1. Home ›
2. Blog ›
3. Building Websites ›
4. Debate: Niche Sites Vs. Authority Sites

Debate: Niche Sites Vs. Authority Sites

If you’re in the business of building and monetizing websites, you’ve no doubt heard arguments for and against building niche or authority sites.

Many niche site builders have recently switched to creating authority sites while others have found value in creating niche sites at scale.

So which site creation path is best? Should we be focusing on niche sites or authority sites?

Most of you know which side of the fence our business is on, but there are some pretty compelling reasons to create authority sites as well.  To answer the question, we’ve turned to a couple of seriously successful niche and authority site creators to hear what they have to say.

Steve Scott

Steve Scott owns and manages an extremely popular blog at SteveScottSite.com.  He has an authority site that has earned him six figures in affiliate income in 2011 and is on track to do even better in 2012.  When not making a full-time living online, he spends his time and money traveling and enjoying the “Internet Lifestyle”.

Steve will be arguing in favor of Authority Sites.

You can find out more about Steve at his About Me Page.

Mike Thomas

Mike has been HUSTLING in 2012 and blogging about it at MikeFromMaine.com. He’s been focused on scaling his niche site creation process, creating a ton of value for himself and others through his sites for sale here.  He’s an American, but has been living in Turkey and traveling Southeast Asia for the past several years.

Mike will be arguing in favor of Niche Sites.

You can find out more about Mike at his About Me Page.

This is a four part debate

1. Steve will make his argument in favor of Authority Sites
2. Mike will argue in favor of Niche Sites
3. Steve has read Mike’s post and will offer a rebuttal in favor of Authority Sites
4. Mike has read Steve’s post and provides a rebuttal in favor of Niche Sites

Warning: While I’m EXTREMELY glad I reached out to both Mike and Steve and they’ve provided some excellent content, this post is over 4,500 words and our longest yet.  When you’re finished reading, I’d love to hear your thoughts on both the debate and whether you’d like to see more “debate” type posts in the future.

I’ve edited for formatting, but have left the content unedited.

EDIT:  There’s now an audio version of this debate (A Text-To-Speech version) that you can listen to or download!

Click here to listen – Or Righ Click and Save As to download!

Big thanks for Annie from AnnieAndre.com for providing the audio version!

Now it’s over to them!

Argument For Authority Sites From Steve

Lately there’s been a lot of debate on the profitability of authority sites vs. niche sites. I’ve been an authority affiliate marketer since 2006. So I’m a firm believer that the best strategy is to focus on building one site instead of creating a catalog of small niche sites.

Let me give you four reasons why you should be an authority site builder…

#1. Why People Build Niche Sites

There are many ways to define these two income models. Here’s how I’d categorize each:

• A niche site targets a topic based on a set of keywords. These web properties rely on a single income model like Google Adsense, Clickbank products, or physical products from Amazon. Most niche sites provide a small amount of content that’s designed to get an instant “sale” from the user.
• An authority site targets a specific market or group of like-minded individuals. It differs from a niche site because it’s designed to be the ultimate resource for that topic. Its primary goal isn’t to make an instant sale. Instead the site is used to educate the user in order to establish a long-term (but profitable) relationship.

That’s my very basic definition of the two income models.

It’s this definition that supports my first point…

The goal of a niche site is to make money, not provide value to the visitor. The goal of most “nichepreneurs” is to crank out dozens of websites in a streamlined, systematic manner. Helping the visitor get what they actually want comes secondary to the desires of the site owner.

On the other hand, an authority site comes from passion about a particular topic. You’re not building dozens of low-quality websites. Instead you’re singularly focused on creating a site that people will love.

I think this is the best long-term strategy for an Internet business. It’s the perfect example of my favorite quote: “It’s better to do one thing great; than ten things fair.”

#2. Authority Sites are Designed for Long-Term Success

Yes, you’ll have more short term success with a niche site. It’s easy to slap up a ten-page blog and make money from organic search traffic. On the other hand, it takes time to build an authority site that becomes an ultimate resource.

With that said, an authority site is designed for long-term success. Here are just a few ways you can profit from this income model:

1. More product purchases because people trust your recommendations
2. More traffic because people tell others about your content.
3. More scalability because you can reuse content on different multimedia platforms
4. More money because you’re creating information products
5. More connections because people will want to promote your offers
6. More enjoyment because you CARE about your topic

Having an authority site is like being the Tortoise in that classic fable. While the Hare (niche site builder) is hopping away and experiencing setbacks; you’re making slow, but steady progress on something that will last.

#3. Authority Sites Have a Better Return on Investment

You need to invest a significant amount of money on a niche site business. For instance, here are a few things you might purchase:

• Keyword research tools
• Domain registration
• Web hosting (usually a shared account)
• Word Press themes
• Backlinking packages
• “Automated” software programs
• Virtual assistants

Total all these up and it can cost around a $100 to build a niche site that gets a solid ranking in the search engines.

Now compare this to the money you’ll make…

An average niche site generates anywhere from $50 to $500 a month. Some more; some less. This might sound great; but this money is far from guaranteed. Often, Google won’t like something about your site and it’ll get sandboxed; even delisted. That means you’ve lost the site and your financial investment.

How is this different from an authority site?

An authority site doesn’t require a huge initial investment. Usually it’s less than a $100:

• $10 for domain registration
• $7 for monthly hosting
• $20 for a monthly subscription to Aweber
• $5 to $50 for an eCover image for a free offer to build a list

That’s all you need to get started!

Then you can bootstrap this business by hustling, making connections, and creating great content.

Now compare this to the money you’ll make…

Authority sites have an unlimited return on investment. Like I mentioned in point #2; there are countless ways to grow your business. Once you’ve attracted a loyal audience – They will TELL you what they want. All you have to do is align an offer to their desires and it’s easy to make a full-time income.

#4. Niche Sites are Risky

Read the following very carefully…

Building a niche site is NOT a business. Most of its success depends on a top ranking from the search engines – Specifically Google. If you’ve been around for awhile then you know that Google has more mood swings than Sybil. There are countless examples of Google demolishing entire businesses with ONE algorithm change.

In addition, most niche sites depend on a single source of revenue. Again, this is risky because your sites can be heavily impacted by an unforeseeable event.

Don’t believe me?

Here are three examples of what’s happened in the last year:

• Example 1: Amazon shut down their affiliate programs in a few states. Imagine you’re earning a full-time income from Amazon while living in one of these states? In a single day your entire business is GONE.
• Example 2: Google has recently suspended many Adsense accounts. Most of these people are honest publishers who followed every rule – Like Spencer Haws of Niche Pursuits. Again, with a single decision your revenue is GONE.
• Example 3: Google just rolled out their Penguin update. Your niche sites relied heavily on aggressive backlinking. So naturally Google dumps your sites down to the 107th page of their listings. No traffic means NO income.

These three things happened in the past year. Who knows what else is in store for niche sites? Odds are; any upcoming change is not going to be a pleasant one for this income model.

Why Authority Sites are NOT Risky…

Yes, authority sites can be penalized just like a niche site. Its saving grace comes from diversity. You get traffic and income from of a variety of places. So an authority site is more resilient to any unforeseeable change in the Internet marketing space.

Authority sites are designed around building a thriving audience. Loyal followers don’t give a crap if your site has been dumped by Google. They’ll stick around – No matter what!

My Closing Argument…

I’d like to conclude with a simple exercise…

Imagine you’re a guy who lives on the Jersey Shore. {Don’t laugh…That’s where I live year round.}

You need to lose about ten pounds for the summer and want six-pack abs like The Situation. So you do a quick search for six-pack abs and come across two websites:

1. The first is http://www.the-truth-about-abs-scam-review-hq.com. This site has about ten pages of content that’s designed around getting you to buy the “Truth about Abs” information product. The articles are okay; but you feel that the #1 goal of writer is to make money.
2. The second link is to a YouTube channel called Six Pack Shortcuts. You find over 100 free videos on this channel; with tons of exercises and meal plans. What you like about this channel is they provide great content upfront before asking anything in return.

So answer these questions:

Which of these sites would you trust? More importantly, which site would cause you to pull out your wallet and spend money on a paid product? Even more importantly, which site would you go to for FUTURE purchases?

This is a perfect example of why it’s best to focus on one authority site instead of small, low-quality niche sites. Ultimately it’s the income model that provides value to the reader and the highest level of profitability.

Argument For Niche Sites From Mike

Niche websites aren’t perfect but they sure are lucrative. I’m not going to try to convince you that they are better than authority sites because they’re not. Neither one is better than the other. I will however argue in defense of niche sites as a potentially valuable resource for authority site builders, and also as completely independent legitimate websites. In order to do this we will have to look at our goals in niche site creation, our definition of what a niche site is, and when a niche site (and less content) can actually be more helpful than an elaborate authority site.

First lets discuss niche sites as a research tool. Most of the time niche site creation is like a testing ground for potential authority sites. In other words, niche site creation should be seen as a form of extensive and inexpensive keyword research to see if a niche can be entered easily and profitably.

I’ll explain this idea of keyword research a bit further:

Let’s say you want to create an authority site about weight loss because you know it’s a profitable niche and you want to cash in on the high Adsense clicks. The first thing you need is a domain, right? So what you do is go out and try to find an exact match domain that isn’t already registered that has at least 1000 local searches per month and a CPC of $1 or more. Let’s say that you are lucky enough to be able to find that (good luck). Then you look at the first page competition for the domains you’ve found and determine which ones you will have a good possibility of ranking for. After that you then start building your site. Even with great content and a solid link-building campaign there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to get first page rankings for your exact match domain. If you can’t even get rankings for your domain’s keyword phrase then it will most likely be difficult to get high rankings for the other articles you publish on your website. That’s where niche site creation comes in.

No matter how “scientific” you get with your niche research, building niche websites still amounts to throwing sh!# up against a wall and hoping and praying that it sticks. The niche site builder can make the sites more likely to “stick” against the wall with educated keyword research, but even the best and brightest niche site builders are gambling a bit with each site they create. Therefore each niche website that has “stuck” on the wall has gone through and passed multiple tests by the time it “comes to market” and is for sale on a Buy Our Sites page or on a listing at Flippa. This is why niche site builders ask for 20 months’ income for these sites. These sites shouldn’t be seen as “thin content” sites but as an opportunity to build on something that has already been successful.

So if they are so successful then why sell them? Why doesn’t the niche site builder simply outsource more content and build the successful sites into “monster” authority sites?

Don’t think that we don’t do this sometimes. Most niche site builders hold on to some sites and build them out. My biggest argument against creating authority sites is that I’m able to make more money cranking out niche sites than I am with building successful ones into authority sites. However I do think there are those out there with the skills to take these niche sites, leverage their initial success, and build a business around selling them on Flippa or simply by holding onto them and collecting a passive income.

Is a niche site more likely to get penalized or deindexed than an authority site?

It all depends on how you build your niche sites. I’ve seen supposed “authority” websites that have a ton of content but were spammy as heck with spun or poorly-written content, no images, and placed on a free commonly-used theme. I’ve also seen niche sites that had only one page of content, but the content was well-written, included relevant images, and was placed on a theme with a unique header. If you were a Google reviewer which website would you penalize first?

I know, I know…I’m being unfair. The differences between authority and niche sites are not usually that black and white, but I exaggerate because lately niche sites seem to have become synonymous with “black hat” or “spam” sites while authority sites’ sh!# doesn’t stink. I think this calls for a clear definition of the two:

• Niche site: A website with unique, quality content usually focused on a highly specific subject that makes money while answering the search engine visitor’s query.
• Authority site: A website with unique, quality content that elaborates on a subject that makes money while answering the search engine visitor’s query.
• Spam site: A website with copied or poorly written content with the sole intent of making money with no concern for the search engine visitor.

Sometimes niche sites can stand on their own. So let’s say someone is searching for “blue duct tape”. Most likely that person is looking for a place to buy blue duct tape or they would like to learn about their brand options before making a purchase. If I create a website completely focused around blue duct tape which explains all about the different brands, places to buy, costs etc., and I make money from that site with advertising, is that spam if the searcher’s query is answered? What more can an authority site do than a niche website in this situation? The search term “blue duct tape” doesn’t require extensive content in order to satisfy the searcher’s query. Therefore, in this case, a niche site is an adequate and economical search result for the query in question. Building this sort of niche site out with more content would be superfluous and could possibly affect the search engine user’s experience negatively. Therefore the old adage “less is more” is appropriately applicable.

But sometimes niche sites do need more.

When the search term can be expanded on to better help the user experience then these niche sites should be expanded into authority sites. That’s why niche site and authority site builders should work together. The niche site builder creates the initial website while the authority site builder takes that initial successful website and builds onto it to create a more valuable experience for the search engine user. In this scenario everyone wins, including the most important one of all; the all-mighty judge, jury, and executioner: Google.

Steve’s Rebuttal In Favor Of Authority Sites

I’d like to start by saying that Mike’s article was excellent. He raised a number of valid points about the profitability of niche sites. And it’s awesome to hear that he’s had a lot of success with this income model.

With that said…

There are three primary reasons why I still disagree with the idea of developing niche websites:

#1 Google

My main problem with niche sites is the overreliance on Google’s search engine traffic. Your entire income depends on an external factor that you don’t control.

Google has proven countless times that they hate “thin content.” It doesn’t matter if you make the best “blue duct tape” website on the Internet. If the Big G doesn’t like it – Your site is toast.

As Mike has stated; Google is “the all-mighty judge, jury, and executioner.”

That last word – Executioner – is an apt description. They hold all the keys to the kingdom to when it comes profiting from a niche site. You could follow every written (and unwritten) rule Google has about creating websites and still get slapped with a penalty.

The best part?

Google will never say what you did wrong. All you’ll get is a sudden drop in traffic and maybe a canned autoresponder saying your site broke one of their 10,000 rules.

I’m sure you know what it’s like to get a penalty by Google. One day you’re making money and then suddenly your income disappears. The end result is that awful kicked-in-the-stomach-nausea feeling which happens when you lose a lot of money.

Not fun, right?

#2 Future Income

Yes, right now you can make a solid income by cranking out niche sites. But I don’t think it’s the best long-term strategy. It reminds me of another quote that I love:

“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” – Wayne Gretzky

You want to be forward thinking with any business. You can’t rely on stuff that’s sorta working nowadays. The best thing to do is to understand where the market is going and then go there.

Niche site development is becoming an outdated way to generate income. I’ve seen this happen before with article marketing and pay-per-click. Lots of people made money with these business models. Now they’re working for ‘the man’ because one change in the marketplace put them out of business.

#3 Personal Enjoyment

It’s impossible to create something with true value if you’re not passionate about the topic. Yes, it’s easy to build a catalog of profitable websites. But it’s another thing to write great content on all of these web properties.

I remember my experiences with building niche sites. I covered a variety of topics like football jerseys, beat making software, getting back with your ex, and iPad covers. The content was okay – But it wasn’t great. The reason? Writing these articles was a chore because I didn’t care about the subject matter.

Running an Internet business is supposed to be fun. It’s a great feeling to talk about what you love and then get paid for it!
You don’t get that feeling while building niche sites. Either you’re hiring someone to write the content or you’re forced to do it yourself. Neither sounds like a very enjoyable experience.

Building an authority site is the best option because you focus on ONE niche. This is a market where you get to “geek out” on the subject matter. People will pay attention because your passion and expertise will obvious to the whole world.

To me, that sounds like the perfect recipe for personal enjoyment and lifetime profitability.

Your Thoughts?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this debate.

Are you with me? Or do you agree with Mike?

No matter what, I wish you the best of success with your Internet business – Even if you’re building niche sites. 🙂

Mike’s Rebuttal In Favor Of Niche Sites

Steve made some great points in his article, and he has actually peaked my interest in creating more authority sites. That being said, niche sites are extremely profitable so I think both business models can live together in harmony. However, being a “debate” and all I will provide some rebuttals to his arguments.

#1 Why People Build Niche Sites

Steve argues that the niche site is more focused on an instant sale or click instead of creating a long-term relationship with the user, and I completely agree with this point. Most niche sites are designed to make a profit from a single user’s visit to the website, but that is simply how they are designed. They are targeting search terms that most visitors probably won’t want to join a list for or interact with a community sharing ideas about. If we return to our “blue duct tape” example, how many people are going to join a list about duct tape?

That being said, perhaps they would be interested in joining a Home Improvement list, which is an idea we could explore in the future.

Steve also said something that I disagree with:

“The goal of a niche site is to make money, not provide value to the visitor”.

If this is the way that you are building your niche sites then you’re going to get the big old Google slap the first time your site gets a manual review. A proper niche site should provide value to the user AND be profitable at the same time. You can easily see if users are staying on your page by checking out your bounce rate in Google analytics. If it’s too high then you can expect your rankings to start decreasing in the SERPS.  Niche sites that don’t answer the user’s query are not niche sites, they are spam sites.

Steve had a nice quote saying:

“It’s better to do one thing great; than ten things fair.”

I totally agree with that, but when making niche sites we should adjust it to be:

“It’s better to do one HUNDRED things great; than ten things fair.”  🙂

#2 Authority Sites are Designed for Long-Term Success

You’ve said two important things here:

1. “It’s easy to slap up a ten-page blog and make money from organic search traffic.”

Yes it is. That’s one of the advantages of making niche sites. Once you understand the process you can easily “slap up” site after site while the money comes rolling in. This makes niche site building a great option for people new to Internet marketing.

2. “It takes time to build an authority site”

Niche sites don’t take as much time to build and get ranking as authority sites do. Authority sites can be much more time-consuming, and the learning curve to creating a successful, profitable site can be much longer.

Steve also compared niche site builders to the hare in the Tortoise and the Hare. This is a great comparison if the authority site builder is actually building something that is going to be profitable. However a lot of times people spend a lot of time on becoming an authority on something that they love only to find out that there’s little or no money in the niche. The great thing about niche sites is that you know very soon if a niche is profitable or not, and you don’t have all your time invested in one thing.

#3 Authority Sites Have a Better Return on Investment

Niche sites cost me about $30 each to make.  I make about 100 of them a month at a cost of $3000 and I expect these 100 sites to make (in total) a minimum of $10/day in three-months time (a very low and pessimistic estimate). Assuming that I don’t sell any of these sites for a quick profit, I will make my investment back in a little over a year. Is that a bad investment?

I won’t argue that authority sites aren’t profitable when done right, but you can’t ignore the sweet profits to be had from niche site building. Also, there’s no guaranteed money from authority site building either. Sometimes they fail. The initial costs might be lower to start an authority site, but the skills you need to be able to write great content and truly connect with your list are slowly learned. Sure you can buy yourself a nice Aweber account, but you can’t buy a loyal audience; you have to earn it.

#4 Niche Sites are Risky

Steve said, “Building a niche site is NOT a business”

He is absolutely right. Having one or just a couple niche sites can’t be considered a business. However, building or owning hundreds of niche sites definitely can be a business if you treat it that way. The whole nature of niche sites is not to have just one, but to have an army of them. If one site loses rankings or gets deindexed for some reason you still have 99 more behind it backing it up.

Some people have had their Adsense accounts banned, but we don’t have any evidence that there’s a correlation between having hundreds of niche sites and getting banned. Yes, Spencer at Niche Pursuits had his accounts banned, but he was never told that it was because he had niche sites.

As far as traffic is concerned, yes, niche sites are mainly dependent upon Google for visitors coming to the sites, and thus income. If we keep our focus on creating a good user experience then Google should actually be thankful that we are creating content in niches where information is sparse or poorly covered. As long as the users are happy and keep searching with Google then there’s no reason why we can’t share in the profits too.

In closing, I’d like to say that it’s been a pleasure “arguing” this issue with Steve. He really knows his stuff and I look forward to digging into his blog and learning more about authority site building. When it comes to building websites or any other business it’s always important that we share ideas like this freely. Thanks to guys like Steve, and Justin and Joe from the Adsense Flippers we can try to break the stereotype of the sleazy Internet Marketer and truly solidify Internet Marketing as a legitimate business sector.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your opinions in the comments below.

Justin – HUGE thanks to both Steve and Mike for making this happen. I’m interested and excited to hear your thoughts in the comments below. If you thought this post was valuable, please make sure to share it with others on Twitter, Facebook, and anywhere else you hang out!

Now…over to you! Whow do YOU think won? Do you prefer niche sites or authority sites and why? Let us know in the comments below!