Introductions Thread

Hi holzr . Welcome. I joined yesterday! My ears perk up when I hear 'local.' Not that I'm good at it but I see the potential.
1. How does one rank for local when the serps seem to be dominated by directories?
2. What advice will you give a local single location brick and mortar business website as far was site structure is concerned?
 
Hey @Thoth, welcome to the forum - I'm a fellow newbie myself so it's really nice to see others in a similar position to me.

Thoth said:
I wrote a couple of posts too but I think its way too tiny of a niche to spend a lot of effort on.
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Do you think this could be a niche where you start really granularly and then expand out?

A Lifeline
Quick update to the initial intro - after reaching out to my network on LinkedIn I've managed to take on a Facebook Ads campaign for someone in my network - the money isn't mega but it's enough to keep my head (just) above water for the time being. Will continue to hustle to see if I can get a couple more accounts to manage.
 
authentic said:
Do you think this could be a niche where you start really granularly and then expand out?
Click to expand...

This is what I'll be doing next. The problem with the first batch of domains is that they're too niche down to the micro level. The domain names themselves stop me from expanding outward. Beginner's mistake.

bernard said:
It could be a good idea to start with an expired domain with backlinks. That would help a lot in seeing some returns. There are lots of discussion on how to do that here.
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Until I can afford one with a lot of good links with a decent actual domain name, I'll probably use the money on content. I don't want to get one with 30 links with a name that will barely make sense. That's how all of the cheap ones I see are. I'd rather create a new brand then end up with Laptop-Store3rdStreet.net just because it has some links. I wish I could afford the nice ones though.
 
100% white hat is where its at.

Fuck the haters.

Also, screw diversity. Being good at seo is just fine.
If you're competitively minded and good at reading its the best niche.
Its a hard specialization but the reward is amazing access to digital rent.
It's also way more fun to do things with visible leader-boards than without.

Big Daddy Google isnt as mean as most people make them out to be.
Just weird and hoop jumpy.
 
Ryuzaki said:
Hi, @holzr, I used to do lead gen through pay-per-call. It was straight cash, but to get the big money I had to work in extremely competitive niches in terms of SEO or PPC costs. I got out of that and into easier niches where I could make up the difference in volume.

I had a buddy that got into local lead generation like you're talking about. He would port the same landing page across cities and niches and run Adwords campaigns at them with tons of negative keywords. I can't say more, but he had an amazing method for trimming out keywords and keeping his costs low and earnings high. But even with that, he ultimately got sick of rolling out landers and running campaigns. The money wasn't there for him.

We had a guy doing a massive local lead gen network clearing like $50k a month but he stopped posting after a while. He wanted to sell his optimization as a service here which made me pretty suspect of the claim of making that much per month. He disappeared soon after.

Anyways, I'm just rambling. Glad to have you aboard and hope to learn more from you regarding local SEO.
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Haha I love to ramble also.

Nice, yeah there's defo some industries out their that pay exceptionally well. I was looking around once and saw some CPC $1,000+ and $500 so can't imagine what lead price would be like, I mainly stick to home services, would like to try getting into restoration as that's where there's good money but SEO budget is going to be a lot higher.

I want to play around with Google Ads/PPC more but need some time to learn more, I can do the basics but being able to work on CRO and landing page designs. A/B testing etc. would be useful. Although CPC can be so expensive nowadays. Here in the UK competition is waaayyy lower we don't really have cities where a plumber would pay $60 per click.

My goal for years has been to get out of SEO/Affiliate/Content sites/Publishing. Waayy to much risk for a long term strategy with all the updates and fee cuts etc. So my plan is make enough and invest in real estate and an online business I can build a brand around and market/sales without relying on SEO.

I'm working on some short term methods atm (local parasite SEO, running my own KW research and related services) and medium term projects (single city lead gen. sites). Likely to just build the sites up to $$$-$$$$ a month and flip. Maybe keep a few to provide some steady cashflow to pay bills etc.

I might do some case studies and AMA here if I get a free minute.


Tonyshm said:
Hi Holzr

Welcome to BuSo. I'm also looking to diversify from amazon since the affiliate cuts. It seems that you were more visionary than many of us and definitely did the right thing. Could you explain a bit more about how you approach leadg/rank and rent?

Looking forward to reading your posts on this awesome forum. Cheers!
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Hi, thanks. Sure,

I work only in home services (plumber, landscaper, painter etc.). I'll do KW research, create the site and let it index/rank. Keep scaling up, build links, I monetize with an affiliate network. Not a fan of working direct with business as it's too much work, I'm busy enough.

secretagentdad said:
Local lead gen plus keyword research = happy happy life


Welcome.
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Thanks, haha yep.

Been using your tool for years now (before the name change), it's great! So basic but so useful. It beats most SEO tools KW research tools a lot of the times, able to spit out heaps.
thelocalstruggl said:
Hi holzr . Welcome. I joined yesterday! My ears perk up when I hear 'local.' Not that I'm good at it but I see the potential.
1. How does one rank for local when the serps seem to be dominated by directories?
2. What advice will you give a local single location brick and mortar business website as far was site structure is concerned?
Click to expand...

Hi,

1. This is a good sign! The less local business I see the better, especially if the directories don't meet search intent very well. This is often the case in suburbs and Census designated places etc. Because a business will probably be targeting the main city.
2. For my sites I keep structure pretty simple. Homepage targets main keyword and then I build service pages. So if it's a broad niche like landscaping I'd target landscaping Houston on the homepage and build out service pages like lawn care, sod installation, tree service etc. Another approach is to also build out city pages for areas also served. So for Houston you could build out a page targeting landscaping Pasadena.
 
Welcome to the board.

I did the Pay Per Call industry for a few years as well. Beautiful time of my life. I used to wake up waiting for OfferVault to show me a new network lol All that's over now.

I've now launched my own product.

Sounds like you've found a great way to profit off your learned talent! Welcome tot he board.
 
Bonjour,

It's already been two months since I signed up, and never got to introduce myself.

- Stumbled upon IM in 2014, lured by the prospect of 'passive income' and 'digital nomadism'
- Created some sites here and there, always looking for the next great idea. Starting, pausing, quitting. Repeat.
- Nothing really worth mentioning between '14-'20.
- In Feb '20, bought an EMD for a seasonal keyword (50-100k search vol./month during summer time).
- Set up WP, ordered a logo, wrote the content (11 comparison/buying guides + 1 blog post — lazy me) and pinned up some pins
- The site has been generating some revenue the last few days. Pretty happy with this (20€, still pays for half the hosting and domain name)
OesfEcl.png

- Realized the EMD was a mistake : no room for expansion (the domain name is the product name)
- April 17, bought a new domain name, did the whole thing, and started writing content.
- It's a big vertical, with plenty of things to write about (I have approx. 200 post ideas)
- As of today, 8 articles are published. I need to crank it out HARD, but I'm slacking.

That sums it up. Glad to be here. See ya
 
Welcome aboard. I kind of pussy-footed around when I first got started too. I kicked the can around and had to get an idea of whether I was really going to commit to this while learning about the industry. That lasted about a year, a year of "talking about it." Eventually I realized "talking about it" is a pressure release valve and keeps us from every "doing about it."

Once I figured that out, I ended up smashing out around 30 sites with around 30 posts each in a matter of months, writing it all myself. One of those sites did well enough to take me full time. Sold a few others, let the rest die. It's not been smooth riding since then, 15 years ago or so, but I've been my own man that whole time.

You can do it too. Like you said, you either have to crank it out hard and not slack, or alternatively be able to outsource most of the work. Look how two years later your site magically popped off and started earning a little bit. What if you hadn't stopped working on it that whole time? It'd have popped sooner and be making you way more money now.

It's hard to keep going with such little feedback coming in in the early time, but that time is the most crucial, especially when it comes to SEO. Exploit other forms of marketing too so you can get feedback coming in faster and earnings and kick start your SEO benefits earlier.

Best of luck. I hope you keep posting and we can all traverse this journey together.
 
Week 1

I am waiting on my branded domain name to transfer in. The domain was within the price range I had in mind, and the social usernames for major channels were more or less available, so I went right ahead and purchased an aged domain and grabbed the social usernames.

Niche Research
Did a quick bit of Niche Research (Day 2 of the course). I know first hand, from word-of-mouth and casual chats:
  • the seemingly infinite number of players in the highly fragmented niche AND vertical
  • how much money each sale is on average and per sub-vertical
I now have the somewhat comforting knowledge that played right, a year spent on building out this project won't go to waste. At worst, I can turn it into a full lead gen property. There is a lead gen property ranking on the first page, after all...

Market Research
Currently working on Market Research (Day 3): looking at competitors, making note of initial impressions of their websites, seeing what ads they are running (Facebook Ad library is a great repository), where they are based, etc.

Getting data for a hundred competitors is the goal for this stage. I'm already seeing some patterns and opportunities.

[to mods: should this post go into the Orientation sub-forum instead?]
 
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Thank you for your message @Ryuzaki.

External motivation helps to keep rolling : increase in rankings, impressions on the Search Console, making affiliate sales, etc. I remember writing answers on Quora and getting excited as the views went up.
However I know it's not sustainable. I can't keep doing this daily, as it detracts me from the thing I have to do, which is publishing content.

So I need to be internally motivated. I can't rely on external forces to get the job done. It's hard, and even harder when I smoke weed on a daily basis (which — I'd say — is the main reason I'm slacking). I'm considering throwing it all away these last few weeks, because it's taking a toll on my mental health. But I keep coming back to it. I think the withdrawal could be hard, and I'm quite worried of how I'll feel after 2-3 days without smoking. However I need to do it. Smoking weed is something I've done for 3 years and it's like I can't grow up if I continue doing it.

I've also published some pins on Pinterest for the new site (let's call it the main site) : I bought great pictures to set up as featured images of the blog posts, and use these same images to promote the content on Pinterest. For now there's not a single impression (it's been approx. 2 weeks).

I will create a thread in the laboratory as soon as I can to keep y'all informed. I'm serious about doing this.
 
convbelt said:
and even harder when I smoke weed on a daily basis (which — I'd say — is the main reason I'm slacking).
Click to expand...

As a smoker for 10+ years, and then off and on for the last few years, I've found that smoking wasn't as much a detractor as I thought (or hoped) it was. By all means stop if you want to, but don't be disappointed if it isn't the motivational cure-all you expect it to be.
 
Hey everyone,

My name's Aiden.

After A LOT of guru's and money badly spent (which didn't lead to much), I stumbled upon this treasure trove of content.

Very glad to be here and to learn from and hopefully give back to you all.
 
Care to share which gurus sucked you in and which of their courses aren't all they're chalked up to be?

Make sure to check out our free Digital Strategy Crash Course if you haven't seen it yet. It's the one many gurus are re-packaging and trying to recreate to sell.
 
Justzoe said:
Aiden, you are welcome on board.
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Thanks for the warm welcome :smile:

Ryuzaki said:
Care to share which gurus sucked you in and which of their courses aren't all they're chalked up to be?

Make sure to check out our free Digital Strategy Crash Course if you haven't seen it yet. It's the one many gurus are re-packaging and trying to recreate to sell.
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Haha, there are A LOT!

In more recent years I've fallen prey to the slick words of:
Tai Lopez, Rudy Mawer, Hayden Bowels, and a whole host of E-commerce "youtube famous" gurus.

Years ago I had a lot of success with dropshipping eBay to amazon, so I had some skills in that domain and thought it would be a good idea to get back into it.

How the industry has changed in a few years blows my mind, when I started it was legitimate (for the most part) now it's all spamming the same content and charging a pretty penny for their "1 secret no one else is using".

This is the reason I decided to go down this route (and ultimately find this site) because it allows me to make something honest and trustworthy that actually helps people.
 
mmm91492 said:
the motivational cure-all you expect it to be.
Click to expand...
Well in my case I think it's part of the motivational cure-all. I recall stopping (well, pausing) for a few weeks and being very clear-headed.
Did you use to smoke a lot (frequency and/or quantity ?). Have you ever had any withdrawal effects when you paused ?
 
Hey guys and gals. My name is Solid Snake, but you can just call me Snake. I was sent here on a Spec Ops mission to covertly analyze and construct a series of websites for a secret organization (that of which cant be named at this time). You all seem to know a thing or two about building sites, and so, I would like to extend my hand out with a simple request. Let's have some fun and help each other out in the process. The command is diligently watching me and I need to be on my A-game. SNAKE OUT!
 
@Solid Snake Is it that organization that is still trying to roll-out v2.0? The one lead by that faux diamond?

Anyways, good luck with your Humint task. You’ll quickly find that the culture here is more open and information is less fragmented.
Enjoy your stay. I know I do!
 
Thank you, and thank the heavens for your arrival. BuSo may appear to be simply a business forum. While most of us are happy to share openly with transparency, there is an evil influence lurking in the shadows. It's the paleolithic deep state of Builder Society: members that were here at the dawn of this community. They've chosen to dissolve into the darkness, and with whispers they poison the minds of incoming users, sadly a few of which we've seen slowly succumb to the decay and rot never to be seen again, turning their heads over their shoulders as they storm out in a fit of rage... yelling, only once they've reached a safe distance... "f*ck @CCarter!"

Perhaps, for the sake of the good and kind members here, you can penetrate their safe house and deactivate their extremism by any overt or covert means you deem necessary.
 
Hey welcome, we chatted on another forum right, glad you decided to check this place out. You had mentioned your goal was to develop domains... You'll find infinitely better advice for that here. Posting on a domain forum to get advice about building websites is like asking a car salesman how to to pave your driveway. You're in good hands here.
 
Hi everyone, I'm James.

Just wanted to introduce myself. Been a lurker for a while, decided to sign up and do the intro post.

Been into digital marketing for about 8 years, mostly on the agency side doing SEO work with a focus on ORM clients and projects.

COVID-19 did a number to my last employer and now I am freelancing a bit. Reaching out on LinkedIn and UpWork for new gigs and ideas.

Looking forward to the crash course ( I'm just on day 2 ) and also getting to know some of you.
 
Welcome. Do you have a goal in mind? Building sites for yourself or growing an agency? I'd do some freelancing to keep the money flowing but I'd partition at least 50% of my time (maybe more based on your 14 months savings as you said in another thread) for planting seeds that will free me from trading time for money.
 
Welcome to the board my friend. Sorry to hear about the impact COvid19 had on your business.

You work online however. You should def be enjoying what great opportunity has landed upon us internet service owners.

You're definitely in the right place to learn and connect.

Do you have a lot of client contacts? Were your clients high end as they sound?
 
I knew there were recesses in the web where only the few do-ers who truly understood game resided. This is that place.

It took me a long time to find a forum like this where public marketing figures like Nick Eubanks and Bernard were congregating and killing it in marketing. It's not enough to be able to read through countless articles on the web and also Slack channels. Everyone was just regurgitating the same things that people understood at a high level.

I had to be among the do-ers who were tinkering away. The real deep knowledge is among the true tinkerers.

I'm a part of Traffic Think Tank, but it's not enough. Everyone's too guarded even still. Sorry, Nick. But thankfully, it's from there I even learned of Buildersociety. I've already perused some of the threads here and I can tell if I wanted to accelerate my learning, it would really be here.

Getting close to quitting my job and taking a year to learn on my own.

I'm very happy to be among you all.
 
Welcome. Sounds like you're figuring out your direction. That's good.

Something that stood out to me in your post is:

"I'm a part of Traffic Think Tank, but it's not enough. Everyone's too guarded even still."

This, along with the overall tone of your post, sounds like you're searching for knowledge you think you don't have yet. And that once you have it, you'll more easily find success. That thinking is incorrect. Everything you need to know, and everything you want to have, will be yours when you do. Start doing, and keep doing. Do that and everything will unfold.
 
I dont smoke weed but I was om opioids for a while (prescription) and it helped me work harder than I would otherwise.

I quit for unrelated reasons, mostly because I realized that I had become very single minded. Work and opioids basically.

I would suggest thinking about of you really still need to smoke or just old habit. In any case, not an excuse to slack Use that creativity from weed to set yourself apart.
 
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