Taking Action and Building the Ultimate Resource – Phase One

A month ago, I wrote about the idea of taking a static niche site that is primarily informational and turning it into something more useful – a tool that can better help an end user achieve their goals:

The Ultimate Resource.

I have since been taking action on that.

Here’s what I’ve been up to…

For well over a year, I did not publish any new content on my security guard training niche site.

A ton of work went into researching and writing the content that had been published, which is partly why I believe it was able to maintain its #1 ranking for 99% of the time, but to cut-off producing content for that long is definitely ill-advised.

The error was in my goal – my mindset – which was tied to the fact that the site was created out of a challenge.

The challenge was to get to #1 in Google, so when I got there, I stopped producing content.

Just because you’re #1 in Google doesn’t mean your site is complete, or even any good or useful. It just means you’ve done something right that pleases a particular algorithm.

But…

Google’s algorithm isn’t going to email you to say “thanks for the help”.

…and that’s something I eventually learned.

Some sites, I’m sure, can have a smaller, limited number of posts and be completely useful, but then again you have to think about “long-tail find-ability” and content potential.

Fresh content can help end users find more answers to questions, keep people up to date on industry changes, help to make a site look like it’s active, improve SEO and increase find-ability.

Consequently, I’ve recently hired a writer to produce 12 blog posts per month that address many questions and concerns that people who are looking to get into security guard training have.

Already, I’ve seen an increase in traffic since the new articles have been going up – from an average of 860 unique visitors per day to now 904 unique visitors per day – and of course, as a result, an increase in Adsense revenue as well.

I’m proud that I’ve been able to provide enough information on the site to help people understand what steps are required to become a security guard, but one area in which the site is completely lacking is where people can get training.

How can a training site be useful if there is no information about exactly where one could receive training?

I’ve been scared to tackle this dilemma because it is a monster of a task.

There is no database of security guard training companies that I can tap into and there are potentially hundreds of companies in each state in the U.S.

How in the world can I recommend a training company if I don’t know who they are and where they are located?

The answer: create a database of my own. 

My part-time VA (who has been with me for 7 months) is doing the research and collecting the data in a spreadsheet for me.

In about a week, she has already obtained information for over 1100 entries, which is awesome!

The company name, address, URL, phone number and specific page for training information is all being collected for my future use.

The question is, how exactly am I going to share this information with the end user?

How will Collin from San Diego, California know where in San Diego he should go for training?

Let’s talk about that…

I’m going to attempt to shift the primary monetization model on this site from Google Adsense, to a lead-gen B2B (business-to-business) model.

If done correctly, this could be much more profitable and it will help a lot more people as well, both the end user and the security guard training companies too.

It could easily flop as well, but I’ll never know for sure unless I give it a shot.

Here’s my plan:

This is a sketch I did in my notebook for a new WordPress theme with various new elements to the homepage of securityguardtraininghq.com.

A new logo for branding purposes, a magazine style layout to showcase fresh posts and most importantly, a simple call to action area at the top that asks for a zip code and a zip code only.

The call to action will have to be strong, of course, but after a user enters their zip code and clicks “GO”, he or she will be taken to a results page that will reveal a couple of things:

Information about how to become a security guard in that particular state. This information is already posted and organized on the site via categories (per state); andThe security guard training companies closest to them in order of distance from zip. This will be configured in conjunction with the database that my VA has (and still is) collecting.

Each company on the results page will have a button or a down arrow (still figuring this out) to open up an area that will reveal text fields for a name, an email address and a phone number. When the user submits that data, I will store it and be able to hand that information over to that particular company (or rather, someone on my team will do that for me) for a fee (ideally).

This solves the problem of companies not wanting to do business with me (or buy space in a directory) because they won’t know if they’ll ever get traffic or leads, and it also solves the problem of sending leads through a special link, a coupon code or targeted phone number and trusting the other company to keep track of it all for me.

This is exactly what companies like 1-800-DENTIST do, a service that I’ve used myself and was extremely happy with. I called them, they set me up with a dentist in my local area, and the dentist gives them a small finders-fee commission.

The one thing to keep in mind is that when I went through that process, I knew that my data was going to be shared with a potential dentist, so I feel it’s important that I make sure those who are looking for a security guard training company know that their data will be shared too.

I’ve spoken to a few security guard training companies myself and I know that some are willing to pay for leads, which is a great sign.

In addition to direct lead gen (middle-manning), there are some affiliate marketing opportunities here as well.

Some states give people the ability to obtain training online, usually in the form of an online membership with X number of videos they have to watch, and then a test they have to pass at the end.

In these states, there are several companies that were created just to train security guards online, and after talking with them, some of them have an existing affiliate program.

On the zip results page for the states that offer online training, I’ll probably “bump” theses companies to the top of the list no matter what location within that state the person is from.

In the end, this solution will make it easy for everyone, and I’ll be able to give people the exact information they need to find a place to start their training.

In this industry, I envision an ultimate resource to have a store that sells various types of security guard gear – from boots to badges and more.

That said, I’m not going to buy supplies wholesale, keep them at my house or in a warehouse and start taking orders. That’s not the kind of lifestyle I want to live.

I did think about creating a store-like interface on the site and linking to those products via an Amazon affiliate link, but just last week I stumbled upon a specialty website that actually sells a ton of security guard gear, and guess what – they have an affiliate program!

They pay slightly better than Amazon, however I’d probably have to run a few tests because Amazon could still earn more since people are used to buying on Amazon already, there’s all of the upsells that I could get a commission for and the advantage of one-click purchases too.

We’ll see, but the point is, I can make the store happen.

There are some other things I’d like to implement too, but I want to do this in phases.

Phase One is what you see above and Phase Two will include a forum or community aspect to the site, potentially a Kindle book and the licensing of some online courses so that I can host them on the site itself.

As you can see, I’m truly determined to turn this site into something much bigger.

I’ve already been offered 5 figures for the site a total of 4 times now (up to $32,000) but I have declined each time because I know there’s so much more potential here. I might strongly consider a 6-figure deal though, but I know that can only happen if the profits are more than the $1500 to $2000 per month I’ve been seeing with Adsense.

Let’s see if we can make it happen.

So what are you working towards today?

Tagged as: ultimate resource

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Taking Action and Building the Ultimate Resource – Phase One

A month ago, I wrote about the idea of taking a static niche site that is primarily informational and turning it into something more useful – a tool that can better help an end user achieve their goals:

The Ultimate Resource.

I have since been taking action on that.

Here’s what I’ve been up to…

For well over a year, I did not publish any new content on my security guard training niche site.

A ton of work went into researching and writing the content that had been published, which is partly why I believe it was able to maintain its #1 ranking for 99% of the time, but to cut-off producing content for that long is definitely ill-advised.

The error was in my goal – my mindset – which was tied to the fact that the site was created out of a challenge.

The challenge was to get to #1 in Google, so when I got there, I stopped producing content.

Just because you’re #1 in Google doesn’t mean your site is complete, or even any good or useful. It just means you’ve done something right that pleases a particular algorithm.

But…

Google’s algorithm isn’t going to email you to say “thanks for the help”.

…and that’s something I eventually learned.

Some sites, I’m sure, can have a smaller, limited number of posts and be completely useful, but then again you have to think about “long-tail find-ability” and content potential.

Fresh content can help end users find more answers to questions, keep people up to date on industry changes, help to make a site look like it’s active, improve SEO and increase find-ability.

Consequently, I’ve recently hired a writer to produce 12 blog posts per month that address many questions and concerns that people who are looking to get into security guard training have.

Already, I’ve seen an increase in traffic since the new articles have been going up – from an average of 860 unique visitors per day to now 904 unique visitors per day – and of course, as a result, an increase in Adsense revenue as well.

I’m proud that I’ve been able to provide enough information on the site to help people understand what steps are required to become a security guard, but one area in which the site is completely lacking is where people can get training.

How can a training site be useful if there is no information about exactly where one could receive training?

I’ve been scared to tackle this dilemma because it is a monster of a task.

There is no database of security guard training companies that I can tap into and there are potentially hundreds of companies in each state in the U.S.

How in the world can I recommend a training company if I don’t know who they are and where they are located?

The answer: create a database of my own. 

My part-time VA (who has been with me for 7 months) is doing the research and collecting the data in a spreadsheet for me.

In about a week, she has already obtained information for over 1100 entries, which is awesome!

The company name, address, URL, phone number and specific page for training information is all being collected for my future use.

The question is, how exactly am I going to share this information with the end user?

How will Collin from San Diego, California know where in San Diego he should go for training?

Let’s talk about that…

I’m going to attempt to shift the primary monetization model on this site from Google Adsense, to a lead-gen B2B (business-to-business) model.

If done correctly, this could be much more profitable and it will help a lot more people as well, both the end user and the security guard training companies too.

It could easily flop as well, but I’ll never know for sure unless I give it a shot.

Here’s my plan:

This is a sketch I did in my notebook for a new WordPress theme with various new elements to the homepage of securityguardtraininghq.com.

A new logo for branding purposes, a magazine style layout to showcase fresh posts and most importantly, a simple call to action area at the top that asks for a zip code and a zip code only.

The call to action will have to be strong, of course, but after a user enters their zip code and clicks “GO”, he or she will be taken to a results page that will reveal a couple of things:

Information about how to become a security guard in that particular state. This information is already posted and organized on the site via categories (per state); andThe security guard training companies closest to them in order of distance from zip. This will be configured in conjunction with the database that my VA has (and still is) collecting.

Each company on the results page will have a button or a down arrow (still figuring this out) to open up an area that will reveal text fields for a name, an email address and a phone number. When the user submits that data, I will store it and be able to hand that information over to that particular company (or rather, someone on my team will do that for me) for a fee (ideally).

This solves the problem of companies not wanting to do business with me (or buy space in a directory) because they won’t know if they’ll ever get traffic or leads, and it also solves the problem of sending leads through a special link, a coupon code or targeted phone number and trusting the other company to keep track of it all for me.

This is exactly what companies like 1-800-DENTIST do, a service that I’ve used myself and was extremely happy with. I called them, they set me up with a dentist in my local area, and the dentist gives them a small finders-fee commission.

The one thing to keep in mind is that when I went through that process, I knew that my data was going to be shared with a potential dentist, so I feel it’s important that I make sure those who are looking for a security guard training company know that their data will be shared too.

I’ve spoken to a few security guard training companies myself and I know that some are willing to pay for leads, which is a great sign.

In addition to direct lead gen (middle-manning), there are some affiliate marketing opportunities here as well.

Some states give people the ability to obtain training online, usually in the form of an online membership with X number of videos they have to watch, and then a test they have to pass at the end.

In these states, there are several companies that were created just to train security guards online, and after talking with them, some of them have an existing affiliate program.

On the zip results page for the states that offer online training, I’ll probably “bump” theses companies to the top of the list no matter what location within that state the person is from.

In the end, this solution will make it easy for everyone, and I’ll be able to give people the exact information they need to find a place to start their training.

In this industry, I envision an ultimate resource to have a store that sells various types of security guard gear – from boots to badges and more.

That said, I’m not going to buy supplies wholesale, keep them at my house or in a warehouse and start taking orders. That’s not the kind of lifestyle I want to live.

I did think about creating a store-like interface on the site and linking to those products via an Amazon affiliate link, but just last week I stumbled upon a specialty website that actually sells a ton of security guard gear, and guess what – they have an affiliate program!

They pay slightly better than Amazon, however I’d probably have to run a few tests because Amazon could still earn more since people are used to buying on Amazon already, there’s all of the upsells that I could get a commission for and the advantage of one-click purchases too.

We’ll see, but the point is, I can make the store happen.

There are some other things I’d like to implement too, but I want to do this in phases.

Phase One is what you see above and Phase Two will include a forum or community aspect to the site, potentially a Kindle book and the licensing of some online courses so that I can host them on the site itself.

As you can see, I’m truly determined to turn this site into something much bigger.

I’ve already been offered 5 figures for the site a total of 4 times now (up to $32,000) but I have declined each time because I know there’s so much more potential here. I might strongly consider a 6-figure deal though, but I know that can only happen if the profits are more than the $1500 to $2000 per month I’ve been seeing with Adsense.

Let’s see if we can make it happen.

So what are you working towards today?

Tagged as: ultimate resource

Read more >>

Tweet

Building the Ultimate Resource: Taking a Niche Site and Actually Making it Useful

In my last post, I shared an email I received from Google about my Adsense account.

I wasn’t banned (luckily), but I was given a warning and 3 days to make changes…”or else”.

My violation and reason for the warning, “format mimicking”, seemed to totally contradict some advice that Google was giving to it’s Adsense publishers.

This is why I ended my last post with:

“All I know is, I would not let Google babysit my kids.”

In other words, I wouldn’t rely on Google to be the sole provider of income for my business.

Any business that does is on thin ice.

My security guard training niche site: on thin ice.

Although the Adsense income has been good (consistently between $1200-$2000 per month over the last year), I’ve always known that this site could do bigger and better things.

Most sites can.

There are a few signs that support this thought about my security guard training site:

I’m consistently seeing people using the integrated job board. Not just via page views, but people actually getting hooked up with new jobs. I’ve even had a couple of emails from people saying thanks, which is totally awesome.I get emails every day from people who are looking for more specific information about security guard training in their local area, beyond the information I currently have on the site.At the moment, there’s no real ‘ultimate resource’ for this industry.

Bottom line – there’s a hole in this market that needs to be filled.

Although I’m ranking #1 for a lot of the top keywords in the field, my site is still purely informational and doesn’t do much beyond just tell people what they should do or how to do it.

I recently tried to get away from Adsense a little with private banner ads, but that was a mediocre attempt at earning a little more money, and nothing more.

I need to start building the ultimate resource: the “go-to site” everyone talks about and shares when anything about that niche comes up in conversation.

That’s when monetization options go way beyond pay-per-click advertising.

So how do I build the “ultimate resource” for security guard training? Here’s what I’m thinking:

In addition to the state specific information I have to become an unarmed and armed security guard, I should also include:

A directory of all the security guard training companies in the U.S., searchable by zip code to make it easier for people to find not only how to train, but where to train too.A store for all the gear a security guard would need.A library of security guard training tips, both for those looking to get a job and those who are already working in the field.Information about other types of security guard training practices, such as baton training, pepper spray training, etc.A forum or community aspect for support, questions, and answers.Up to date news in the industry published on the site.Expansion into other countries, such as Canada, the UK, etc.

An actual in-brand certified training course would be ideal, of course, however there’s the issue that each state in the U.S. (and territory in Canada) has a different set of security guard training requirements, so a one-size-fits all course, even at the entry level, would be difficult to create and manage (and get approved).

This is a lot to take on, but that’s what would take this site to the next level.

Monetizing the directory and tapping into the actual companies that are training new security guards might be where the gold is, it’s just a matter of how that should be done.

I have a few options:

Have companies pay a small monthly fee to be included in the directory. A company does not show up in the zip search results unless they have paid a small monthly fee. The recurring income would be sweet (even with just 1 company per state!), however it would take a lot of convincing to have companies pay upfront for something like this, I feel.Include companies on the directory for free, but charge for a premium position, monthly, at the top of the directory in designated zip code ranges.Include companies on the directory for free, but setup an affiliate program or pay-per-lead offer for specific companies.

The affiliate program / pay-per-lead option seems to be the most attractive to me because companies wouldn’t have to pay unless they got sales and/or leads, depending on the model, and I wouldn’t be “capped” here either.

The more people I send through – the more money would come in.

Well, that would be the plan once all systems are up and running.

To help me figure out how this might work, I did some research and came across some helpful information on Shoemoney.com about Schoemaker’s experience with local affiliate marketing.

The content written almost 4 years ago, but it very much still applies today.

Local affiliate marketing is getting paid to send leads to local companies such as car dealers, dentists, doctors, etc. – all companies that don’t usually have an online affiliate program but know how much a lead is worth to them – and many of those companies are willing to pay for those leads.

Shoemoney’s strategy is to drive leads to these companies by running targeted PPC (pay-per-click) ads on Facebook to a landing page where  they either call that company using a special number that keeps track (i.e. CallRail.com) or he just collects those leads and sends those to designated companies in batches each week for a price.

Other times he’ll direct people to companies with a special coupon code connected to his name to keep track as well.

Very, very interesting stuff right there – and it almost makes me want to try local affiliate marketing here in San Diego, or even the town I live in within San Diego (since there’s less competition) but…I have to stay focused, lol.

I think collecting leads or possibly even using special phone numbers to track calls would be an option for my niche site, and I don’t even have to do PPC because I have the site and keyword rankings to drive traffic already.

That said, if it works with the natural traffic I already have, maybe I could give it a boost with paid advertising too.

Hmm…

There’s big opportunity here, and I’m willing to give it a shot.

My mindset has changed:

Forget about the mini niche sites and start thinking about building the ultimate resource for a niche.

Think about the ways that you can turn your site into the ultimate resource. Even just one thing you can do to make it better than it already is can make a huge different – possibly a feature or benefit that no one else in your niche has.

Lastly, what are your thoughts about this new direction?

I’d love to hear your comments below.

Tagged as: ultimate resource

Read more >>

Tweet

Building the Ultimate Resource: Taking a Niche Site and Actually Making it Useful

In my last post, I shared an email I received from Google about my Adsense account.

I wasn’t banned (luckily), but I was given a warning and 3 days to make changes…”or else”.

My violation and reason for the warning, “format mimicking”, seemed to totally contradict some advice that Google was giving to it’s Adsense publishers.

This is why I ended my last post with:

“All I know is, I would not let Google babysit my kids.”

In other words, I wouldn’t rely on Google to be the sole provider of income for my business.

Any business that does is on thin ice.

My security guard training niche site: on thin ice.

Although the Adsense income has been good (consistently between $1200-$2000 per month over the last year), I’ve always known that this site could do bigger and better things.

Most sites can.

There are a few signs that support this thought about my security guard training site:

I’m consistently seeing people using the integrated job board. Not just via page views, but people actually getting hooked up with new jobs. I’ve even had a couple of emails from people saying thanks, which is totally awesome.I get emails every day from people who are looking for more specific information about security guard training in their local area, beyond the information I currently have on the site.At the moment, there’s no real ‘ultimate resource’ for this industry.

Bottom line – there’s a hole in this market that needs to be filled.

Although I’m ranking #1 for a lot of the top keywords in the field, my site is still purely informational and doesn’t do much beyond just tell people what they should do or how to do it.

I recently tried to get away from Adsense a little with private banner ads, but that was a mediocre attempt at earning a little more money, and nothing more.

I need to start building the ultimate resource: the “go-to site” everyone talks about and shares when anything about that niche comes up in conversation.

That’s when monetization options go way beyond pay-per-click advertising.

So how do I build the “ultimate resource” for security guard training? Here’s what I’m thinking:

In addition to the state specific information I have to become an unarmed and armed security guard, I should also include:

A directory of all the security guard training companies in the U.S., searchable by zip code to make it easier for people to find not only how to train, but where to train too.A store for all the gear a security guard would need.A library of security guard training tips, both for those looking to get a job and those who are already working in the field.Information about other types of security guard training practices, such as baton training, pepper spray training, etc.A forum or community aspect for support, questions, and answers.Up to date news in the industry published on the site.Expansion into other countries, such as Canada, the UK, etc.

An actual in-brand certified training course would be ideal, of course, however there’s the issue that each state in the U.S. (and territory in Canada) has a different set of security guard training requirements, so a one-size-fits all course, even at the entry level, would be difficult to create and manage (and get approved).

This is a lot to take on, but that’s what would take this site to the next level.

Monetizing the directory and tapping into the actual companies that are training new security guards might be where the gold is, it’s just a matter of how that should be done.

I have a few options:

Have companies pay a small monthly fee to be included in the directory. A company does not show up in the zip search results unless they have paid a small monthly fee. The recurring income would be sweet (even with just 1 company per state!), however it would take a lot of convincing to have companies pay upfront for something like this, I feel.Include companies on the directory for free, but charge for a premium position, monthly, at the top of the directory in designated zip code ranges.Include companies on the directory for free, but setup an affiliate program or pay-per-lead offer for specific companies.

The affiliate program / pay-per-lead option seems to be the most attractive to me because companies wouldn’t have to pay unless they got sales and/or leads, depending on the model, and I wouldn’t be “capped” here either.

The more people I send through – the more money would come in.

Well, that would be the plan once all systems are up and running.

To help me figure out how this might work, I did some research and came across some helpful information on Shoemoney.com about Schoemaker’s experience with local affiliate marketing.

The content written almost 4 years ago, but it very much still applies today.

Local affiliate marketing is getting paid to send leads to local companies such as car dealers, dentists, doctors, etc. – all companies that don’t usually have an online affiliate program but know how much a lead is worth to them – and many of those companies are willing to pay for those leads.

Shoemoney’s strategy is to drive leads to these companies by running targeted PPC (pay-per-click) ads on Facebook to a landing page where  they either call that company using a special number that keeps track (i.e. CallRail.com) or he just collects those leads and sends those to designated companies in batches each week for a price.

Other times he’ll direct people to companies with a special coupon code connected to his name to keep track as well.

Very, very interesting stuff right there – and it almost makes me want to try local affiliate marketing here in San Diego, or even the town I live in within San Diego (since there’s less competition) but…I have to stay focused, lol.

I think collecting leads or possibly even using special phone numbers to track calls would be an option for my niche site, and I don’t even have to do PPC because I have the site and keyword rankings to drive traffic already.

That said, if it works with the natural traffic I already have, maybe I could give it a boost with paid advertising too.

Hmm…

There’s big opportunity here, and I’m willing to give it a shot.

My mindset has changed:

Forget about the mini niche sites and start thinking about building the ultimate resource for a niche.

Think about the ways that you can turn your site into the ultimate resource. Even just one thing you can do to make it better than it already is can make a huge different – possibly a feature or benefit that no one else in your niche has.

Lastly, what are your thoughts about this new direction?

I’d love to hear your comments below.

Tagged as: ultimate resource

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Wiki Wars: The Ultimate Web Scavenger Hunt [VIDEO]

Wikipedia is a valuable research tool, containing more than 22 million articles. But how many times have you looked up a particular topic, like the Revolutionary War, only to find yourself researching the entire history of ska music? (Not that that’s happened to me.)

SEE ALSO: Hit Tumblr Mocks Wikipedia’s Most Ridiculous Claims

The Gregory Brothers, famous for autotuning the news and introducing the world to Antoine Dodson‘s “Bed Intruder Song,” have made a scavenger hunt out of Wikipedia’s vastness.

“WikiWars,” as they call it, require the participants to begin on one specific topic page, then only use links within the article to get to the final designated topic page. For example, the first round was using the site to navigate from GIF to broccolini.

“Victory requires mental focus, precise clicking, a surprisingly large need for a knowledge of geography and the ability to not start hyperventilating,” the Gregory Brothers write on their YouTube page.

Sounds about right, don’t you think?

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LG’s “Ultimate Display” OLED TV looks stunning

LG Electronics of South Korea has just ushered in a spanking new era of TV after unveiling the world’s largest and slimmest 55-inch OLED TV, where the event took place in Europe at Monaco’s world famous Salle des Etoiles. This particular unveiling happened right in front of an audience of 400 dealers, journalists and special guest F1 champion Sebastian Vettel, where LG officials has a mission statement in their career to churn out the most advanced commercial OLED TV in the market. I suppose they have done a pretty good job at it, and LG is also proud to be the first company to deliver these TVs to European consumers sometime in the second half of 2012.

Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG’s Home Entertainment Company, said, “In the history of television, there have been very few innovations as impactful as the coming of OLED TV. We say THE ULTIMATE DISPLAY because LG OLED TV is truly above all expectations and beyond everyone’s imagination with uncompromising picture quality and beautiful design. This year, we plan to make OLED synonymous with LG.”

This 55-inch behemoth will feature WRGB technology that is touted to be the culmination of years of research and development at LG. Incidentally, LG broke new ground by being the first company in the world to deliver the first commercialized 15-inch OLED TV back in 2009. LG’s 4 Color Pixel technology which relies on a white sub-pixel is there to achieve a perfect color output. A Color Refiner further enhances the image, leaving you with pictures which are the most vibrant, natural and comfortable to the human eye.

The screen is also said to offer a perfect viewing experience without any form of distortion or loss of contrast, regardless of ambient brightness or viewing angle. OLED TVs are different from LCD or LED displays that require backlights, as OLED TVs generate their own light, hence doing away with the need for any backlighting. Not only that, the use of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) for the exterior enables LG engineers to create a final product with a thickness of only 4mm, while tipping the scales at just 10kg. This is definitely going to cost a bomb, that’s for sure.

Press Release

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