How to Start a Blog That Makes Money (And Gets Free Traffic)

1 year ago 103

Reality check: Not each bloggers earn money.

Of those who marque money, not each marque a living. And not adjacent each marque a decent broadside income. 

But what’s besides existent is that a batch of bloggers succeed. 

The accidental you’re looking at is: 

  • Joining 31% of bloggers who marque a decent broadside income of $6K a year.
  • Joining the 15% who marque astatine slightest $30K a year. 
  • Joining the 6%–10% of bloggers who marque implicit $10K a month. 
  • $100K a month? That’s besides imaginable with blogging, but lone the astir hardworking and diligent bloggers get there.

Without further ado, let’s get you started successful creating a profitable blog. We’ll besides look astatine immoderate ways to pull escaped postulation from hunt engines.

1. Find a profitable niche 

Here are immoderate niches proven to beryllium profitable: 

NicheTypical contentBlog exampleLast monthly income reportPageviews (from past income report)
Food and cookingRecipes categorized by benignant of repast and diet, cookware reviews, tips and tricks, listiclesPinch of Yum$95,196 (source)4.245M
Health and wellnessFood, relationships, fitness, beauty, psychologyHot Beauty Health$9,655 (source)208.6K
ParentingPregnancy, child-raising advice, merchandise reviews, nutrient recipes, stay-at-home genitor jobs, kid activities, household tipsThe Soccer Mom Blog $11,288 (source)500K
NewsAnything newsworthy successful 1 niche oregon aggregate niches (also gossip)HuffPostAcquired by AOL successful 2011 for $315M, past acquired by BuzzFeed (source). According to this source, it generates $14M/mo.5.8M (monthly integrated postulation March 2023, via Ahrefs)
TechSoftware and hardware reviews, exclusive deals, however to usage bundle tools, comparisons, listicles, making wealth online, tech news, buying guides, gaming99signals$5,242 (source)18K (monthly integrated postulation connected the day of the report, via Ahrefs)
Personal developmentLife hacks, fiscal freedom, wellness, psychology, motivation, spirituality, fitnessLet’s Reach Success$6,652 (source)115.5K
PetsPet health, merchandise reviews, activities for pets, traveling with pets, favored adoption, training, tips, listiclesYou Did What With Your Weiner$7,720 (includes income extracurricular of the content, source)40K (monthly integrated postulation connected the day of the report, via Ahrefs)
EntrepreneurshipMaking wealth online, starting a business, interviews, implicit courses, how-tos, inspirationSmart Passive Income$166,559 (source)68K (monthly integrated postulation connected the day of the report, each blogs, via Ahrefs)
FinanceInvesting, redeeming money, retirement, fiscal merchandise reviews, buying guides, household finance, mortgages, gig economy, debt, vocation advice, entrepreneurship, fiscal freedomMillennial Money$33,473 connected mean (source)1.5M visits in 2017
FashionOutfit ideas, location decor, beauty, benignant tips, acquisition ideas, listicles, purchaser guidesChic Pursuit$11,376 (source)135.3K
LifestyleAnything related to solving life’s problems and surviving a happier lifeAbby Organizes$41.7K (source)Over 400K
TravelCity guides, listicles, traveling tips, cogwheel and determination reviews, beingness connected the road, integer nomadismLocal Adventurer$41K (source)541.8K
DIY/craftsDIY decorations, DIY play projects, handcraft tutorials, beingness hacks, merchandise reviews, nutrient recipes, DIY repairs, renovationsJennifer Maker$15,158 (source)125.4K

Is your perfect niche not connected the list? Check these things:

  • Search for affiliate programs successful your niche. A elemental hunt similar “board games affiliate program” should do it.
  • See if determination are capable products connected Amazon you could urge done an affiliate programme (that are not excluded by the program).
  • Look astatine different blogs successful the niche and spot if they tally ads. If they do, cheque their integrated postulation with our free website postulation checker. That blog’s income volition scope from $0.1 to $0.5 per pageview from integrated postulation per month. If they’re progressive connected different selling channels, past the full sum volition beryllium higher. 
  • Go to a akin merchandise successful your preferred niche and usage a instrumentality similar Ahrefs’ Site Explorer to spot sponsored links—these volition beryllium the deals you could perchance get as well. 
How to look   up   sponsored links successful  AhrefsYou tin look for affiliate programs utilized connected immoderate tract with these four steps.

But what astir blogging astir thing you’re really passionate about? 

Obviously, the champion script is that your interests oregon hobbies lucifer a profitable niche. Otherwise, it’s casual to suffer involvement successful your blog. 

But you tin besides look astatine it successful a antithetic way. If you dainty your blog simply arsenic a business, you don’t request to beryllium passionate astir the niche successful bid to succeed. You can, for example, acceptable up blogs successful each of those niches and prosecute idiosyncratic to make content. 

There are much than 600 cardinal blogs retired determination (Web Tribunal). There is apt a batch of contention for what you privation to create, truthful a bully thought is to find a mode to differentiate. 

Here are some ideas:

  • Write from your idiosyncratic acquisition – For example, radical could beryllium funny successful parenting merchandise reviews from a genitor with ceremonial aesculapian education. 
  • Cater to a circumstantial segment – People with choky budgets, left-handed people, radical with nutrient allergies, etc. 
  • Cover analyzable topics successful elemental words Oversimplified is simply a bully example. 
  • Offer much thorough cognition than others – For example, you tin spell truly in-depth with your merchandise reviews. 
  • Use a batch of customized visuals – Most radical skim content. Infographics, videos, and archetypal graphics tin assistance drawback readers’ attention. 
  • Fill the spread successful the blogosphere – For instance, if a nutrient blog successful the no-waste tone is what you deliberation is missing, that could beryllium your summons to success. 

Think of the space of your blog arsenic a semipermanent investment. It volition assistance you to found a marque that radical volition privation to travel backmost to and urge to others. 

3. Choose a monetization method 

Below are 9 ways to monetize a blog. Depending connected your chosen niche, determination whitethorn beryllium further opportunities (for instance, nutrient blogs tin make recipes for different companies). 

Usually, bloggers usage respective methods astatine the aforesaid time. Keep successful caput that immoderate methods (or advertizing platforms) volition beryllium disposable lone for eligible blogs (usually, it’s astir having capable traffic), and immoderate are reserved for bloggers who person already made their sanction successful the manufacture (speaking, coaching). 

MethodHow it worksTypical rate
AdvertisingYou show ads connected your blog and get paid based connected the fig of clicks oregon impressions the ads receive.$0.1–$0.5 per pageview.
Affiliate programsYou beforehand products connected your blog and person a committee for immoderate income made done your unsocial affiliate link.5%–50% (up to 90%) per sale.
Sponsored contentYou person outgo for publishing contented that promotes a circumstantial marque oregon merchandise connected your blog.$25–$1K per article.
Selling productsYou merchantability carnal oregon integer products connected your blog and support the gross generated from sales.Depends. For example, if you’re selling books, that could beryllium $9–$30.
Online coursesYou make and merchantability online courses connected your blog, and students wage to entree your people content.Usually $400–$1K per sale. Depends connected the market. If determination is simply a batch of contention and your blog is not yet popular, you should see a little price tag.
Subscriber-based membershipsYou connection premium contented oregon services to subscribers who wage a monthly oregon yearly interest to entree it.Usually $20–$100 per subscription.
Events and speakingYou make income by speaking astatine events, conferences, oregon workshops related to your niche.Usually starts astatine astir $10K and goes up to $100K for high-profile speakers.
Coaching and mentoringYou connection one-on-one coaching oregon mentoring services to readers.The accustomed complaint successful the U.S. for an hr of coaching is betwixt $50 and $250. Running a blog tin lend to your popularity and let you to rise the stake.
Selling the blogYou merchantability your blog to a purchaser who is funny successful acquiring your content, audience, and monetization methods.The mean terms of a contented tract is $101.4K, according to Empire Flippers.

This is the portion wherever you request to get creative. My advice: It’s conscionable similar choosing a sanction for a business, i.e., the aforesaid rules apply:

  • Make it simple
  • Make it casual to remember 
  • Make it relevant 
  • Make it unique
  • Think for the agelong term; debar trends 

Now for the large question: Should you take a “search motor optimized” sanction and domain? Does that even exist? 

Google says that determination is nary SEO boost for nonstop oregon “partial match” domains, truthful it discourages doing this (source). 

What this means is that you should take a domain sanction for reasons different than SEO. 

You tin usage a domain with a applicable keyword, specified arsenic “bike blog,” if the contented of the blog is applicable to bikes. But you tin besides take a much abstract name. Google volition inactive mostly measure the contented prime and links. 

5. Choose a blogging level and acceptable up the domain 

You fundamentally person 2 choices here: 

  • Self-hosted level You get the hosting (a portion of your ain server) and the level separately.
  • Hosted platform – Get everything you request to commencement publishing successful one place. 

While the 2nd enactment whitethorn dependable similar the best, determination are galore bully reasons to spell with the archetypal option. 

The astir fashionable self-hosting enactment is WordPress, which is tally by immoderate 40%-45% of websites globally. You get this level for free, but you request a server, a domain, and an SSL certificate to run it. 

Sounds a tad technical, but it’s rather casual to acceptable up, and you tin beryllium acceptable to spell successful little than an hour. What’s more, immoderate hosting companies person solutions tailored for WordPress, which makes the process adjacent easier. 

In my opinion, the main reasons wherefore truthful galore radical spell with WordPress are that it’s casual to use, free, customizable, and has plugins for everything, including SEO which is important if you privation escaped traffic. 

Hosted platforms similar Wix oregon Weebly connection everything nether 1 roof, but you won’t person the aforesaid grade of customization (fewer plugins and astir apt less templates to take from).

As for the cost, I was capable to get the afloat bundle needed to tally WordPress for a full twelvemonth for astir $18 with a section hosting provider. 

Invoice from a section  hosting providerTotal: $18.

This includes:

  • A server wherever I tin person up to 50 antithetic WordPress blogs (or immoderate benignant of tract arsenic agelong arsenic it is based connected WordPress).
  • No transportation bounds (unlimited visits). 
  • A ace casual mode to acceptable up WordPress.
  • A domain for a year.
  • An SSL certificate for a twelvemonth (SSL is important for safety, credibility, and ranking).

And I acceptable everything up successful minutes. Of course, erstwhile my visitant number reaches the threshold, I’ll request to get a much costly plan. 

Let’s comparison that with hosted solutions. All of them person escaped tiers, but let’s presume we don’t privation their branding and we privation our ain domain. 

Here are the prices:

  • Wix – Starts from $264 per twelvemonth (for a comparable package).
  • Weebly – $144 per year. 
  • WordPress – Has a hosted option excessively astatine $38.5 per year. 

Pro Tip

If you’re going with the self-hosting option, take a supplier with servers located successful the state you privation the astir postulation from. This volition springiness your tract a velocity boost for that country.

Two choices: You tin either person a custom-designed template oregon get a generic 1 for escaped (or a mates of bucks for a premium one). 

If you spell with a customized template, you’ll get thing archetypal and tailored to your needs. On the downside, you’ll request to hold to get it done, and it’ll outgo you more. You’ll besides request to marque definite you’ll get the enactment for astatine slightest a year. 

So what astir bloggers bash erstwhile starting retired is usage a escaped template oregon prime 1 from a marketplace similar Envato. As agelong arsenic your blog doesn’t look exactly like your competitors, you’re going to beryllium fine. With time, you tin put successful thing customized to marque your blog look unique. 

In web design, usability trumps aesthetics. So effort to support these things successful caput erstwhile choosing the look of your blog: 

  • Clarity – Avoid flashy and distracting designs.
  • Speed – Nobody likes dilatory websites. 
  • Architecture – For example, immoderate templates commencement with a large intro header, portion others spell close into the latest blog posts. 
  • Responsive design – Needs to look bully and enactment good connected each devices. 
  • A spot for ads – Browsing done antithetic templates, deliberation astir wherever your ads tin spell (if you take this monetization method). 

Most contented absorption systems (CMS), specified arsenic WordPress, let you to leap betwixt templates with a fewer clicks. So bash effort a mates of looks and spot what fits best. 

Trying retired  templates successful  WordPress is speedy  and easy

7. Find topics with hunt potential 

By this time, everything is acceptable up to commencement creating content. But we won’t simply commencement penning station aft station connected random topics—our attack volition beryllium strategic. 

We volition bash 2 things here: 

  1. Find topics that tin bring you escaped postulation from hunt engines similar Google 
  2. Find capable topics to capable an editorial calendar for months ahead 

Naturally, since it’s your blog, you tin constitute astir thing you want. But if you privation your contented to beryllium profitable, contented designed to fertile is your champion bet. Basically, it’s the benignant of contented that radical are looking for successful hunt engines. 

So alternatively of conscionable “brainstorming” ideas, we’ll bash keyword probe to spot what radical hunt for, however overmuch postulation we could get, and however hard it would beryllium to rank. 

For this, you’ll request a instrumentality similar Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer. And since our blog is caller and we privation to fertile comparatively quickly, we’ll effort to find casual keywords to target. Here’s however the process works. You can: 

  1. Enter effect keywords related to your niche. For a nutrient blog, that could beryllium arsenic elemental arsenic “recipe” oregon see much ideas similar “paste, pita, recipe, sauce, soup, taco, wrap, etc.”
  2. Go to the Matching terms report.
  3. Set filters: KD max. 20; Lowest DR up to 20 successful apical 10; Traffic Potential and volume min. 200. This way, we’ll filter retired tougher keywords that whitethorn beryllium retired of our league for present but inactive get keywords that tin bring sizeable traffic. 
How to find   low-competition keywords successful  Ahrefs

Since determination are implicit 8K keyword ideas successful that list, there’ll beryllium plentifulness to capable up your editorial calendar for months. You tin besides marque the database much manageable by expanding the minimum volume, further decreasing KD, oregon excluding unwanted keyword patterns (like keywords related to brands). 

And present are immoderate examples of comparatively casual keywords from that list:

Example keywordsTP refers to the Traffic Potential of a keyword.

You tin besides get keyword ideas from competitors. It’s a large method to find the little evident keywords. In our case, those are nutrient and cooking-related keywords that don’t incorporate the connection “recipe.” Here’s the process successful Ahrefs. 

  1. Go to Site Explorer
  2. Enter the URL of the blog (make definite it’s acceptable to Subdomains)
  3. Open the Organic keywords report
  4. Set filters: position 1–20, KD max. 20, volume min. 200, Keyword doesn’t incorporate “recipe”
How to bash  competitory  keyword probe   successful  Ahrefs

Doing that probe connected the Pinch of Yum blog resulted successful astir 2.5K keywords. Let’s look astatine immoderate examples and their Traffic Potential: 

Keyword examples

An important happening to cheque erstwhile choosing keywords is the dominating contented type. This is the cardinal portion successful identifying hunt intent: what users expect erstwhile they hunt for something. 

If you spot that the archetypal leafage connected Google is dominated by a contented benignant you can’t make oregon 1 that doesn’t marque consciousness for your website (for instance, a merchandise page), skip that keyword due to the fact that your chances of ranking volition apt be low. 

Keyword examination  successful  AhrefsA nutrient blog that doesn’t connection crockery bowls arsenic a merchandise astir apt shouldn’t people the keyword “salad bowl”—top results are dominated by merchandise pages. “Salad vessel recipes” is simply a whole different story.

Check retired our in-depth guides to maestro keyword research: 

Note

What astir non-SEO content? Is it worthy it if it apt won’t bring integrated traffic? I deliberation the reply is yes, but the determination is up to you. If you deliberation that a fixed taxable volition beryllium absorbing to your readers, you tin inactive administer it connected different channels (email, social). That benignant of contented tin inactive make pageviews and summation engagement connected your blog.

What’s more, non-search-based contented tin inactive assistance you with SEO. If it gets links, it tin assistance your tract summation authorization and marque it easier for you to fertile for each your keywords.

8. Create an editorial calendar 

A content calendar (aka editorial calendar) is simply a strategy utilized to organize, manage, and docket contented production.

Why bash you need one? 

  • By doing keyword research, you’ll travel up with a batch of taxable ideas. This keeps them each successful one place. 
  • It helps you to enactment connected way of hitting your contented quota extremity (you should have one). 
  • It helps to signifier enactment with contractors and impermanent bloggers (once you have them). 

As a beginner blogger, you apt won’t request a analyzable calendar. You tin get everything organized utilizing a escaped instrumentality similar Notion, Asana, Trello, oregon adjacent a Google Calendar. So present are immoderate ideas for logging successful utile accusation successful your calendar: 

  • Keyword
  • Due date
  • Progress status
  • Category 
  • Author (if determination are aggregate authors)
  • Any tags you find utile successful your workflow similar “sponsored” oregon “outsourcing”
  • Traffic potential

While we’re astatine it, I deliberation Notion offers large (and free) functionality for creating contented calendars. You tin make a database of topics and power betwixt views to get the position you request astatine immoderate fixed moment. 

Example contented  calendar made successful  Notion

9. Create optimized blog posts 

Google wants to service applicable and adjuvant contented for immoderate hunt query. So our occupation arsenic bloggers is to recognize what a searcher is truly looking for and however to marque that contented basal retired from the remainder while inactive serving what is expected. That’s what contented optimization is all about. 

We’ll look astatine 4 things here:

  1. Content format and angle, i.e., remaining parts of aligning to hunt intent
  2. What SEO tin archer america astir the points we could marque successful content 
  3. What prime contented means for Google
  4. On-page SEO technicals: titles, meta descriptions, alt text, and more

Content format and angle 

Choosing the contented format is fundamentally astir deciding whether immoderate fixed blog station is going to be a:

  • Listicle
  • Recipe
  • Guide 
  • Definition post 
  • Tutorial 

As for the contented angle, it’s the unsocial selling constituent of a page. It should drawback the attraction of the searcher and bespeak what is peculiar astir the page. For example: “best, free, successful 2023, top, etc.”

How bash you travel up with some of them? Just similar we did with contented format during contented research—turn to the hunt motor results pages (SERPs). 

For example, for the keyword “how to marque wealth online,” we tin spot that listicles predominate the SERPs, and immoderate of the absorbing angles already utilized are “at home, realistically, quickly, easy, for beginners.”

SERP analysis—content format and angle

What this SERP shows america is the benignant of contented that champion serves the hunt intent. So if we align with hunt intent but inactive connection thing unsocial and compelling, we apt basal a bully accidental of ranking. In different words, we request a listicle and an space that hasn’t been utilized yet—something similar “5 Tried and Tested Ways to Make Money Online.” 

What to see successful your post

The talking points and the assets you see successful a station substance not lone for the scholar but besides for hunt engines. 

They tin assistance marque your contented much applicable for the people keyword, fertile for secondary keywords, and pull more links. 

First comes the operation of your post. You tin get a bully knowing of however the apical contented is structured by utilizing our escaped SEO Toolbar. Just spell to immoderate top-ranking nonfiction for your keyword, unfastened up the toolbar, and spell to the Content report. 

For example, present we tin spot that 1 of the articles connected “how to marque wealth online” mentions a fig of ideas that we could cover. Moreover, it offers an absorbing mode to categorize money-making ideas, which is thing we tin enactment with too. 

Content study  from Ahrefs' SEO Toolbar

This is already capable to get a consciousness of what applicable contented looks like. To spell a level deeper, you tin cheque secondary keywords the apical contented ranks for and the words utilized frequently. 

  1. Open Keywords Explorer
  2. Enter your keyword
  3. Go to the Related terms report 
  4. Also fertile for tab volition amusement you secondary keywords, and Also speech about volition amusement you often mentioned words (you tin besides acceptable it to All to harvester the tabs); marque definite to acceptable the study to Top 10 too
Related presumption     study  successful  Ahrefs

Here are a fewer examples from that database that could marque bully points oregon subtopics for an nonfiction connected making wealth online: 

Example talking points for an nonfiction  based connected  probe   successful  Ahrefs

Naturally, this doesn’t mean you should copy articles you spot ranking connected Google. 

Despite the outcomes, Google is perpetually trying to reward the best-quality, astir archetypal content and demote the copycats. So dainty these reports arsenic inspiration for creating a unsocial portion that brings thing caller to the SERPs.

Besides communal points, it’s a bully thought to see link-worthy content (aka nexus bait): archetypal research, infographics, escaped resources, archetypal thoughts, inspiring stories, etc. 

Not lone volition they marque your contented much interesting, but they tin besides entice radical to nexus to it. Links amplify the scope of your contented and amended your nexus illustration (if they’re prime backlinks). 

Tip

If there’s a featured snippet showing for your keyword, it’s usually a bully thought to optimize for it. This could beryllium your shortcut to the #1 effect connected the SERP. 

For example, a featured snippet mightiness beryllium a hint to see a explanation of the people keyword oregon to operation your station successful a definite way. 

Example featured snippetOur nonfiction connected modular operating procedures (SOPs) for SEO ranks with a featured snippet because we included a explanation of the wide word of SOPs.

To larn more, cheque retired our afloat usher connected how to optimize for featured snippets.

Create prime content

Producing prime contented is the champion mode to prosecute readers and marque them come back. 

If you person an thought of however to make amended contented than the competition, you should decidedly try it. 

But too that, you request to cognize what Google deems arsenic “quality content.” After all, your contented should bring you postulation from that hunt engine. 

So according to Google’s guidelines, prime contented is absorbing and useful, and that means it’s:

  • Easy to read.
  • Clearly organized.
  • Unique and fresh.
  • Providing indispensable accusation to lick a searcher’s problem. We already touched connected that successful the erstwhile chapter. 
  • Aligned with Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines. In short, you should intelligibly show what makes you qualified to service adjuvant contented connected a fixed topic, i.e., wherefore should readers spot you. To larn more, cheque retired our usher connected E-A-T and the latest update to the concept

Technicals 

Let’s not hide astir the “boring but necessary” technicals of optimizing for hunt engines. 

Here are immoderate casual champion practices worthy following: 

  • Include the people keyword successful the title – The easiest mode to marque your rubric applicable to the taxable but inactive acceptable wrong 60 characters. 
  • Write a compelling meta description – Probably won’t assistance you fertile higher but tin assistance you pull clicks from SERPs. 
  • Use short, descriptive URLs – It’s capable to usage your taxable arsenic the slug (as you tin spot successful this precise article). You’re optimizing this with the idiosyncratic successful caput to assistance them recognize wherever they’re located connected the website (plus, URLs are disposable connected the SERPs). 
  • Add alt substance to your images – Be concise and accurate. Google uses alt substance (and the surrounding content) to recognize images.
  • Link to interior and outer resources – Cite different pages wherever applicable and erstwhile you privation to nonstop radical to adjuvant content. 
  • Optimize for affluent results – They are the peculiar contented formats recovered connected the SERPs beyond modular bluish links. For example, recipes tin beryllium displayed connected apical of bluish links arsenic a carousel with a ample image, ratings, and prep time. Check retired Google’s affluent results guide to spot eligible affluent results for your benignant of content. 

In this section, I privation to amusement you a fewer ways you tin efficaciously beforehand your blog for free. 

Obviously, nary of the ways are astir investing in ads. 

The crushed for this is that unless you merchantability immoderate high-ticket merchandise done your blog, similar a course, carnal product, oregon assemblage membership, you apt won’t get a affirmative ROI with ads. Simple math: If the mean outgo of the advertisement is higher than what you get paid for displaying ads connected your blog, you lose money. 

Let’s dig in. 

Build an email list

Building an email database sounds similar a set-and-forget cliche tactic, but don’t underestimate it. Let’s perceive from Abby Lawson of Abby Organizes

Our email database has go 1 of the biggest if not THE biggest contributor to our business’s success, and if I had started increasing it earlier, it would beryllium adjacent bigger than it is today. Our email database allows america to support successful interaction with our followers much easy and get to cognize them better. It has helped america to merchantability much products and turn our traffic. Without it, I don’t cognize that we would person been capable to marque the leap to some Donnie and I blogging afloat time, and we are truthful grateful to our subscribers for pursuing on connected our journey.

Email is going to beryllium your nonstop enactment to readers. You wage adjacent to thing to scope an assemblage that you cognize is funny successful your blog (or really thing if you get a escaped email tool), and you tin usage the database to connection products oregon services. 

Do you request to scope for immoderate hacks to get radical to motion up? I uncertainty it; it’s a surefire mode to get unengaged subscribers. The champion mode to get radical to subscribe is to acceptable up a sign-up signifier adjacent to truly bully content. 

Sure, you tin connection immoderate benignant of peculiar woody for your subscribers, specified arsenic exclusive content. But marque definite to marque it relevant. 

Simple sign-up signifier  connected  a blog

By the way, fto maine notation an important yet counterintuitive practice. Once you get your database growing, delete contacts that haven’t opened your emails for the past mates of months. It volition assistance you execute amended email deliverability and support your email app costs lower.

Build links 

Since you privation escaped postulation from Google, you’re going to request links. The much competitory the keywords you spell after, the much prime links you’ll need. 

Why links? Links are 1 of the astir impactful ranking factors for Google

Backlinks assistance   pages fertile  higher successful  Google SERPs

There are 2 ways to physique links to your content: 

  1. Organic mode – People nexus to your contented due to the fact that they deliberation it’s utile and/or they nexus to a circumstantial portion of your blog station that carries accusation they privation to notation to (such arsenic information from your research). It’s wherefore you should see nexus bait successful the archetypal spot (as explained successful the erstwhile section). 
  2. Outreach – You scope retired to different websites and inquire for a link. It makes consciousness to bash truthful erstwhile you’re assured your nexus volition marque that portion of contented much helpful. 

It’s really champion if you harvester some tactics. This is truthful that erstwhile you interaction radical and transportation your content, you’ve got thing compelling to link to. 

There are rather a fewer techniques for outreach nexus building. Let maine amusement you an example: breached nexus building. It’s wherever you find breached links pointing to your competitors, past you interaction a referring website and inquire to see your nexus to applicable contented instead. 

  1. Open Site Explorer
  2. Input your competitor’s URL (this tin beryllium the full tract oregon a peculiar page)
  3. Go to the Broken backlinks study and spot the breached pages on with the sites that nexus to them 
How to find   breached  backlinks successful  Ahrefs

To bash this astatine scale, usage Ahrefs’ Content Explorer

  1. Type successful your taxable and acceptable the mode to In title
  2. Set filters: Only broken, preferred language, and DR min. 20 (optional, to filter retired websites with little authority)
  3. Choose a breached leafage from the results and click connected Backlinks to larn which pages person linked and wherefore (look astatine the anchor and surrounding text)
  4. Contact these websites and spot if they tin nexus to your contented instead
Finding breached  pages for nexus  gathering  with Ahrefs' Content Explorer

That’s the basics. Since we unrecorded successful times erstwhile links are the currency of the web, it tin beryllium pugnacious to gain a link. Check retired our guides connected nexus gathering and outreach to summation your chances (without spamming people): 

Repurpose your content 

Your people assemblage is dispersed crossed aggregate channels, each with chiseled outreach potential. So by repurposing, you tin widen the scope of your content: 

  • Blog posts tin go Twitter threads.
  • Blog posts tin go videos (and vice versa). 
  • Individual articles oregon videos tin beryllium enactment unneurotic and turned into a escaped people or ebook.
  • Ebooks tin go email drip campaigns. 
  • Ebook excerpts tin go guest posts. 
  • Blog posts tin go Quora answers.

And so on. 

For example, you tin find immoderate of our contented from the blog repurposed connected our YouTube channel, and vice versa. 

Number of views generated by a videoBlog station templates—a video that got implicit 50K views connected YouTube.
Estimated monthly integrated  postulation   to a blog postBlog station templates—an nonfiction that generates an estimated 1.4K integrated visits monthly.

You tin bash that with each your content. But if you’re a squad of one, you’ll apt privation to prioritize. Head implicit to our guide connected contented repurposing, wherever we amusement however to estimation if your clip concern volition beryllium worth it.

Follow your audience 

Think different blogs, newsletters, podcasts—these are the places wherever your assemblage apt hangs out. And earlier they travel to you, you request to spell to them. If you are featured successful those places: 

  • Your blog tin gain much awareness.
  • You tin get nonstop postulation to your blog.
  • You tin gain a nexus that tin assistance to boost your SEO (except for email-only newsletters; they tin lone get you links indirectly). 

Finding these places isn’t hard. You astir apt already cognize immoderate bully ones, and you tin usage Google to find more.

To cognize which of them tin springiness you the champion link, usage Ahrefs’ SEO Toolbar portion searching connected Google and look astatine the Domain Rating of the website (the higher, the better). Keep successful mind: The ones with DR >80 whitethorn beryllium harder to get into. 

Ahrefs' SEO Toolbar showing DR (Domain Rating)DR is simply a 100-point scale.

One neat hack to bash successful Ahrefs is to look up articles by a prolific writer and exclude that author’s websites from the results. This way, you tin find sites wherever the writer has written arsenic a impermanent and transportation those sites too. 

  1. Open Content Explorer
  2. Use hunt operators; example: author:"Grant Sabatier" (-site:millennialmoney.com AND -site:bankbonus.com)
  3. Sort the database by DR to get the astir authoritative pages first 
A method for uncovering  impermanent  posting opportunities utilizing Ahrefs' Content Explorer

Other tactics 

Here are much escaped and effectual blog promotion tactics you should consider: 

  • Share successful communities – Communities ever invited the truly bully stuff, i.e., archetypal and adjuvant to others successful the community. 
  • Ping the radical oregon brands you’ve mentioned – Not to beryllium confused with ego baiting. If you recovered idiosyncratic oregon immoderate tract absorbing capable to mention, archer them astir it. Mention them connected Twitter oregon conscionable constitute to them. This maneuver volition apt get much effectual arsenic your blog’s estimation grows. 
  • Answer writer requests – By providing a punctuation connected a taxable you’re an adept on, you tin get featured successful applicable (or conscionable big) media and gain a link. New to this stuff? Check retired our afloat usher connected how to usage HARO for nexus building.    
  • Amplify your contented connected societal media – Just similar you, your assemblage volition disagreement their attraction among antithetic societal media platforms. Tip: cater to the platform; don’t conscionable stock links to your blog posts.
  • Accept impermanent posts and bash interviews – May not beryllium the champion maneuver for beginners (since impermanent authors usually take much seasoned blogs), but this is thing you tin bash aboriginal connected arsenic you turn your reputation. Benefits: escaped pageviews, backlinks (see below) and, of course, large contented for your readers. 
Some of the astir   linked contented  connected  the fashionable  blog makingsenseofcents.com are interviewsSome of the astir linked content on the fashionable blog makingsenseofcents.com are interviews.

11. Keep your blog in shape

There are different things you request to bash too pushing caller content. 

Monitor SEO health 

Ideally, you’ll privation your tract to beryllium escaped of immoderate SEO issues. However, it’s capable to enactment distant from the captious ones that tin earnestly interaction your rankings oregon adjacent forestall you from ranking.

For this, you’ll request SEO tools that volition show your tract automatically, study issues, and suggest solutions. These 2 should beryllium much than enough: 

Check retired this abbreviated station connected however to usage these tools to spot and hole method SEO issues that truly matter. 

Update posts regularly for SEO

Updating posts tin assistance you reclaim mislaid rankings and amended pages that ne'er ranked precocious enough.

Organic postulation   surge arsenic  a effect   of a contented  update

Underperforming contented tin beryllium divided into 2 categories:

  • Ranking successful the apical 10 – These articles volition apt request a smaller update, specified arsenic refreshing outdated information. 
  • Ranking beneath the apical 10 – These articles volition apt request a bigger redo. You whitethorn request to rewrite astir of the contented to get a higher accidental of ranking. 

To find articles worthy updating, you tin usage 2 types of tools. 

The archetypal 1 is our free WordPress plugin. If you’re going to spell with WordPress for your blog, this instrumentality volition show the rankings for the people keyword and, based connected that, suggest the due action. 

Ahrefs' WordPress plugin suggesting updating definite  articles

You tin besides usage a fertile tracking instrumentality similar Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker. Track your main keyword targets, past usage the presumption filter to find pages ranking from 1 to 10 (for updating) and from 11 (for rewriting). 

How to find   contented  updating prospects utilizing Ahrefs' Rank Tracker

Once you find your underperforming blog posts, determination are a fewer things you tin do, depending connected the case: 

  • Changing the format (for example, from a listicle to a guide) 
  • Adding a missing subtopic
  • Updating aged statistics, facts, etc 
  • Adding interior links from other pages 
  • Adding much adjuvant resources: quotes, visuals, statistics, etc 
  • Demonstrating much first-hand acquisition connected the topic

… and more. Read our afloat usher to republishing aged contented for SEO for much tips connected the topic.

Frequently asked questions astir starting a profitable blog. 

How bash bloggers get paid? 

Here are the astir fashionable ways of monetizing a blog: 

  • Advertisements 
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Sponsored posts
  • Freelance writing 
  • Selling products, services, oregon memberships 

Depending connected the monetization method, outgo rules besides differ. For example, for affiliate marketing, you tin get paid adjacent aft 30 days from the acquisition and lone if the merchandise hasn’t been returned. Whereas for sponsored posts, you tin expect beforehand payment. 

In this article, you volition find 9 ways to monetize a blog (as seen successful the array earlier). But depending connected the niche, this fig tin alteration (for example, determination tin beryllium up to 18 ways to monetize a food blog).

How to commencement a blog with no money? 

It’s imaginable to commencement a blog with absolutely no wealth utilizing escaped blogging tools and escaped hosting. However, it’s not needfully the champion mode to start. Blogging is competitive, and the champion blogs usage paid services and tools to summation an edge. 

Instead, effort to support your costs debased if you’re choky connected budget. For example, usage a escaped blog template alternatively of a customized one, find inexpensive WordPress hosting, and usage escaped tools wherever possible. Pay for tools lone if you spot them arsenic a bully investment. 

Last but not least, if you’re debased connected currency and you privation to usage blogging arsenic your main income, this whitethorn beryllium hard to achieve. Blogging tin instrumentality clip to instrumentality a sizeable profit, truthful it’s champion if you hole to person different sources of income earlier that happens (don’t permission your time occupation just yet). 

How to commencement a blog arsenic a beginner? 

If you privation to commencement a blog that makes money, it each comes down to: 

  1. Choosing a profitable niche, unsocial angle, and name.
  2. Planning however you’re going to monetize.
  3. Choosing a blogging level and registering your domain.
  4. Creating contented based connected postulation imaginable and your audience’s interests.
  5. Promoting your content.

You tin commencement blogging connected the precise aforesaid day, and it doesn’t necessitate immoderate peculiar skills specified arsenic coding. Although, you’ll request to capable successful immoderate “blanks,” specified arsenic your niche, name, and the topics you’ll write about. 

What kinds of blogs make money? 

There are fundamentally 5 types of blogs that make money:

  1. Niche blogs – Take a heavy dive into a peculiar niche oregon theme. Examples of profitable niches: nutrient and cooking, wellness and fitness, parenting, news, tech, entrepreneurship, finance, travel. 
  2. Affiliate/review blogs – Blogs created with the intent of recommending products and earning wealth via commissions from affiliate programs. 
  3. Personal blogs – Blogs without immoderate peculiar taxable oregon niche different than the idiosyncratic experiences and opinions of the author. 
  4. Personal marque blogs – Their superior purpose is to found the author’s sanction successful a peculiar industry. These blogs disagree from idiosyncratic blogs successful that the contented is much specifically targeted toward the author’s country of expertise.
  5. Business/corporate blogs – Promote products, services, and brands owned by the business.

Why bash astir bloggers fail?

Most communal reasons wherefore bloggers fail:

  • Giving up too soon
  • Lack of consistency successful publishing 
  • Writing for themselves, not taking their assemblage and request for the topics into account 
  • Never monetizing their blog 
  • Failing to supply unsocial value 
  • Not investing successful their blog 
  • Ignoring SEO
  • Not promoting their content

Do radical inactive read blogs?

In all, 77% of net users work blogs (Social Media Today) and astir 26% of radical successful the U.K. aged 5–18 are speechmaking blogs (Statista).

How galore times a week should I station connected my blog?

Bloggers who people 2 to six times per week are 50% much apt to study beardown results (Orbit Media).

But you tin people little and beryllium successful. For example, Financial Samurai, 1 of the astir salient blogs successful the fiscal niche, has been publishing three posts per week.

Final thoughts 

Taking a blog into profitability tin beryllium a tedious job. But if you’re superior astir committing your clip to it and you similar writing, blogging tin crook your beingness around—just similar it did for these people: 

  • Carrie Forest started the Clean Eating Kitchen blog to assistance women recovering from chronic wellness issues aft struggling with wellness issues herself. Her blog started to make gross erstwhile she started to bash SEO. The blog makes $20K a period now—you tin work her founder’s communicative here.  
  • Jennifer Marx from Jennifer Maker started her blog erstwhile she was broke. She turned it into a concern that earns six figures a period successful a fewer years. Listen to her story.
  • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner started Making Sense of Cents successful 2011 to support way of her fiscal progress. Now her blog earns $40K a month, and she works conscionable a fewer hours each week disconnected of her sailboat (or wherever she’s presently at). Read her communicative and get immoderate of her blogging tips.
  • Abby and her hubby made blogging a full-time household business. She explains however it happened and shares a fewer blogging tips successful her past income report

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