If you’ve been following this newsletter for a while, you’ll know that I quit doing SEO…
My travel blog has had over 25 million page views from organic search so far,
And Google is still sending me 10-15,000 visitors per day…
But I’m putting zero effort into getting any more organic traffic.
Today, I’m going to explain why I believe that niche site SEO is dead (despite these numbers).
And we’ll also talk about whether you should abandon your blogging altogether.
(Some of you should defo quit.)
My opinion is that even if most of your traffic comes from search (like mine does)
And even if you’ve seen something of a HCU reversal lately (like I have)
Then you still probably shouldn’t be doing SEO for a blog.
If you have an e-commerce site or a local business, that’s a different story, of course.
But if you have a blog, there are much better ways to make money than with SEO.
And that’s why, 6 months ago I stopped doing SEO.
I switched from writing about ‘things that people are searching for’…
To writing about ‘things that people want, but don’t know they want’.
Here’s an example:
(I changed the exact KW for this example, but you get the idea)
I converted all my articles from search keywords like: “What are the luggage limits for British Airways?”
To articles like “These British Airways Luggage Rules Are Catching People Out Every Day (Avoid The Fines!)”
Why?
Well, before 2024, British Airways would rank number one with an ugly page that was hard to use. And blogs would fill spots 2-10. Bingo.
But now, we get a huge AI Overview at the top of the SERP. And the remaining spots are filled by ecom sites and newspapers.
If you have a blog, SEO is a waste of time for keywords like this.
However, my refreshed article about the rules is both interesting and FOMO-inducing, so it does great on Facebook and email.
It’s packed with real experiences from travellers who’ve had to pay big fines at the gate. (Thanks Reddit and Facebook).
It’s entertaining and educational.
Now, it’s at this point where I must stress that this approach IS NOT FOR EVERYONE.
Some niche site owners should definitely invest in growing an email list and Facebook page and sharing articles there.
And some definitely should not.
Luckily, it’s pretty easy to know which camp you fall into.
Ask yourself – Is your audience fascinated by the niche? Are they WELL INTO IT?
Niches that people are fascinated by include:
- Sports
- Cooking
- Pets
- Heath
- Hobbies
- Things to do locally
- Parenting
- Side Hustles
- Etc etc
Niches that people are NOT fascinated by include:
- Funeral planning
- Tax law
- Waste management
- Insurance
- Pest Control
- Tech troubleshooting
- Specific products e.g. fire extinguishers
- Etc etc
In a fascinating niche, people will come back to you again and again. They’re hungry for more.
They will love what they read so much that they send it to their mate on WhatsApp. They comment on it on Facebook. They join your email list for more.
If you have a blog in a fascinating niche and you’re not putting a big chunk of your time into your email newsletter, then you’re making a big mistake.
Sorry if that sounds harsh, but you are.
However…
What if you blog is in non-fascinating niche?
I have a few of these.
They’re not necessarily, boring. But people don’t LOVE them.
Take balloons, for example.
Balloons are fun, right?
But nobody LOVES them
Well, maybe this guy…
But not many people.
I had blogs in niches like this. I abandoned them.
Instead, I started a new site in a fascinating niche, with zero SEO and a focus on email and Facebook traffic.
It’s growing faster than an SEO site ever would.
It’s more future-proof.
And it’s FUN to work on!
Of course, all of this is just my opinion.
You might think I’m talking shit.
Your blog might be killing it with SEO – I’m happy for you if that’s the case and I hope it continues.
But if you do want to learn more about making money with email marketing and Facebook, these are the resources I recommend…
1. This Newsletter Playbook.
It’s been closed for a while. It’s open again for new students for the next few days.
Scott made $20,000,000 from email newsletters. I’ve done the course myself, loved it, and implemented most of it in my own strategy.
His course covers absolutely everything you need to know, whether your list has zero subs or 100k subs already.
2. This Facebook Course.
Inside, you’ll learn not only how to drive traffic to your site from Facebook, but how the Facebook Bonus Program works and how to make money with ad arbitrage.
I’m currently spending $200/day on Facebook ads and making $300/day back from Raptive, plus getting email signups. Ad arbitrage is free money.
Can you figure all this out yourself for free?
Maybe. With enough trial and error.
While there has always been a ton of good free resources to learn SEO, I haven’t found the same with email and Facebook.
You know I’d tell you if I had.
I had a good think about who I can suggest that you follow on YouTube or X.
There aren’t too many people sharing good tips there tbh.
I’m defo guilty of being lazy on X lately.
(This is my kick up the bum to post more actionable stuff there for you!)
The thing about trial and error, is that it takes a ton of time.
And, when you’re paying for email subs, Facebook fans or even just your email software, trial and error takes a lot more money too, for testing.
So, by following the path of someone who’s ahead of you who lays it out step-by-step, you can save a lot of time, and a lot of money, even factoring in your initial investment.
Whether you choose to focus on email or the focus on Facebook (or both at the same time) is up to you.
But one thing I wouldn’t recommend, is keep doing SEO for your blog.
Because it’s not 2023 any more.
NSL
In next week’s email, I’m going to show you how I’m crafting the type of content that works great on Facebook and email.
My team can create posts like this from concept to published in under an hour.
While you’re there – take a look at the comments on it.
They’re actually AI, but look how they reply to each other!
I use the Comment Goblin plugin to do that.
Just telling you because the $39 lifetime deal is still on (it will be $69 per year soon) so don’t miss out if you want to grab that.