Dealer Dan, pictured here with WWE Superstar Mick Foley, has been in internet marketing since 1996. He likes hugs, long walks on the beach, and making money while wearing his jammy jams. For more information, you can read all 
One thing that’s proving popular these days is promoting or building websites around time limited niche. The World Cup. March Madness. Belmont Stakes. The Grand National. But once these events are over, do we really have to wait a whole year to focus on those sites again?
No.
First of all, a popular topic lately amongst affiliates is the decision to build one big site, or many smaller sites. If you’re the type of person that likes to cover every event, the Superbowl, March Madness, the NBA Playoffs – I would highly recommend looking to push everything into one “catch-all” site. You will more than likely not see the sort of ROI that you would get from a mini-site to begin with, however as your website grows year after year, you’ll see a much better return.
Having a large or authority site too means you can focus on any sort of new topic with ease. The mini-sites are hit and miss; some will rank, some won’t. However having an authority site means you should be able to get a much better boost in rankings, and a much better placement in the search engines.
Anyway, onto these mini sites.
I am of course talking about websites dedicated to a specific event. If it’s the Belmont Stakes then they most likely have “Belmont Stakes” in the URL. If it’s the Superbowl then “Superbowl” will be in the URL, and so on.
These are actually great websites to build. The fact is, mini sites if done well do rank, and they do get a boost from the keywords being in the domain, and they do get a boost from so much content being specific to those keywords.
If you don’t currently have an authority website, and you want to target a term like free world cup bets, then an exact match, or close to it, domain would work out a lot better in the short-term.
The problem is: most people are doing it wrong.
I’ve spent a lot of time lately looking at these websites, and I’m seeing three huge mistakes.
#1: Limited Content.
Over the last few years, the concept of “mini-sites” rose in popularity. This is a site that is focused on exactly one niche, and a very specific niche – Brand Name [Keyword Here]. Think “Full Tilt Rakeback”. “Pokerstars Marketing Code”. Or for more relevance to this article – “World Cup 2010 Free Bets”. “March Madness Betting”.
However when people think mini-site, they think exactly that: mini site. A 20 page website spouting out content based on whatever Googles Keyword Research Tool suggests gets the most exact match searches.
That’s wrong.
When you are creating one of these types of sites, you need to be aiming to be an authority in this area. Many people look down on mini-sites and for a very good reason: they’re usually full of crap, and bring no added value to the table.
When you create one of these mini-sites it can still be an authority site for that niche, and you’re going to see a much better ROI with a 100 page website than you are a 20 page website.
If you run a site dedicated to March Madness betting for example, you should be able to fill that site with literally thousands of pages of content for example. Every potential bet available can be made into an article. Previous years betting, spreads and odds can be made into articles. Profiles of teams, bracket predictions, betting analysis throughout the regular season – all this can be made into an article.
You do this, and you’re going to be dominating that niche for years to come.
#2: Aiming for the Current Year Only.
When you create a fresh new website, you’re rolling the dice. Sometimes a new website gets an instant boost in the SERPS; other times it hits the Google Sandbox. If you’re a member of PAL then you most likely remember Kevins awesome March Madness website. He put a lot of work into that and it could have been a very profitable website.
Unfortunately, it hit the Google Sandbox, and he was screwed.
Luckily, his website is geared towards March Madness predictions as a whole – not just for one year. When you’re creating a website dedicated to World Cup betting, make sure the whole website is set up for future world cups. Same with Belmont Stakes, and the Kentucky Derby. While the content you write can be targeted towards the current year, the website name and domain and whole general theme should be set up for all recurring events for years to come.
With that, we move onto the biggest mistake I see….
#3: Letting It Die…..Till Next Year.
This is without a doubt the biggest mistake I see when it comes to these time-limited websites. The event you were promoting, be it the Grand National 2010, Cheltenham 2010, the NBA 2009/2010 season – it’s finished, and what happens?
You forget about your site.
You let it sit there and rot until that event comes around again.
Don’t do that.
Google likes content. Google likes regular content. When you write an article, especially on a current event, you want it indexed immediately. Therefore you need to teach the google bot that your website is going to have content and on a regular basis, so it should continue to visit you and index your articles.
Believe me, I’m writing from experience. I’ve had websites focused on an annual event, and I’ve let them sit there until the next year with no fresh content, no link building, no updating of articles – nothing. Then when that annual event comes around again, I’ve found I am fighting an uphill battle to try and get back to where I was the previous year.
You don’t even have to write on a regular basis. One article a week is enough. It lets google know your site is still alive. Aim for one new link a week, and one new article a week. Your site will slowly grow, and slowly become an authority website.
And don’t pretend that there’s not enough content to write, because there is.
If I was focusing on a World Cup Betting site, as soon as the 2010 World Cup is over, I’d already be in preparation for the 2014 World Cup. I would be writing articles based on the World Cup, and what we learned from it from a betting perspective. I would be writing articles on what we can expect in 2014.
You could write a whole article on where a country will be come the next World Cup for example. For example, out of the 23 man squad England have listed for the 2010 World Cup, 18 of them will be 30 or over by the time the World Cup 2014 hits. So there’s one topic right there you could write about, and what the future will hold for them.
Look at the youngsters coming through, and make predictions on the future of the England team. Even take a look back at the World Cup and do what if scenarios – what if Theo Walcott had been called up? Would that have made a difference?
It’s not the type of content that’s going to convert. But it’s the type of unique, on-topic type of content that will keep google coming back for more, and will help you slowly build an authority site. Then when the World Cup 2014 qualifiers start, you’re ready to dominate, as an authority site on the World Cup betting niche.
For just one article a week, that sounds like a sweet deal for me.
This article was written on June 10, 2010 however all articles are looked at on a monthly basis and updated to keep them relevant.
If you need to contact Graeme, please see his Contact Page. If you are an affiliate manager wanting promoted please see this page.
