What are possible business models to go into now that content sites are declining?

[Execute]

It's not news that content sites are declining generally across board (for the grand majority of site owners).
Content sites as a business model are looking less and less viable.

With the advent of these progressively worsening google indexing issues, pages disappearing from SERPs, frequent and unpredictable algorithm updates, constantly increasing google serp features hogging search traffic to Google alone and increasing no-click searches, upcoming cookie-less browsers and the advent of ChatGPT and AI, you don't need a prophet to tell that the outlook on regular content sites as we know it is not a very rosy outlook.
If in doubt, read this thread and see people's experiences, particularly the submissions of Ryuzaki here on that same thread and subsequent posts down that page, which I think are very much on point.


The question is, what next should be done?

There are 2 options as I see it-

1. Pivot regular content sites relying on SEO, like we normally do it, to omnichannel content brands driving traffic from everywhere possible, social media platforms, youtube, email lists, etc with SEO ultimately constituting just a small slice of your traffic, so that you're not shaken so much by Google issues.
But the problem with this is that it requires substantial effort and investment to pull this off successfully, as you'll be creating content actively and promoting it on all platforms, including videos, not just on your site anymore. So it's like at least double to triple the work you would do on a regular content site, if not more. And the question would be, is it worth the effort to do this amount of work??? Would it pay off??? Especially given the fact that social media traffic is known not to be anywhere near as consistent and as lucrative as SEO traffic for the right keywords.

OR
Option 2.
Pivot to new business models.
And the question here would be, what would be good business models to pivot to in this day and age, given the advent of AI seeking to replace a lot of business models. Things like content creation, video creation, agency businesses, low level coding businesses, may be rendered irrelevant by AI, seeing the pace at which AI is progressing rapidly and improving exponentially.
So what kinds of business models do you think are sustainable??
Someone mentioned earlier that SEOs moved to crypto after the Panda and penguin updates, but crypto is currently on a downturn and the entire crypto market is on shaky footing generally, so I don't think it is a reliable business model in this day and age (my opinion anyway, might be wrong).

My inspiration for this thread were points raised by Ryu and @bernard in that page I linked to above, but I thought to bring it out in a separate thread for more visibility and wider input.

What do you guys think?
What are viable business models to move to currently?

PS:
And even if you're sticking with content sites alone as a diehard content site developer, I still think it makes sense to consider diversifying to spread the risk, even if you're moving your content sites to an omnichannel content model.
So having this discussion is still valid, even in that scenario.

Let's hear what you guys think.

 

[Darth]

omnichannel content brands

I am terrible at social media and TBH hate its existence. I have no skill in competing with other influencers/clickbait/etc whatever you need to do to achieve on those channels. I'm just not good at it, and my attempts to hire people to help with it so far have been terrible. It feels like anyone who knows how to go viral/succeed on social media is just doing it themselves.

Crypto

I would never advise anyone to go full-time on crypto. That is not a secure source of weekly income for anyone except 0.01% of the elite traders. I would absolutely freak out if tomorrow I was told I need to support my family on crypto, buy groceries, etc, and I have been in the space for 6 years.

Local digital consultant

Being a local digital consultant would probably work best for me. I like building websites/an online presence and keeping up with the latest trends and tech. Local businesses wouldn't know where to start and need someone to help their hold through using everything at their disposal.

 

[DanielS]

1. Pivot regular content sites relying on SEO, like we normally do it, to omnichannel content brands driving traffic from everywhere possible, social media platforms, youtube, email lists, etc with SEO ultimately constituting just a small slice of your traffic, so that you're not shaken so much by Google issues.

This isn't a new thing, and if you have a successful content website, you should be directing that traffic to alternative traffic sources anyway. It's a lot easier to gain momentum on social media when you're able to direct an existing audience to your pages. Starting from scratch is the equivalent to shouting into the void. You're either a reply-guy on Twitter or stuck crapping out Instagram posts for no one to see for months/years. The ideal progression is website traffic > email list > social media (in my opinion). Or, you go the 100% traffic leaks route and create content purely for your platform of choice first, and then go into the organic SEO marketing game later.

But the problem with this is that it requires substantial effort and investment to pull this off successfully, as you'll be creating content actively and promoting it on all platforms, including videos, not just on your site anymore.

Could probably utilize AI to create written social content quite easily - it's not like your posts get "de-ranked" based on whether they're AI generated or not - it's all based on engagement on social media.

And the question would be, is it worth the effort to do this amount of work??? Would it pay off??? Especially given the fact that social media traffic is known not to be anywhere near as consistent and as lucrative as SEO traffic for the right keywords.

It's all a lot of work regardless - always has been. What's different now is that Joe Schmo and his dog are annoyingly shouting about AI 24/7 and have been since what, November? So much noise, and nothing has really changed. It's always been hard.

So what kinds of business models do you think are sustainable??

Literally none of them. Create content for YouTube and they can ban your channel at any moment. Create content for any social media platform and they can reduce your reach and make you pay for exposure at any moment. Dropshipping? Look at how 2020-2022 went. FBA? You need capital. Client work? Now you're building something for somebody else AND the same risks I mentioned apply, but to them. If they go down, they take you with them.

 

[Politico]

Best bet is to create a digital product related to your niche if possible and market it like a real company.

The ancients here have been talking about traffic diversity throughout all the ages. It's our own faults for continuing to drink from Google's fountain exclusively, and ignoring the lessons of the decades long battles that've been waged between us for access to that sweet sweet high-intent search traffic.

Throughout history, SEO has never become easier to do or become more reliable - precisely the opposite.

SEO and content sites aren't dead yet and content sites themselves will probably still be viable (but like you said with a lot more work - like a real business), but we all knew this was coming and failed to prepare.

Time to reap what we sowed

 

[Execute]

Could probably utilize AI to create written social content quite easily - it's not like your posts get "de-ranked" based on whether they're AI generated or not - it's all based on engagement on social media.

Noted, worth a trial. Though I suspect it will still require some good effort to make it stand out relative to the run of the mill AI generated posts every other person will be posting, if you want to really generate engagement.
But it will definitely be easier to do this using AI than before the era of AI, I agree.

Best bet is to create a digital product related to your niche if possible and market it like a real company.

Makes sense if applicable to your niche.

 

[Sutra]

You already know what to do. You answered your own question in the OP.

What you're really asking is, "What can I do to make a lot of money that requires relatively little effort, and virtually no risk?"

I'll tell you what, we got smashed in an update. But fuck that, we're coming on harder, will recover, and exceed where we were before. 5 years from now this will just be a small blip. We already have plans in motion.

Identify the opportunities, do what you can to limit your risk and maximize your potential gains, then TAKE THE RISK. Pivot when you must, adapt, overcome, and grow. Failure is possible but so is success - but only if you take the risk.

Stop your pussy talk and go get it done.

 

[Darth]

You already know what to do. You answered your own question in the OP.

Crypto?

 

[Sutra]

Crypto?

Yes.

Hah. No. More traffic sources, build a brand.

 

[Execute]

You already know what to do. You answered your own question in the OP.

If I knew for real I wouldn't be asking. And I think it's a question many of us have, whether actually asked or "unasked".

Wanted to ask what was your own answer that you felt I had given in my OP, but I can see you've answered it in a later comment, that's this below.

Yes.

Hah. No. More traffic sources, build a brand.

Yeah, this is one option. The omnichannel content brand thingy. And I agree that's an option.

But have you also considered the possibility that there may be other business models that are now emerging or have emerged that may be as profitable as content sites but more stable, given content sites' shaky future long term, and their wild swings in traffic and revenue, ...always looking at what Google did or didn't do everyday, and catching cold whenever Google sneezes, with next to no real control over whatever happens?

Cos I feel it becomes like tunnel vision to believe content sites will necessarily be the best option always, even when facts point to the contrary.
(Tunnel vision can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the context, but when what you're focusing on is not looking very healthy in the long term, it may be more harmful than beneficial).

That's why I asked for other possible business models people may be considering exploring, to broaden my vision and see what the options are. Cos there may be things I'm not aware of that are emerging, or things that I'm aware of but have not really taken the time to study indepth because it hasn't really been brought to my attention up close as a viable possibility.
And since I do not know it all, I said let me learn from more knowledgeable people here.
And that's why I created the thread.

What you're really asking is, "What can I do to make a lot of money that requires relatively little effort, and virtually no risk?"

Nope. I beg to disagree.
I'm not asking for what's little effort and no risk. If I were looking for minimal risk I'll be putting my money in T. bills and bonds and other money market instruments, not be on a content site forum.
And if I were looking for no risk or even low risk, I wouldn't have put my money and my time and effort in developing a content site myself, knowing fully the inherent risk in developing a content site.

I understand that business entails risk, significant risk. And with the higher risk comes higher rewards, than putting my money in the money market and stocks.

What I'm looking for is a sensible balance of risk and return, based on a reasonable long term outlook, such that the upside reasonably justifies the risk. (as content sites used to be for the past few decades even with Google's shenanigans, ....before many so contending factors appeared simultaneously squeezing the life out of them, and tilting the balance of risk significantly higher than it used to be, significantly towards the negative.).

If you feel that's not a reasonable position to have, and you love risk for the sake of taking risk as long as there is any chance at all of an upside, without weighing a reasonable risk/benefit ratio, then you may as well be going all in with cryptos now and HYIPs that have potentially gigantic upside but equally humongous risk, and that would be fine for you as it would be your choice, but not for me.

I'm all for reasonable risk benefit ratio, in the context of longer term outlook, and that's why I created this thread to ask what the reasonable options are (other than pivoting to a content brand which is also an option, just wanted other possible options).

And if you look at the PS section of my OP, I mentioned that I feel even if you're pivoting your content site to an omnichannel brand now, it still makes sense consider other options for risk diversification, given the long term outlook for content sites.
And that's my own opinion. If you feel you would rather go all in gung-ho on content brands without diversification, good for you. You're entitled to your own opinion. Different strokes for different folks.
More power to your elbows.

 

[Darth]

This is what I struggle with around "other traffic sources". IGN, a massive entertainment brand, still gets 62% of traffic from search, 33% from direct (who knows what that really is) and 4% from social. And I bet they have an enormous social team/expenditure.

It feels like social itself as a referral source sucks, but you simply use it in the hopes that your brand might become more well known across your target demographic? That seems like an enormous mountain to climb as a small publisher.

 

[CCarter]

That seems like an enormous mountain to climb as a small publisher.

It's designed that way. Think about it, if you need YouTube videos, that can be serious production, or simple screencast and recording, but it is still time and effort that's at minimum 1-2 hours for each video. Only people/brands/businesses "dedicated" would be willing to do that.

Spammers and small guys aren't going to put in that effort. It's a way to dismiss the little guy and placate the big brands while taking their PPC money.

You have to do all this new work, put in resources, time, money - just to get maybe 50% of the traffic you got back in 2010s era. Honestly it separates the serious people from the "here for the quick SEO buck" publishing guys that just throw up $5 content with no images or additional effort.

But again this is also a part of traffic leaking and understanding the WHOLE internet is a traffic source, not just Google.

Obviously this day was coming. The warning signs were there for years, a lot of people didn't heed warnings. I can only flap my mouth for so long, 10+ years of doing that song and dance. But none of that matters, here we are now. It's the next SEO cycle - adapt or perish.

You either die a failed SEO project or end up representing a big brand at some point.

 

[wikibum]

33% from direct (who knows what that really is)

This could be a combination or Retargeting efforts, People going back to login to build their game library, people sharing their game libraries, building profiles, etc.. It's a combination of a lot of different marketing efforts.

It feels like social itself as a referral source sucks

I used to think that social sucks at generating traffic but after doing it for a while - I figured out how to milk the traffic from it. It's really about the presentation and who the content is shared with. Sometimes, posting a screenshot of the content and then a link at the bottom gets much more traffic than just text + link. The social channel and account you use also matter. Not to mention which social network you are posting on. It's a lot of work and effort just like anything else.

That seems like an enormous mountain to climb as a small publisher.

Very true. We are climbing mountains as small publishers. Not only that but the mountain keeps getting steeper and larger. Feels like a never ending hike to be honest.

 

[freshpeppermint]

This isn't a new thing, and if you have a successful content website, you should be directing that traffic to alternative traffic sources anyway. It's a lot easier to gain momentum on social media when you're able to direct an existing audience to your pages. Starting from scratch is the equivalent to shouting into the void. You're either a reply-guy on Twitter or stuck crapping out Instagram posts for no one to see for months/years. The ideal progression is website traffic > email list > social media (in my opinion). Or, you go the 100% traffic leaks route and create content purely for your platform of choice first, and then go into the organic SEO marketing game later.

Could probably utilize AI to create written social content quite easily - it's not like your posts get "de-ranked" based on whether they're AI generated or not - it's all based on engagement on social media.

It's all a lot of work regardless - always has been. What's different now is that Joe Schmo and his dog are annoyingly shouting about AI 24/7 and have been since what, November? So much noise, and nothing has really changed. It's always been hard.

Literally none of them. Create content for YouTube and they can ban your channel at any moment. Create content for any social media platform and they can reduce your reach and make you pay for exposure at any moment. Dropshipping? Look at how 2020-2022 went. FBA? You need capital. Client work? Now you're building something for somebody else AND the same risks I mentioned apply, but to them. If they go down, they take you with them.

The last part where you said "It's all a lot of work regardless" I disagree with that. If you take a look at MrMedia's posts you will see he mentioned where he worked like 3 hours per day or week I forgot once his sites were making money.

Many people could just pump up content and rank before. But I don't think it's like that anymore. The thing is whenever something is newer it's always WAYYY easier to make money.

For example, there's this Amazon Influencer Program and people have been making good money with it since it's something new. Whenever something is saturated only the top guys make money from it. So the goal is to find something new like that.

For example, I had one of my friends who created NFT (he was late.) he made like 400-500k for like 1-3 months of work. Had he done an NFT when it was even newer, and bigger it would have made him multi-millions. There was also a certain project my friend told me where they create a useful discord bot, they then released a coin and it made like 40 Mil. (When I say 40 mil, it raised WAY more but they sold off like 40 mil, so that's in their pocket. And yes it's obviously a crap coin meant to pump and dump make money but regardless they made money, many people here write reviews on products they haven't owned so let's not get into ethics.)

I also knew a guy who used to be my competitor when he owned a minecraft server. But later he made this voting site and one of the months he made like 150 or 200k that month. He makes less now I think but not that much less (cus of competition but, he basically did better SEO than the other websites without actually providing anything better of value/more difficult.)

The whole point of doing niche/content sites was that it's easy to do, very passiveish and you make good money from it. There's obviously the route where you launch startups and get funding and make WAAAY more money than people here who are veterans doing few hundred thousand to couple million a year. But you choose something like niche sites because it's "easy/quicker" money.

But let's say someone finds something like that/another passiveish business model, I don't get what would be the incentive to share it with everyone?? But if someone does find something like that, let me know!

 

[DanielS]

The last part where you said "It's all a lot of work regardless" I disagree with that. If you take a look at MrMedia's posts you will see he mentioned where he worked like 3 hours per day or week I forgot once his sites were making money.

Can you tell our friend here about the early days of your journey, @MrMedia?

 

[Biggy]

As my sites saw decline as well. I'm going into new ventures. The main problem is. Starting point takes so much more capital. So, yeah... You can make it big or make also big loss.

Goal by the end of year is to get to 15.000$ - 20.000$ profit/ a month. In 1-2 years goal is to triple that. By opening more channels that could be possible.

 

[Execute]

It feels like social itself as a referral source sucks, but you simply use it in the hopes that your brand might become more well known across your target demographic?

I don't think social necessarily sucks as a traffic source, I think it depends on understanding it and knowing how to use it.
I say so because I've seen a few sites on Empire Flippers pulling huge numbers in traffic from social media, particularly Pinterest, and in a few cases from Facebook, and making a decent amount of money.
Though now it appears the social media platforms themselves are also limiting organic reach and putting in more measures to reduce people leaving their site via referrals, so that may reduce traffic.
Of course, the conversion rate of social traffic is generally believed to be less than SEO because of search intent, so that may be a part of the "social traffic sucks" belief. But I think very well targeted social traffic also converts well, especially from small to medium sized influencers who have good engagement with their audience.

You either die a failed SEO project or end up representing a big brand at some point.

Basically this. Go big or go home. We all have to choose one. With the way Google is going. Unless they change their trajectory.

But let's say someone finds something like that/another passiveish business model, I don't get what would be the incentive to share it with everyone?? But if someone does find something like that, let me know!

Lol, simply for the sake of sharing knowledge.

I don't think there's anything wrong in sharing a broad business model, because each business model is so wide that it makes little difference to you in terms of your competition if you share it or not.
I'm not asking for specific niches or anything like that, just broad business models.
For example, if someone says he's going from SEO to ecom, it doesn't increase his competition because ecom as a model is so wide, it's like an ocean, unless the person says his specific niche like furniture or something.
Or if someone says he's going from SEO to freelancing, or to building an agency, or to crypto, or to trading forex, I don't think it significantly increases his competition unless he shares his niche. Because these business models are so wide.
I just want to have a feel for where people are considering heading to generally, not specific niches.
And especially on a relatively small forum like this, I don't think sharing business models without sharing specific niches can cause any significant harm to anyone.

As my sites saw decline as well. I'm going into new ventures. The main problem is. Starting point takes so much more capital. So, yeah... You can make it big or make also big loss.

Ecom I guess?

 

[Biggy]

Ecom I guess?

Yep it's ecommerce. Not sure if I really like it.

 

[Execute]

Yep it's ecommerce. Not sure if I really like it.

Ecom has a lot more moving parts. And typically consumes much more capital upfront. But has much bigger potential upside ultimately if it does grow big.
I hope yours does.

 

[bernard]

Ecom has a lot more moving parts. And typically consumes much more capital upfront. But has much bigger potential upside ultimately if it does grow big.
I hope yours does.

For me, I don't like Ecom because of the constant deadlines. Need to ship fast and consistently and answer emails quickly and the like. That's the opposite of what I'm aiming for.

People who are good at ecommerce also seem to be just as good in buying, sourcing and negotiating. It's a whole different skillset.

I'm also not convinced that middling ecommerce shops are selling for big multiples anymore.

What I do like, and what I think I would like to try, is to sell a very limited, very niche, very branded set of products. Like 2 products, 3 color variations, something like that. Like a pickle ball bat or something. And sell because you're that socially responsible cool brand in the niche that really gets involved and cares and sponsors stuff and that kind of thing. That would allow you to really understand the customer and really optimize that product.

I'd also like it as a micro-Saas. I saw some really clever stuff with a free resume builder and it struck me how genius that was. Just use some basic templates, add some AI spell check / rewrite, and then ask for $5 after it's done. That's so clever.

 

[Execute]

For me, I don't like Ecom because of the constant deadlines. Need to ship fast and consistently and answer emails quickly and the like. That's the opposite of what I'm aiming for.

All correct. I can relate, absolutely. Though the hope is that you grow big enough to hire people to do those annoying tasks, or outsource them from the get go, if one has enough resources. But that's added cost when a good part of the money for the business is already going to product, and another part to marketing.
But again, looking at the potential upside, if it does succeed, it makes all the effort worth it.

I'm also not convinced that middling ecommerce shops are selling for big multiples anymore.

I don't know about big multiples, but I was under the impression that they were still selling around average multiples of 32-36x monthly profits.

What I do like, and what I think I would like to try, is to sell a very limited, very niche, very branded set of products. Like 2 products, 3 color variations, something like that. Like a pickle ball bat or something.

I'd also like it as a micro-Saas. I saw some really clever stuff with a free resume builder and it struck me how genius that was. Just use some basic templates, add some AI spell check / rewrite, and then ask for $5 after it's done. That's so clever.

I'm wondering, but wouldn't being very limited like you've described above substantially limit the amount of profit you would make from the venture? Especially if they're not high ticket items.
It sounds to me like it will be much more difficult to make good amounts of money if it's so limited in scope and price.
Unless you're able to generate a real large number of sales on those few items or micro-saas. (Which is also possible of the target market is large).
But I may be wrong though.

 

[bernard]

I'm wondering, but wouldn't being very limited like you've described above substantially limit the amount of profit you would make from the venture? Especially if they're not high ticket items.
It sounds to me like it will be much more difficult to make good amounts of money if it's so limited in scope and price.
Unless you're able to generate a real large number of sales on those few items or micro-saas. (Which is also possible of the target market is large).
But I may be wrong though.

This is just based on my personal situation and work ability.

I'd like to question if its true that such a webshop is limited though. If you hit on a trending product, then you're pretty much in the perfect situation because you only need to focus on one product and can negotiate the best prices. I'm sure you can recall many such situations when something is booming.

 

[tyealia]

I'll tell you what will survive the content site race to the bottom.

Find a product that could add value to customers, be it info or physical. Build a brand around it. Have people WANT to come to you regardless of platform. GG.

 

[Execute]

This is just based on my personal situation and work ability.

I'd like to question if its true that such a webshop is limited though. If you hit on a trending product, then you're pretty much in the perfect situation because you only need to focus on one product and can negotiate the best prices. I'm sure you can recall many such situations when something is booming.

Yeah you're right.
You can have a successful ecommerce business in that situation, even with a few products, if the product is trending or booming at the time.