SiteSell Blog – Proven Real-World Advice for Solopreneurs View RSS

Could Your Newsletter Realistically Earn $5000 Per Month? 24 Apr 8:50 AM (15 days ago)

Let’s explore a question that will almost certainly grab your attention, especially if you’re doing email marketing: Could your newsletter realistically earn $5000 per month?

The short answer: yes.

The longer answer: It depends — but how you monetize matters more than you might realize.

We’ll do some simple calculations, so you can see what works, what’s hard, and why your newsletter list can be one of your most powerful assets — if you treat it right.

To give you a quick overview, here are the main points we’ll cover:

• $5k/Month is Possible: Reaching $5,000 per month from your newsletter is achievable, but your monetization method is the biggest factor.
• Ads/Affiliates Alone Are Tough: Relying solely on sending newsletter traffic to your website for ad clicks and affiliate commissions makes hitting $5k/month difficult if you don’t have a massive list size.
• Direct Monetization is Key: Higher earnings are more efficiently reached by directly monetizing your newsletter list through sponsorships, paid subscriptions, or selling your own digital/high-ticket products.

Now, let’s dive into the details, starting with the way many solopreneurs approach newsletter monetization…

The Common (But Less Efficient) Model:
Ads & Affiliates

Displaying ads and recommending affiliate products are two common ways solopreneurs monetize their websites and blogs, and it works perfectly.

You can take the same approach with your newsletter, using it to send people to your website. You grow traffic through content, drive people to your newsletter, and then send them back to your site or blog where you earn from ads and affiliate links.

It makes sense and it does work. However, it’s not the most efficient way to monetize your newsletter.

Why?

Let’s say you send out a newsletter once per week to 10,000 subscribers and get a 40% open rate (which is high but possible with a well-tuned list). That’s 4,000 opens per email.

If you’re only earning through affiliate links and ads on your site, your earnings might look like this:

That’s… not $5k.

Even if you scale this up to 100,000 subscribers, the same model might only net you around $2,000/month from email-driven traffic. That’s substantial, yes — but at huge volume and high ongoing costs (email software, content, time).

This is why monetizing solely through ads and affiliate links is a rather inefficient option for your newsletter.

So, What Are More Profitable Ways to Monetize Your Newsletter?

To hit $5k/month faster and more sustainably, you need to monetize the list itself — not just use it to drive traffic.

Here are a few ways you can do just that

1. Weekly Newsletter With Sponsorships

This involves including ads directly within your newsletter. You can either pitch your newsletter audience to businesses related to your niche, or use a newsletter advertising platform that automatically includes ads in your newsletter. Kit and Beehiiv are two email service providers that offer ad opportunities.

Here’s how the numbers break down for your newsletter of 10k subscribers:

We’re getting closer, but that’s still tough to achieve. 78k is a massive list. That takes years to build if you’re relying on organic traffic and free lead magnets. Sponsorships also fluctuate, so it’s not the most stable source of income.

2. Newsletter With a Paid Subscription

For this type of newsletter, you need to have exceptional content that your readers (and you) would be willing to pay to access. And if you do this, you need to regularly create two streams of content. One that is free to access and send to non-paying subs, and then one that is behind a paywall.

It’s definitely time intensive. There’s no doubt about that, but recurring revenue from subscriptions is invaluable.

The numbers:

So far, this definitely seems like the most profitable and stable option. To be earning $5k/month solely from subscription revenue, you’d need 25,000 subscribers.

As long as you’ve got a regular stream of great content and an engaged audience, this can be a great monetization method.

3. Newsletter + Digital Product/Service (e.g. $50-$100 course)

Create once. Sell forever. That’s the beauty of digital products. Yes, they need to be updated from time to time, but despite that, they provide an excellent ROI.

This works because you only need a small slice of your audience to buy, and as long as your list keeps growing, you can keep selling. With a well-aligned, low-ticket offer (like a mini-course, guide, etc), you don’t need big numbers — just a focused, interested niche.

4. Newsletter + High-Ticket Product/Service (e.g. $300-$800 course)

A small percentage of your audience might be interested in a more specialized, high value offer that they’re willing to pay a premium for. And you don’t need many of these people to make the numbers work:

And there you have it!

$5,000 per month from a single revenue stream. Powerful, right?

You don’t necessarily need more people. You need the right offer. If your site and newsletter already serve a high-intent audience with a clear problem to solve, this is doable — and scalable.

How to Earn More With Your Newsletter: Key Takeaways 

So, could your newsletter earn $5000 per month? You’re no doubt already doing the hard part: building content and traffic. That gives you a steady stream of subscribers to nurture.

But if your only newsletter monetization strategy is to send people back to your site without offering any products or services… your revenue potential is severely limited.

You can still do it — it works. But to take revenue to the next level this way, you’ll need:

• A massive list
• A lot of sends
• A lot of content
• And a whole lot of patience

As you’ve seen, it’s not about how big your list is — it’s more about how deep your connection is with the people on it.

When you align your newsletter with immense value — whether that’s a product, service, or subscription — you turn attention into income, even with a small audience. And this leads to smart, focused, and sustainable growth for your online business.

Need ideas for a higher paying monetization models, whether for your blog or newsletter? Download our free Diversify Your Income Streams worksheet below.

Author information

The post Could Your Newsletter Realistically Earn $5000 Per Month? appeared first on SiteSell Blog - Proven Real-World Advice for Solopreneurs.

Understanding the 3 Phases of Search: A Guide for Website Owners 10 Apr 6:09 AM (29 days ago)

For over two decades, “search” meant one thing: type in a keyword, get “10 blue links.” Simple, right? But underneath that simplicity, a revolution has been brewing.

We’re moving beyond those familiar blue links into an AI-driven era. To make sense of this new world, we need to understand the evolution of search.

The story of search can be told in three key phases. Let’s explore this journey, from the early days of Yahoo! to the AI-driven search we see emerging today…

So, pre-AI, there was only one way to search after the transition from Yahoo! (directories) to Google (“10 blue links”). Now, 20 years later, we find ourselves in the final transition…

With AI, we need to segment current-day search into three categories. The two new versions, based on AI, meet the needs of the searcher better. And, in turn, so must you…

The searcher’s goal is fulfilled with but a single click. The better, faster and more consistently AI search delivers on a single click, the faster the 10BL format will diminish.

I don’t see AI-based search results doing anything other than get better and faster. So it’s time to adjust to how AI impacts your efforts to grow traffic from search.

Let’s review the three phases of search…

“Regular” Search: The Search We All Know

Search History 101: From Webcrawler to Google’s Reign

This is the search that we all know. In the late 90s/early 2000s, there were several search engines. The dominant players were Webcrawler and Lycos (1994), Alta Vista and Infoseek (1995), Excite (1996), Yahoo! (1997-2003) and, finally, Google. Why “finally”?

Because Google ended the parade. It became the dominant search engine by 2003. Google has held onto its crown as the most popular search engine globally and across all devices, increasing market share to 90+% by 2014, where it has remained.

This transition, from Yahoo!’s directory (human-compiled, couldn’t scale) to Google Search (spider-aggregated, does scale) is moving on to the third, and final (?), technology — Generative AI.

What did each mean for the user?

• With directories, you drilled down with multiple clicks until you found the site you wanted.
• Google, on the other hand, displayed its best results from its comprehensive database of results.
• Google’s AI pulls the most relevant information from the best sites to deliver a single essay (an “AI Overview”), citations included, at the top of the SERP. The classical 10 blue links (10BL) appear below that.

You may not see the 10BLs, though. AI Overview often takes up much of the screen real estate (although Google has been reducing its size over the past few months).

Bottom line: With each transition, the human searcher makes fewer clicks. As more people feel the benefit of AI search, its use will grow substantially.

How Does This Impact Other Search Engines?

Google’s closest competitor, Bing, holds a market share of around 3.7%, followed by Yandex (Russia) at 1.6%, Yahoo! at 1.2%, and Baidu (China) at 0.9%​.

All are facing the third major change in how people search. This is a huge opportunity for “all except Google” to gain meaningful market share. For example, if Google were to lose 3.7% of its share to Microsoft, that would double Microsoft’s share.

Google’s loss of 3.7%, down to 89.1%, may seem arithmetically insignificant. However, its impact on profits is significantly greater (due to operational leverage) than its 3.7% hit to revenue.

Or Google may grow its net revenue due to an increase in total global search volume. Suppose that increases by 5%, due to increased publicity about, and better user experience of, AI Search. Even if Google’s search share were to drop by 3.7%, it would still end up growing by 1.1%.

This period of transition represents a great opportunity for all search engines. All except Google, which faces high risk.

Knowing the history of search gives you the perspective to help you optimize future outcomes. Let’s review the three phases of search…

Phase 1: Yahoo! Directory — The Human Touch (That Couldn’t Scale)

Few people know that Yahoo! was originally not a search engine, but a human-compiled directory. The site owner submitted a manual application, followed by human evaluation. Many sites were refused admission, while accepted sites were “categorized” appropriately.

It was probably better then, in some ways, than Google is today — you always found a strong site. Compiled and categorized by humans, you clicked down through categories and subcategories until reaching an excellent site.

However, this human-compiled search tool was doomed from the moment it launched, even as it grew to #1. It was never able to scale. The weight of the web’s exponential growth crushed it.

Yahoo! was a victim of its own model, and of the web’s success. It was so overwhelming that the backlog for admission grew to many months long.

Initially free, it started to charge $300 to apply. That ruled out sites whose owners didn’t think they could pass the admission test. This helped at first, but Yahoo! was soon overwhelmed again.

Phase 2: The Google Revolution — From Human Directories to Spider-Powered Search

Slowly, Yahoo!’s leadership dwindled, as the steamroller that was Google could not be stopped.

Google, online since 1998, passed Yahoo! in 2003. It reached #1 in just five years. From there, it soared to its current dominating status.

Google’s growth from 1998 to 2024 shows the classic innovation S curve…

Growth companies that show this S curve are considered mature when they reach a steady plateau. These companies are often ripe for disruption, typically by a company with a new and superior technology.

Based on the graph, Google has clearly matured. Will AI spawn a competitor to disrupt it? Or will Google ride AI to even greater heights? Huge question — we’ll discuss it later.

Bottom line: Regular search is where “the algorithm” lives. Algorithm changes are causing the most damage at the time of this writing. Google is ripe for disruption.

Regular Search Today: What It Looks Like And Why It’s Still Relevant

Today, of course, the words Google and “search” have become synonymous. The information and conclusions about Google apply equally to Bing, Yandex, Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo (0.6%), and the remainder (Ecosia, Brave, and Ask), all under 0.5%.

This type of search, “Regular” Search, does not include any AI features that have been added to search. In other words, we ignore any AI features such as Google’s AI Overview. Once you type in your keyword, you get back those 10BLs.

Ignoring add-on AI results (such as SGE — Search Generative Experience, now called AI Overview) lets us think and converse based on an organized, logical framework when analyzing and talking about search.

The only exception to “No AI in regular search” is the AI built right into Google. It works invisibly within the search algorithm. We know that an AI called “RankBrain” influences the final output of search. RankBrain’s influence grows regularly and, at some point, will dominate in importance.

You’ll never see it in action. Nor is it possible to reverse-engineer it. That said, some SEOers try.

By the way, most of us equate AI to Generative AI (GAI) and ChatGPT. That’s because of the exponential growth of ChatGPT since its announcement in November 2022. However, AI started decades before, in the form of machine learning, neural networks, etc.

RankBrain has been based on machine learning (ML) since its initial deployment in 2015. It might also use other forms of AI, such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), Deep Learning, Neural Networks and, most recently, GAI.

Google has only confirmed that machine learning is at the core of RankBrain.  Beyond that, it offers only high-level information.

However, considering the complexities of search query understanding, user behavior analysis, and ranking optimization, it’s reasonable to assume that RankBrain leverages a combination of other AI techniques to accomplish its objectives. And now…

Many experts consider the use of GAI to be a logical next step in enhancing search result relevance (through improved keyword understanding, especially for complex and nuanced queries), and user experience (e.g., through personalized search results).

For our purposes, the AI of RankBrain is buried in the algo, working invisibly. It really doesn’t matter what types of AI are used.

Why not?

Because the two most important technologies, ML and GAI, are “black boxes,” meaning that even experts cannot reverse-engineer them.

The addition of a second adds yet more black box complexity. Also, the combination of the two multiplies the complexity! So, whether there’s one AI technology in RankBrain or 100, it all boils down to “black box.”

I mean, if it can’t be figured out at one level, does it really matter that it gets that much more impossible to solve at another level?

I discuss this later in my book “Make Your Site Win (Again),” but I’ll give you a “spoiler” now.

Spoiler: By now, you can see how simple, relatively speaking, Google was prior to using AI. I’ll call this “Pre-AI Google” or “Google 1.0.”

Then came RankBrain in 2015. It has grown in importance for search rankings, now #3 behind only content and links. I expect the importance of links to continue to decrease, while content will always be #1.

So, to oversimplify in a useful way, RankBrain refines Google’s understanding of the keyword/query. And now that it’s better understood, GAI writes an AI Overview essay based on RankBrain’s superior comprehension.

It’s almost like love, the way they fit so well.

But…

GAI shoots Google’s complexity even higher. This is “Post-AI Google,” aka “Google 2.0.” And its secret code is forever beyond comprehension.

Key Takeaway: Why “SEO Mastery” is a Myth in the Age of AI Search

Given the above inarguable information…

One of my most important recommendations is to ignore any claim to have a system that masters high rankings in the SERPs. No such thing exists.

Some folks spend so much time SEO’ing their websites to zero effect, or even negative effect. They could be spending that time either creating more user-loved material or improving their existing good content to best-of-niche.

Tip: Are you worried about your ability to remain objective when evaluating your own content? It’s a reasonable concern in both directions… too severe or too gentle.

Handle this by asking a friend to assess two pages, one from your site and one that covers the same topic (i.e., from the same SERP) from your strongest competitor’s site.

Ideally, you should first copy-and-paste both text and image content into two separate text editor files, especially if your tester has ever been on your site. Do not tell your tester which is which. This prevents biased results.

We now arrive at the third (and current) “phase” of the evolution of search – or – “the three phases of search.”

Phase 3: AI Features — Search Gets a Whole New Dimension

Phase 1 was about human-curated directories (e.g., Yahoo!). Phase 2 was/is about spider-gathered web pages, by the billions (e.g., Google). And Phase 3 is about the use of AI to generate essay-style answers.

An AI Feature (AIF) is different from standalone AI search. It’s any AI-generated feature that’s added to a SERP in response to a regular search.

Google launched a version of this in May 2023, naming it “Search Generative Experience” (SGE). The Bing version (Microsoft using ChatGPT) launched earlier. We’ll stick to Google because AIFs are tied to search results, and Google dominates at regular search.

Google renamed SGE “AI Overview,” announcing it at Google I/O 2024 (May 2024).

AI Overview appears at the top of a search results page. Generated by Gemini, AI Overview provides users with “quick, summarized answers to complex queries” (per Google).

Here’s an example…

Delivered directly in the SERP, this feature is not part of regular search. For our purposes, it’s AI-driven and added above the search results (the 10BLs), which makes it an AIF.

Both AIF and AIP are AI-driven, but…

• AIF is a feature added to a search results page.
• AIP is a standalone product. It has its own URL. There are no regular search results.

Why use the regular search/AIF/AIP framework? Two reasons…

• It helps you to compartmentalize search into three distinct types — regular search, AIF and AIP (standalone). This keeps the types clear and separate in your brain.
• It also helps you to discuss these with clarity. For example, if you were to ask a question (or give an answer) about “AI search,” someone will, I hope, correct you and ask whether you’re referring to “AI feature” or “AI product.” If you just have a question about search, everyone understands that you’re referring to the SERP with the 10BLs.

We’ll use AIF when we want to refer to any AI-based feature that’s added to any search engine. The name says what it is.

AI Overview is the most recent, full-fledged AIF. Google’s Gemini generates one summarizing answer — an essay about the search term or that replies to a question. It also includes several links to the most relevant web pages, to provide what it considers to be good “go deeper” links.

Google’s goal is to provide helpful and informative summaries for users. The presence or absence of an AI Overview depends on various factors, including the type of search, the quality of available information on the web, and Google’s confidence in understanding and fulfilling the user’s search intent.

What about the links? Researchers are reporting that some of these links correlate with the ones that get Top 10 rankings at the SERPs for the same keyword. But the process goes beyond picking from the 10BLs…

Think of the link-generating process as the AI “reading” and “understanding” the content, then selecting the links that best complement its summary. It adds diverse perspectives to enable you to round out its report.

Remember, AI Overview creates its report without knowing the sources that contributed to it. It’s the same way you or I would write an essay on any topic — we don’t remember what books, news sources, websites and blogs formed our knowledge.

So those links generated for AI Overview often don’t appear in the SERPs, which adds extra opportunities for you.

AI Overview became available to the entire US on May 14, 2024. It’s now in over 100 countries around the world, available in multiple languages.

Use this neat tool to track the prominence of AI Overviews over time, by industry and search intent.

The Bing Perspective: How Copilot Compares to Google’s AI Overview

Bing introduced Copilot (formerly Bing Chat) in December 2023. It’s at bing.com/copilot.

Unlike search, Copilot uses AI (ChatGPT) to understand conversational queries, “providing helpful and engaging answers in a chat-like format” (says Microsoft). It streamlines web browsing by offering context-aware responses and ongoing conversation capabilities.

You can find Copilot on Bing Search below your keyword search and Bing’s keyword recommendations. As you can see, you can choose, for any search, when you want to do an AI search either by clicking on the Try Copilot listing or on the Chat button, as shown here…

That yields a Copilot page, looking something like this when I asked it, “who won the war of 1812”…

Google, on the other hand, decides when to deliver an AI Overview answer at the top of the SERP. You don’t even get to see any hints that an AI Feature exists on Google’s search page.

Finally, if you compare Google AI Overview’s answer to Bing Copilot’s, the two are very similar. Each provides a summary of the answer, and includes a link to one or more highly ranked pages for that search term.

Also, you get a choice of three summary lengths. AI Overview provides the briefest, and then Copilot. Want something a little longer? Return to AI Overview and click on the Search More button at the bottom.

Conclusion: Expect to see quite a bit of news about the testing of this type of search result. For example, you may read that one bot or another is either doing more or less AIF. There’ll be speculation, while all they’re doing is testing.

In the mid/long run, as the AIF format proves itself superior, I expect to see search engines generate AIFs for a steadily increasing percentage of searches.

Try to imagine the complexity of what a GAI does here. It’s enormous, even for Google’s Gemini. So there will be a lot of experimenting, fine-tuning and “live” testing (i.e., with actual users in real time).

It’s possible that Google may not be able to achieve the results that it wants. In such a case, it could switch to an entirely different format — copying Perplexity, for example. Or Google might develop a revolutionary new way for folks to get the info they want, as quickly as they dream about.

The Three Phases of Search: From Past to Present — And What’s Coming Next

Search was fairly stagnant for 20 years, incrementally improving the small stuff, and then…

Since OpenAI announced ChatGPT-3 in November 2022, the tool and several new version releases have swept the globe. For the first time in the history of software, generative AI has been rapidly getting stronger and faster and cheaper, an indication of scale (which is extreme).

It seems like we’ve come a long way. The reality is that we’ve barely scratched the surface.

The three phases of search have brought us to an inflection point. But what comes next? In our upcoming article, we’ll look ahead to “The Future of Search,” exploring where AI is taking us and what website owners need to prepare for. Join us as we shift our gaze forward and explore the exciting — and perhaps unpredictable — next era of search.

Read Other Articles in This Series:

Ken Evoy Releases New Book to Help Website Owners Recover from Google Updates

Beyond the Helpful Content Update: The Real Lessons Google is Teaching Us About the Future of Search

Large Language Models: What Content Creators Need to Know

Author information

The post Understanding the 3 Phases of Search: A Guide for Website Owners appeared first on SiteSell Blog - Proven Real-World Advice for Solopreneurs.

From Traffic Peaks to Auto-Pilot: A Psychologist’s Website Success Story 27 Mar 9:08 AM (last month)

I also made a decision that I would use the website to
literally “give away” everything that I knew about helping people with these problems.
– Dr. David Carbonell, www.anxietycoach.com

This quote gets right to the heart of Dr. David Carbonell’s mission: a deep and genuine desire to help people struggling with anxiety.

As a Clinical Psychologist specializing in anxiety disorders for over three decades, David has dedicated his career to understanding and treating fears, phobias, panic attacks, and OCD.

He’s not only a therapist in Chicago, but also an author of four self-help books and a sought-after workshop leader for fellow therapists.

Back in 2000, driven by this passion to help, David launched his first website — a free self-help resource. However, despite the help of a web designer, it remained largely invisible online.

Undeterred, and even more determined to reach those in need, he rebuilt his online presence in 2005, this time choosing Solo Build It!. Why SBI!? Because he understood that passion alone wasn’t enough. He needed a platform that could help him get his message heard.

In our interview, Dr. Carbonell shares his online journey, from having to hire an assistant just to deal with his book sales, to struggling with Google updates (who can relate?) to his decision to put the site on auto-pilot.

Read on for a healthy dose of online business wisdom! Doctor’s orders.

1. David, can you tell us a bit more about your professional background and why you started anxietycoach.com back in 2005?

I’m a psychologist who specializes in helping people with anxiety disorders — fears, phobias, panic attacks, chronic worry, social anxiety, and OCD. I’ve been in practice since 1989.

I originally put up a website in 2000. That site was constructed for me by a web designer, and it was designed to be a free self-help site for people struggling with anxiety disorders.

I decided to rebuild the site in 2005 because it really wasn’t getting any significant traffic. I also didn’t want to be dependent on the designer for expanding and revising the site.

2. What made you choose Solo Build It! to create and host your site? What SBI! features or tools did you find most helpful?

I looked at a number of services. I chose SBI! because it appeared to be the only service that integrated building for search engine traffic into the first steps of site design and beyond.

The content of my previous site had been quite good, but it lacked any emphasis on attracting search engine traffic, and so it didn’t get much. I found SBI!’s system for selecting and using keywords very helpful.

3. For over a decade, your site was wildly successful in terms of traffic, and one of the most popular anxiety self-help sites around. What do you think were the main factors for this success?

I wish I knew for sure! Over time, my Google page rankings became very good, which I attribute to following the Solo Build It! guidelines very closely.

I had good content that was specifically written for people who needed help with the types of anxiety problems I treated in my practice — panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, fear of flying, fear of public speaking, animal phobias, generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder.

I wrote my content in a voice that was as direct and simple as I could manage, whereas many mental health sites are written in a voice that unfortunately favors jargon over simple communication.

I also added many humorous touches, because I found in my practice that humor was a powerful ingredient that helped people overcome these problems.

And I made a decision that I would use the website to literally “give away” everything that I knew about helping people with these problems.

So I didn’t just suggest that changing your breathing might help with panic attacks. I included a video that showed people how to change their breathing, and offered specific instructions for how and when to practice, and how to use breathing for their own improvement.

Too many mental health sites seem to aim for providing enough information to get you to enroll in their services, but not enough to help you foster your own recovery. I wanted to provide enough specific and clear information that motivated individuals to take these materials and work toward their own recovery.

4. During that time, what role did your site play for your work as a psychologist? How did it impact your life, both professionally and personally?

Originally, it was purely a free self-help site. At that time, there was no online therapy, or licensing by which therapists could practice with clients from other states, so the site didn’t really have much effect on my practice, which was restricted to Chicago.

I decided to include no advertising of any kind because I find that mental health sites that run ads, and paid links, often lack credibility. I felt it was a stronger position to be able to say that the site was exclusively funded by me.

Later, as I wrote a series of self-help books, I offered them for sale on the site. During this time the traffic was so heavy I had an assistant just to take care of book sales.

Anxiety Coach was also a platform by which I could market my training for professional psychotherapists, which I brought all over the country. Beyond this, the website amplified my voice in urging the profession to adopt newer approaches to the treatment of anxiety disorders.

 

5. In 2019, your site saw a significant traffic drop, likely due to Google algorithm changes, a painful experience for many site owners. Can you tell us about the steps you took after this happened?

I tried to figure out the cause, or causes, of the drop. I was not able to pin it down to specific causes that I could, or wanted to, remedy. I carefully reviewed the SBI! materials about Medic and other Google updates and made the suggested changes.

I consulted with an SBI! Professional. I switched to a responsive design, paid a lot more attention to the needs of mobile phone viewers, and added many more photos.

None of these changes had a major impact. In the end, it seemed the likeliest explanation was that my site had become rather static, and Google seemed to favor sites that were frequently being updated. But who knows?

6. You decided to put your site on “auto-pilot” after the traffic drop rather than trying to rebuild. What were your main reasons for this decision?

I was already as busy as I could be in my practice, so I wasn’t looking for more referrals. I was also pretty busy writing books, and didn’t relish spending more time writing and rebuilding the site.

The website was intended to supplement the work I was doing in my practice, rather than be a separate online venture, and since the practice continued to do well, I didn’t feel a strong need to overhaul the site. I was also nearing retirement age.

7. What’s the biggest lesson you learned from building and managing your website? Would you do anything differently if you could go back in time?

I can see how it would have helped the website endure by continually upgrading and revising the content, shifting to more videos, etc. But I don’t think I would have done anything terribly different from what I did.

After I had covered all the main disorders and topics, I wrote quite a few long-tail pages for keywords and topics that would be of strong interest to smaller segments of the anxiety community.

Once that was done, I didn’t see much benefit in adding more topics. Mine was not a site like a travel site that would continually offer new services and destinations.

8. Anxiety self-help is as much needed today as it was 10 years ago, if not more. Have you considered “reviving” your site by selling it or passing it on to a family member or colleague? 

Presently I am continuing to work part-time, and probably won’t pass the site on until I’m fully retired, but I expect I will pass it on when that happens, ideally to another professional in the field.

9. Finally, what’s your single most important piece of advice for someone just starting their online journey?

Be flexible, humble, curious and persistent!

Author information

The post From Traffic Peaks to Auto-Pilot: A Psychologist’s Website Success Story appeared first on SiteSell Blog - Proven Real-World Advice for Solopreneurs.

Large Language Models: What Content Creators Need to Know 13 Mar 8:00 AM (last month)

In our previous post, we explored the crucial lessons of Google’s Helpful Content Update (HCU) and how it signals a shift towards user-first content. But to truly understand where search is heading, we need to talk about Large Language Models (LLMs). These AI systems are driving significant changes in online content creation and consumption.

Unsure what an LLM is or how it works? Let’s fix that with a simple explanation that brings you up to speed…

A large language model collects vast amounts of text information and, using self-supervised and semi-supervised training methods, learns statistical relationships between words. This training allows generative AIs (GAIs) to generate human-like text, translate languages, and answer questions.

Data is the fuel of GAIs. The hunt is on by LLMs, especially by the “Big 3” (ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude) to acquire as much data as possible. The bigger, better, and more recent their databases, the stronger these GAIs get.

LLMs are designed to understand language (text). They interpret text prompts to create new and original text (or images, video, etc). The quality of this output is rapidly approaching, and in some cases surpassing, human capabilities.

The Human Brain vs. LLM Hardware

Humans have a compact, fleshy brain. The biggest and best LLM “brains” have a massive combination of tens of thousands of high-performance GPUs (graphics processing units), CPUs (central processing units), memory, storage, networking components, and accelerators. The major heat-producers (GPUs especially) require liquid cooling.

While humans require decades to reach their full potential, LLMs can be trained in months, albeit at a significant financial cost.

The process of creating a prompt-ready LLM, while complex, typically takes 4 to 12 months, significantly faster than human development.

Billions of dollars are being spent on developing AI. This shows how much of a difference it’s expected to make. It also reminds us that some things only humans can do, and those things are still valuable.

The “brain” of the AI technology being used by big companies like Amazon and Google has a limited lifespan. Called a “half-life,” it lasts around 2 to 5 years. This means that every 3 to 4 years, these companies need to replace about half of the AI’s brain with new parts.

Now, compare that to the human brain. Our brains can keep learning and working well for many decades, even into our 80s and beyond. We might not be as sharp as we used to be, but we don’t need to replace half of our brain every few years!

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI)

GAI refers to AI systems capable of creating new content, such as text, as mentioned above, and images, audio, or video (same concept, different mediums).

GAI uses Large Language Models to create entirely new content that didn’t previously exist. These models use complex algorithms to understand and replicate the patterns in their training data.

When given a prompt or input, they can generate responses or content that is contextually relevant and often indistinguishable from human-created work.

Generative AI has numerous applications across various fields…

• In creative industries, it can assist in writing, art creation, and music composition.
• In software development, it can generate code and automate certain programming tasks.
• In business, it can produce reports, answer customer queries, and aid in decision-making processes.

How Does Generative AI Create Content?

First, “training” helps it learn patterns in words, sentences and paragraphs. It learns grammar, different writing styles, and an incredible amount of information. Then, when you ask it to write an essay on any topic, it uses all that knowledge to figure out what words to put together.

It’s kind of like a super-advanced version of autocomplete on your phone. If you start typing a sentence, your phone might suggest how to finish it. An LLM does this on a much larger scale, putting together whole essays based on the patterns it learned.

And here’s the amazing part…

GAI does it one word at a time. “All” it does is predict the next word, then the next, the next and so forth. Words become sentences. Sentences become paragraphs. And before you know it, you have a whole essay on any topic you care to imagine.

It’s not all upside, though…

While generative AI offers exciting possibilities, it also raises important ethical questions about originality, copyright, and the potential displacement of human creativity.

The Tai Action Guide covers these issues, including how to protect yourself while creating the best possible content.

Now for a hot topic discussed among AI experts…

Can Generative AI Ever Become Conscious and Dangerous?

Here’s the essential question on this existential, earth-threatening worry…

Could GAI ever develop consciousness, at which point it could decide that humans are a danger to the planet? No need to elaborate — I’m sure you’ve seen the movies.

How smart can it get?

With each version release, it does indeed become a deeper/wider/better/smarter text creator, image generator, etc. It’s amazing how fast progress has come in just a few years.

And yes, GAI will reach a level where it becomes much more intelligent than the smartest human expert in any field. It will be able to out-plan, out-strategize, out-everything any adversary, including humans.

However, while LLMs will likely surpass human intelligence in many areas, the development of consciousness in AI remains a complex and debated topic.

Artificial Intelligence vs. Human Intelligence

Human intelligence, shaped by DNA and environment, develops over decades. Large Language Models, trained on vast datasets, learn much faster but are limited by the data fed to them.

Last, in the world of computers, everything boils down to 0s and 1s (until we have quantum computers). That means an LLM’s potential can be maximized by ever-improving programming. And compared to humans, LLMs get to their maximum realizable potential “after birth” (cut-off date) faster (4 to 12 months!).

Most of us never come close to achieving anywhere near our maximum potential.

To widen your lead over GAI, emphasize “YOUPPI”…

YOUPPI: Injecting You Into Your Content

YOUPPI (Your Original, Unique, Precious and Personal Information) is all about what LLMs can’t do: live.

Focus on sharing your sensory experiences and actions — the things that make you you.

“Personal Information” can be insights, experiences, anecdotes — pretty much anything that Large Language Models can’t do or experience. Focus especially on experiences and anecdotes that focus on your five senses and the actual doing of something.

So, for example…

“As I opened the oven, the rush of hot air surrounded me with a sweet sourdough scent that took me back to memories of our neighborhood baker.”

• You did something (opened the oven).
• You used one of your five senses.
• You’re recollecting a memory.

No chatbot can do any of those.

The more YOUPPI you inject into your content, the more it stands out against generic, corporate-generated material. You also keep the memory of Youppi alive!

Ever since we started SiteSell (1999), I’ve wanted to use Youppi, the name of the Montreal Expos’ mascot, in one of my forum posts. Original, unique and precious to Expo fans (like me ), that time has arrived! And in a book, no less!

Sadly, Youppi is no longer with us. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005.

Thinking about how much things have changed since then… It’s not just baseball mascots and teams that evolve, of course. The world of search has undergone a massive transformation as well.

In the next article, I’ll examine the three key phases of search evolution — from the early days of human-compiled directories like Yahoo! to today’s AI-powered answer engines. And more importantly, I’ll explore what each of these phases means for your content strategy and online success. Join me on this fascinating journey!

We’ll publish parts of the Make Your Site Win (Again!) book on our blog in the coming weeks. Subscribe to our free newsletter below so that you don’t miss them.

Read Other Articles in This Series:

Ken Evoy Releases New Book to Help Website Owners Recover from Google Updates

Beyond the Helpful Content Update: The Real Lessons Google is Teaching Us About the Future of Search

Author information

The post Large Language Models: What Content Creators Need to Know appeared first on SiteSell Blog - Proven Real-World Advice for Solopreneurs.

From Swim Teacher to Solopreneur: Building Passive Income Online 27 Feb 12:25 PM (2 months ago)

“At the beginning of this journey,
I’m sure I read something that said, ‘SiteSell changes lives,’
and I can say without a doubt that it has done exactly that.”
-Mark Young, www.swim-teach.com

Mark’s dedication to teaching swimming stretches back three decades, sparked when he earned his certification as a swimming instructor. What began as a career quickly evolved into a mission: making swimming achievable and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of level.

But Mark faced a common challenge for teachers and trainers: his impact was limited by the hours in his day. In addition, if he wasn’t teaching, he wasn’t earning. He needed a way to scale his reach and create a more sustainable income.

His solution? To package his deep knowledge into a book, making his expertise accessible to a wider audience. Yet, the question remained: how could he effectively promote his book and connect with readers on a larger scale, even globally?

Let’s hear from Mark directly, as he shares his journey of overcoming this challenge and building an online business that has not only expanded his reach to students worldwide, but also transformed his own life.

1. Mark, what motivated you to start an online business in the swim niche? And how did you decide to use Solo Build It!? 

I was self-employed, working as a swimming teacher (and, for a time, a personal trainer). This meant that when I wasn’t teaching a lesson or training a client, I wasn’t earning any money.

I wanted a passive income, so I wrote a book for swimming teachers about how to be a good teacher, set myself up as a self-publisher and went about publishing my book.

It got to a point where I needed to market and promote my book, so a website was the logical way of reaching out globally. A work colleague at the time recommended Site Build It! (as it was called then), so I did my research and signed up. The rest, they say, is history.

2. You serve three quite distinctive groups with Swim Teach: swimming teachers, beginners and parents. How did you identify these audiences? And how do you ensure that your content resonates with each of these “ideal customers”?

I used the Brainstorming and Keyword tools in SBI! to initially build pages targeting swimming teachers because that was my first and most apparent audience, given the title of my book.

From my keyword research, it then occurred to me that the market for people learning to swim was far more significant. I went back to my book and used it to write another book aimed at beginners learning to swim. I now had two books and two potential audiences.

I discovered tons of websites, books, and videos aimed at swimming techniques and swimming faster, but there were few for those just wanting to learn the basics, which was my niche.

Over the years, I have received questions from parents and teachers asking for tips on teaching children to swim. This prompted me to write a book aimed at parents wanting to teach their children. Relevant keyword research pointed at another subsection for Swim Teach to aim some content at — parents.

The Brainstorming tools in SBI are simply a goldmine, and I use them to ensure that my content stays on point and solves their problems.

3. Your site saw some impact from Google’s Helpful Content Update in 2023. Has your content creation strategy changed because of this? In general, how are you adapting to changes in search, like algorithm updates and generative AI?

I have always relied heavily on advice from SBI!, either in the forums or from articles published via SBIX. Since the algorithm update, I check out my competition a lot more and attempt to write content that comes across as trustworthy and as genuine as possible. I no longer write and build and assume it will rank in the way it used to.

4. Have you used Solo Build It!’s AI assistant, Tai, for any aspect of your site or business? If not, what’s been holding you back?

Tai is a game changer. However much I think I know about the content of a keyword-related page, Tai will let me know stuff I would never have thought to include. As a result, the depth of the content on many of my pages has been far greater since using Tai.

5. How do you earn an income with your site? Is it a full-time or part-time income?

My income comes mainly from book sales, either directly from my site as ebook downloads or from printed books via Amazon.

There is also a small affiliate income from Amazon. The income is very much passive, and I am only working part-time on my site.

6. What impact do social media and email marketing have on your business success? Have you used the social media guides included in SBI!, and did you find them helpful?

Email marketing is a big part of my business strategy, and my weekly newsletter always generates a few sales. I find social media hugely frustrating, but the social media guides in SBI! have been a great help — even if it’s just getting the basics right to start with.

7.  You seem to mainly use text and image tutorials on your website and in your ebooks. Do you have plans for adding video lessons, and if not, why not?

I personally find video content online very frustrating. There is nothing worse than watching a video for 5 or 10 minutes only to find it hasn’t quite answered your question or solved your problem.

I prefer to scan-read a web page or article to get a flavour before digging deeper into it — something you can’t do with a video.

I created a few videos (linked to my YouTube channel) a few years ago explaining basic techniques, but that’s about it. Creating video is time-consuming, so it’s a case of time spent vs reward.

Given the vast amount of swimming videos already out there that my videos compete with, I prefer to stick to text and image content for now. When my site and income grow enough to buy me time to invest in video creation, it’s something I will tackle properly.

8. What are the biggest challenges you face as a solopreneur and website owner?

My biggest challenge as a solopreneur is juggling time. Day job, family life and website development. Working on my website is a genuine labour of love, and there is never enough time to give to it.

I aim to have my website as my full-time job and income — I’m impatient and it can’t happen fast enough, but I am definitely getting there!

9. What do you find most rewarding about having an online business? How has this journey impacted you and your family?

The biggest buzz for me is waking up in the morning to find notifications on my phone telling me I’d earned £50 while I was asleep!

At the beginning of this journey, I’m sure I read something that said, “SiteSell changes lives,” and I can say without a doubt that it has done exactly that.

There have been times in the month, near payday, when money gets tight and we have to be careful — we’ve all been there. I can send out a special offer email or run a few posts on social media, and my site usually steps up and chips in with a few pennies to help out.

10. Finally, what’s your single most important piece of advice for someone just starting an online business?

Stick at it. If you believe in yourself and your passion for your niche, then there is nothing stopping you.

There will be bumps in the road ahead, but you can rest assured SBI! will have your back 100%. They will show you the sunshine when it’s raining, and the reward will be a business that is yours and yours only.

A business and an achievement that no one can take away from you.

Author information

The post From Swim Teacher to Solopreneur: Building Passive Income Online appeared first on SiteSell Blog - Proven Real-World Advice for Solopreneurs.

Beyond the Helpful Content Update: The Real Lessons Google Is Teaching Us About the Future of Search 19 Feb 11:19 AM (2 months ago)

Google’s Helpful Content Update (HCU), launched in September 2023, marked a painful turning point for many website owners. As you’re reading this, you might still feel its impact.

Designed to reward “helpful” content, the HCU led to significant traffic drops for many sites, especially those owned by solopreneurs and small businesses.

We felt the pain in the Solo Build It! forums, too. I wanted to help those who suffered substantial losses to regain their rankings, traffic and income. What was initially planned as a single forum post turned into countless hours of research and a 220 page book, “Make Your Site Win (Again!).”

While much has been written about the Helpful Content Update in the months since its roll-out, its fundamental message about Google’s evolving priorities — and how to adapt your content strategy accordingly — is more critical than ever.

We’re in an important transitional period regarding search engines. We’re moving from algorithm-based to AI-based search. More on this in upcoming articles. Subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss them.

But first, let’s quickly recap what Google was aiming for with the Helpful Content Update.

“Helpful Content”: We’ve Been Saying This for Years!

In Google’s own words, they wanted to “ensure people see more original, helpful content written by people, for people, in search results.”

Also from Google…

“[A]ims to better reward content where visitors feel they’ve had a satisfying experience, while content that doesn’t meet a visitor’s expectations won’t perform as well.”

That, of course, is what we’ve always taught here at Solo Build It!. You create information for users, not search engines. That means, too, by definition, that search engine optimization is over.

And while Google has been saying this “user-first” mantra for years, the HCU felt different. For many independent bloggers and small site owners, it felt like a penalty.

Were Small Sites Being Penalized for Being Small?

Many smaller websites experienced significant losses in traffic after the September release. There were far fewer sites reporting gains. So, even after allowing for the fact that those who lose traffic are more likely to report, traffic loss far exceeded gains and no changes.

Sites that heavily relied on traditional SEO tactics without prioritizing user value saw massive declines. Small sites with authentic, high-quality content did better but still lost overall. There was little doubt…

Small websites, in particular, experienced drops in traffic and, therefore, revenue.

After reviewing countless sites, especially within the SBI! community, I believe the HCU traffic drop wasn’t just “a coincidental collection of anecdotes.” Smaller sites did take a hit, sometimes pushed down by larger sites with arguably inferior content. This led to a “mass uproar,” reminiscent of the Panda and Penguin updates of years past.

What Was Google’s Response?

While Google would never admit that they were wrong, the mass uproar did get their attention. It was enough for them to realize that even if their algorithm yielded better results overall, it created problems elsewhere, as if in a chaotic game of whack-a-mole.

The solution?

There’s more order in the chaos than it seems. Let’s review Google’s response…

Acknowledgment of Impact: Google did acknowledge the impact of the updates, particularly on smaller websites. In several blog posts and webmaster forums, their staff stated that while the updates were designed to reward helpful content, they were aware that some sites were experiencing unintended consequences.

Guidance and Recommendations: Google provided guidance on creating helpful content and improving website quality.

No Reversal or Rollback: Google did not announce any plans to reverse or roll back the Helpful Content Updates. Why would they if they had data to prove that they were achieving what they had intended?

Instead, they reiterated their commitment to rewarding helpful content and improving the overall search experience for users. This is the closest that “typical Google” will ever get to suggesting that future releases may address the “small-site problem.”

Continuous Refinement: Google emphasized that the Helpful Content Update is part of an ongoing effort to refine their algorithms and improve search results. Google encouraged website owners to focus on creating high-quality, user-centric content that aligns with their guidelines.

My thoughts on the above…

While Google admitted that there was an impact on various websites, they denied any errors on their part, as usual. This is classic Google, but I have no doubt that they know there were too many errors here.

This is not the first time that Google or we have been here. Inevitably, Google releases updates that fix the problems, often insisting that all was OK. It’s promising for Google to admit that there’s still work to do.

What was the advice for us?

Google advised site owners to self-assess their content, removing or improving unhelpful content. They stressed that recovery from traffic loss could take several months as the new classifier continuously evaluates site content.

“Remove or improve unhelpful content?”

Well, <doh>…

Big help.

How Did Site Owners React?

Largely driven by a combination of anger and bewilderment, a recurring theme grew louder that Google was/is intentionally penalizing small sites (i.e., “smallness” is a negative factor in its algorithm).

For this to be true, we’d have to believe that Google no longer wants to offer the best product possible. Instead, they want to plague all smaller sites, even those with best-of-niche content, for reasons unknown to us.

Not likely.

Please… never begin to think that Google wants their search product to be any less good than they could possibly make it. That’s not the way to do any business. And in a business where switching is only a click away, it’s a quick way to lose.

Also, ignore any business that says it has a fast way to grow back lost traffic, no matter how convincing it may sound. Low-lifes always emerge at times like this to take advantage of pain and desperation. Those who follow that road are headed in the wrong direction.

Recovering your traffic requires consistent and regular action over weeks and months. If you find yourself going for the fast fix, review the two Google truths below. Get on the track to recovery.

Two Things We Know Are True About Google

What do you do while waiting for the next algo release or for an improved classifier to re-rate your website?

First, let’s drill down through the cacophony of falsehoods, misinformation and even conspiracy theories, down to what we know to be axiomatically true about Google.

1) What does Google want?

To offer users the best search experience possible.

2) What causes traffic loss?

Sites that lose traffic have lost alignment with the new guidelines.

“Gee Ken, that’s obvious.”

I agree, but that is indeed all there is to it…

When our traffic goes up substantially, we happily pat ourselves on the back for skillfully aligning content with Google’s guidelines.

But, when we lose traffic, puzzlement, weeping and gnashing of teeth spread like wildfire around the globe…

• “How could ^#*&!$@§ Google do this to me?”
• “Suddenly, Google decides that it doesn’t like me now?”
• “Google is out to kill off small sites!”
• “SERPs no longer matter. It just wants to make more cash.”

Suddenly, the two truths are no longer obvious. Google’s new algorithm is wrong, and for all the wrong reasons, right? There’s no way that this release is intended to improve the SERPs, right? Google has agenda items that are more important than offering the best search possible, right?

Wrong. Wrong. And Wrong.

Now, more than ever…

This is the time to return to the two truths.

From there, we can rebuild, using a framework upon which we can confidently restore lost traffic.

Forget SEO: It’s Always Been About Quality, Page by Page

So, what does this alignment look like in practice? Google’s advice, in typical Google fashion, was… well, less than earth-shattering: “Remove or improve unhelpful content.”

But within that seemingly simplistic advice lies a crucial shift. Or maybe it’s not a shift at all, but a re-emphasis of what we’ve always said.

Our advice to SBI! members has always been to keep it real and add value. As I emphasize in MYSWA, “Quality works page-by-page. Google’s core ranking systems are primarily designed to work on the page level.”

This means focusing on OVERdelivering on search intent for every single page on your site. Creating best-of-breed content that truly satisfies your visitor’s needs. Adding long-tail questions, expanding on topics, and ensuring each page is a valuable resource in itself. Forget about just ticking SEO boxes. Think about people.

And yes, this is more work. But it’s also the only sustainable path to long-term success in Google’s search results. And it’s the right way to build an online business you can be proud of.

The Path to Recovery (and Winning Again) is Clear

If your site was impacted by the Helpful Content Update (HCU), or even if you just want to future-proof your online presence in this increasingly AI-driven world, the path forward is clear: focus relentlessly on quality, user-centric content.

Google acknowledges that recovery from traffic loss can take months as their “classifier continuously evaluates site content.” This “ongoing evaluation helps ensure that only consistently valuable content is rewarded over time.” They’re in it for the long haul, and so should you be.

But here’s the good news: recovery is possible. And in “Make Your Site Win (Again!),” I lay out a Traffic Recovery Program designed to help you navigate these changes, reassess your content, and get your site back on track.

This program, detailed in Part 2 of the book, provides a systematic, step-by-step approach to improving your pages, page by page, and aligning with Google’s evolving standards.

As I stated at the beginning: We’re moving from algorithm-based to AI-based search.

The Helpful Content Update was just one signal in this larger shift. To win in this new era, we need to go beyond outdated, superficial SEO tactics and double down on a content-first, user-focused approach.

It’s what we at Solo Build It! always believed in, and now, more than ever, it’s the key to making your site win again.

We’ll publish parts of the Make Your Site Win (Again!) book on our blog in the coming weeks.
Subscribe to our free newsletter below so that you don’t miss them.

Author information

The post Beyond the Helpful Content Update: The Real Lessons Google Is Teaching Us About the Future of Search appeared first on SiteSell Blog - Proven Real-World Advice for Solopreneurs.

Ken Evoy Releases New Book to Help Website Owners Recover from Google Updates 22 Jan 8:57 AM (3 months ago)

SiteSell founder and CEO Ken Evoy has released a new book titled “Make Your Site WIN (Again!).” It’s designed to help website owners regain traffic losses they suffered due to Google’s Helpful Content Updates (HCU) in September 2023 and March 2024.

The comprehensive guide arrives at a crucial moment when many site owners are grappling with the impacts of these updates. Divided into two main sections across 18 chapters, the book goes beyond simple recovery tactics to provide a deeper understanding of the changing digital landscape.

Part 1 of the Make Your Site Win (Again!) book provides essential background on AI, large language models, and the evolution of web search. This theoretical foundation sets the stage for Part 2, which introduces a detailed Traffic Recovery Program designed to help sites regain their lost visibility.

“This is an unparalleled time in our planet’s history,” Evoy notes in the book’s foreword. “AI will bring more sweeping change than fire, electricity, or the Internet.” He emphasizes that building profitable niche-based content sites requires understanding this rapidly evolving context, particularly since ChatGPT’s launch in November 2022.

Introducing the Tai Assistants

To complement the book and make the recovery process easier, Evoy has developed four specialized AI assistants (also known as GPTs or GPT agents):

Keyword Search Intent (KSI): Provides deep analysis of search intent to help create highly targeted, OVERdelivering content.

Keyword Rank Analyst (KRA): Delivers detailed reports on how to optimize web pages for specific keywords, incorporating the latest Helpful Content Update criteria.

Keyword Rank Writer (KRW): Leverages generative AI to implement KRA’s ranking strategies, helping attract new traffic. KRA regains lost traffic. KRW generates new traffic.

Text Ed It! (TEI): A time-saving editing tool to polish text until it shines. It evaluates content against 25 criteria to ensure clarity, active voice, and engagement.

These assistants are currently available through ChatGPT and will be integrated directly into Tai in early 2025.

Want to know how the Tai Assistants work? Carol, Solo Build It!’s Content Team Lead, recently did a live demonstration of all four assistants for SBI! members. We offer live calls three times per month, covering various topics and answering questions.

Here’s a short snippet from the session, where Carol walks through an example of the Keyword Rank Analyst (KRA).

“Make Your Site WIN (Again!)” is available now for Solo Build It! members.

Ken will be actively engaging with readers’ questions and feedback in the SBI! forums, a vibrant community for members.

The book and assistants were received with great enthusiasm, as this testimonial by Brenda from birthdaybullseye.com shows:

“You know, these assistants are kind of doing our work for us! But not really. They’re helping us be more human.

They’re like bulldozers to cut right through all the mind-numbing, very unappealing work to get to what’s important to fix and improve. Then we have more time to be human. This is brilliant.” 

And Jamil from everythingseverything.org had this to say about the book:

“I’m a brand new SBIer and I’m still on Day 6 and life just kept getting in the way. […] 

I really wanted to say how impressed I am with Ken’s immense knowledge of this entire thing. It’s really incredible and I see and feel the love and passion Ken has for this work. I appreciate this space so entirely and it feels like such a supportive community and I thank you all.”

We’ll publish parts of the Make Your Site Win (Again!) book on our blog in the coming weeks.
Subscribe to our free newsletter below so that you don’t miss them.

Author information

The post Ken Evoy Releases New Book to Help Website Owners Recover from Google Updates appeared first on SiteSell Blog - Proven Real-World Advice for Solopreneurs.

From Concierge to Global Tours: 10 Lessons for Travel Business Growth 19 Dec 2024 6:02 AM (4 months ago)

I’m enjoying running a business, especially in an industry where I get to travel regularly, and have no plans ever to retire. – Steven Vigor, www.revigorate.com

Wouldn’t it be great if you felt the same? Imagine finding a work and lifestyle that align so well with your values that you never want to quit.

In our interview, Steven Vigor explains how he got there. It wasn’t a straight path though. He found the perfect niche and type of business only on the third attempt, after he and his family moved from London to Portugal and wondered: “Now what?”

If you’re looking for inspiration, practical business-building advice, and a dose of reality, then you won’t want to miss Steven’s story.

1. Steven, what motivated you to start your online business? Was there a particular challenge or opportunity you believed you could fill? And how did you decide to use Solo Build It!?

We had used Solo Build It! in the past to build two websites. Whilst neither was particularly successful (Panda issues, chose wrong niche, etc.), we had gained a lot of experience using SBI! and gained an understanding of how the online world worked.

This time I was determined to start a business that went beyond the idea of the solopreneur. Two years before starting the business, we had sold our apartment in London and moved full time to Portugal. But what to do?!

The business we have today is vastly different from the business we initially set out to create. Initially it was a concierge business both for local people and people visiting.

2. Iberian Escapes initially launched in 2017 under a different name. What motivated the rebranding in 2019, and how have your business goals evolved since then?

We originally started the business as “Algarve Lifestyle.” This reflected the idea of a concierge service in the region we are based. But as the business developed and expanded to cover all of Portugal and then Spain, our brand name no longer made sense and we decided to rebrand to “Iberian Escapes.”

Five years later, we find ourselves expanding outside of the Iberian Peninsula as our customers keep demanding it.

So early 2025, we will rebrand for the last time. We now provide tailor made vacations to Portugal, Spain, France and Morocco. Very soon that will extend to the UK and Tunisia. Then later in 2025, Egypt and Italy.

3. Your site saw some impact from Google’s Helpful Content Update in 2023, but traffic has been rebounding well. What’s your content creation strategy, and how are you adapting to changes in search, like algorithm updates and generative AI?

Yes, we were impacted I think in March this year. Starting in August, the traffic came back. Until March our traffic had been growing at a minimum of 50% every year, and we now seem to be back on a growth path again.

When the impact in March hit us, we simply ignored it, as we believed our content strategy was sound. Whilst we may use AI to gather ideas, we do not use AI to generate content nor do we buy backlinks. All our backlinks are natural.

We have a content strategy/roadmap for the next two years focusing on self-guided itineraries for travellers. We’re now using AI to generate lots of packages for us based on the itineraries.

Additionally, our website is in five languages. We find non-English keywords rank quicker, which in turn generates backlinks. But, the majority of sales are from English-language visitors.

4. Have you used Solo Build It!’s AI assistant, Tai, for any aspect of your site or business? If not, what’s been holding you back?

We’ve recently started using ChatGPT Team and have also used Tai, but we’re careful not to overuse AI-generated content.

We find AI useful for generating ideas. Going forward, we’ll also use AI for generating vacation packages, as I mentioned above.

It’s still early days, and we’re refining the prompts to create the vacation packages, but here are two examples:

Exploring the Basque Country: Wine, Culture, and Heritage

Timeless Tunisia: Culture, Coastlines, and Charm

As we have hundreds of itineraries for many cities and towns, we enter the URL of just one or even several itinerary pages into Tai or ChatGPT and ask the tool to create an inspiring vacation package around it. Which it does!

All we have to do then is to edit the output and add images.

5. Your income streams include travel and concierge services, as well as holiday rentals. What role does your website play in attracting customers to these offerings?

Early on, we decided we cannot rely on organic traffic from Google and other search engines alone. While everything can be booked from our website, we get lots of calls and referrals from other websites and agencies.

If Google stopped sending traffic to us tomorrow, we’d probably lose about 30% of our business. The rest would continue.

6. How long did it take before you started generating income? Does this provide a full-time or part-time income for you and your family?

The business now provides full-time income for eight people, plus several part-time contract staff. Income started reasonably quickly; it just wasn’t enough to make a real profit in the beginning.

To be honest, it took us more than two years to really figure out how to make money away from showing ads and having affiliate links.

During these two years, we learned who our customers were, what we could offer them, how to earn their trust and convert them from browsers to customers, etc.

Now there are no ads on our website, and just a few affiliate links on each of the self-guided tour pages. Over 95% of income today is from real customers whom we talk to and know.

If our traffic keeps growing well, then we may start to look at adding sponsored banner ads related specifically to what we do.

7. What impact do social media and email marketing have on your travel business growth? Have you used the social media guides included in SBI!, and did you find them helpful?

We do use social media but it gives us no business directly. It’s used primarily for brand awareness and also useful for customers when they’re checking out the company. We do send occasional newsletters and they do provide occasional leads.

Whenever we have a new person help us with our social media activities, we point them to SBI!’s social media guides. They’re  great training resources.

8. What are the biggest challenges you face running your business, both generally and specifically as a family operation?

My wife works from home and I work from the office. We try to keep our relationship separate from work other than a quick catch up when I get home.

Some of our biggest challenges are political. The majority of our vacation package customers are from the US. The recent presidential elections persuaded several customers to put their plans on hold. The increasing tension between Ukraine, Russia and NATO have also had an impact.

Our biggest issue, though, is the quiet period between October and December. We’re looking to start offering winter vacations in warmer countries. Saudi Arabia and Oman are on our list for 2025/2026.

9. What do you find most rewarding about being business owners? How has this journey impacted you, your life, and your family?

I spent my entire career in “corporate life” as an employee. Running your own business is enormously different. No longer are you relying on someone else for sales, or spending someone else’s money.

Now we’re responsible for all sales and all spending. Whilst we have hired staff into specific roles, I’m still head of HR, IT, Legal, Finance, Admin, etc.

I’m enjoying running a business in an industry where I get to travel regularly, and have no plans ever to retire.

10. Finally, what’s your single most important piece of advice for someone just starting a business, whether online or offline?

Just get on with it! The sooner you can figure out your product, pricing, who your market is and how to find your customers (not just any customer but the right customer), the quicker you will achieve success.

Be patient and take it one step at a time. It’s unlikely you can answer all those questions on day one. It took us two years!

Final tip: When you get constant cold calls for marketing or advertising in magazines, hang up!

Author information

The post From Concierge to Global Tours: 10 Lessons for Travel Business Growth appeared first on SiteSell Blog - Proven Real-World Advice for Solopreneurs.