I hear people everyday ask me why they aren’t making money from their website. This is a common question and one that I happen to get asked all the time.
There are many, many factors that would contribute to this and it would be literally impossible to narrow it down to 1 specific factor.
Within this post, I’ll be sharing 4 things that you may or may not be doing that could be having a negative impact on your success and getting in the way of you making that first sale.
If you’re new to affiliate marketing and have been here at least a year now and you still haven’t made your first sale, then I think you will find the information contained in this post to be very beneficial.
Hopefully, I’m also able to help you fill in some of the blanks and answer a few of your many questions as to why your website hasn’t taken off yet.
1. Domain Age
If your website is under 3 months old then it hasn’t been fully established yet and hasn’t had enough time to mature just yet.
There are a few things that you’ll need to do before your website will be fully established and I’ll list them for you guys below.
- Register your site with Google Webmaster Tools- This tells Google that your website is out there and that you would like them to index it into their search engines.
- Google Analytics- This measures the amount of traffic coming to your site and allows you to track all activity on your website.
It can take up to a year before your site gets fully established depending on how active your site is and how often you write content for it.
2. Consistency
How many times a week do you write content for your website?
I get PMs from many people on a daily basis who wonder why they aren’t making money and what are they doing wrong.
For the majority of people who get started online, this seems to be where they struggle the most.
This is usually the very first thing I point out and I can’t stress enough how important it is to be consistent and keep your website up to date.
I see where they posted for 3 or 4 days straight then they don’t post anything for 2 weeks.
How can you expect Google to trust your site and send you traffic if you won’t even put in the time and effort to keep your website up to date?
This was 1 of my biggest problem areas when I first started online and I struggled with this for the first couple of years so I know how hard this can be.
How many times per week should you be posting to your site?
There is no specific number of posts that you need to write each week to satisfy the search engines but I’ve found that 4 posts a week is pretty sufficient and seems to work out the best for me.
Depending on what’s going on in your life at this point and time will determine how many posts you can write each week, but the more you have the better off you’ll be.
3. Are You Writing Engaging & High Quality Content?
In my honest opinion, I feel that if you aren’t writing quality and engaging content then why are you even here in the first place?
Obviously, it’s going to take you quite some time before you get this right and your content is likely going to suck when you first start out.
I know mine did and as I look back at my posts for 2-3 years ago, I can’t believe how much I’ve improved in the past couple of years.
I have reviewed quite a few websites in my time as an internet marketer and I have seen some pretty bad sites out there.
Here are a few tips that you can use to either improve your existing content or use it as a guide if you’re just starting out.
- Are You Writing In A Conversational Tone?- People like to feel like you are speaking directly to them and like to read content that’s interesting and that they can engage with. If you write content that’s boring and you fail to engage with your audience then chances are that people won’t even read it.
- Are You Offering A Solution- The sole purpose of someone visiting your site is for them to find answers to their questions and be provided with a solution to their problems. If your content doesn’t answer their question or offer them a solution then what’s the point?
- How Many Words Are Your Posts? While this doesn’t play a huge factor in creating quality content, it does play a role in how your overall content is presented. There is no specified number of words you should aim towards, but simply write from the hip and naturally express your thoughts. The majority of my posts are usually around 1200-1500 and they seem to perform the best.
4. Are You Using Proper SEO Techniques?
Probably one of the key factors that determine if a website makes money or not is by following proper SEO techniques.
This Includes Doing A Variety Of Things & I’ll List The Most Important Ones Below!
- What keywords are you targeting in your posts? In order to get your content indexed and ranked in the search engines, you need to target specific keywords in each post you write. These keywords should be in the title and first paragraph of your article. Write naturally after that and try to only use related keywords to get your point across.
- Internal Linking- This is where you’ll link to other pages or posts on your site from similar posts that are grouped together in the same category. By doing this you’ll be conveying to Google that this content is important and that they need to rank it higher. This will give your other posts a boost in the SERPS and help other people find it a whole lot easier.
- Comments– Google loves engagement and the more quality and relevant comments you have on your site the better. This goes back to writing engaging content and asking people for their thoughts on the topic at hand and offering to answer any questions they might have.
Conclusion
When I first got my start in the online world it took me quite some time to wrap my head around all of this and get a grasp of what was expected of me as an online marketer.
It took my website close to a year before it took off and that’s mostly due to my lack of consistency and failing to realize how much work was required to make money from a website.
Did I ever get discouraged and feel like giving up?
Absolutely, and I started to doubt whether any of this worked or not!!
I have never been a quitter my whole life and I have always worked hard for the things that I wanted in life.
After close to 4 solid months of solid hard work and being consistent I was able to make my first sale and a few more shortly after that.
If you take these 4 things that I’ve shared with you guys today and use them as a guide your situation is bound to turn around for you and you’ll be that much closer to closing in on your first sale.
I really hope this post has helped you guys out and hopefully I’ve been able to fill in some of the blanks for you and help you pinpoint why you still aren’t making any money from your website.
Are you a newbie looking for a way to get started in this very rewarding career but you aren’t exactly sure where to start?
Trust me, I was just like you 4 years ago and I strived for the same thing but had no idea where to turn.
It wasn’t until I discovered Wealthy Affiliate that I truly understood how affiliate marketing worked and how much money could be made by simply running your own website.
If you’re dead serious about starting up a web based business around something that you’re extremely passionate about I would highly recommend that you check into WA and see what they can do for you.
What have you got to lose? It’s FREE To Get Started and you’ll gain instant access to your first 10 lessons, along with some of the highest quality tools that aren’t available anywhere else in the online industry.
Not to mention 24/7 premium help and support in your first 7 days
What’s There Not To Like About That?
That’s all I’ve got and now i’m turning it over to you guys!
How long did it take you before you made your first sale?
Are you making what you would consider a full time income from your site?
Are you still struggling to make that first sale and wondering what you’re doing wrong?
Tell me all about it in the comments below!
Until Next Time
~Scott~
