So I have been heavily involved in internet marketing since 2007, and I think those glory days are truly ending. Back in 2007 I created one major authority website and was able to make a nice income from just that one website for several years. However, since about 2013 I have noticed that things have really been going downhill. As of 2016, I currently own 9 real legitimate websites, but I made more money back in 2007-2008 with just 1 website, than I do now with 9. So here are my theories as to why that is and I am curious what others have experienced as well... (1.) There are simply too many competitors and too many websites to rank well in the search engines anymore, and that problem just gets worse every day as more and more websites are added to the web. Getting onto the first page of Google search results organically just seems almost unattainable anymore. So unless you have the cash to buy yourself onto the first page of results you will simply never get there anymore. (2.) The switch from websites being displayed primarily on computer screens to mobile screens seems to have really hurt advertising revenues. I have made sure that all of my websites are mobile friendly, but they still just do nowhere as well as they did back in 2007-2012. (3.) Social media has done more harm than good for internet marketing. I think traffic has been taken away from websites and handed over to things such as facebook business pages where the creator gets no part of the advertising revenue. I am curious if others think that their facebook business pages have actually hurt their revenues more than they have helped? (4.) Adblocking software... Err... I think this one is self explanatory. Every day more and more people are adding these adblockers to their browsers and phones. How do you ever get around this problem as an internet marketer who is dependent on advertising revenue to survive? It just seems as if the days of providing quality articles about a topic (infopreneur) and then relying on advertising/affiliate revenue for income are quickly fading away. Any thoughts, comments or ideas on how to still remain competitive in 2016 and beyond or do others see traditional website internet marketing as a lost cause?
You kind of answered your own questions. Your #1 is what did most "harm". That effing cuddly bear isn't so cuddly. I am sure you saw case studies similar to this (that's 2013): From that point on it's just a new reality, you either have to accept it and try to make the best out of it or you need to get out and do it on a side as a hobby.
Wrong question to ask yourself! You never give up. Since 2007 at this point for you I think it comes down to understanding your numbers. This business is a numbers game. Traffic and conversions is what it all comes down to! Open up and use spreadsheets to keep track of all you data so you can improve on it.
Don`t give up yet. With your experience I`m sure you can come back from this. You just have to get rid of that negativity and be open to evolving to the new realities of IM
My favorite quote is: A successful entrepreneur is someone who is: Stubborn enough... To stick around long enough... To get lucky! On the other hand, Einstein's definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over while hoping for a different result. So, my suggestion is that you do not give up, just experiment, try different things, and test/measure to figure out how to be successful again.
The only sites that appear to be fading away is yours. There are tons of sites out there making $1k-$5k/mo and that isnt nothing compared to those making $100k/mo or even in a day... I am sorry to say, those glory days that you refer to are long gone, and I can not imagine why anyone in their right mind would have so many sites, or feel they need so many sites to make money... no offence, but you seem to be hanging onto the past... are you still using past out of date seo tactics also? 9-10 sites are a lot of sites to build content/links on a regular basis' If you stop doing that, then how can you not fall behind? When was the last time you did anything on your sites? or did you think you were just going to sit back and bank until retirement? When is the last time you had an SEO audit on all your sites? Do you have a spam profile holding your sites down? Unfortunately, you have disclosed nothing but complaints... So, I am not sure how anyone can even advise you when you have disclosed almost nothing but your dislikes for social media and mobile devices. and what happened to site#1? Is it still making you money? You are right about one thing. The days of instant link building by spaming the internet is over. If you want authority to any degree, then you have to pretty much pay your way. Free methods, have turned to pay to play....
and you have said absolutely nothing... He has to find out why he is dying before he can ever find a cure. maybe he has stopped building content, maybe he has stopped link building... maybe he has a slew of seo issues that he simply is not aware of...
The profitability you were getting in 2007 surely didn't just happen. You most likely tried and failed many times before you actually started making money. Business on the internet changes so fast (compared to offline) we all have to be constantly adjusting and trying new things. I've have been in this boat and I just had to take stock of what was still working and see what I could adjust to scale up given all the changes that had happened to SEO.
He is right about one thing..todays market is certainly more competitive, when those sites started appearing in the early years, those guys probably had no idea if they would be successful years later or not, however, setting up a site these days that compete with those earlier established niches can be tough... not only that, trying to manage 10 sites in todays market is certainly not helping, ultimately he is dividing up all of his resources between all of his sites, which is not really effective...He needs to pick his most successful site, work on that, and maybe treat the other sites has merely hobby sites, or let them go... we do not know anything about his sites, so we cant say what maybe worth keeping or letting go....
Yes there is more competition now than there used to be but the same could be said for many industries. The internet in general has led to some industries (entertainment primarily such as music, movies, gaming, etc) having to be completely re-imagined. It's hard to address your concerns directly without knowing specifically what industry your 9 sites fall into but I would echo what others have said- that may be too much to handle. We are seeing a change to a much more service-oriented, consumer-sided marketing atmosphere. Enter content marketing or, if you will, value-based marketing. Social Media has changed things, yes, but it's also given a lot of small businesses and startups the ability to compete on a more equal playing field with the big boys. The trade off is it takes a lot of work and near constant attention to really pull it all off. Again, it's kind of hard to delve into specifics of what might be wrong without knowing more what you're doing but: 1. Are you active on social media? I mean really active. Not just throwing out a tweet every couple of days but are you actively monitoring social channels, scheduling posts, interacting with people, posting fresh and original content, sharing content from others, etc.. Social Media isn't just "something you do" if you want to use it for business successfully, it's part of a long-term strategy. 2. Ad-blocking software is a pain- no doubt, but MOST people aren't using it. Sure there's a big chunk who do but I daresay your average internet user probably isn't even aware that that's an option for them. 3. Do you have an email list? Email marketing, especially opt-in, is still an extremely valuable form of marketing. Not only that- you can sell ad space WITHIN your e-mailed newsletter if you're looking for a way to circumvent the browser blockers. The world is definitely changing, sure, but I'm sure newspapers had the same fears when radio took over and radio felt it when tv took over, etc... You've got to evolve with the times or get left behind.
and social bore can be tough when just starting out...until things pick up, then you may as well be spreading word, but you are the only one reading the buzz that you are spreading, and social is one of those necessary evils simply because if you are not socially active then why would google even give you to the time of day.... and from reading the op's post, it sounds like he has sites that he simply has just to be online, meaning he does not really do anything. I suspect he isnt doing anything, he is falling behind, and watching others run him over.... I see a few dislikes for technology, but yet not one word of what he does in order to better his sites, and my conclusion is he does little to nothing on his sites.
Good point, Doc. It's hard to say- some folks definitely get burnt out from it all. And I get it too- especially when starting out. It can be frustrating to put things out onto Facebook or Twitter and see no one responding to it. But you have to keep at it all. And at the same time- you do have to have a good product. The best marketing in the world won't save a bad one. Yoo hoo! I'll make ya famous.
and some people pick the craziest niches to start as if they are the very first. One person was excited that he was setting up a porn site, and another was setting up some type of video site about famous videos, both of these niches would be suicide startups, they would be better off writing content about affiliate products, as I feel they would be better off.... and even then, it still would take a long time, google does not give out so easy anymore....
Marketing will always be around, the question is what will be effective in the future and what not. As for quitting, over time I developed the following tactics, which clearly contradicts popular dogma of "never giving up". I try something. If it almost immediately shows SOME signs of success, I continue. If not, I drop it. Sounds weird, but that's what works the best for me. Of course I'm not speaking of getting rich quick here. I'm talking about some evidence of positive result. It should be there. Helps your motivation and clearly shows there's at least some interest to what you do.