SEO Project #1 – Getting a Top Ranking for Select Keywords – Update #1

About 6 months ago, I created 10 websites in different niches. Technically, I am creating MFA sites that feature a Clickbank affiliate product. However, I have taken special care to avoid the MFA look. All of my sites feature unique graphics and content. The Adsense ads are limited to 2 per page and the home page of the site doesn't even feature Adsense ads. My #1 goal in creating these sites is to give the user the information they are searching for.

Picking Keywords

I chose 10 keywords for each site. I made sure each keyword got at least 1,000 searches per month and appeared fairly easy to compete for. I had a unique article written for each keyword and named the page with the keyword and included it in the title of the page.

Site Structure

I'm using a very basic site structure that consists of the home page, keyword articles, and an article index.

A. Home Page - The home page includes a nav bar that links to each keyword article. The anchor text used in each link is the keyword I am trying to rank for. The home page also links to a site map, the terms of service as no follow, and a contact page as no follow. The home page also links to an article index page. This page is simply a listing of articles that I plan to add to my site that will be used to link to the main keyword articles.

B. Keyword Articles - Each keyword article page includes the nav bar that links each keyword article together.

C. Article Index - The article index links to articles that I plan to add to provide additional content. The articles will link back to the main keyword articles.

PPC Traffic

At this point, I started using Overture to drive 10 cent ppc traffic to these sites. Each site is setup with Google Analytics. So a few months later, I have a good idea which sites have the most potential.

Inbound Links

Everytime I create a new article, I add it to the site and list it in the article index. I find relevant anchor text within the article to link back to the main keyword articles. At this point, I update the site map and wait for the article to be indexed by the search engines.

Once this happens, I list the article on several hundred article directories alternating my keywords as anchor text and linking back to the associated keyword article page.

This has been a difficult process working with 10 sites. I've only been able to add 2 - 4 new articles per site. This brings me to where I am today.

What Now?

With 10 sites, my focus has been spread very thin. I've contacted a few respected SEO professionals and several have told me the same thing, "Concentrate on 1 - 2 sites at most."

So from here forward, I am going to concentrate 100% of my effort on one site that I feel has the most potential. This site is getting limited organic traffic from Google. It receives approximately 30 clicks a month that comes from VERY long tail keywords. So far, I am not ranking for any of my selected keywords.

I'm going to work at getting my site to rank every day and report the results here. I'm going to report exactly what I am doing. At the end of the day, you can decide what works and doesn't work. If you have any feedback or anything you want me to try, please leave me a comment. I am in no way an SEO professional and invite your comments as a way to learn.

Here Is What I Am Not Going To Tell You!

I don't plan on using any Black Hat tactics to rank this site, but I may wear a Gray Hat from time to time. For this reason, I am not going to disclose the domain name or any info that may identify the site.

I'm pretty anxious to get started on this project and am determined to get good results. I've signed up for Aaron Walls SEO Coaching Program and have been able to speak with him directly about this project and get his thoughts. I hope you'll be interested in getting my daily updates and providing your comments.

Posted by: Brent Crouch on 04 May, 20086 Comments »