We bet you’re ready to roll your eyes up every time it comes to a SEO case study: How educative and mind-blowing can it be? Taking into account all the recent AI-core-changes, how provenly effective can it be? Isn’t it all already known so widely, there is no use in more stories to tell? So many questions, yet one answer: Go on optimizing. Because no matter how volatile and ambivalent these changes are, there is only one thing you should never do, and it’s giving up. Read our publisher’s great story of consistent confident work over SEO optimization (with $20000 result!) and be ready to write down all the steps and tips.
I embarked on my journey as an online entrepreneur and blogger several years ago. With a keen interest in digital marketing and content creation, I combined my skills to carve out a niche in the online world. My expertise lies in SEO, ad monetization, and content strategy, which have been pivotal in my success. Over time, I’ve learned the art of turning quality writing into a profitable venture, leveraging various ad platforms to maximize earnings. My total earnings have reached around $20,000. Here is my story.
online entrepreneur and blogger
Niche and Content
Niche Features: My niche is centered around a “Portal Guide,” focusing on helping readers with clear, concise, and actionable insights. While I prefer not to reveal the exact niche, it involves creating user-centric content that meets specific needs.
SEO and Writing Differences: Yes, there are differences. SEO for some topics demands more technical optimizations, while others require creativity and storytelling to engage the audience. Balancing these approaches is key.
Know more about choosing niches and creating content by practising websites’ monetization with Adsterra.
What Makes a Good Writer a Great Online Entrepreneur
A good writer possesses creativity, clarity, and a knack for storytelling. However, to transition from a good writer to a great online entrepreneur, one must develop a business mindset. This involves understanding market trends, audience needs, and monetization strategies. A great online entrepreneur knows how to package content in a way that not only engages readers but also generates revenue. They are adept at SEO, marketing, and networking, constantly evolving their approach to stay ahead of the competition.
SEO Tools and Inspiration
SEO Tools: I utilize a suite of tools for optimization, including:
- Ahrefs for competitor analysis
- Google Keyword Planner for identifying opportunities
- Google PageSpeed Insights for performance
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider for technical audits
- Google Search Console for overall monitoring
- Surfer SEO for content optimization
Sources of Inspiration: My previous job experience in the digital field and continuous self-development inspire me. I keep up-to-date with SEO trends via online forums, blogs, and occasional webinars.
Creating a Balanced SEO Strategy
When I first started my blogging journey, I quickly realized that SEO isn’t just about keywords—it’s about creating a comprehensive strategy that balances technical optimization, content quality, and user experience. My approach to building a balanced SEO strategy involves three main points.
Technical Foundation
I begin with a solid technical foundation—ensuring my site loads quickly, has a clean structure, and is properly indexed. Using tools like Screaming Frog SEO Spider has been invaluable for identifying technical issues before they impact rankings.
Content Excellence
While technical aspects matter, content remains king. I focus on creating comprehensive, well-researched articles that genuinely solve problems for my readers. Each piece aims to be the most thorough resource on its topic, which naturally attracts both readers and search engines.
User Signals
Google increasingly prioritizes user behavior signals like time-on-page, bounce rate, and click-through rates. I continuously optimize my content layout, headings, and opening paragraphs to improve these metrics, creating a positive feedback loop for rankings.
Navigating Google Algorithm Updates
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of SEO is adapting to Google’s constant algorithm changes. Over the years, I’ve weathered numerous updates.
Core Updates
These broad updates have taught me to focus on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). I’ve improved my about page, added author bios, and included credentials where relevant to demonstrate expertise.
Helpful Content Updates
When Google rolled out its Helpful Content Update, I conducted a comprehensive content audit, removing or revamping thin content that didn’t provide substantial value. This proactive approach actually resulted in traffic gains while competitors experienced losses.
Mobile-First Indexing
Adapting to mobile-first indexing was critical—I redesigned my site with mobile users as the priority rather than an afterthought. This shift not only improved rankings but also increased mobile conversion rates by 35%.
My strategy for updates is simple: stay informed through reputable SEO news sources, avoid panicking or making hasty changes, and focus on what Google ultimately wants—valuable content that serves users.
The Underrated Power of Backlinks
Despite what some newer SEO professionals claim, backlinks remain fundamentally important to search success. My approach to link building has evolved from quantity to quality.
I’ve found that a diverse link profile—including links from relevant blogs, news sites, resource pages, and directories—provides more ranking stability than focusing on a single link type.
In my experience, while on-page factors might help you rank on page two or three, it’s often strong backlinks that push content to the top positions for competitive terms.
Packing Your Website with Profitable Ads
To maximize ad revenue, it’s essential to strategically place ads on your website. I use a combination of ad sizes and formats, including 728*90, 468*60, and 300*250 pixel banners, as well as social bars. Placing two ad codes on one page can significantly boost your earnings. It’s crucial to balance the number of ads to avoid overwhelming your readers while still capitalizing on every page view.
Becoming a Full-Time Blogger
Transitioning to a full-time blogger requires dedication, consistent effort, and strategic planning. Here are some steps to help you make this shift:
- Build a Strong Foundation: Focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that attracts a loyal audience.
- Monetize Smartly: Use a mix of ad networks, affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and product sales.
- Diversify Income Streams: Relying on a single income source is risky. Diversify to ensure stability.
- Invest in SEO: Organic traffic is vital. Implement SEO best practices to improve your search engine rankings.
- Engage with Your Audience: Build a community around your blog. Engage with readers through comments, social media, and newsletters.
Finding the Perfect Ad Mix for Your Blog
To find the ideal ad mix, you need to experiment with different formats and placements. Monitor the performance of each ad type and placement to see what works best for your audience. Tools like Google Analytics and Heatmaps can provide valuable insights into user behavior. Balancing user experience with ad revenue is key; too many ads can drive away readers, while too few might not generate enough income.
Observations and Strategies
Ad Formats: From my observations, banner ads (728*90, 468*60, 300*250) work best for my audience, offering a balance between visibility and user experience.
Tracking Productivity: I rely on Ahrefs and Google Search Console or Google Analytics for tracking and insights. Regular A/B testing and adjusting ad placements based on traffic patterns are key.
Challenges, Budgets, and GEOs
Initial Challenges: Finding the right niche and mastering SEO were challenging initially. Avoiding common pitfalls, like overloading content with ads, helped maintain reader trust.
Audience: Since my focus is mostly on organic traffic, I invest time in SEO and keyword research. Understanding search intent helps me identify what my audience is looking for and tailor the content and monetization strategy accordingly.
Budgets: I started with a minimal budget for hosting and tools, which expanded as revenue grew.
GEOs: My traffic is predominantly from Tier 1 countries, and I plan to explore new GEOs to diversify. The key tip is to understand the local user behavior and optimize ad placements accordingly. Testing different formats and tracking performance for each GEO is essential.
Vital SEO Moves for Beginners
- Keyword Research: Identify and use relevant keywords that your target audience is searching for.
- On-Page SEO: Optimize your content, meta tags, headings, and images for search engines.
- Quality Content: Produce informative, engaging, and unique content that provides value to your readers.
- Backlinks: Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sites to improve your domain authority.
- Mobile Optimization: Ensure your website is mobile-friendly to cater to the growing number of mobile users.
Tools and Methods That Delivered My Best Results
The $20,000 in earnings I’ve generated didn’t happen by accident. Several specific tools and methods were instrumental in achieving the results.
Content Clusters
Organizing content into topic clusters—with pillar pages linked to related subtopic articles—dramatically improved my site structure and internal linking. This approach increased my average rankings across the board.
Surfer SEO
Beyond basic keyword research, using Surfer SEO helped me optimize content length, keyword density, and related terms. This data-driven approach to content creation increased my organic traffic by 47% within six months.
GSC Insights
Google Search Console provides invaluable data on actual search performance. I regularly analyze queries with high impressions but low clicks to identify optimization opportunities. Improving titles and meta descriptions for these pages has consistently increased traffic.
Regular Content Refreshes
Rather than constantly creating new content, I developed a system to update existing articles every 4-6 months. These refreshes—adding new information, improving examples, and enhancing readability—often result in significant ranking improvements.
Advanced Tips
SEO Practices:
- Focus on meta tags, alt text for images, and mobile-first content strategies.
- Use AI tools sparingly for content ideas but ensure originality.
Audience Interaction: Building trust involves consistent posting, replying to comments, and delivering real value. I focus on providing value-driven content that ranks well organically. Clear navigation, fast-loading pages, and useful information keep users engaged and encourage return visits.
Mobile Optimization: A significant share of traffic is mobile; mobile-friendly ads and fast-loading pages are a must.
Future-Proofing Your SEO Strategy
As AI and new search technologies emerge, staying ahead requires adaptability. I’m currently focusing on:
- Enhanced Entity Optimization: Ensuring Google clearly understands the entities (people, places, concepts) mentioned in my content through proper markup and contextual clarity.
- Voice Search Preparation: Optimizing for conversational queries and direct answers to position content for voice search growth.
- User Intent Refinement: Going beyond keywords to deeply understand the various intents behind similar searches, creating content that satisfies multiple related needs.
- Core Web Vitals Excellence: Continuously improving page speed metrics, which increasingly correlate with rankings and conversion rates.
My Current Blog Monetization Case Study: How I Use Ads to Make a Profit
I primarily use Banner ads and Social Bars. I find that Native Banners perform best for my audience as they integrate well with the content and don’t disrupt user experience. That’s why I mostly stick to Banner ads — they strike a good balance between revenue and user retention. Currently, I’m using a combination of 728*90, 468*60, and 300*250 pixel banners, as well as Social Bars. On each page, I place two ad codes to maximize visibility and revenue. Additionally, I focus on mobile ads and mobile traffic, given the increasing number of users accessing my blog from mobile devices.
Earnings with Adsterra
Adsterra has been a significant contributor to my blog’s revenue. My highest payout from Adsterra was $1,800 in a single month. Compared to AdSense, Adsterra has proven to be more profitable, offering higher payouts and better ad formats for my niche. While I still use AdSense, Adsterra remains my primary source of ad revenue.
What Makes a Successful Blogger?
A successful blogger combines creativity, consistency, and business acumen. They understand their audience, produce high-quality content, and monetize effectively. Success also involves continuous learning and adaptation to the ever-changing digital landscape.
Full-Time Blogger Actions
As a full-time blogger, I focus on content creation, audience engagement, and monetization strategies. I regularly analyze my website’s performance, optimize ad placements, and stay updated with the latest SEO trends. Networking with other bloggers and industry experts helps me stay ahead and continue growing my blog.
Adsterra vs. AdSense
In my experience, Adsterra outperforms AdSense in terms of revenue. Adsterra offers higher payouts and more versatile ad formats, making it a better fit for my blog. However, using both platforms allows for diversification, ensuring a steady income stream.
By strategically placing ads, optimizing for SEO, and continuously adapting to market trends, I have successfully monetized my blog, achieving a substantial income of $20,000 in a year. My journey serves as a testament to the potential of blogging as a profitable online venture.
Prognosis & Predictions
Talking about the mostly expected future trends, AI-generated content and automation tools are reshaping the way we create and monetize content. I believe the future will involve even smarter automation, better content personalization, and faster adaptation to changing user behaviors.
Conclusion
What a story, right? We cannot even express how proud we are to have our partners so deeply into the technical nuances. Small steps turn into some solid routine basis, and that is a way to keep afloat in the stormy sea of digital changes.
Use this case as an inspiration to start or continue your journey, and remember we are always here to support and provide you with all the options needed.
