Introducing My New (and First) Website!

It turns out that the Google algorithm change was just the kick in the pants that I needed to get out of my comfort zone and start my own website, although using the interface at Weebly is not that uncomfortable.  For this lack of having to deal with uploading various parts of a site to a hosting service, I do have to share AdSense income 50-50 with Weebly, but it is worth it to me.

The interface has become fairly easy for me to use and navigate in under a week's time.  In that time, I have published 7 pages of content most of which are between 400 and 500 words.  The best part is that 5 of those content pages have been indexed by Google!  The site is only 10 days old.  Plus the home page, about page, policy page, and the 2 article content pages have been indexed.  Only my 2 most recent articles have yet to appear.

I was able to use one of the themes on the site and modify the picture to some that are appropriate for my topic.  It is an informational site colored by my personal experience in options trading.  It is monetized with AdSense on the left and an Amazon capsule at the bottom of each page.  I like the layout but would appreciate any comments or suggestions as this is my first attempt.

Like I've mentioned before, my new website is not the greatest site out there, but it is mine!  I have purchased the domain for the next year and am able to publish my articles quickly with the push of one button.  It is very easy, and I am enjoying it.  The total direct cost for this service to me was $40 which I paid using PayPal.  My main goal would be to make my money back over the next year and get on the first page of Google with a keyword or two.

So, without further delay here is the site:  optionsdude.com!  I hope you enjoy it, but mostly I hope that it is informative and educational and even profitable for anyone who visits.

Felicia at No Job For Mom posted about Decision Makers.  I am not sure where the last 10 days have fit for me, but I do seem to enjoy the direction I am heading.  Between the improved eHow earnings, the new HubPages ad program, and getting started on my own site, I have a positive outlook on the future.

Movicon credit: Alfredjulius

My Best Week Ever at eHow

Following the Google Farmer update, I have been absolutely amazed at the impact on my personal repertoire of articles at the various sites.  The main bulk of my activity has been at HubPages.  You may know from my circling the wagons post that my Google traffic was down 50-60%.  It bounced back a little but still is down about 30-40%.  Despite that and the usual slump of weekend traffic that I constantly see, I had a really good weekend.  This goes to show that it is simply impossible to predict what might happen, and the only thing that I can be doing is writing and publishing.

Furthermore since the Google update, it has been stated that eHow was somehow unaffected.  I have several thoughts about why this might be and published those in my latest Hub on 3 reasons I think eHow might prosper.  I would suggest that you read this and offer some input as well either here or at my Hub.  Evidence that this might be true is the fact that this most recent 7 day stretch has been my best ever at eHow.  If the pace continues, I will surpass my best earnings month for that site.  I can't believe that it is coincidence but am pleased that it is picking up the slack.

Speaking of slack, HubPages has added a new revenue model of which I am pleased to be one of the early invitees.  It seems that they have gone out and secured advertisers on their own and are paying on an impression model.  Just another reason you should be reading all of my Hubs and sending them out to your friends (LOL!).  I think that this new model may help take the sting out of the recent changes.  I will post on my early impressions after I have a few more days under my belt. 

I want to save my next post for introducing my new website which was launched as a direct counter-attack to Google's offensive on content farms.  I am seeking to create a fairly large informational site on trading options which is a passion of mine so it should be easy to get motivated.

So, how is everyone else fairing following the Google Update?  It seems like those with their own sites have seen little negative impact which is a good thing.  That makes me hopeful that building my own is the right path to take.

I'm Not Going to Wait

Not 12 hours after saying I was going to wait and see what happened with Google's Farmer update, I decided to take matters into my own hand.  I started my own website and have published 5 pages of content on it this week.

I know that some of my regular internet marketing readers will be somewhat disappointed, but I decided to go with Weebly for my site.  I did purchase my own domain name but I know that some will bristle at the 50-50 split with AdSense.  But listen to my rationale first before throwing stones.

First of all, I don't feel as if I have a complete understanding of setting up my own site.  I know that I could stumble my way through it, but I wanted to get something up on the net and quick before I got totally discouraged and lost momentum.  I wanted to be able to focus on content.

Secondly, cost was a factor.  Since this is a great unknown for me, I decided the cost of getting a domain name at $10 plus hosting at a cheap $8 per month is $106 for a year.  I would have to make that amount back before profit began.  My cost for a year of hosting at Weebly plus my own domain was $40.  With a 50-50 split, I only have to make back $80.

With this arrangement, I am able to avoid the frustration of dealing with building my own site and getting frustrated.  I can instead focus on content.  I am getting more valuable use of my time.  Plus the hurdle to make back my costs is much lower.  For me, it was a win-win.  Not to mention the fact that I was able to pay with PayPal which only had $50 in it.  That was money that I had earned on eHow.  So my "hobby" still hasn't cost me anything other than time.

Finally, I want to say how excited I am to report that one of my content pages has been indexed.  The home page, about page, and privacy policy page had been indexed within 72 hours, but last night my first content page showed up.  It wasn't the first that I wrote, but I am ecstatic nonetheless and am looking forward to seeing others show up in the next few days.

I have noticed that many people don't share the name of their other sites.  I am not sure why that is, but I am tempted to share and post a few links once I get up to 10 pages of content.  Please provide some comments and guidance as to why it may or may not be a good idea to share the site name.

Circling the Wagons After the Latest Google Update

There has been quite a bit of consternation to say the least about the recent update to Google's algorithm which has been targeted at spam sites and "content farms".  Personally, I am all for an improvement in the search results that get delivered since some results are very poor and lead to many worthless sites.

That being said, I can't help but wonder what implications the Google definition of "content farm" might hold for HubPages.  I have been enjoying my little hobby of making money online and am a little disappointed by the decrease in traffic that I have seen over the last 48 hours.  I would say that my Google traffic is down about 50-60% overall.

As a result, I will probably be writing very little over the next week while I see what transpires.  I may end up having to develop my own website but don't really like the idea of paying for a domain and hosting just to find out that I can't get any visitors.  I have enough difficulty getting traffic as it is; I don't need to pay for the privilege of having difficulty.

It may turn out that this truly remains only a hobby with less effort on my part and that I would just allow the chips to fall where they may.  I was enjoying the challenge of seeing what I could accomplish, but now that there is some questions as to the rules of the game, I think it is best to just wait and see.  I do plan on being able to get some reading done this week so that is a plus.

The general consensus over at the HubPages forum is to wait a week before panicking and seeing what happens.  That certainly seems like good advice so that is what I will be doing.  Apparently, there is the belief that good content will still matter and many reports are that personal websites have not been hit with traffic declines.  Some are optimistic that an entire site won't get harmed as much as individual pages.  I am not quite so sure personally.  Again that might mean that now is the time to develop a personal website.  I will be looking into that option over the next week as well.


In the meantime, I am glad that I am not reliant upon Google for my livelihood.  I am able to just walk away at any time.  That is not the case for everyone.  I feel really sorry for those who had lost jobs and were writing to help supplement income.  In that respect, the unemployment picture may have just gotten worse.  I also feel sorry for those who may have quit employment to work more on the internet only to have this happen to them.  Double whammy!

As for me, I can certainly find plenty to keep me busy so that I don't end up watching too much television.  Besides, summer is coming along with golf and softball so my writing time would have been more difficult to come by as it is.  The bottom line for me is to just watch and see what happens in the next week or two, do a little reading, a little thinking, and come back with a plan for the future.

I wish everyone luck with these monumental changes especially those supporting themselves or family members.  I would appreciate any comments on how these changes are affecting your traffic and business, what your plans might be, etc.  Thanks for reading and sharing.

Slight Struggle to Keep the Pace on Publishing

Based upon my desire to publish one Hub during the week and two on weekends, I am struggling just a bit to keep the pace.  By this point in February, I should have had 7 Hubs published.  Instead, I have only five.  I guess I shouldn't say only since that is still a decent number. 

Plus I have to consider the fact that the past week I felt like I was fighting a virus and required a lot of extra sleep.  I was incredibly tired and slept about 3-4 extra hours each day compared to my usual.  Now I feel like I am 100% so I would anticipate being able to get some more work done this weekend despite all of the home responsibilities as well.  I am feeling energized and motivated!

I haven't been as diligent at publishing backlinks either.  I am seriously wondering about their effectiveness with Google going after content mills if some of the linking sites will be on the radar.  I would hate to think that any effort at SheToldMe or Redgage would be all for naught.  That is why I am thinking I should continue to focus more heavily on content creation than anything else.

I may even consider writing some product Hubs at HubPages in the near future as well.  I am starting to see some results from Amazon and am seriously thinking that might be a valuable method to diversify a little of my writing.  I still feel awkward recommending any products that I have personally not tried.  Nor do I feel that I could write a Hub on "the best" such-and-such since how do I know it is the best?!  To me that seems like opinion only unless there is some data supporting such an assertion.

Anyway, I am still debating the product angle.  I will continue to work hard and write at HubPages until I can consistently earn $100 per month.  Then I will diversify some more since it is impossible to know when a particular site might fall by the wayside.  Can't have all my eggs in one basket.  In the meantime, I better get working so that I can get 3 or 4 Hubs done this weekend and get back on track.

Photo credit: Bo Nash

I Sold an Amazon Kindle!

I have been somewhat disappointed by the month of February so far.  I have been working diligently to increase my AdSense income by publishing more than I did last year and creating more backlinks as well in order to drive traffic to my Hubs and blog.  The traffic has been good but the earnings haven't.

However, I have noticed a pleasant surprise as a result of the added traffic.  My Amazon clicks have increased, and I am actually getting a few sales now and again.  I even sold an Amazon Kindle this past week along with a leather case and a two year warranty.  I was excited!  This is the biggest order that I have had.  I don't even write sales Hubs but simply put the Amazon capsule on each article.

With just that one order, I now have enough to get paid by Amazon in the next month or two.  What a great side effect of the additional traffic that I am getting.  I guess that it is important to diversify potential income sources when dealing with online efforts.  This doesn't only apply to sites but also to methods of getting revenue whether selling products, relying on ad clicks, or getting other affiliate income.

For now, I will keep doing what I am doing but will be considering Amazon as a source of income more seriously in the future.  And by the way, if you want to buy a Kindle....

A Record Month for Traffic

It is always a good feeling when you get to experience positive results from your efforts.  Whether it is lifting weights, shedding pounds or making money online, seeing results from your efforts offers plenty of positive reinforcement.

As many know, I have undertaken the task of tripling my AdSense income in 2011 and am seeking to do this by increasing traffic with a combination of additional publishing of Hubs at HubPages and increased backlinking efforts at sites that provide AdSense revenue sharing.  I figure that I need to triple traffic at a minimum if I hope to triple my income.

As it turns out, January 2011 was a record traffic month for me.  I bested my previous record by about 4 percent and my worst month in 2010 by about 150%!  It was also the best month for me in total revenue opportunities (ad clicks) but alas the CPC average was lower than I have seen.  That is OK because my AdSense revenue was still greater than double my worst month in 2010 but less than triple. 

So while I am behind the pace to triple AdSense earnings, I am still very pleased with my progress.  I also have a target for February 2011 that is not too much greater than January's target so maintaining the same level of effort should lead to additional traffic and additional revenue opportunities.

I would also like to mention that a side benefit has been 4 shipped Amazon orders for the month of January.  I am putting Amazon boxes on all of my Hubs which occasionally lead to a sale.  I also got more clicks for Amazon in January 2011 than in the entire first quarter of 2010.  This is only going to get better with more traffic.

I must confess that it has been somewhat difficult to keep up with the publishing although I did manage to do that.  I did fail on the backlinking effort and did not get 3 links out per day.  But each day is a new day, and I refuse to feel defeated.  If I miss a day, I miss.  I will simply strive to set 3 links daily as an ongoing goal and even if I get it done on half the days, I will be a lot farther than when I started.  I am seeing Hub traffic from SheToldMe so I know that it is working.

So if you want to sign up and make money writing Hubs, you can join HubPages.  It is a great way to start making money on the internet without spending any of your own cash.