Create a strategy. Take some time before you begin anything to figure out what your goals are for the site. Are you going to churn and burn it, build a long-term money site, or rank and punt it?
At this point in the plan, you should determine how much money you are willing to spend on the site in the future. This includes domain and hosting fees, as well as the cost of any themes you wish to use. Similarly, make a note of any paid plugins you intend to use, such as Amazon Associates plugins.
You should also consider how you intend to monetize the site. Will you do this through adverts, CPA, or affiliate sales such as Amazon? This can change and be expanded upon over time, but it’s critical that you make these decisions from the start.
Choosing a niche. I’m sure I’ll get some flak for saying this, but in my opinion, starting out in a niche you know a lot about is always the better option. With Google changing how it ranks reviews, you must have a solid understanding of the products you’re reviewing. This isn’t the old days when you could just take the details from Amazon, add some generic crap, and hope for the best.
When you write about something you’re passionate about, it’s easy to convey that to the reader. They are far more likely to click through to the product you’re promoting than they are to some list article. Choose your links with caution. I understand; you’ve just launched your website and want it to rank quickly. The sooner you rank, the sooner you will be richer than Bill Gates and able to retire early. Isn’t it cool?
There’s no denying that links are an important part of any website. However, you must consider this logically. Why would a brand new website amass so many links so quickly? It wouldn’t work. This immediately appears spammy, and it’s the last thing you want to do.
Instead, I recommend that you take the time to decide what links you want on your site. Private Blog Network (PBN) posts can still be extremely effective if you choose the right vendor. I’m not going to be evil and start telling you who not to go to for your links, but if you see a BST on here and all of the reviews are from newbies with tiny post counts, that should give you an idea of the type of seller they are. I’m being very careful not to point anyone in the direction of a seller who I also recommend. I previously did this and received a warning for selling outside of the market place, so I won’t make the same mistake again.
I would also strongly advise you to include niche edits from reputable sellers. The advantage of niche edits is that they are already on pre-existing websites, and your link is automatically added to the page. This can be an excellent way to boost your ranking in a short period of time. When purchasing any type of link from this site, keep in mind that what worked for person X may not work for you.
While they’re not as useful as they once were, I still like to include web 2.0s and profile backlinks in the mix. While they won’t add much power to the site (though they can help with low competition keywords), they will add some link diversity to your backlink profile over time. Unlike PBNs and niche edits, I create my own web 2.0s and profile backlinks. I simply take my time and use a VPN to change my IP address. Instead of settling for a free VPN, invest in one.
Don’t be afraid of keywords with low competition. It still astounds me that many website owners will not even consider low competition keywords. They’re free to take and a great way to drive traffic to a website. Low competition keywords can be great for bringing traffic to your site if you prefer higher competition keywords. Similarly, low competition keywords are excellent for increasing sales. It may not turn you into the next Elon Musk in terms of sales from the page, but money is money.
Site layout. When it comes to site layout, @splishsplash is the go-to guy on this forum. He’s written a slew of guides on how to silo a website. It’s always been effective for me. I strongly advise you to read it and become more familiar with the theory of silo structure websites.
Maintain your course of action. That’s pretty much it.
If appropriate, spend time on social media. Regardless of your chosen niche, you should be able to use Twitter and/or Facebook at the very least. If you’re really lucky, you should be able to use Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest as well. I use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for one of my websites.
I’ve only recently started using Pinterest, and I’m not sure if I’ll stick with it. The thing is, they’re all completely free to use. You may not see much of a conversion as a result of using them. On the other hand, they’re all free to use, so why not take advantage of them?
Don’t become complacent. We’ve all experienced the frustration of a website that isn’t performing as well as you’d like it to. This does not, however, imply that you should abandon the site right away. It takes time for pages to rise in the rankings.