Before I begin, just to let you know I have NOT stopped working on my niche sites (well, I have 2-3 that get all my focus now), just in case you are only here for niche site updates specifically!
Traffic on one of my niche sites is taking off (which is nice, considering my previous top site got smashed!), and I’ll give you a further update over the next week or two.
Now, let’s get into this post…
I started my rank and rent / local SEO experiments in the first week of January this year (2024).
Like many entrepreneurs, I get excited by the possibilities with a new business idea. Like many ONLINE entrepreneurs, I end up getting so excited, I register a lot of domains.
Here’s what that looks like when it comes to local rank and rent domains…
Um, and add at least one more from another hosting account!
Not all of these domains are websites, but most are—so much so that Siteground got in touch to say I was hitting 90% of my storage!
So what are my results so far from R&R / Local SEO?
When starting a new site, I go for EMDs (exact match domains), and these still work really well. You have a definite advantage with an EMD, and I’ve tested this now…well, around a couple of dozen times!
How long does it take to rank?
My record for ranking a rank and rent site is 10 days for a search on that exact match term. This site happened to be the third site I started back in January. It is a roofing site – so think “roofingSanDiego dot com” and I was on page one for “roofing San Diego” within 10 days!
I then quickly started ranking for other related terms. Once you have our EMD, solid on-page optimisation, and the right content and pages, it is pretty straightforward and MUCH easier than niche sites (shocker).
It is all about choosing the right niches—ones with as low competition as possible and in the right locations.
There is no point in targeting a large city with a competitive niche – unless you want to wait for years and spend a lot of money on links/outreach.
You will most likely not rank, get discouraged and frustrated, and give up when you really shouldn’t! (Never give up.)
But you don’t necessarily want to choose a lower-competition niche either, as you may not have enough search volume for the service, or demand for your leads may not be there.
An example is home appliance repair. It might look easy to rank for, but how much money is in appliance repair these days, when it may be cheaper to just replace your washing machine or dishwasher than have someone call to repair it?
Speaking of search volume, I made the above “mistake” (really a learning experience) when starting. I picked a term that looked really easy to rank for—and it was (although not as easy as I envisaged)—but I only checked the search volume for the term AFTER I set up the site!
I should know better, and I do—but excitement meant I registered the domain a bit too fast!
I registered the domain, set up the site, and got going, and while I do get the occasional inquiry—and should get more as the site ranks higher—this is a sub-niche of a niche, and it is overall low volume. That said, jobs in this sub-niche would come with a hefty price tag.
You want a combination of low competition and enough volume in the right location. That’s the key, and I’ll discuss this further in upcoming updates and continue to share what’s working for me.
It’s working well for my sites in the gardening niche. I’m not saying to jump into gardening, but it’s a nice niche for me so far.
So much so, a company taking my gardening leads asked if they could have a conversation, as all our contact had been by email. I agreed (of course), and they asked if I could work on THEIR website for a monthly retainer and 8% commission on all the converted leads I sent them.
Making $$ with this model
I’m about to compile the first invoice to send to the company above. I’ll include a table with all the leads I’ve sent them along with a rundown of all the SEO activities for April and late March. I imagine the revenue will come to between $1-1.5K, depending on how many leads are converted and their value.
I’m also working on my other rank and rent sites of course – including one in the notoriously YMYL Finance services niche that is ranking on page 1 alongside major financial institutions for a variety of terms…more on that one to follow!
I’m also looking to set up a subscription model for a particular niche. In this model, I would send leads for free to local businesses for 30 days before having them sign up for a monthly plan. I feel this has big potential.
But, I recommend not starting with 20 or 30 websites to start. I’ve been in SEO and niche sites over 10 years now, so I have experience, and maybe you do too – but start small!
I could write so much more but I will leave it there for now! I plan to share more updates on the blog to keep you up to date with my rank and rent journey in 2024. And be sure to watch/listen to my video from my last update (100+ views and counting).
It will give you a detailed rundown on:
-My take on what’s happening with Google Search and how it is affecting niche sites (I keep it light).
-My pivot to rank and rent and Local SEO.
-My current plans and some of the key steps you need to get started with rank and rent.
Before you go…
Want a step by step course to tie it all together for you?
Speaking of key steps, my friend Jeremy over at Rank and Rent SEO was one of the two top channels on YouTube I learned from while starting with this model. Jeremy has his own portfolio of rank and rent sites and has recently launched an entire course outlining how to get started – and succeed – with rank and rent.
Jeremy is a friendly, humble guy, and his videos are quite entertaining and fun to watch (ask him about his “broken” radiator!).
You can check out Jeremy’s live public case study site, his fantastic rank and rent community (where you can get ongoing support and interact with other rank and renters!), and his rank and rent course.
He charges what I feel is a very fair price for his detailed course (too low as of the time of writing at least), which also includes lifetime access to his highly supportive rank and rent community (I was one of the first to join).
Check out all the details of the course content via the link above.
In Jeremy’s community, you will get all your questions answered, and you will join a group of enterprising folks who are building rank and rent websites and businesses and having fun while doing it (like I am—can you tell?!).
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you click on the link and make a purchase (at no extra cost to you). As ever, I only recommend products and content that I believe in.