Money in Content Sites?

[Brian]

Are content sites which rely on an advertising program like Adsense still profitable? If so, can good money be made from them? Or, are the returns not worth it? How much traffic is required for a site to be profitable?

I know that many variables may affect the success of a site (uniqueness, niche market, etc.), but I'm just trying to get a feel for content sites in general.

Thanks in advance for any replies or insight on this topic!

Brian

[ozgression]

Any website can be profitable. It just depends on the variables you touched on.
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[Chris]

Profitable? Absolutely. If you do things correctly you can make a content site that costs no more than $5 a month for hosting and $5 a year for a domain. Any income in excess of that is profits.

[paul]

I have come to think of adding words to a content site as much like putting pennies into a savings account. At first they don't seem like much, but as time goes by they begin to add up. Best of all, they keep working for you. Words I wrote five years ago continue to generate income.

There is much "lip service" given to the notion that "content is king", but most of the discussion in this and many other forums is about SEO technique. There are almost never discussions of how to best grind out original content.

The rewards for a gifted "techie" who teams up with a couple "starving writers" seem boundless.

[intelliot]

techie here... where are the starving writers? lol


you can make a content site that costs no more than $5 a month for hosting and $5 a year for a domain
in other words, less than $6 a month includes all costs. sounds cheaper to say it this way:)

[Peter T Davis]

Profitable? Absolutely. If you do things correctly you can make a content site that costs no more than $5 a month for hosting and $5 a year for a domain. Any income in excess of that is profits.



Acutally, the hosting and domain registration are insignificant (as you point out) but the initial creation of the site is the major cost (in your time, if you do it yourself). There is significant amount of effort you need to put into planning the site, implimenting the site, and making the site attractive to advertisers and bringing in traffic to the site.

[r2d2]

I agree with Peter, the time you put in to the site is the major cost. But after the intital 'outlay', you should hopefully be rewarded with a steady income. Obviously it might need updates/work on now and then, but shouldnt be much.

I think that as long as you pick good subjects, content sites are good.

[Chris]

Acutally, the hosting and domain registration are insignificant (as you point out) but the initial creation of the site is the major cost (in your time, if you do it yourself). There is significant amount of effort you need to put into planning the site, implimenting the site, and making the site attractive to advertisers and bringing in traffic to the site.
Yes, but startup costs are fixed costs. You'll pay them off eventually. All you need to ensure is that you make more than your variable costs. Your hosting, your domains, and your maintenance. Cutting down on necessary maintenance is what I meant when I said making a site correctly.

A site that requires no updating can very easily become profitable.

[paul]

A site that requires no updating can very easily become profitable.

A forum would seem to be the most labor intensive feature which could be included in a site and the exact opposite of one that requires no updating. What are the rewards that make a forum worth the effort and what criteria do you look for to decide it is time to activate one?

[Chris]

Forums have more staying power than any other type of content site, so for long term viability they are the best. They also do not need to be alot of work to maintain, you can get staff to help.

[Yoda]

A forum would seem to be the most labor intensive feature which could be included in a site and the exact opposite of one that requires no updating. What are the rewards that make a forum worth the effort and what criteria do you look for to decide it is time to activate one?
The primary benefit of an active community is that it isn't really subject to fluctuations in search engine rankings. I know that if my movie forum is suddenly banned from Google tomorrow, all the regulars will still show up and post. That's not to say such a ban wouldn't be a tremendous setback, but ultimately the core of an active community is much more solid, which is why it takes so much longer to build than a good search engine ranking.

Forum maintenance isn't really labor intensive; it's really more patience-intensive. There are times where it'll eat up a fair amount of time, but it's not terribly difficult. It's really about pressing forward and being willing to wait.

[ozgression]

What are the rewards that make a forum worth the effort?

Here are two reason I can think of:

* Building a stable base of return traffic and having content created for you by them (the forum posters).

* Should you ever choose to sell your site, having an active forum significantly increases the value of your site.
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[cameron]

My skateboarding site is a content site, and it's my most profitable site. It's also had more work put into it than any of my other sites though. I would have made far more spending that time working a job or something, but I enjoyed creating the site because I'm interested in the topic.