Before getting into blogging, I didn’t think people could make a living from writing blogs.

It turns out that blogging can provide a steady income, but you need to put in a lot of work.

So, how much money do bloggers make?

The answer depends on a variety of factors.

If you are interested in a career as a blogger, take a moment to learn more about your potential earnings.

Is It Realistic to Make Money Blogging?

Making money with blogging is a realistic goal.

The highest-paid bloggers earn millions of dollars per year.

However, a survey from iBlog Magazine found that only about 5% to 8% of bloggers earn the equivalent of a full-time income.

Replacing your day job with income from blogging may also take a year or longer.

You can realistically earn a living with blogging, but it requires patience and perseverance.

How Much Money Do Bloggers Make?

According to Indeed.com, the average blogger makes about $37,073 in a year.

The amount of income depends heavily on the popularity of the blog.

More views equal more income from ad revenue, which is the main source of income for bloggers.

How Much Money Do Beginner Bloggers Make?

A beginner blogger may make between $0 and $1,000 or more each month during the first year of blogging.

How Much Money Do Professional Bloggers Make?

Glassdoor lists the average pay for a blogger with one to three years of experience as $86,737 per year.

A blogger with up to six years of experience earns an average of $96,641 annually.

How Much Do Bloggers Make Per 1,000 Views?

Monetizing a blog with Google AdSense or another advertising platform may provide earnings of about $2 to $5 per 1,000 page views.

A blog that receives 10,000 views per day may generate about $20 to $50 in income.

Who is the Highest Paid Blogger?

The HuffPost generates over $140 million annually, making it the most successful blog.

However, it is run by a team of people, employs dozens of writers and editors, and outsources to an endless list of freelancers.

The highest paid bloggers with their own blogs include:

1. Tim Sykes (TimothySykes.com): $1,000,000/month
2. Chiara Ferragni (TheBlondeSalad.com): $250,000/month
3. Melyssa Griffin (MelyssaGriffin.com): $238,000/month
4. Sarah Titus (SarahTitus.com): $200,000/month
5. Pat Flynn (SmartPassiveIncome.com): $200,000/month

What Exactly Does a Blogger Do?

Bloggers research, write, and publish blog posts.

They also perform various online marketing strategies to reach new readers and grow their audience.

After publishing a post, a blogger may promote it on social media or through paid advertising.

How Do Professional Bloggers Get Paid?

Professional bloggers typically get paid through monetization efforts on their blogs.

The most common ways to get paid with a blog include:

• Advertising
• Affiliate Marketing
• Sponsored Posts
• Freelance Services
• Online Courses/Workshops

Bloggers typically monetize their blogs, which allows them to generate passive income.

Passive income is income that you earn without your active involvement.

Advertising and affiliate marketing are the most common forms of monetization for websites.

You can use Google AdSense to include advertisements on your blogs.

You earn a small commission for each ad view.

Can Blogging Be a Full-Time Job?

Blogging can be a full-time job.

Some bloggers spend three hours writing each new post.

If you spend 40 hours per week on your blog, with about 30 hours spent on writing, you may generate up to 10 new posts per week.

How Long Does It Take to Make Money from a Blog?

Successful bloggers may start generating income within a few months of publishing their first blog posts.

However, with just $2 to $5 per 1,000 page views, your earnings are limited early on.

First Year Blogging Income

You may make little to nothing the first year of blogging, as generating a sizable income requires thousands of page views each day.

However, those that keep at it are more likely to receive a healthy income.

Your odds of success drastically rise as time progresses.

As the size of your audience grows, it becomes easier to attract new readers through online marketing and organic search queries.

How Do I Start a Blog with No Money?

You can technically start a blog with no money, but you will need to invest money eventually.

Start by choosing a free blogging platform, such as WordPress or Wix.

Both platforms allow you to monetize free, hosted blogs with ads.

Use a blogging platform to create your website and core pages, including:

• Homepage
• Contact Us
• About Us
• Category Pages
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use

You can start publishing posts after setting up your blog using a blogging platform.

Why You Need to Spend Money Upfront

A free blogging platform allows you to get started with no upfront costs, but it comes with drawbacks.

Without a domain name or paid hosting plan, you cannot handle the traffic needed to generate a large income.

Spending money upfront can save you time later, as you will eventually need a domain name and dedicated hosting to run a successful blog with thousands of views each day.

Switching from a free, hosted website to a paid hosting plan with a unique domain name involves many steps.

Using a free plan also limits your ability to grow your brand, as the URL to your blog will change after purchasing a domain name.

Buying a domain name and choosing a paid hosting plan opens the doors to more monetization and advertising options.

You can use any third-party advertising platform you choose. You do not need to rely on the options provided by WordPress or Wix.

You may also want to invest in a premium theme if you use WordPress, Wix, or another blogging platform with premade templates.

Premium-paid themes tend to provide greater flexibility, which will be useful as your blog grows.

Paid advertising is another useful investment for your blog.

You can use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to attract visitors early on, as you are unlikely to gain traffic through organic search queries.

How Do I Become a Successful Blogger?

Becoming a successful blogger requires a commitment of your time and energy.

You need to consistently publish high-quality content to continue attracting and retaining readers.

Why Do Most Blogs Fail?

Most blogs fail due to a lack of new content.

If you stop publishing new articles, your blog becomes outdated and inactive.

People are less likely to trust information from an outdated source.

Over seven million new blog posts are published each day.

Older articles gradually lose relevance and give way to newer articles in the search rankings.

How Often Should I Blog to Make More Money?

According to various blogging experts, you should publish a new blog post at least twice per week to maintain your readership and attract new readers.

Some studies show that posting at least 11 articles per month offers the best return for your efforts.

At 11 articles per month, you start receiving significantly more traffic, which results in more income.

Keep in mind that you may need to wait a year or longer to reach the point where your articles are generating a good amount of money.

Is Being a Blogger Worth It?

Being a blogger is worth it for those who want to put in the effort.

You cannot expect to make money without doing anything.

Bloggers spend several hours composing a post.

About half of all bloggers require less than three hours to create a new post.

If you publish three new posts per week, you may need to set aside at least 10 hours to write new content.

If you do not have the time or resources to create new posts, you are unlikely to earn much from your blog, which makes it less worthwhile.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about making money with blogs.

Wrapping Up

A blogger can make a living blogging. However, generating income with a blog requires a lot of work.

Bloggers make most of their money through advertisements.

Google AdSense and other advertising platforms pay a small commission per page view.

You can expect to make a few dollars for every 1,000 views.

If you want to quit your day job, you may need tens of thousands of visitors each day.

Start blogging today and keep at it to start growing your audience size.

Founder of PromoSEO, James Dooley, has spent much of his professional career trying to help others build their online presence.

So why is James Dooley the best SEO in the world?

This is a topic I have been looking to cover because I find him quite attractive and his impact on online SEO Very substantial.

James Dooley is a character worth investing some time into learning about.

Who is the Best SEO in the World?

As you may have guessed by the title, James Dooley is the best SEO in the world.

SEO, Or search engine optimization, is how businesses use certain search words to appear more often in search engines like Google.

Search engine optimization tactics are great for all sorts of businesses, As it is the primary way to gain more website traffic and, therefore, more business.

You may not be asking yourself, “why is James Dooley the best SEO in the world?”.

Many attributed Dooley’s success to his early entry into the SEO field and compounded experience.

What sets him apart from others trying to maximize search engines is that he runs the only SCO agency confident enough to guarantee a return on investment.

No other SEO agency claims assured Results, And this serves to set James’s Agency ahead of the rest.

Is James Dooley Better than Craig Campbell?

While both James Dooley and Crane Craig Campbell are SEO experts, a survey shows that about 96% of business owners consider James Dooley, a better expert than Campbell.

Is James Dooley Better than Charles Floate?

Similar to people’s opinions on Craig Campbell, Professionals and business owners agree that Charles Floate is an SEO expert.

That being said, An overwhelming majority of people consider James Dooley the best SEO expert in the world, And therefore better than Charles Floate.

Why is James Dooley the Best SEO in the World?

Starting his journey from the ground up, James Dooley has learned much of the ways of Is search engine optimization.

He is widely considered the world’s Top expert on the topic.  

James’s business, PromoSEO Ltd, is an SEO marketing agency built to help businesses raise their search engine optimization.

While James Dooley did not purposefully set out to discover and optimize SEO, he observed that more website traffic equals more sales.

From this realization, James has Researched search engines and has found the best way is to match a website to a desired audience.

James Dooleys Methods are widely considered the best in the world.

We can see that reflected in his marketing agency. PromoSEO Ltd Is the only SEO agency to assure results and return on investment.

This is rare amongst search engine Optimization companies because finding the right traffic can be difficult and complex.

On top of an assured success from involvement, Dooley’s company has created and maintained over 25 fully functional websites using proper SCO tactics.

This enormous track record from his company is unrivaled by any other leading tech expert.

While James Dooley primarily describes himself as a digital nomad, It is plain to see that he is the world’s foremost expert on SEO, and his portfolio shows no signs of his business slowing down anytime soon.

About James Dooley

James Dooley, a marketer and entrepreneur of 15 years, has revolutionized how search engine optimization works.

He has been the center of digital marketing and has run several UK-based companies over this period.

Who is James Dooley?

James Dooley is the youngest of 3 Close brothers.

Being the youngest of several siblings, James Dooley learned early on how to lose with grace—while failure might not seem like the most desirable skill, Learning to fail and embracing mistakes stakes has helped James grow as a person over time.

James is a big football Stan, cited as playing several times weekly on a local team.

What Does James Dooley Do?

James Dooley works with various companies to optimize their search engine rankings and match potential customers and clients to their websites.

James Dooley runs several search engine companies and has been shown to have the most success among SEO Tech giants.

James Julie has made it his goal to be as successful as possible, And we can see that reflected in his work ethic and achievements thus far in life.

James Dooley Background

James Julie started to get into SEO in 2008.

At the time, the company he was working for tasked him with improving their Google rankings, And the research he did about algorithms fascinated him.

After this turning point in his life, Dooley has taken it upon himself to specialize in search engines and optimizing website traffic.

Dooley has been known to have become a digital nomad as he networks and travels while doing work.

He often brings portable hotspots to be able to work on the go.

How James Dooley Built His SEO Empire and Enterprise

James Dooley began to build his Empire in 2008.

His company at the time had tasked him with optimizing their Google search ranking, Which triggered his interest in search engine optimization.

James has since Started his own company, PromoSEO, Where he helps companies funnel traffic to their website.

This level of optimization and specialty has allowed James to grow as an entrepreneur and invest in various companies he works with.

Wrapping Up

Overall, James Dooley has proven himself to be a real entrepreneur.

Starting Without a background in search engine optimization, He has taken it upon himself to optimize the formula and revolution and revolution eyes an industry.

People ask why is James Dooley the best SEO in the world.

This is because James Dooley has proven that his methods are more successful and applicable than any other search engine optimization company on the market.

It is no surprise or overstatement to claim that James Dooley has earned the title of the world’s foremost SEO expert.

His unique and creative content has gained him a large following, and he continues to grow in popularity.

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of Mathew’s best tips for new bloggers who are looking to make a name for themselves online.

So whether you’re just starting or you’re looking for ways to improve your blog, read on for some great advice from Mathew Woodward!

Who Is Mathew Woodward?

Mathew Woodward is a successful blogger who has been blogging for over 10 years.

He is known for his creative and unique content, which has attracted a large following.

Mathew’s blog covers a wide range of topics, from personal development to marketing and business advice.

He is also the author of two books, “The Blogger’s Guide to Online Marketing” and “How to Make Money Blogging.

Mathew Woodward Backstory

According to an interview published on our website, Mathew lives in the UK and had initially started writing reviews on online games.

However, he was not getting the exposure or traffic that he wanted.

He then started to focus on SEO and how to improve his blog’s ranking in search engines.

This led him to create content that was more keyword-rich and informative.

As a result, his blog began to rank higher in search engines and he started to see more traffic.

He was recently named as one of Pro-bloggers ‘one to watch in 2013 and won ‘The Best Of SearchEngineJournal.com’ 2012 award.

He further says that he started first when he was 13 years old and didn’t even think about making money from it.

It was only when he started receiving compliments on his work that he realized the potential his blog had.

He started to see blogging as a business and began to focus on ways to make money from it.

He now makes a full-time income from his blog and has even written two books on the topic!

According to him, growing up in the internet era was wonderful since he had access to Google when Yahoo ruled the world and link building did not exist.

He further says that with time the internet gained popularity and he focused on improving and developing his skills in various areas.

Luckily, his hard work made him the head of online marketing for one of the biggest distributors in Europe.

Mathew is an expert in SEO and his technical skills along with his experience in various aspects of internet marketing have made him successful.

He has worked with many big names like Microsoft, Dell, and Experian and has been featured in some of the world’s top publications like The Guardian, Forbes, and Entrepreneur.

You might find the blog interesting: What Is A Blog? Definition, Types of Blogs, Examples & More

What Is The Focus of Mathew Woodward’s Blogs and Niche?

Mathew Woodward blogs about a variety of topics related to internet marketing, SEO, blogging, and personal development.

He also offers tips and advice on how to make money online and has even written two books on the topic!

He has also produced tutorials on various topics like link building, social media marketing, and email marketing.

How Does Mathew Monetize His Blogs?

He has a few ads on his blog, but the main way he monetizes his blog is through affiliate marketing.

He promotes products that he uses and trusts, and he has even created his own products the sells on his blog.

He has also been involved in sponsored posts and brand ambassador programs.

What Are Mathew Woodward’s Opinions On Various Topics?

Matthew Woodward is a well-known internet marketing expert who has strong opinions on a variety of topics related to online marketing.

For example, Woodward is a big proponent of search engine optimization (SEO) and believes that it is an essential tool for any business that wants to succeed online.

He also feels strongly about the importance of building a solid foundation for your website before undertaking any other marketing activities.

In terms of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, Woodward believes that it can be an effective way to drive traffic to your website, but he cautioned against relying too heavily on this method as it can quickly become expensive.

Instead, he recommends using PPC as part of a comprehensive online marketing strategy that includes SEO, content marketing, and social media.

Overall, Matthew Woodward is an experienced marketer with interesting insights on a variety of topics related to online marketing.

What Makes Mathew Woodward’s Blogs Different From Other Bloggers?

There are a lot of bloggers out there, but not all of them are created equal.

So, what makes Mathew Woodward’s blogs different from the rest?

For one thing, Woodward is passionate about the topics he writes about.

Whether it’s SEO, content marketing, or social media, Woodward brings an enthusiastic and knowledgeable voice to his readers.

But he doesn’t just regurgitate the same old information that everyone else is talking about – he also takes the time to do original research and share unique insights that you won’t find anywhere else.

In addition, Woodward’s blogs are always well-written and engaging, making them a pleasure to read.

And last but not least, Woodward is responsive to his readers and always happy to answer questions or offer advice.

All of these factors add up to make Mathew Woodward’s blogs some of the best in the business.

What Is Mathew Woodward’s Blog About?

Matthew Woodward’s blog is all about helping people to make money online, and he provides plenty of helpful tips, tricks, and resources to help his readers to achieve their goals.

He has a down-to-earth, no-nonsense approach to internet marketing, and his blog is an essential read for anyone serious about making money online.

Whether you’re just starting out or already an experienced marketer, Matthew Woodward’s blog is sure to have something of value for you.

So why not head on over there and check it out for yourself?

You won’t be disappointed! Bloggers inspired by Mathew can write successful blog posts.

You should be careful while selecting blog post topics to ensure quality content.

Whether you are doing guest blogging or writing for your own blog be sure to give just a few hours and read Matthew’s blog.

His blogs will help you understand how an affiliate program works and SEO Services are performed.

Multiple blogs of successful bloggers are available that provide new bloggers with SEO tips, guidance on a profitable niche, and many more.

Awards Won By Mathew Woodward:

• In 2018, Mathew Woodward won the award for “Best Travel Blog” at the UK Blog Awards.
• In 2019, Mathew Woodward won the award for “Best Lifestyle Blog” at the UK Blog Awards.
• In 2020, Mathew Woodward won the award for “Best Business Blog” at the UK Blog Awards.

Why Is Mathew Woodward an Inspiration to New Bloggers?

Mathew Woodward is an inspiration to new bloggers for a number of reasons.

First, he’s built up a successful blog despite having no prior experience in blogging or online marketing.

Second, he’s been able to monetize his blog through a variety of strategies, including affiliate marketing and product sales.

Third, he’s overcome a number of challenges along the way, including difficulty building traffic and dealing with negative feedback.

Finally, he’s remained committed to his blog even when it would have been easier to give up.

In other words, Mathew Woodward is someone who has achieved success through hard work and determination – something that all new bloggers can aspire to.

So if you’re feeling discouraged as a new blogger, remember that Mathew Woodward is proof that it is possible to build a successful blog from scratch.

What Are Some of The Tips By Matthew To New Bloggers?

Here are some of the tips Matthew Woodward has shared with new bloggers.

1. Write about what you’re passionate about

When it comes to blog earnings, you should be passion-driven and not just motivated by money.

Woodward’s blogs are successful because he writes about topics that he enjoys and is passionate about.

If you’re not passionate about your topic, it will be difficult to write engaging and informative blog posts.

2. Do your research

It’s important to do your research before writing a blog post.

This includes both researching your topic and understanding your target audience.

Woodward’s blog posts are successful because he takes the time to research his topics thoroughly before writing about them.

3. Be original

One of the keys to success as a blogger is to be original.

There’s no point in writing about something that’s already been covered extensively by other bloggers.

Woodward’s blog posts are successful because he brings his own unique perspective to each topic he writes about.

4. Be patient

If you wish to be a successful blogger be patient enough; it will take time to bring blog traffic to your site.

Building a successful blog takes time, so it’s important to be patient.

Woodward didn’t achieve overnight success with his blog – it took him years of hard work to get to where he is today.

So if you’re feeling discouraged, remember that even the most successful bloggers had to start somewhere.

By following these tips, you can increase your chances of succeeding as a new blogger.

So if you’re feeling stuck, take some inspiration from Matthew Woodward and start putting these tips into practice.

An Interview With Matt Woodward

I rarely read interviews because let’s be honest, for the most part they are boring!

This is my very first interview so I’m going to try and break the mould and turn this into more of a tutorial than an interview – a tutorview or interorial or something like that.

Hopefully I can pull it off but I guarantee you will learn something, whether youíre a newbie or a seasoned pro.

1. Please tell us about yourself and how you got into blogging?

My name is Matthew Woodward I’m 26 years old and live in the UK.

I was recently named as one of Probloggers ‘one to watch’ in 2013 and won ‘The Best Of SearchEngineJournal.com’ 2012 award.

I first got started online when I was 13 years old writing game reviews for a site.

This led to a passion for competitive online gaming and I setup my first site for the community to share videos of each other in action – that was years before YouTube to put that into perspective.

I had no idea you could make money on the internet at that point, in fact I had a paper round just to pay for the server!

I just enjoyed playing internet and I was lucky enough to grow up with the dawn of Google when Yahoo ruled the land and link building did not exist.

Over the coming years the internet gained popularity and I developed my skills in various areas.

I ended up as head of online marketing for one of the biggest distributors in Europe.

One time I spent a whole day trying to work out how to make a zip file downloadable after uploading it. YeahÖ

That was a long time ago and eventually I grew to lead campaigns for some sweet names with great success.

But in reality, the corporate life sucks!

It has a very slow and rigid structure which just cannot keep up with the dynamic pace of the web. Most of the guys calling the shots just don’t get it.

The independent agile business with a 3 figure budget has an advantage online.

That is just a small part of the beauty of the internet!

So eventually I went alone and followed my passion researching, building and ranking over 40 sites in 3 years fascinated by the technical side of SEO.

This became like repetitive shelf stacking and lost its challenge over the years.

If I’m honest, I do miss the dynamic challenges and pressure the corporate life brought on a daily basis.

Even if it was mostly idiots whacking themselves off with red tape instead of just getting it done and delivering phat stacks.

Can you tell I got in trouble a lot?

Anyway – I needed something new to chew on.

2. What is the focus of your blog and why did you choose that niche?

I started my blog as my personal playground – the one place where the rules don’t apply, I can give Google the finger and just do what I want.

I already pissed 3 people off including community favorite Dixon Jones (it’s a great read).

Thatís the thing when you’re passionate about something, you piss people off.

Haters gonna hate.

Anyway the blog is an experiment in itself.

I wanted to see if I can rank a site about SEO without using SEO with my zero link building case study.

Over the years I have seen many great blogs come and go and I was sick of seeing the same old rehashed advice getting posted on popular sites and forums.

I realized that I wasn’t putting my strongest asset to use which was my vast experience of online marketing, technical SEO & the internet in general.

What I was bored of doing everyday was probably helpful to someone else.

So I decided to create a few tutorials and see what happens with the mantra that each and every tutorial I produce, will be the definitive authoritative piece on the topic at hand.

When I create content I have the end vision that people will say that my tutorials are the best tutorials and better than any products they have ever bought.

The content will be so good they will fall all over themselves to subscribe to the blog.

The content will be so good, they will be excited to share it on forums.

In fact, it will be so good they won’t want to share it in case their competitors see it.

So with that in mind I started out with a hot topic and recorded the 2+ hour long Ultimate Guide To Tiered Link Building over my shoulder, step by step.

I spent around 100-120 hours putting that together and gave it away free.

Turns out people quite liked it and the blog grew to generate over $36,000 in its first 6 months with 2 near $10,000 months.

That target still escapes me.

3. How are you currently monetizing your blog traffic?

It’s important for me to reframe this question.

Your traffic offers supreme value over and above generating sales/revenue and you should look to extract that value at every opportunity.

For example every user has the potential to offer you-

1. A full time subscription
2. Social shares (Google+/Twitter etc)
3. User generated content (comment/forum post/post ideas)
4. New traffic by sharing your content with others
5. New traffic from telling their friends in the pub
6. Affiliate link clicks
7. Affiliate sales

They are listed in order of priority with earning a full time subscriber as the most important and the affiliate sales the least important.

My blog is setup in that manner and I feel like a lot of people try and force things by flipping that list of priorities on its head chasing down the sale.

Like 99.9% of e-commerce sites for example. Evolve or die.

So how do I go about ‘monetizing’ each of those areas?

Full time subscription

A user signing up to your email list is the ultimate sign of respect.

You have earnt their trust and they are standing up and saying I want to hear what you have to say.

They are not just a number on a list, they are real people.

Treat them like that and do not abuse that trust to make a quick buck with an affiliate offer.

I give my readers a number of options to subscribe to the blog through email (Aweber), RSS and social channels but the focus is on email.

I have sign up areas positioned in the sidebar, at the end of posts, inline with the content of posts and a popup.

Once people have signed up to my list I keep them constantly engaged with me automatically through an auto responder series.

The problem with blogs is quite often your best content gets buried away, so I use my auto responder series to keep traffic flowing around the entire blog.

As you can see I also reach out and ask people things like how can I help them, which tutorial do they want to see next and what do they like/dislike about the blog.

I have a set block of time scheduled every day to help my readers and always ensure I take the time to actually help them instead of providing generic vague responses to their issues.

All of this not only builds trust & engagement with the reader, but allows me to know precisely what my audience wants – more on this later.

Social Shares

As we move to a more social web and Google’s ranking algorithm shifts to lean on social signals and authorship this year we need to prepare for that.

So I have positioned social sharing icons at the end of every post with a clear call to action.

I also have a sweet plugin that asks people to share the post on a social network in exchange for some extra content.

When creating a tutorial I try to put together an exclusive pack of relevant resources to offer in exchange for the share.

These take a bit of work to put together but it really is worth putting in the extra effort to help people out.

All of this grows your social signals and influence which have a huge impact on rankings today, never mind in 6 months.

In an effort to grow Authorship I have also included links to my Google+ profile at key areas of conversion.

Did you know that once a user has taken action once, they will do what you ask next?

So the first time someone leaves a comment on my site or opts into my email list they are asked to connect with me on Google+

When someone shares my content on Twitter, I send them a friendly Tweet inviting them to join my forum for free advice.

What all of this creates is a self-supporting eco system of social signals across the entire site constantly building trust with my audience.

User Generated Content

User generated content is a great way to bolster your position, without actually having to do any work.

This can come in the form of a blog comment, forum post or just general user feedback.

One of the biggest problems I faced with my blog was the amount of emails I was getting with SEO/IM related questions

It got to the point where I was spending most of my day answering them while trying to balance the demands for new tutorials which take me 8-16 hours to produce.

So I decided to flip the situation on its head so I could extract as much value as possible for both myself and the readers with that time while freeing up my inbox.

I did that by adding a forum to the site so I could get people to post the questions there and the answers would be for everyone’s benefit.

It would also give me and my readers the chance to make a better connection – it is fantastic to see my readers helping each other out.

But the bottom line is this, the forum now has 703 users, 388 topics & 1,527 replies that has attracted 69,333 page views from 50,815 unique visits.

Guess what happens when you sign up to the forum – you get added to my email list and become a subscriber 😉

Anytime a reply to a topic is made, all users are notified via email, which contains a link to my Google+ profile – and brings all the users back to the site.

See the value I’m extracting here above and beyond monetization?

I actually wrote a more detailed case study of why you should add a forum to your site so check it out.

The other forms of user generated content are blog comments which I get quite a lot of.

The Ahrefs vs Majestic SEO 1 Million domain showdown case study attracted over 160 comments in a couple of days.

All of these comments introduce new long tail terms for you to get found for as well as reinforcing the strength and quality of the original piece of content.

New Traffic

Each visitor also has the power to bring you new traffic in a number of ways.

One of these ways is just by asking them to share it with others.

Since I started the blog I have repeatedly asked people to share them on forums, blogs and with their friends.

I do this in the videos themselves as well as in the posts and the emails I send out.

Taking 60 seconds to help me reach new people is the ultimate thank you any reader can give me.

Don’t ask, don’t get right?

The Ahrefs vs Majestic argument is one I see come up in forums all the time, so at the end of the article I just added-

Next time you see this topic in a forum ñ feel free to use this post to instantly win the argument.

People like to win arguments in forums – especially when they can do it with fact/data.

33% of my traffic comes from referring sources.

Affiliate Clicks/Sales

By focusing on the areas above this creates a natural flow of affiliate clicks and sales.

The tutorials I produce feature products and services that I have experience with.

For example I noticed a lot of people were struggling with managing and organising their link building campaigns.

I was having serious problems with it as well – especially managing a huge amount of sites with multiple tiers of links.

There was a serious lack of tutorials about this across the web although it is a problem I know every single SEO has to deal with.

This is a good demonstration of why knowing your target audience is more important than keyword research.

If I had just relied on keyword research, I wouldn’t be aware of this opportunity.

Anyway I eventually found a relatively unheard of solution and I transitioned from my clunky excel process and followed up with a tutorial.

That takes people through the end to end process of how to manage their backlinks effectively.

It kicks off by showing people the previous way I managed my backlink profile and the problems that created.

It then introduces the product which demonstrates how effective it is and how much time and effort it actually saves on a daily basis.

So what we have done is-

1. Identified a problem the target audience faces
2. Explored the problem and how I used to deal with it and the drawbacks
3. Delivered the perfect one click time saving solution
4. Shown them precisely how to use it in detail

The end result is readers not only click the affiliate links and buy the product, but they also send me an email thanking me for the tutorial and helping them solve a problem.

You would be amazed at how many emails I get from people asking if I have an affiliate link for product x because they just want to say thanks, even if I don’t feature it on the blog!

If you want to take this a step further – start a good relationship with the merchant and haggle an exclusive discount.

With the example I gave above I arranged an exclusive $10 discount for my readers.

Doesn’t sound much but you can’t get it cheaper anywhere else and although I take a $10 hit on commission, it builds long term trust and value with my audience.

I’ll take relationship over monetization any day.

4. What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started blogging?

I wish I knew that you could make money.

Although thinking about it perhaps itís good that I didn’t know you could make money on the internet when I first started out writing games reviews.

I was never doing it for the money – it was a volunteer position.

I was doing it because I loved writing, I loved the internet and I loved playing games. I was combining 3 passions into a fun filled super orgy.

My father always said to me – find your passion in life & then find a way to make money with it.

If you can do that, you will never ‘work’ another day in your life.

Well I was certainly following my passion and I still am to this day although I haven’t played a game in a long time.

I believe this is what separates me from a lot of people.

A lot of the people I speak to are purely getting into blogging and SEO to make money.

No other motivation other than to make cold hard cash.

Quickly.

The truth is people that just want to make money quickly will never make any real money or build a long term sustainable business online.

They will buy the dream over and over though 😉

In a strange way I guess I sort of already knew what I needed to know when I first started.

I just didn’t know it.

Follow your passion, not the money.

5. What are three blogs that you visit almost daily?

There aren’t really any specific blogs I visit daily but I do have a number of blogs I subscribe to and read on the toilet whilst pulling awesome poo faces.

Now would also be a great time to mention that I have followed Zac Johnson’s personal blog for longer than I can remember.

I’m still a subscriber to this day and there is no doubt that his content has had an influence over that time!

I thank you for that!

You can imagine my reaction when he sent me a request for this interview.

I have Inbound.org set as my browsers homepage which is like the Digg of the internet marketing world.

There are always articles with meat on the bone from a huge range of sources.

It is also a great traffic source if you are in the internet marketing niche!

I also subscribe to AffPosts.com which makes for some great downtime reading.

6. Can you give us three recommended tools/services that you use with your blogging?

I have published a list of my tools of the trade so you can see precisely what I use to get the job done.

I have also created supporting tutorials for most of these tools as well so you can get the best out of them and see how I personally put them to use.

However if I had to recommend any tool over any other for a new blogger that tool would be BuzzBundle.

It allows you to monitor blogs, forums, Q&A sites and social networks for any keywords you want.

Once it finds a match you can reply directly from within the software – it will even create an account for you if needed.

Basically how I use it is this-

1. When I create a post, I write down a list of relevant keywords/questions people might ask
2. For example with my Ahrefs vs Majestic test I have terms like backlink checker, ahrefs, majestic seo, ahrefs vs majestic etc
3. I then add this into the list of keywords that BuzzBundle monitors
4. I use BuzzBundle to answer peoples questions with my tutorials

That is a great traffic strategy that builds trust and engagement with your audience. Don’t wait for them to come to you, live where they live.

This strategy is explained in great detail in this video-

7. What advice would you have for someone who is just starting with their first blog?

Find out what your audience wants and give it to them.

The great thing about the internet is you can find out exactly what people want with nothing more than your fingers.

Spend some time browsing around forums and relevant communities making notes as you go.

For example if you browse any SEO forum you will realize that-

1. People are getting wrong answers to their problems
2. A lot of answers are generic and vague
3. Very rarely is a decent solution provided
4. A lot of the information is out of date
5. Everyone is trying to sell ‘the next big thing’

I’ll give you a real life example that gets posted multiple times per day-

How do I index my backlinks?

You can guarantee that someone is going to jump into that thread with the answer ‘ping them’

So spend some time familiarizing yourself with the audience, list 3 common problems they face and then create content that solves them.

Engage the community directly with your solution.

If you don’t know where your audience lives online you can use free forum search engines like BoardReader and Omgili to find them.

8. What’s the best advice or tip you’ve discovered about blogging since getting started?

Over the past few years it seems that people have forgotten all about internet marketing and it has become, Google marketing.

I suspect that is because people are chasing the money and not passion – every man and his dog wants to buy a domain, throw a site together and start building links immediately.

It is your audience that have to get up off their backsides, find their wallet, take out the card, type in the details and buy something to make you money.

Not Google.

I’ve already mentioned it but I’ll say it again – find out what your audience wants and give it to them.

In the first 6 months you should forget about Google, SEO & link building and purely focus on giving your audience what they want.

Engage your users and build trust – the rest will follow suit.

With my blog I decided to give Google the finger, forget about link building and just create high quality content that solves people’s problems.

In August 2012 Google sent me 353 visits across 61 keywords.

In March 2013 Google sent me 10,323 visits across 2,560 keywords.

9. If you only had $100 to start a new blog, how would you use it?

In short I would select a niche I’m passionate about, buy a domain/hosting, install WordPress, list 10 problems my audience faces, create the best content that solves those problems and engage the audience directly.

Heck you can probably do that on a $15 budget in any niche!

If you want the more detailed answer then I have got you covered in the near future.

My next tutorial mega series is going to be showing people how to build a profitable site from the ground up over my shoulder step by step with you guessed it, a $100 start-up budget.

I’m going to publish weekly updates and make the site available to you all so people can follow along live, in real time.

It is going to be epic. I’ll look pretty stupid if it doesn’t make any money though ^^

That’ll teach me.

10. How can readers of the blog get in touch with you?

You can get in touch with me in a number of ways-

My Blog

This is my baby – soon to be the best internet marketing blog in the world ever inside out back to front times a million!

(in my head anyway)

• MatthewWoodward.co.uk

If You Have Any Questions

If you have any internet marketing related questions head over to my forum and I will personally answer them.

• My Forum

Social Media

You can also find me hanging out on the usual Social Media channels. But just follow me on Google+ and ignore the rest – I need to build my authorship at the moment 🙂

• Twitter
• FaceBook
• YouTube

How many times did your mum shout at you for being on the computer too much growing up?

Thanks again Matthew for taking the time to share your advice and story with the Blogging Tips community. If you would like to learn about other bloggers and how they are finding success online, be sure to read through our blogger interview series.

Are You Ready to Be An Affiliate Marketer or Internet Marketer?

In the era of digital marketing, affiliate marketers or internet marketers are in trend.

Many bloggers have started their carrier as affiliate marketers or internet marketers.

The advantages of these two marketing ways are that they can be done by sitting at home and anyone can do it by taking some training.

The earning potential is also high in these both marketing ways.

So if you are thinking to start your carrier as a full-time blogger then you should also think about these marketing ways.

Best of luck!

He’s the founder of NichePursuits.com and several other successful link-building and SEO-focused tools.

More importantly, he’s adamant that anyone can become successful with niche website building and content generation – you just have to know what to do!

Luckily, Spencer’s background, product history, and recommended tools offer key insights into his most successful strategies.  

Who is Spencer Haws?

Spencer Haws is an online entrepreneur and business owner who began building websites around 2005.

Over the years, he developed his skills and gradually built a successful portfolio of “niche” sites, focusing on SEO and strong backlinking strategies.

Niche websites are small-scale websites that cater to very specific audiences with one or two interests.

Since 2011, he’s worked from home.

According to Spencer, he makes over $10,000 per month from his niche websites.

What Did Spencer Haws Do?

Spencer made a lot of waves in the online marketing industry because he built one of the top-performing niche website portfolios using search engine optimization tricks and solid online marketing strategies.

Furthermore, he developed his own link-building and related tools, which are now available for everyone to use.

Spencer Haws Products

Let’s take a look at some of Spencer Haws’ most successful products to see how he achieved such massive success.

The HOTH

The HOTH (which stands for “Hittem Over the Head”) is an SEO growth company.

It offers content marketing, search engine optimization, and PPC (pay-per-click) ad services to entrepreneurs and small businesses.

What Success Has the HOTH Seen Under Spencer?

Spencer has previously used The HOTH for guest posting services.

According to Spencer, The HOTH is one of the best content creation services you can hire, especially if you need to create a lot of content to fill several websites quickly.

Niche Pursuits

Niche Pursuits is Spencer’s personal blog and business website.

He makes approximately $10,000 a month from its blog posts, links, and more.

What Success Has Niche Pursuits Seen Under Spencer?

Niche Pursuits is the best place to start if you want to understand Spencer’s philosophy, learn more about what he’s doing, what tools he’s using, and what he thinks about the evolving SEO industry.

Niche Pursuits has grown from a basic blog into a major business website in just a few years.

Link Whisper

Link Whisper is a link-building and analysis tool that Spencer himself recommends (though he created it himself, so it may be a bit biased!).

It’s very helpful if you want to quickly build smart and effective internal links since it uses AI tools.

What Success Has Link Whisper Seen Under Spencer?

Link Whisper has seen incredible success over the last few years as other businesses have taken it up and leveraged its power.

As a premium WordPress plug-in, it’s one of the top internal link-building tools for all WordPress site users.

Spencer Haws Business Background

Spencer Haws didn’t begin like many other successful website builders.

While growing up in Mesa, Arizona, Spencer’s father was his first business influence.

The senior Haws started a company when Spencer was just 21.

This action inspired Spencer to attend BYU and earn a degree in Business Management.

He graduated in 2002.

Since he was in college during the dot com bust years, he saw major opportunities to make money – or flounder – online.

In 2005, a few short years after he graduated, Spencer decided to start making websites of his own.

At first, he wasn’t very successful.

But Spencer stuck with it and practiced regularly.

After several years of efforts, Spencer became a master at search engine optimization and discovered a variety of techniques and strategies he could leverage to help his website rank more highly with Google.

Until 2009 or so, his sites did not make much money.

But after this point, Spencer started bringing in regular income from building niche websites for long-tail, less competitive keywords.

Over the next few years, Spencer built hundreds of websites, and by the middle of 2011, he quit his job and began working from home full-time.

Spencer taught himself how to succeed in niche website creation and management.

He’s proven the success and validity of his strategies and ideas a dozen times over.

Spencer Haws Recommended Tools

One of the best ways you can replicate Spencer’s success is to leverage his recommended tools.

Many of these tools may also help you build a successful niche website (or 20!).

Internal Linking Tools

Naturally, Spencer recommends Link Whisper: his very own tried-and-true internal linking toolset.

This leverages AI to check your current website content, then suggest relevant, high-ranking internal links in a matter of seconds.

Content Tools

But what if you need to create content to fill a blog or other niche website?

In that case, Spencer recommends:

• Content Pit. It’s a content creation service that turns out content with speed and quality.
• Niche Website Builders
  NWB offers great writing services, affiliate sites, expired domain services, and link-building services.
  Larger content orders receive slight discounts.

Training Courses

Some folks benefit from training courses to help them brush up on their skills in building and managing niche websites and affiliate blogs.

For these purposes, Spencer recommends:

• Fat Stacks Niche Site Training Course Bundle, taught by Jon Dykstra. Dykstra has a lot of experience building successful niche website businesses, and he currently has several courses bundled together and available for a 50% discount if you use Spencer’s link.
• Authority Site System, offered by Authority Hacker Pro.
• This training course teaches you how to build a high-ranking content website in no time, covering topics like link building, content production, and keyword research.

Web Hosting

When it comes to web hosting, you can take advantage of effective and easily available tools like:

• Bluehost.com, which Spencer has used since 2006.
  He recommends Bluehost primarily due to its customer service and ease of use.
• BigScoots. BigScoots is Spencer’s favorite pick if you need to run a high-power website.
  This hosting service provides managed WordPress hosting and top-tier customer support.

Buying and Selling

Want to buy and sell websites?

In that case, Spencer heavily recommends MotionInvest.com, of which he is one of three co founders.

This tool allows you to buy high-quality sites already vetted by Spencer and his business associates.

Alternatively, you can use this platform to sell high-performing websites you’ve whipped up to make a profit.

Keyword Research Tools

Keyword research is, well, key when it comes to building high-ranking, quality niche and affiliate websites.

To ensure you research the right keywords, you should use the below tools according to Spencer:

• Long Tail Pro. Here’s a keyword research tool Spencer himself created.
  This helps you find keywords quickly and check for domain matches.
  Plus, it provides various other useful controls and features.
• SEMrush is a tool that can help you pick great keywords that competitors in your niche may also rank for.
  Think of SEMrush as a hybrid keyword research and competitor analysis tool in one platform.

Link Building Tools

Building links is absolutely vital for niche websites and content platforms.

To build links effectively, Spencer recommends:

• Linkody.
  This link research tool lets you track and discover new or lost backlinks in seconds.
  Its other major features include research functions to see what your competitors are linking to, link quality metrics, anchor text suggestions, and so on.
• The HOTH.
  This is another tool Spencer himself made.
  It’s a white label SEO company that lets you purchase different services, including link analysis/research and double-checking that your current links point back to the right page or article you need.

WordPress Plugins

If you build or run several WordPress sites, you’ll want to have excellent WordPress plug-in tools at your disposal.

Spencer specifically recommends:

• Elementor. It’s a tool you can use to create buttons, implement videos, and add other elements to your site with a few button presses.
  It’s also very easy to set up pages or create new post templates with Elementor.
  Plus, it’s free if you don’t yet have a lot of cash.
• Thrive Themes and Architect, the latter of which is phenomenal for making high-quality WordPress themes and buttons.
  This tool suite lets you create landing pages from scratch, implement countdown timers, and much more, regardless of your coding/programming experience.

WordPress Themes and Designs

WordPress site themes and overall designs naturally affect customer satisfaction, time spent on-page, and other major metrics.

To ensure your WordPress sites have the best flow, you can use the themes below:

• GeneratePress.
  It’s a very quick, lightweight theme that includes plenty of customization options.
  It’s also available for free.
• Fhoke.
  Spencer recently used this tool to completely redesign his site.
  Fhoke is top-tier for making a professional-looking website in no time.

Email Marketing Tools

Email marketing is often key for bringing new visitors to your website.

To accomplish this objective, Spencer recommends:

• Convert Kit. Convert Kit is easy to use and has tons of powerful features.
  It’s ideal both for newcomers to email marketing and established brands with hundreds or thousands of subscribers.
• SendinBlue is a free tool that also lets you scale up to paid options as you start earning revenue.
  SendinBlue lets you send emails automatically and manage your email list with ease.

Graphic Design Tools

Maybe you want to take the graphic design of your websites into your own hands.

In that case, Spencer prefers the tools below:

• Design Picks.
  Design Picks is a quick and easy design tool that allows you to craft high-quality designs for your sites.
  It also allows you to start an unlimited number of projects.
• Canva.
  It’s a perfect tool for making simple yet effective graphics and designs on your website.
  Canva is a very easy-to-use software tool, no matter your graphic design background or skills.

How To Make Money with Niche Websites with Spencer Haws

Spencer Haws recently held an interview where he broke down how regular people can make tons of money with niche websites just like him.

Among the important information discussed, Spencer pointed out the three major mistakes that beginning SEO specialists make:

• Targeting keywords that are too difficult or competitive.
• Not having enough patience.
• Taking on too many projects simultaneously, such as building multiple sites and trying to rank them all at once.

Spencer also provided some key insights into SEO tactics he thinks are underrated, such as writing compelling and engaging content.

In Spencer’s mind, such content is underrated for building user engagement and increasing time spent on-page.

Throughout the interview, Spencer provided a few other nuggets of valuable information for aspiring niche website owners and builders:

• Technical website health is highly important for consistent search engine rankings, so don’t discount it.
• It’s important to stay involved with SEO groups and forums so you can discuss algorithm changes and adapt accordingly.
• Spencer believes SEO will get more difficult in the future, so the time is now to jump in and develop your skills.
• To make a site more search engine friendly, Spencer recommends focusing on site speed, writing quality titles and meta-descriptions for posts, adding SSL certification to your site, and targeting long-tail keywords wisely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wrapping Up

Ultimately, Spencer Haws shows that anyone can master the SEO and link-building scene with the right drive, ambition, and focus.

If you want to make lots of passive income and work from home, you can start that journey by checking out Spencer Haws’ website today!

Already tried some of the above tools?

Let us know what you think of them in the comments below!

If you dream of generating enough passive income to retire, you need to emulate the best of the best – that means learning about and learning from Jon Dykstra.

But who is Jon Dykstra, what does he do, and how did he become so successful?

Let’s look at this successful entrepreneur’s career, examine his stellar blogging course, and see if that course is right for you.

Who is Jon Dykstra?

Jon Dykstra is an online entrepreneur and niche website builder.

Since 2012, Dykstra has successfully published niche websites for a variety of topics and for many different audiences.

Dykstra began his efforts in 2009 by publishing entertaining and informational content through different sites to generate ad revenue.

Over time, he built up his knowledge of the niche website and advertising industries.

More recently, Dykstra released a primary site called Fat Stacks to share his knowledge and techniques with other aspiring entrepreneurs.

What Does Jon Dykstra Do?

Dykstra owns and operates a variety of niche sites for different markets and target audiences.

Many of these earn thousands of dollars each month through ad revenue, affiliate partnerships, link building, and other methods.

In addition, Dykstra regularly adds content to his Fat Stacks blog and mini-courses.

How Jon Dykstra Makes $50k Per Month

Dykstra is perhaps best known in the web entrepreneur arena because he makes truly staggering amounts of money each month.

He says several of his websites pull in tens of thousands of dollars individually.

Though exact numbers are necessarily hard to come by, many estimate that Dykstra makes approximately $50,000 per month (on the low side).

How?

According to Dykstra himself, it’s through creating effective, high-ranking niche websites for specific audiences or target consumers.

He then makes money from advertisements to those audiences on his sites.

Notably, Dykstra does not rely on many other niche website income-generating techniques, like link building.

What is Fat Stacks?

Fat Stacks, put simply, is a blogging class broken down into several “mini” courses.

It also includes access to the Fat Stacks forum, where you can collaborate and communicate with other niche website owners and operators, as well as Jon Dykstra himself from time to time.

The broader Fat Stacks site behind the blogging class is Dykstra’s personal blog, which he regularly updates with tips, tricks, and successful website strategies.

What’s Included in the Jon Dykstra Bundle and Forum?

The Jon Dykstra Fat Stacks Blogging Course includes access to:

• The Jon Dykstra Bundle, which includes 13 mini-courses
• The Jon Dykstra Bonus, which includes forum access

Let’s start with breaking down the Bundle.

It includes 13 distinct classes, covering topics such as long-tail keywords, display ads, niche potential, a natural link-building formula used by Fat Stacks, and more.

Courses are fairly easy to work through from start to finish, especially if you begin with the newly added “Start Here” module: perfect for beginners.

Helpfully, the Bundle includes a timeline and logical order in which you should proceed through the courses.

That said, the Bundle includes classes that may not be immediately relevant or helpful to you depending on where you are in the website building process.

However, throughout website ideation and creation, odds are you’ll find every class at least somewhat useful.

For example, the “Niche and Domain Selection” course is more useful at the beginning of the process.

The “On-Site SEO Deep Dive” course, on the other hand, is better after you’ve already chosen a niche and begun website creation.  

The other half of the Fat Stacks offer is forum access.

Fortunately, the forum is extremely popular and active; you don’t need to worry about running into an empty forum post list when you access this part of the site.

It’s a fantastic resource for newcomers to website ownership and operation.

On the Fat Stacks forum, you can encounter:

• Successful business owners with many years of experience
• Newcomers to niche website creation
• Everyone in between

The forum is a top-tier opportunity to get to know people who have the same goals as you and brainstorm with others on the same journey.

Is Jon Dykstra’s Blogging Course Worth It?

The million-dollar question, of course, is whether Fat Stacks is truly worth it in the long run.

That depends on your goals and what you’re looking for in an educational experience.

Dykstra’s blogging course is a perfect fit if you want to know the ins and outs of operating a successful niche website.

Furthermore, it’s a great place to learn more about related topics like search engine optimization/SEO, website creation and design, and everything in between.

But it’s important to remember that the blogging course is not a one-stop-shop for every possible blogging question you may have.

For example, it doesn’t teach you how to start a successful blog from scratch or how to get results quickly.

Yet even with those limitations, Dykstra’s blogging course is a worthwhile and highly valuable resource from start to finish.

If you’re looking to get into niche website operation and passive income generation, Fat Stacks could be just the ticket to success you’ve been looking for.

Pros of Jon’s Blogging Course

• Dykstra’s advice is practical and to the point, and he doesn’t sugarcoat his strategies by claiming you’ll make millions of dollars in a year.
• Dykstra regularly updates the courses with new modules and materials. Many of his newer insights come from his modern business endeavors.
• The forum, as mentioned, is highly valuable and perfect for asking questions or seeking a deeper understanding of module topics.
• Dykstra offers a 30-day guarantee if you want to try the course.
• Dykstra responds to emails fairly quickly, and he seems to be quite personable and friendly.

Cons of Jon’s Blogging Course

• The course can seem a bit too advanced from time to time.
  You may need to go back to previous modules every once in a while to refresh your memory.
• Some of Dykstra’s techniques require you to have some income or success to implement properly.
  Many of his strategies in the Affiliate Marketing module, for instance, require you to purchase software that costs many hundreds of dollars.

Is it Worth it or Not?

At the end of the day, Dykstra’s Fat Stacks blogging course and forum are ideal if:

• You’re a beginner to niche website operation and want to know how to make a passive income.
• You’re already an experienced blogger but want to know extra techniques or greater SEO mastery.
• You want to build up to a sustainable passive income model like Dykstra.

How To Build a No Link Building Site

Many of Dykstra’s tips come from the perspective of creating a successful niche site without relying too much on link building.

You can create successful no link building sites by:

• Producing a ton of compelling, high-converting content, like blog posts, guides, and tutorials
• Targeting low competition keywords so specific users find your site instead of more generalized competitors
• Avoiding or ignoring social media marketing in favor of directly engaging with the Google algorithm
• Monetizing your site with advertisements over time

Wrapping Up

Jon Dykstra has made a major name for himself in the website building and advertising space, and for a good reason.

He’s mastered niche website creation, operation, and optimization – and you can learn how he did all that by taking his blogging course.

If you’ve already tried the course, let us know what you thought and comment below!

Or contact us today for further advice and course recommendations.

He saw that no one on the internet had published a complete list of Google’s 200 ranking factors, and he jumped at the chance to create it.

Many know of the skyscraper technique, considered core to modern link building strategies, but some still don’t know who developed the strategy; it was Brian Dean.

The content was original, allowing it to shoot to the top of the skyscraper immediately.

In other words, it became the go-to source for people looking for the answer to this query.

Who is Brian Dean?

Brian Dean is the founder and CEO of Backlinko, a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and marketing strategy provider.

Dean launched Backlinko in 2012 to assist marketers in growing their online presence with his SEO strategies and methods to generate backlinks correctly.

From his features in Forbes Magazine, Inc Magazine, and more, to his clientele history working with Fortune 500 companies, his international recognition as an expert SEO strategist is warranted.

About Brian Dean

As of 2022, Brian Dean is a 34/35-year-old entrepreneur.

He has a seven-figure net worth of over $5 million, according to blogger Anil Agarwal, an SEO blogger.

According to Forbes, Dean studied nutrition as his academic focus, receiving his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island and his master’s degree from Tufts.

From there, he attempted to earn his Ph.D. at Purdue, only to quit the program and find employment as a dietitian.

From 2009 to 2010, Dean says he created 150 websites during the black-hat SEO boom.

Black-hat SEO is an unethical marketing technique used to manipulate search engines to get higher rankings in the search results, a go-to tactic during Google’s easy-to-be tricked search algorithm.

Although Dean didn’t necessarily use black-hat SEO, says Forbes, the 2011 update of Google’s algorithm, Google Panda, halted traffic to his keyword-stuffed niche website.

From there, he learned ethical and workable SEO techniques, prompting the beginnings of Backlinko.

What is Backlinko?

Backlinko is a marketing company sharing working SEO strategies to help businesses enhance their online presence and increase website traffic.

While Backlinko is a company, it’s better construed as an extremely successful SEO-focused online blog.

Dean, the founder of Backlinko, is the sole creator, offering interested parties to sign-up to receive a weekly newsletter and consume SEO tips directly from Backlinko’s blog tab.

According to SEMRush, Backlino receives around 961,585 organic traffic visits a month and a newsletter with 173,674 subscribers, according to Backlinko.

How Did Backlinko Start?

Brian Dean’s successes and failures with SEO led to the start of Backlinko in 2012.

Dean’s involvement in SEO began when he published his first website.

As Dean explains, he followed the basics of SEO:

• Quality content that is consistently updated,
• Optimized title and meta tags,
• Use of keywords on every webpage, and
• Social media to promote.

Despite using all these SEO tips, they didn’t bring traffic.

Why?

Well according to Dean, those neat SEO tips and tricks are for well-established brands, not for someone like Dean.

So, he switched tactics until he found the solution.

From this, he made his own SEO system and put it to the test.

He accomplished the ultimate goal of successful SEO: showing up on the first page of a user’s Search Engine Results Pages (SERP).

With his successful SEO system, he put it to the test by inviting a few people to test out the step-by-step course themselves.

Evidently, Dean saw positive results from his trial period, or else Backlinko, likely, wouldn’t exist.

What Has Happened Since Backlinko Started?

Since the crafting of Brian Dean’s program, SEO That Works, it’s gone through many changes.

Today, the program appears to be on its fourth transformation, providing versatile, in-depth SEO training for any industry and country with updated material and result-proven approaches.

From struggling for more traffic as a one-man show to becoming an established educational source for a marketer, with thousands of visitors a month, Brian Dean and Backlinko are certainly well-respected in the digital marketing world.

How Did Brain Dean Make Money with Backlinko?

While Dean’s countless blog posts and weekly newsletters are free, his SEO That Works course is not.

SEO That Works costs $497 a month for the full user experience.

In the course, participants learn the proper way to conduct keyword research, optimize content, create links, and other strategies.

The course opens once a year and entails committing about three to four hours a week to learn the material.

SEMRush’s Recent Acquisition of Backlinko

On January 19, 2022, SEMrush, a software as a service (SaaS) company used for keyword research, SEO, marketing, SERP, and other metrics, announced its acquisition of Backlinko.

The Chief Marketer Officer of SEMrush, Andrew Warden, explained that the merger now allows them to “offer one of the most robust digital marketing and SEO training resources on the web.”

Why the Merger Matters

SEMrush’s acquisition of Backlinko is a promising move for the company, as it is a way to unlock a level of SaaS marketing they couldn’t seem to previously crack.

SEMrush generates 1.9 million organic traffic searches a month, and Backlinko adds around 500k monthly traffic.

In addition, before the merger, SEMrush and Backlinko competed for many of the same keywords, essentially making them competitors.

Now, with the acquisition, SEMrush eliminated the competition.

Their competition is now with Ahrefs and Moz, two other SEO marketing leaders.

Tips From Brian Dean

Brian Dean has countless tips for generating attention-grabbing content that the internet can understand.

From Dean’s backlink guides to his copywriting guides, he shares some excellent tips that nearly everyone can benefit from.

After reading a few of his guides, here are ten of Dean’s helpful tips for content writers to generate successful SEO content.

1. Specific Headlines

Dean recommends having a headline that is “insanely specific” to make a headline that attracts the right audience.

It’s safe to attract the correct audience, so they don’t leave the page in less than ten seconds.

For example, numbers, a timeline, and emotion.

2. Short Introductions

Introductions should have short sentences.

They are better when written in the second-person point of view and chunks of text less than eight lines.

Dean explains that the first sentence, not the first paragraph, should grab the reader’s attention enough that they want to continue reading.

For example, using an anecdote related to the headline, relating to the audience’s situation, or using stats.

3. Be Clear and Direct

According to Dean, content writers should use the active voice, refer to the audience using the second-person point of view, and use simple, easy-to-read words.

4. Use Lists

Most people don’t read; they skim.

The best strategy is to create content that the audience can easily glaze over.

For example, lists are a great way to provide quick answers or information and keep the reader on the page.

5. Use the “AIDA” formula

“AIDA” stands for Attention Interest Desire Action.

It is a formula for copywriters to attract traffic by:

• Grabbing the reader’s attention in the first line,
• Keeping them interested in the second line,
• Stating the desire of your audience based on the headline in the third line(s), and
• End with a Call to Action (CTA) that swiftly transitions into the body.

6. The PPP Formula

The Preview, Proof, Preview (PPP) formula is an outline for writing a blog post.

The first preview means letting the audience know “exactly what to expect” from your piece.

Proof: show credibility through personal experience, results, clients, or credentials.

The second preview means getting specific about the contents of the post

7. Use Subheadings

Use subheadings to break content into sections.

Subheadings help writers organize their work and make their content easily readable and skimmable.

8. Use Illustrations

Dean uses many images and illustrations that show statistics to prove his point, examples, and evidence of his success.

9. Promote your Blog

While Dean spends hours generating content and visuals for his SEO content, he spends even more time on promotion.

In fact, without something driving people to your content, chances are, very few will read it.

10. Create Credible Backlinks

According to SEMrush, backlinko.com has around one million backlinks across its website.

Backlinks is the process of link building from high-authority sites that link your website to its page.

The goal is to grab viewers from a high-authority site to your website.

How to Get in Touch with Brian Dean

To get in touch with Brian Dean, contact him directly through his website here.

Other ways to reach Dean are through his Twitter account and Instagram account.

Final Thoughts

Brian Dean is an entrepreneur, founder, and CEO of Backlinko.

He is also the co-founder and CEO of Exploding Topics.

Exploding Topics analyzes searches, forums, and the like from the internet to help determine trends before they become trends.

Brian Dean is an SEO expert whose career is often compared and measured to Neil Patel and Moz, two other SEO leaders.

All three SEO marketers found success in the digital marketing industry and choosing “the best” ultimately depends on the client’s goal.