A simple question to tickle your brain this weekend:
Would you rather have 1 site earning $1000.00 per month or 10 sites each earning $100.00 per month, and why?
The question is left without details to spur more discussion.
I had asked this question to my Facebook community the other day, and within 30 minutes I had a ton of answers that really started to make people think about their approach to online business and making money online, which is the purpose of sharing this exercise with you today.
Please leave a comment, and just for fun, I will give one random person a very rare, Smart Passive Income T-Shirt, as shown below.
All sizes are available, and you must answer the question in order to be qualified to win. One entry per person, and the winner will be randomly selected and announced one week from today (Friday, June 17th).
I look forward to reading your answers. Have a safe weekend!
“Likes” (below) are very much appreciated!
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Hey, Pat! 1 website with one huge profit or 10 websites with lesser profit. I would definitely go with the 10 websites. Considering that you keep them all up to speed , you can approach (obviously) more and more markets and offer value to more customers. 1 website means 1 market, 1 target audience, 1 area of work, 1 domain etc.
With 10 websites you can outsource the work and deliver more and more content as time passes , simple maths shows that in 1 month, 10 websites will generate more traffic and more profit than 1 website. That is if you’re into offering valuable content, of course. If you’re just into making money and you don’t give a dime about the content you offer and the satisfaction of your customers, then you might as well go with just one website that brings in $1.000.000.000.000
Good luck when that website starts falling apart, you lose audience, traffic gets crammed down and your bank account decreases and you don’t know why
I would rather have 10 sites for a very simple reason, diversification!
Hey Pat,
I’m definitely in this for the free t-shirt, but I also agree with the above. Diversification is key to any good money-making strategy. I would much rather have 10 websites bringing in $100.00 each. If one were to go down, or google changed their algorithms again and traffic decreased, I wouldn’t be out $1000.00 only $100.00. Diversification is always a good thing, in both personal and business strategies.
Diversification is ideal not only as a way of protecting your business, but also as a way to grow it. With ten sites, you can try 10 different strategies. If one proves to be more successful, you can try implementing that method across the board. Personally, I just find I’m more productive if I have a choice about what to work on. Creating more passionate content is easier if you aren’t relegated to a single topic.
I think the best way is to have 2 -3 main sites, but also to constantly try out new ideas on other new sites, a some of these sites will work but many will not! keep the best and use the others to provide links in to your main sites. Also dormant sites will generate hits with very little upkeep (1 post every 2-3 months)
I agree with you Mark. Especially if you have diversification of traffic and income sources. If you are overwhelmingly depend on Google for SERPS traffic and/or Adsense for income it is to dangerous to have all your eggs in a few baskets.
I don’t put all my eggs in one basket so 10 sites.
With recent updates you won’t know when will Google send your site to the last page of the search results! So for me I agree with above comments. It is all about diversification, don’t put all your egg in one basket. With 10 sites already making money the possibilities of growing these sites into an authority sites are there. I will start giving extra focus on one site before moving to the other 9 gradually, one by one. God willing, turning them all into an authority sites.
10. Each having one account for an affiliate marketing program.
Learned it the hard way by having one closed due to a site that breached the rules (it was my first website that contributed to a miniscule percentage of income), killed the entire basket of $.
Absolutely 10 sites. As Dan said above, you can become a business strategist by diversifying. By seeing what works and what doesn’t you’ll know what to upscale and what to avoid building in the past. Plus, it’s a lot more fun.
It really depends on the type and purpose of the sites you want to build. As the owner of 100+ websites I can say that it’s difficult to know without testing what will work and what won’t in terms of SEO, markets and conversion.
Sometimes the oddest keywords get picked up by Google or pages get linked to by influential sites/people. Even using the best tools available like Market Samurai provides no guarantees that you can crack into the top 10 on Google or that if you do the site will make much money.
I like to test ideas by getting something out there quickly and letting the domain mature a bit before picking the top performing ones to invest in with an updated design or an information product or better content and SEO strategy.
I like the idea of 10 separate sites provided I’m able to outsource the work for 9 of them. Also agree on the diversification idea, which is what I’m playing with right now.
Hi Pat,
I rather have 1 instead of 10. It really depends on the quality of the site, I rather have 1 quality site making $1000 instead of 10 Made-for-adsense type sites making $100 each.
This way you can focus, and build/track/improve on the one site instead of spreading that focus to 10 sites. If a site can make $1000, then it means it has the potential to grow to something even larger. Smaller sites that targets one keyword have less potential for big growth.
I understand other people’s reasoning with diversification. But from personal experience of owning many smaller sites and several larger sites, my preference is with larger sites. Much better use of time and energy.
Tina
I would want to have one site making $1,000 per month then move to another site. Rinse and repeat. Once you establish enough sites and income then you can outsource all the maintenance, creation of sites/content, and link building. Then after you have the sites long enough then you could sell them on flippa for a large lump sum to invest in larger projects.
This is what I do anyways. I’ve sold over 100,000 on flippa alone not including money made from the sites I’ve sold. This is what works for me and I feel blessed to be able to stay in my home and do what I love creating the life I want.
One site is better. If you have 10 websites, you are doing ten times the work for the same amount of money. You can have “diverse” content and offers on a single website. If Google changes their formula, you just change focus and add content. No biggie.
I would rather have one site. The reason for this is simple.
With 10 sites, its hard to give them all the devotion needed to make them completely awesome. With one site you just have to focus on one thing and it will be a much higher quality better site.
Having one site make all your money is financially risky, however i would rather have one awesome site that im proud of compared to 10 ok sites.
I would prefer 10-100 sites if possible coz, I can outsource the management of my sites to virtual assistants. Besides, the sites might be getting $100 or less but it will always improve depending on marketing the site and improving its ranking with time. In my ebook report, I have explained how I have started multiple sites.
Well originally I had been thinking just one site, just for simplicity and ease of organization. But now I’ve read some of these comments, and I must admit that my mind has been changed! I would definitely go for 10 sites now, simply for the diversity and security. Thanks for opening my mind a little bit more
I would definitely go for just one site for 1000 $ return. It’s much less work to maintain one site instead of ten sites for the same benefit. Having one site I would use my won free time to create more sites the like
I think it would be nicer and easier to have 1 site earning all that amount, however, it is safer to have 10. If you consider the algorithm changes and where your earnings are coming from, it’s better to have diversification so that if you are affected, you can still rely on the income of the other sites. Because what are the chances that all of them will be affected in the exact same way? And if only one or two sites are screwed, you can always alter, change, or swap out affiliate offers, Adsense for something else, whatever you need to get back to the same monetary level….a lot harder to do when ALL the money is coming from just one site, in my opinion. With a lot of eggs in different baskets, you won’t end up with one big cracked mess.
I’d go with the 10 sites for diversification, but I’d keep them in the same area as much as possible to avoid getting swamped with labor trying to keep things up-to-date. With that being said, if you have people working for you generating content, that concern goes out the window.
Without a doubt 10. Diversity makes the world go round after all, and why put everything into one site. What do you do if Google decides it hates your one site? I’d rather not find out.
Well, I’d like to have 10, but I have a hard enough time with one. If I could manage to create content, create a list, and monetize all 10 sites (even if they only bring a small amount), then I would. But that process alone is binding me, and I only have one site.
I have tried to manage more than one site, and I found I was getting nothing accomplished. As they say “A Jack Of All Trades…Yet Master Of None”
If one can create long term residual income, it is normally because they master a form of business or niche. They will normally diversify after the previous investment is self sustaining. That is what I would like to do. Create a strong site as a leader in my niche, let it become self sustaining, hire writers, find another niche, rinse & repeat…
So, I would rather have one large site with great income versus 10 smaller ones.
Definitely 10. I have way too many interests to be tied to just one Overall, having 10 sites would continue to spur my creativity. Furthermore, I would think that I can take each one of those sites that is making $100 and expand them to make money more quickly. For example, if I increased the revenue to $500 per month on each site, I can make $5000 per month. I think it may be much harder to take one site and expand it from $1000 per month to $5000.
I agree with virtually everyone else on here 10 websites have redundancy if one or two die off you still have a solid base. But having one great website gives you the fame of having a great website. Would you rather own Google or 10 search engines noone has ever heard of then give me Google any day.
I would rather have 10 because you have diversity and a possibility of making even more money due to the diversity.
It depends – if your 1 and 10 sites are adsense/adwords-based, 10 is better if a search engine algorithm changes.
Otherwise, if your one site really focuses on what you do and what’s important you, it’s much easier to stick with the one that inspires you and grow that one.
Now, if they are ten very-niched sites with content being outsourced, keep the 10 sites and continue adding more to that number.
Website B is always going to distract away from website A in my opinion. As Warren Buffett once said risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing. People say oh 10 websites, but I bet their all liked to the same Adsense account. Then they talk about diversification like they know what they’re talking about, how ironic.
I didn’t realize you could have more than one Adsense account. Interesting.
You can’t, and once you’re banned you’re banned. There are no second chances. Idiocy is when you have 10 websites all earning from Adsense and then calling yourself ‘diversified’.
All traffic dependent on SEO from Google again that’s not ‘diversified’, I’ll stick to having one website knowing that I’m more diversified than most because I have multiple traffic sources to that one site paid/none paid, I have multiple revenue avenues. I have back ups of everything so my hosting company can’t screw me over.
Most MFA (Made For Ads) websites just have Google as their prime traffic sources they have very little in terms social media traffic coming in. Even worse is that Google is cracking down on autoblogs, and MFA sites in an attempt to make results more relevant for the end user.
This whole discussion is amusing.
Hey Pat,
Personally, I do both. I have my main “authority” site where I put most of my time… Then I have a bunch of smaller “sniper sites” in my niche that target 1 keyword each (Although some of these sites end up ranking for thousands of long tail keywords anyway.)
Google LOVES my main authority site because it’s got lots of quality content… But it also likes my smaller “sniper sites” because they are tightly targeted and relevant to 1 keyword so it knows exactly what to rank it for.
I feel good knowing that if Google decides to slap my Authority site for any reason, at least I’ve still got traffic coming in from these other sites. (Some of these smaller sites get 10,000 visitors a month+ so it’s definitely worth having these.)
1 main blog as a hub, 1-2 main sites generating a bulk of the revenues, + several other niche websites bringing in residual income. diversification is key, but one must also have a central hub as their authority site. today i maintain my main blog, but have 15 other websites / spokes stemming outward, each generating passive, residual income
I would go for 10 if I have a system or team to maintain them, ensuring the information are up-to-date, and always valuable for my audience. However, diversification is not necessary to best way to go – Warren Buffet says, “Put all your eggs in one basket, and watch it very carefully.” Unless you have a effective and efficient system in place, having a couple winner website would be ideal. The other side of it, is that yet, by the Pareto principles, which I think is applicable to most life situations especially in business life – 80 percent of the wealth, is generated by 20 percent of the employees/ sites per say. Having that said, I rather have 2-3 winner websites, than 10 crappy sites.
Hi Pat
I recently opened up my site on teaching small businesses and entrepreneurs how sell , I have decided to link sites to how to start up a business beginning with Start your own gardening business, I am using the free WordPress sites for the links as I would like to keep them separate,
I’m not sure if this will work but I considered my main site http://www.mcintoshindex.com could get messy as I plan to add more sites as links.
Thanks for great blogs and awesome podcasts I’ve been with you since N0.1 keep up the work
David McIntosh
Derbyshire England
I would go with a couple of different websites earning smaller amounts. You can always scale up and it’s nice to have multiple streams rather than just one source. Because if something happens to that one source, you’re kinda screwed. That’s why I feel people shouldn’t get so hung up on the idea of “job security.” If you’re working for someone else, that’s not job security – any day could be your last day. I feel that people should take some effort an invest their off or free time in other interests that could potentially be making them money aside from their “J-O-B or occupation.
I’m in favor of both, but I like the model that Pat from this blog and Darren Rowse from Problogger use: get your main site up and running, and performing well. Once that one is doing really, really, well, go on to your next. Yes, the niche sites can be helpful, but I personally like to get the learning in that comes from doing one thing well, then moving on to the next.
My network have 10 sites and I make $10,000 from it. The grow potential when we have 10 sites is incredable. I recommend 10 site for a long time strategy.
I’d definitely would go with 10 as most people here, have said. It’s just you’re better protected and don’t have all your eggs in one basket so to speak.
Does it have to be 10 sites? What about 4 good sites each reflecting one of your interests? In this way you can eventually turn them into authority sites and still have diversity and security.
Hi! Pat, I’m on same track as Sandra.
Hello! Sandra, you just spoke my mind. 10 is so much to handle but why not have 3-4 different niche sites and build an authority there?
I have a self-development blog and I’m keen on creating a sports blog, news blog and discovery blog before the year runs out.
Though I’d have to outsource the news and sports blog in a way, it gives me diversity, security and more financial freedom. It’s tedious but I can cope with it by hiring email assistants and the rest.
Via that means, my network would be an umbrella to these blogs.
Depends whether that one site is truly your passion and area of expertise. If it is, then sustaining it with content and affiliate marketing would yield good profits, but if you’re purely doing it for business purposes, then more is better due to scale-ability and the possibility of having someone else ‘man the store’ so to speak.
Kinda like having one niche restaurant where customers consider YOU, the owner, a part of the experience/price/premium compared to impersonal chains of restaurants where people come and go for utilitarian and convenience purposes.
Don’t repeat my mistake. Diversification is the key. Due to a Google penalty, my large site that gives me my 98 percent of online income lost its ranking. All my articles are in page 5 or 6. I am suicidal due to depression. I put all my energy and hard work in one website. A very big mistake.
Hey Raymund.. Was it your ‘tea’ site and did it bounce back?
And/or have you started another site?
dee
Diversification is the key, BUT you don’t have to have 10 sites to diversify. You can do that with one site. Just don’t focus on only one keyword, get rankings for lots of keywords and lots of pages. If you lose your ranking on one keyword you still have all the others. If you want to outsource it is possible to have lots of sites. When you work alone you it is easy to get to a stage were you can’t control your work load if you multiple sites. So in the end it is really about what you want and how do you want to run your business. Obviously 10 sites have more potential than only one, but my advice, do one at a time…..
One site that is sending you $1000 demonstrates its viable. Then you can duplicate what worked for the $1000 site at some point rather than duplicating the work of a $100 site ten times. After all, everything in this world is a split test, right?
Hi there,
well it’s probably very hard to maintain 10 sites. I’ve tried it with 5 different blogs – and already this is very hard as long as you are not a “full-time-blogger”. For me it seems like I just have time enough for only 2-3 blogs.
But who know, maybe once I can live an “online-life” too – and will have time for 10 sites …
WANNA TALK YOU..YOU R SO BEAUTIFULL
What a wonderful question and so many interesting comments. Chris’s “This whole discussion is amusing” jumped out at me, but I find the comments more interesting than amusing, but unfortunately instead of assisting me in deciding in which is best, they make me more undecided. I’ve always struggled trying to decide which is best. I don’t outsource; it’s just my boyfriend and I working on our sites, inbetween doing other work, so I think one site would have worked best for us, but we have more, and we struggle to find the time to give great attention to all.
I also liked Eric Perrrine’s comment of getting one site working nicely, before moving on to more sites; doing one site at a time.
I like the idea of having a few sites, but then the idea should be that there is plenty of time to work on them all, and that although niche sites, should all have at least a slightly related main topic, because if all the sites link together, this could provide really strong backlinks to each. But are 9 strong backlinks better than just one site having tons of Search Engine optimized content. Hm – if thinking of it like that, then I would think just one site is the best way to go, but here I have a few, and I’m reluctant to let them go, even though I don’t yet have the time to spend as much time as I would like to on each.
Just one site could have a general main topic, indicated by the domain name, then categories that are different or seem like different niches, but still all relate to the main topic. No matter what people say about changing algorythms, I still believe the old “Content is King” story will hold up for many years to come yet. If one has the time or can outsource, then why not go for ten good sites? If not, stick to one, maybe two or three. Or at least get one up to scratch before moving on to the next, as Eric Perrine says.
Wow, lots to think about. Thanks for the brilliant question – and also to all those who commented.
I agree that it’s much easier to get one website profitable at a time then 10. But once you get that first one to $1,000, build 10 more. That’s whats exciting about building a profitable website… if you can learn how to do it once, you can do it as many times as you want.
1 Website because the more you have the more work you must do.
10 websites because there are more websites you will have earning the $1,000 per month which is $10,000 now if you do it right.
It could go both ways really. Not sure either answer is the correct answer. I would start out with one then move on to more as I complete the content on the one the two the three and so forth.
Both ways really could be beneficial. I would rather have the 10 working for me eventually but I would start out with one!
I’ll go to 10 websites mainly because if something happens to one of them I still have 9.
But I’ll have the target to make each one of those 10 $100 sites in the 1 $1000 so I’ll get 10 $1000 sites. That’s a nice target.
I started with a goal of 10 sites in 24 months. I have achieved this and exceeeded it. in under 12 months. I have found your site amazing. And can only hope to do half as well.
Keep up the good work.
When I made my first niche site, I thought one site was the way to go. But after learning more about Google, SEO and adsense, I think 10 sites is a much smarter business plan. With 10 sites, you not only diversify your “investments,” but you enable yourself to surpass revenue ceilings that exist from owning only a single site. Some may disagree, but the truth is that every basic niche site is going to have a revenue cap of 1 any day of the week!
Most people are saying they’d rather have 10 sites, but I think I’d rather have 1. You can do A LOT with one site – and you can always build 9 more sites if your first site falls apart. My dad used to always ask if I’d rather have 1 good thing or 10 cheap things. I always chose the one good thing.
Id rather have 10 sites making $1,000 each lol
I’d go for 10 micro niche sites. Why? Because:
1. It’s easier to build little sites;
2. Easier to promote them using long tail keywords and get them to rank in Google;
3. Start making money quicker.
If you have only one site you’ll have to dedicate all your time getting the same sort of content (which is gonna be boring at the end).
Ten micro niche sites – FOREVER! Don’t hold all your eggs in the same basket.
I would rather have one big blog than 10 smaller blogs
Sounds like a really long discussion here, Pat.
I think I’m one of those who will prefer to master having a few sites or even one before moving on to something like 10 or more sites to handle. It is not so much of being contented with one but rather learning how to make money from one site before moving on to others. I think it takes a really special skill set to manage so many sites at one time.
I think once you’ve put yourself in a postion where you’re earning enough to support yourself without a job, then it would be wise to fosus on your brand via Market Leadership activities.
I loved what you did Pat since you have one site that wasn’t about SEO in mind but was simply around an area that you were passionate about. Through the brand you built over time, you are now able to last online whether you’re ranked highly in Google’s search engines or not. Purely because you’re an authority and have fans of people who know who you are and will keep coming back time and time again.
So as a rule. In the beginning, build enough niche sites to keep you going and free you from the constrains of a 9-5. Then focus on building your Brand… So both are just as important.
Although diversification is key, having ONE site with QUALITY content wins in my opinion. There is only ONE Google, ONE Amazon, ONE Craigslist, ONE Ebay all of these sites are WINNERS why? Because there is only ONE of them and they have not only targeted but diverse and quality content. You can always diversify your revenue streams through ONE site once your traffic and content grows…
I agree with Lenny. Remember about.com, it has all the categories with loads of content. Why don’t we create a site with unique domain name, create different categories, loads lots of content to it?. One niche and one site with loads of content would be dangerous but lots of categories, lots of content with good domain name like amazon, about, etc and get them done SEO. Once again content is king always. No matter how matter sites we own. One site with loads of content of all categories is enough. What about Google algorithm? Why not change the way of promoting your site when Google changes its algorithm and all. Why the site gets screwed if it contains unique content? Hope it makes sense of what i shared with you people.
I think having multiple sites is better…however i tend to create a network out of my sites. Then your mini blogs become apart of a larger site(the network name dot com). Feed it with your other sites content and bam, mega blog.
Okay, I’ll play devil’s advocate…
I would prefer one – just one. A single, all-the-eggs-in-the-basket, lonely, only site.
My reason is that particularly these days (the google period of history), quality trumps quantity every day of the week and twice on Sunday. The distinction here is that I think you’re more likely to become a super site if you focus. If your goal is just to make money (and that’s okay if it is), then maybe more sites is better.
But having one site 1) requires you to dig deep into content that you might not otherwise 2) speeds the path to becoming an expert 3) assures that what you do produce is top notch. Google’s getting smarter everyday. It knows quality, and it’s surprisingly adept at at sniffing out sites that exist for the sole purpose of generating someone’s income. With multiple sites you don’t have the luxury of time, and time is what breeds quality.
So I guess the question is, “What is your goal?” If your goal is to produce a lot of okay material and make the quicker (maybe surer) money, then you need more sites. If your goal is to become a true expert, help your customers in extraordinary ways, and make your blog/site a blockbuster in the long run, I think having more than one site the wrong strategy.
I would rather have 10-20 sites than 1 or 2 big sites.
If you use the exact same SEO/content strategy on each site than you’ll still be in a big risk. I’d want 10-20 sites so I could try different SEO tecniques and see what works, while also diversifying my income and risk. If you outsource everything (including website manager) than it seems stupid having just 1 site.
I don’t know what the right answer is but I guess it depends on the type of blogger. I think having a one great blog site is better compared to having 10 mediocre blog sites. I just don’t think I can maintain 10 blogs because having one blog site is more than enough work. I think having one successful blog site is a great accomplishment itself.
I would be happy with 1 or 10 but I would also keep building more and improving what I had because you can never rest.
This is a no brainer.
It doesn’t matter for your income, in both situations it is $1k. So instead of looking at the money I now look at the time and effort needed to get further.
I’d prefer 1 website because that probably means less work. Only 1 website to backup, only one website to maintain.
That means I have more time available to setup another (2nd) website, or expand the first. More available time is most likely more quality and will get you most likely better results.
hi Pat, many thanks for all your work!
I am not sure if I can put a question here… it is regarding niche sites,
Is it better to have 1 site with more general topic (lets say sportsclothes.com with articles about trainers, tshirts, etc. ) or more sites focusing on specific subjects (tshirts.com, trainers.com etc.). In other words how specific the niche should be, are they any rules?
cheers
I’ll say put all your eggs in one basket and watch that basket very well. Things may get a little clumsy if you’re doing too many things at a time.
I see the point of how everyone is saying diversification but it’s because of the fear of Google. I used to do niche sites as well but recently I’ve been putting all my energy into one major site but I do completely white hat techniques. The only outsource work I do is content writing. If you play by Google’s rules, then you won’t have to worry about algo shifts. Although maybe I’m wrong, look at the big leaders that you usually see in the rankings. Take Wikipedia for example, content rich and it’s good natural backlinks.
I’m focusing on one site making sure the content is top notch and I’m doing all white hat techniques.
Please Amir. What’s ‘white hat techniques?’. Kinna strange term to me.
Why can’t I have 10 sites earning $1000?
From my experience 10+ sites is working for me. I created a check off list for each website that I’ve built, along with the websites that I have used to bookmark my network of sites. This works because you are able to see your progress as you build.
I believe in having just 1 site at first, and focus all effort, time and development on that 1 site until it gets successful, then branch out to other related ventures.
I think this is how the top bloggers in the world do it.
But of course that 1 site must be in a theme that you are genuinely passionate about and your enthusiasm about the topic manifests as quality in your work.
I would rather have 100 sites making $100 each because this will diversify my income and make it more stable in the long run.
If I rely 100% on one page and it gets deindexed or shut down I am hooped. If I have 100 sites and a couple of them get deindexed I’ll be fine.
It’s all about spreading your money out and having multiple income streams.
It is all about context, if the sites are all of the same variety – e.g – relatively thin affiliate / adsense sites then yes the 10 would be better than the one. On the other hand if your 1 site is what I would call a “proper” site and the other 10 are still relatively thin affiliate / adsense sites, then I’d say the 1 site is better.
Now your one site could get smashed out the rankings for some reason, but unless you’ve been doing something dodgy, I’d say it is less likly (and less permanent) than your 10 paper thin sites being hit by some update.
Something tells me the “10-sites” people are more business-oriented (and will, on average, probably make more money), but the “1-site” people are more about the passion and commitment (and, no doubt, some of these people will make it big too). I suppose I’m stretching the rules here, but what about something in between? With 10 sites, can you really commit to excellence? Maybe if you’re enough of a leader to assemble an awesome team. And doesn’t 1 site leave you way too vulnerable to change. I want to follow my passion and serve the community first (which I believe makes good business sense too) and, then, hopefully have enough of an impact to follow my dreams. But I’m thinking maybe 3 or 4 (5 tops) sites focused closely around my passion would be the ideal. Of course, maybe I’m just thinking small and 50 or 100 sites could all be focused on my interests. Anyway, I’ll stick with 5 for now.
BTW, What do you think about the fact that Google dominates a conversation like this? Is that massive amount of power good for competition and, therefore, the economy? Shouldn’t conversations about business be based on how best to serve the market, not how best to work with or around some other single, behemoth business?
Isn’t the idea to be highly ranked? If you choose to have multiple sites aren’t you taking away from the first site? I suppose if the content is totally different it would work. But having a complete well put together site seems better than having 100 so-so sites. I think diversification is wonderful. I just don’t know how having 100 sites, keeping track of 100 domain names, updating content is better than one well put together site. I think it depends on the businesses you are promoting.
Those crappy little 5-page websites will only take you so far. People think they can get rich quick with little effort. Create one site. Make it your passion. Knock it out of the ballpark. Put something useful on the web. Enough of the trash sites with crappy content!
Ideally 2 or 3 sites that have backlinks to your main site would be perfect. If you take pride in the content of your site and are only doing it as a sideline and not your main source of income then It is just not feasable to maintain 10 sites.
Good content will bring in returning traffic.
I’m really surprised at how many people are saying to have lots and lots of sites. Perhaps it’s just me, but I’d rather have a few (like 3 or 4, tops) that I can maintain because then I know I can do a good job, rather than have hundreds of sites that make $10/month.
Yeah I know, diversify and all that, but the reason people say that is because they are afraid of a Google penalty. Well how about this – don’t do things that Google would penalize you for! And yes, it is possible to make money online without being scammy and having 100 worthless adsense sites. Follow a genuine passion, make a good decent content-rich site and however you choose to monetize it, you are maximizing your efforts by focusing on fewer sites.
By having a high quality site, you will naturally attract organic backlinks and especially if it’s something you are passionate about, doing your own backlinking is a lot easier too.
Having said that, I know I’d get bored with just one site. I have two sites right now and am working on a third, but I’m done after that one because I don’t want to stretch myself thin.
I would have to say one as opposed to ten. While diversification might sound like the way to go overall having to split your time and energy between several site’s, topics, ect. would eventually wear on you and in turn would most definitely affect the quality of your product. With one site, one focus, you have a much better chance of first of all generating quality content and second of all building a following as a result of said content. Just my two cents.
Andrew
Good In Today
“Think Positively, Be Inspired, & Live Happily!”
I believe too in diversification, that is the is key who bring me money. So I prefer 10 different sites from big one.
i would rather have 1 that made 1000…
And duplicate that bussines model to endless other niches…..
I would much rather have one high quality site than 10. I completely agree that diversification is a must as I have a real estate site and I often reference this topic. I just don’t think you can create quality content on all these sites unless you are outsourcing your work.
The idea of diversification may lead people to pump out a lot of sites with mediocre content because they would be spreading themselves too thin and burnout can be a factor. The sites that I’ve bookmarked and liked a lot (that have not outsourced material) are publishers dedicated to one site, creating content that adds value.
Merry Christmas to all!
I would suggest that it would always be more than one but not as many as ten. I would think the ideal number would be two or three. You need the focus and the quality that you can deliver with one but the necessary diversification you can create with a second or third business. You can of course sell on each separate business over time thus the two or three are in fact changing although I think the timeline would be likely be annual or biannual as it takes time to build a successful new business.
Of course it’s quite possible that there’s no one strategy that fits all and both a single site and a ten site strategy would be valid to someone. For me I would struggle to deliver 10 great sites in 10 niches even with assistance and outsourcing.
Great question.
Phil O Sophical
It all depends on your timeline and career goals. I,m fortunate
To have started an ebiz 10 years ago. I started one site with broad bases appeal and zillions of products. And later a niche site within my product offering(Eco friendly http://Www.earthimprints.com). I’m glad I have both but as a three person biz I can barely keep up with the seo,blogging,email news, Adwords etc. and outsourcing isn’t really an option for me. Long story short if I was starting again I,d probably produce a smaller amount of super niche web sites….say 3-5.
10 websites is the best considering the change G is making these days. Even if one does not depend on G for traffic, there might be a reduction in urge for a particular niche. If buyers are tired of a niche then one can expect income from other sites but if it is 1 site, G might bounce the site with their panda update or the buyers are no longer buying the product
I have been thinking about this for a few weeks now. I think for me, it will be easier to build up 10 sites that each generate $300 – $500 in income per month. This could also give the potential for massive growth if these sites were to blossom in the future, but in the meantime, it will mean that $3000 – $5000 per month in income will be coming my way.
Very interesting question. Although it is safer to have many sites instead of one only, my “heart” goes to 1 big site. I believe that’s because I’m a developer and prefer startups and authority websites instead of niche mini sites.
For diversification purposes I’d rather have 10 sites all making $100. However, it’s hard to give each website equal time and effort. I tend to be drawn to the site that is making me the most money (it’s like getting positive feedback) and then I work more on that site, even though common sense tells me I need to be doing the opposite by spending more time effort on the other sites to bring them up to par. Overall, it’s just a hard balance when you have numerous sites to manage.
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