something to keep working for.
June 11th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
The hard part is finding a niche that appeals to you enough for you to blog about it every day and not get burned out on.
Once you can put passion into what you write and demonstrate your own interest in the topic, your readers will come.
June 14th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
So true J.D., I always tell people to write about their life’s biggest passion. Sometimes people spend all day reading about one topic and writing about another. ???
June 14th, 2007 at 11:16 am
Court,
Oh so NOW you tell me! Three months after I start my blog in the online money-making niche you tell me it’s not a good plan for a newbie. Thanks a ton.
Just kidding.
Again, I think you’ve given some great advice. My blog is something of an experiment and is definitely slow going. My brand new Avandia heart risk blog is already set to do better Adsense-wise this month than my money-making blog is.
I don’t regret the time I’ve spent on Pajama Professional and I love writing for it, but as far as making money, you’re absolutely right that is not the niche to go with. I hope lots of newbies read this post before they start their blogs.
Sara
June 14th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
Lol, I wish someone would have told me.
Just messin’. Like you said in your post in Pajama Professional, you learn more by writing about the ‘make money online’ topic, so I think you’re wise to have one blog about that, and one about something else. Well done!
July 14th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
[…] think it’s done pretty well so far. If you have missed the first five updates, here they are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Here is the graph of the site’s traffic since it was […]
July 14th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
What are u talking about when you are referring to “sandbox”? Also, couldn’t you incorporate “making money online” in a catergory on one of your niche blogs? What is a pingback? Sorry for so many questions but I am still learning terminology and researching for a niche of my passion.
November 28th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
[…] with Google Adsense. If you missed the first 4 weeks of the case study, you can find them here: 1, 2, 3, […]
November 28th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
[…] For those of you that missed last Saturday’s post, I have introduced a new Saturday theme for CourtneyTuttle.com. If you missed the original post, you can find it here: Saturday Theme - New Website Case Study […]
November 29th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
I just thinking about starting a make-money website until i read your post. I think it make sense, because i never ever clicked any adsense ads before (of course after i knew about adsense).