Say you had .... $1000 to spend!

[doovde]

Ok so here is the scenario. You have built a site it has 50 pages of content and you are happy with the design. The site is getting between 300 and 400 unique visitors per month and lets say 75% of those are search engine refferals.

Someone puts $1000 into your hand (tyvm) and says you have to spend this on your site in order to maximise the amount of traffic you are getting.

How would you spend your $1000?

[pokerprop]

If single: spend it on hookers - this way you'll be more relaxed and focused while working on the site or future sites around it which helps increase focus and in turn maximizes revenue.

The serious answer is that the question is likely to vague to answer, though it is a decent topic.

I'd need to do more research on where that traffic is coming from. Let's say my site is about movie stars, but 40% of my traffic is coming to search term: Jennifer Aniston and no other term is making up more than a few % of my traffic. Well now I got two choices #1, rebrand the site to be all about Jennifer Aniston and focus on more Jennifer Aniston, moving the unrelated content to subpages and to a new site, or make a seperate site about Jennifer Aniston and then put more emphasis into the other keywords on the site, while trying to push Jennifer Aniston promotion to the new site getting duel presense and more exposure.

This does not cost money to do though.

Now lets say this traffic is really diverse and there are a dozen terms making up 50% of those 300-400 visitors per month. Where do you rank? If there is room to improve, pick the terms first that you know are the most profitable to you. Now you've got something you can use the $1,000 for. Develop more sites around those terms: Do you rank #1 - if its making you money how much more can you do ranking #1, #2, #3 and #4?. If you only rank #5. how hard is it going to be to rank #1, this is important. If i'm ranking #2 for a poker room exact match term and a CardsChat site is ranking #1, I'll let him have it - and pick something more subtle with less people competing.

Okay lets give short answer:

Spend it on content or spend it on coding or graphics for expansion sites, or spend it on a way that generates links (not purchasing links, but rather having articles written that will draw links etc). If all you have is $1,000 though hang on to it - spend the $1,000 on what your not capable of doing on own. If graphics and code is your thing but not content okay spend it, if vice versa is true, again OK spend it. If not keep your money and continue to do what you need to do to make money without blowing $1,000 - which in the grand scheme of things does not get a site far. (when you have income to leverage - and a steady supply of it - then the answers have more value).

[MJ]

$800 on content and the rest on press releases is how I'd do it.

[doovde]

Good response Pokerprop I like the idea of focusing on terms and expanding into other sites. This does however only work if you can see potential appearing in your keywords. Say you have 50 good pages of content and all are generating between 1 and 5 unique visitors per month then your kinda stuck.

I guess in that spot spending the $1000 on content would be the way to go and then see if anything emerges from that.

I think it's a good question because it's a spot that all new affiliates who have had some success may well find themselves in. You have made say 5 - 6 k and want to start re investing in your business in order to propel it forward.

MJ - I'd be interested to hear you elaborate on press releases.

[Stocks]

Ya I'd go with Prop Coke and Hookers sounds good I know he didnt mention coke but hey dont they just go hand and hand.

I'm just kidding hookers are fine on they're own.

If you already have what content you want on your site then I'd spend it on links.

[pokerprop]

Say you have 50 good pages of content and all are generating between 1 and 5 unique visitors per month then your kinda stuck.

In this situation you have nothing of real value yet. If the site is brand new give it some time, do little things to get links etc. However, of course "very generally speaking" it would be a mistake in my opinion to just keep tossing more and more content at it if the 50 pages it already has are not producing results. In this situation I'd advice to look more closely at the sum of the many terms seeing what type of visitors are visiting your site and then focus on what is most likely to convert this type of visitor.

Also do not beat a dead horse too long. Many people get way too attached to their websites, treating them like children they've fathered or gave birth to. If its not working either change or let it go. If a page sucks, can't convert change it or dump it. Traffic stats are not important if the traffic does nothing, so same applies for the website as well.

I think here you need to back up to what was the sites initial intent. If you didn't have intentions other than "make money" then you need to back up. Refocus or rebrand the site around a niche with a keyword you feel you can in fact rank for and then relevant and supporting content around it. If your site is making a little money and your scared to change. Well make a new site first with a small test see if you can rank well on the new site for the terms your going after. When you do, the rebrand your site as well and then shift more of your focus on how to convert this traffic your now receiving.

Money can help profitable sites, and money can give marketers a chance to get more fishing poles faster. Not everyone catches a fish, to do this as a living its about having the opportunity to catch the most fish possible. once you know where they live, and the food they like to eat, you fish that whole till till its dry with several poles, while also putting poles and various bait elsewhere in anticipation that someday your top food source now may not be in future.

You have made say 5 - 6 k and want to start re investing in your business in order to propel it forward.

I'd guess the majority of those who've earned 5-6K so far have yet to quantify there method. I'd suggest just keep on trying new things, and to keep paying attention to what is working and not working. Once you've quantified your method, you know how to repeat it to make the same money again and again in various niches. Now the reinvesting is simply to pay someone else so you can do more of what you already no how to do faster or so you can spend more time at the beach.

[doovde]

I don't agree with what you are saying 100%. If you have launched a site about poker bonuses for instance and have 50 pages of content of which all are generating 3 search engine referals per month then you have some good quality traffic which will convert. That's if your articles are about poker bonuses and stuff like where to find, how to find, where to get, biggest, easiest to clear.

I think what I am trying to get at is how do you take a good start move it forward to the point where you have created something really good. What investment can you make in a site you believe in to give it a chance to really progress?

[pokerprop]

Again.. Same Same!
If you've found away to get a few random visitors on a diverse website focusing on a very large niche for many terms, and that's what you're content doing then spend the money duplicating what you've already done.

I assumed, perhaps incorrectly the site was performing quite poor, because of the $1,000 question, likely a mistake. I had seen the question of the site really needing help, rather than of here's a profitable site I want to toss $1K extra into what should I do with it?

Bottom line = If you know already what is working then spend money to do more of what is already working.