French niche sites

[abdelkaderfarm]

Hi, I hope everyone is doing good

i just found out about this amazing website on (r/juststart)

i'm starting a french website i already setup the name, theme...etc and published 2 articles but i'm still not sure if i should go full speed on this project i'm afraid it might not be that lucrative like English sites

has anyone built sites in foreign languages? (i live in a 3rd world country and i'd be happy if i make 500$ a month )

 

[Siberian]

I haven't built one yet, but I'm considering taking one of my niches and building similar sites in French (and German and Spanish). I'm hoping that the competition will be lower, and therefore even if I might not make as much money in total as the English language sites, I'll start making it more quickly.

 

[bernard]

French is a huge language, you also have Canada, Belgium and Africa.

Generally barriers to entry are higher for foreigners in non-english markets not just because of language but also culture.

Competition in smaller markets is usually less but as markets are smaller you need a bigger niche.

This doesnt apply to France though as its more than large enough and rich enough to make just as much as in the US.

Tactics will be different, less ad based, more affiliate focused ususlly.

 

[Lowrider]

Generally barriers to entry are higher for foreigners in non-english markets not just because of language but also culture.

That‘s an interesting point. I’m running a German site and I have the impression that a lot of stuff from the US doesn't really apply to Germany.

For example, niche edits are not really a thing here. Germans are super reluctant to link to external sites. Linking out to other page is evil.

That‘s why links are crazy expensive. If you get an reply from site owner, they will ask for 500 Euro or more for a DR30 link. It might be different in other niches, where people have no idea about the worth of a link.

I could image that it's similar in countries with a similar culture (Scandinavia, Netherlands). In countries with a different culture like France, Italy, Spain etc. it might be different, as people are more open in general.

On the other hand, you can rank in the German SERPs for a keyword like "best web hosting" with 10-20 links, which would be impossible in the US.

Moreover, you need to be smart with your marketing. In most European countries Reddit, Pinterest is not really a thing. Facebook groups might be your best bet for traffic leaking.

 

[MinstrelJunkie]

I do remember a case study of a guy doing super well in Swedish sites, making a ton from multiple of them. Said he'd never go into English niches because the competition is far too high.

It's up to you to judge - it's all the same game. What niche are you into? How's the competition? Can you beat them? What's the monetisation like? If ads, how do RPMs compare to Mediavine/AdThrive? Weigh all these things up yourself and compare then to the equivalent English site you'd run.

One advantage would be that outreach projects may be easier. People won't be so slammed with tiny sites crying for links to their shotgun skyscraper projects.

Like most things online, it CAN work. It's just your call whether to go after it and stick to it

 

[The Publisher]

i'm starting a french website i already setup the name, theme...etc and published 2 articles but i'm still not sure if i should go full speed on this project i'm afraid it might not be that lucrative like English sites

You're on the correct path if you want to be a person who owns a successful French website. Keep going, if that's who you want to be.

 

[abdelkaderfarm]

Generally barriers to entry are higher for foreigners in non-english markets not just because of language but also culture.

yeah, this is true it makes it easier to rank i think my first article is already showing on page 1 ( position 6) of google and I'm already getting impressions from France but just few less than (20)

I do remember a case study of a guy doing super well in Swedish sites, making a ton from multiple of them. Said he'd never go into English niches because the competition is far too high.

That's what i'm thinking/hoping to happens with me, i'm planning to create multiple sites
and outsource content in my country where i can get prob 80 articles for less than 200$

It's up to you to judge - it's all the same game. What niche are you into? How's the competition? Can you beat them? What's the monetisation like? If ads, how do RPMs compare to Mediavine/AdThrive? Weigh all these things up yourself and compare then to the equivalent English site you'd run.

my niche is huge with a lot of subniches, my thoughts rn are to focus more on pushing content and worry about monetization later

I might start a journey thread on this site, I'm glad I found it

 

[harrytwatter]

I set up some parasites in Chinese a few years ago in a couple days with translated content and a few Fiverr blasts and Google snorted it up like it was 100% Peruvian (cocaine, not making a ranking-in-Spanish analogy). Seems foreign language SERPs are a bit easier, although depending on the language might be a smaller total pie demographically speaking. If $500/m would be impactful for you I vote targeting the Jacques and Antoinettes.

 

[joe11]

Go ans build, i have more than 10 sites,

As the title says, im your guy, more then a decade playing with WordPress seo and niches...

I think i can help

 

[OnlineDopamine]

When I was in Istanbul, I met a guy who has been running a site to learn French. Mostly monetized via course sales but also sprinkled in some ads and affiliate links to other platforms.

In Barcelona, I met a Dutch guy who owns like 50+ micro niche sites that all make between $50 - > $1000 per month (almost exclusively via affiliate). Some of them haven't been updated in years but still generate income.

As always in SEO: it depends.

 

[SERPMonster]

Foreign SERPs are much easier to rank in - follow current best practices for SEO and you'll be good.
If you can get enough citations to establish your location as being "in france", you can go after non-french backlinks without a problem.