My Niche Website Project – Update #2

Time Line

Number of Days Since Launch: 12 Days

Apr 9, 2020read about Niche Pursuit Project #4
Apr 28, 2020bought the domain
Apr 29, 2020launched the website
May 3, 2020published the introduction post

Update by Category

💵 Google AdSense (Ad Revenue) – the website was approved on May 11!
📈 Google Analytics (Traffic) – got my very first actual visitor
🏅 Keyword Ranking – 0 keyword within the first 100 results of Google
🌐 Website Design – finalized the design of the landing page on paper
✍️ Posts – published 4 posts since launch (8 in total)
📌 Pinterest – created 1 Pin design and pinned 2 Pins
🤝 Affiliate Programs – applied to 6 partners, 2 applications denied

Google Adsense

The biggest update I have for this update has to be getting the approval email this morning for Google Adsense.

As mentioned in my previous update (read it here), I applied to the program when my niche website was 2 days old with 5 published posts. However, all 5 posts were over 1,000 words of original content complemented by royalty-free images I found on Unsplash and Pixabay (there are a few more websites for royalty-free images but I found these two the highest quality).

I have published 3 more posts with similar word counts before I received the approval from Google AdSense so I can only assume Google reviewed and approved my site somewhere between 5 to 8 posts.

However, I know that getting approved for the program is only the first step. Without traffic, Google Adsense will not provide much value.

Google Analytics

My niche website received its very first actual visitor (no one related to me) on the same day it was approved for Google Adsense. He/she visited 4 different posts before leaving my site. The visitor was not referred by Google organic search but rather, WordPress.com Reader.

On my last update, I also said I was taking the Google Analytics for Beginners course. I only have one module left and already found it useful for interpreting all the options and data on Google Analytics. The knowledge isn’t very applicable now as the site has basically no traffic but I am sure it will be useful later.

Keyword Ranking

Even though my site is showing up when I look up desired keywords combined with my domain name, it is not ranking for any keyword within the first 100 results yet. I hope this is because Google is still trying to learn what my niche website is about.

I plan on spending some time this week to find out if there are ways to expedite the ranking and/or how long the process usually takes. The keywords I researched before I started with this niche website have moderate traffic (200-500) and a couple of spots (results with PA & DA < 30) on the first page so I am hoping I can rank for some of them one day.

Website Design

My niche website is currently using a free WordPress theme called Aventura Lite. I have tried many free ones on jenthinks before and I like this one the most so far so I decided to use it for my niche website as well.

However, the downside to a free theme is always the inability to make it the exact way you want. I designed a landing page for my niche website on paper but I lack the technical knowledge to make it a reality right now. Therefore, I decided to start a WordPress Course on Lynda.com.

Posts

I have been managing to stay on track by publishing 2 posts/week. At this rate, I would have published 20 posts by mid-June. I will evaluate whether to write some supplementary posts to the ones I have already published or continue on the topics I have already selected.

Pinterest

Because of the niche my website is in, I think Pinterest will be the best platform for traffic generation aside from Google organic search. I created a Pin design using the free version of Canva and the goal is to have 2 variations of Pins I will be using for my posts.

Affiliate Programs

This category is getting the least of my attention right now because I think it is more suitable for when my niche website gets consistent organic traffic. I did, however, applied to 6 partners on Commission Junction and was rejected by 2 of them.

Conclusion

Getting approved by Google AdSense and getting my first visitor were both very exciting. Starting a niche website takes time, effort and patience. I am at the very start-up stage right now where I would occasionally doubt the validity of my idea and get discouraged when nothing seems to happen.

I find documenting my journey helpful to keep myself on track and also to be able to validate how much effort I put into it. I was going to publish an update monthly but have since decided to do it irregularly but more frequently.

If you have gone through building a website, leave a comment below and let me know!

Read all of the Niche Website Project posts here