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How I used SEO to create (and eventually sell) in a tough niche

Jason "GrandK"

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So, I thought long and hard over this post. I am not one to boast, nor do I care to have the spot light on me. However, UnScripted was a beautiful book and I knew it would help MJ draw together the kind of people I want to help. So here goes...

In 2010 I was working for a life insurance agency, similar to Policy Genius (but not policy genius). I was an inside sales guy. I had a law degree but my only experience was a three year internship. The guy I interned for said he could not afford to hire me (big time suck and smack in the face), so I graduated law school in 2009 and applied to 100s of firms, to no avail.

Anyway, I eventually applied for a life insurance sales gig because I needed a job. I figured my law degree might help me out. I was hired and went through training. I had prior experience in sales but I am the type of person who hates when his phone rings (which is ironic since that is when you make money in sales). I was a cubicle dweller and I was having serious doubts as to what my life would amount to.

You see, I went to law school to learn the rules of the game so I could be an entrepreneur, not a sales guy, particularly a life insurance agent (is that a step up from used car salesman?). Obviously I did not think too highly of life insurance. I did not own any and I never saw myself entering that marketplace.

Well, I am a guy who believes in Almighty Providence and so when I was hired at this life insurance agency I kept trying to figure out why. And about a year later I figured it out.

I had a client call in and ask some difficult questions. I ran a Google search and found a website that answered the question. I was impressed. The website was ran by a independent agent who focused on SEO. I spent the next year researching his site and any other SEO sites similar to his.

One day on a whim I sent him an email asking if he would be interested in teaching me some SEO skills. To my surprise he said sure, as long as he could use the information for future classes. It turns out he wanted to teach people how to do SEO for life insurance and I happened along at just the right time. Thank you Providence.

To make a very long story short, I studied hard. Learned from him all I could. Quit my JOB and started my own site. I managed to hold off through credit cards and loans from family and friends, but eventually I moved in with the in-laws. All to pursue my dream of creating my own agency.

Time passed. Three long years of countless hours spent perfecting my trade online and I finally had a site that made enough money to support my family. I moved out of the in-laws house and began to grow my site. All of this was strictly SEO. No black hat. No tricks. Just solid content.

The site was termlife2go.com. I have since sold the site for mid seven figures. It took 4.5 years to get there. I'm not bragging. This is simply what happened. I have a few other sites going right now.

In the end, I had a unique pitch and solid content. No tricks or gimmicks. I ranked for coveted keywords in one of the most competitive industries I know. So all this to say, if you have questions, please fire away. I will do my best to help you out.
 
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MSpaz

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So, I thought long and hard over this post. I am not one to boast, nor do I care to have the spot light on me. However, UnScripted was a beautiful book and I knew it would help MJ draw together the kind of people I want to help. So here goes...

In 2010 I was working for a life insurance agency, similar to Policy Genius (but not policy genius). I was an inside sales guy. I had a law degree but my only experience was a three year internship. The guy I interned for said he could not afford to hire me (big time suck and smack in the face), so I graduated law school in 2009 and applied to 100s of firms, to no avail.

Anyway, I eventually applied for a life insurance sales gig because I needed a job. I figured my law degree might help me out. I was hired and went through training. I had prior experience in sales but I am the type of person who hates when his phone rings (which is ironic since that is when you make money in sales). I was a cubicle dweller and I was having serious doubts as to what my life would amount to.

You see, I went to law school to learn the rules of the game so I could be an entrepreneur, not a sales guy, particularly a life insurance agent (is that a step up from used car salesman?). Obviously I did not think too highly of life insurance. I did not own any and I never saw myself entering that marketplace.

Well, I am a guy who believes in Almighty Providence and so when I was hired at this life insurance agency I kept trying to figure out why. And about a year later I figured it out.

I had a client call in and ask some difficult questions. I ran a Google search and found a website that answered the question. I was impressed. The website was ran by a independent agent who focused on SEO. I spent the next year researching his site and any other SEO sites similar to his.

One day on a whim I sent him an email asking if he would be interested in teaching me some SEO skills. To my surprise he said sure, as long as he could use the information for future classes. It turns out he wanted to teach people how to do SEO for life insurance and I happened along at just the right time. Thank you Providence.

To make a very long story short, I studied hard. Learned from him all I could. Quit my JOB and started my own site. I managed to hold off through credit cards and loans from family and friends, but eventually I moved in with the in-laws. All to pursue my dream of creating my own agency.

Time passed. Three long years of countless hours spent perfecting my trade online and I finally had a site that made enough money to support my family. I moved out of the in-laws house and began to grow my site. All of this was strictly SEO. No black hat. No tricks. Just solid content.

The site was termlife2go.com. I have since sold the site for mid seven figures. It took 4.5 years to get there. I'm not bragging. This is simply what happened. I have a few other sites going right now.

In the end, I had a unique pitch and solid content. No tricks or gimmicks. I ranked for coveted keywords in one of the most competitive industries I know. So all this to say, if you have questions, please fire away. I will do my best to help you out.
 

MSpaz

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I produce a supplement product specifically a male enhancement product that i am trying to scale out. Its done over 6 figures and with virtually no money spent on marketing. I know its dumb. I want to get the sales up and sell. I have something else i want to pursue that will help end diabetes.
I believe i can get the sales up to around 6 figures per month within a year with the right strategy. I am not a tech guy and just built a new website myself that is short and optimized. It will be ready to launch Sunday night.
What ideas and tips could you share that i should implement? Any books, seminars, or courses i should take?
I appreciate any input.
Thank You!
 

Jason "GrandK"

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I produce a supplement product specifically a male enhancement product that i am trying to scale out. Its done over 6 figures and with virtually no money spent on marketing. I know its dumb. I want to get the sales up and sell. I have something else i want to pursue that will help end diabetes.
I believe i can get the sales up to around 6 figures per month within a year with the right strategy. I am not a tech guy and just built a new website myself that is short and optimized. It will be ready to launch Sunday night.
What ideas and tips could you share that i should implement? Any books, seminars, or courses i should take?
I appreciate any input.
Thank You!

I consumed everything offered by Brian Dean at Backlinko.com. Neil Patel and Matthew Woodward are also great resources.

For me, the bottom line was always unique content. I tried to write in a way that connected with the reader and showed I was in their camp, not on the side of the carriers. I would write every main article that i wanted to rank for from a unique perspective. However, I would always try and include the same content as my competitors. That way I had the keywords Google wanted to see but also valuable content that was different than everyone else.
 

Jason "GrandK"

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How did you get the insurance affiliates? Why the company did you use? did you sell the insurance products yourself?

I did not have affiliates. My goals was to get traffic and I figured if I could get good traffic, (i.e. relevant traffic, not clickbait), ways of making money would present itself (which it did).

The original plan was to use the leads for myself. That plan evolved overtime to sending leads to independent agents that I vetted based on loyalty and skill.

I did not chose a specific company. Companies differentiated themselves over time and my agents simply directed customers to those companies that showed themselves to be the best price, tech, customer service, etc.
 
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lludwig

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I did not have affiliates.

The original plan was to use the leads for myself. That plan evolved overtime to sending leads to independent agents that I vetted based on loyalty and skill.

Ok, thanks for the info. Technically you did just not in the formal/traditional sense.
 

minivanman

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So did someone approach you about buying your site or did you put it up for sale?
 

Jason "GrandK"

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Ok, thanks for the info. Technically you did just not in the formal/traditional sense.

Right. I did not seek them out but I had affiliates. When you have traffic
So did someone approach you about buying your site or did you put it up for sale?

Yes, I was approached by another company. I had some inquiries along the way but no one came to the table with an offer that I found properly valued the site. Then a big company came by and provided what I was looking for and made it easy to sell. They offered a valuation 4X revenue, which appeared to be the high end of the spectrum as far as valuation is concerned.

It was at a time when I felt that I had built the site out as much as one person could. I would have to start employing people eventually to help. The buyer came in at the right time with the right offer.

In the end, I discovered I like to build the site, the creative aspect. I don't like to manage the site though. I'd rather create multiple sites over my lifetime, sell and move on, then focus on building up one site and having to deal with the daily management required of a larger site. If I can avoid managing people it is better for me. Some people don't mind. I'm not that person.
 
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lludwig

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Did you write most posts yourself or outsource them?

A good portion of them were written by me but had a staff of consultants that wrote articles and edited as well.
 
Last edited:

PedroG

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Did you use any tools to find keywords that you would then specifically target with content? If so, which ones?
 
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SEBASTlAN

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lludwig

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Did you use any tools to find keywords that you would then specifically target with content? If so, which ones?

ahrefs is what I use.

SEMrush is the other popular tool that you can use as well.
 

Jonathan Hoch

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Ahrefs is king.

Look at who is on top.

Look at their keywords.

Look at their backlinks.

Do everything they are doing.

Then do more.
 
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mikey3times

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A good portion of them were written by me but had a staff of consultants that wrote articles and edited as well.

How did you find and pay these people?
Freelancers on Upwork?
Hourly rate or by project?
What made you decide to give them by-lines vs generic articles by InvestorJunkie?

I’m looking to build up a very small team of writers and editors and your thoughts on this would be very helpful. Thanks for continuing to contribute here.
 

lludwig

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Ahrefs is king.

Look at who is on top.

Look at their keywords.

Look at their backlinks.

Do everything they are doing.

Then do more.

Backlinks aren't as an important factor than previous.
 

lludwig

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How did you find and pay these people?
Freelancers on Upwork?
Hourly rate or by project?
What made you decide to give them by-lines vs generic articles by InvestorJunkie?

I’m looking to build up a very small team of writers and editors and your thoughts on this would be very helpful. Thanks for continuing to contribute here.

Yes as one avenue.
both. hourly and per article. Depending on how they wanted to get paid. This area I could have tightened up more.
Their experience. Looked for people who could talk about investing at a more "common man" level.
 
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ZeroTo100

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I hear more and more stories like this everyday - SEO’s building multimillion dollar content related sites.

There were least 3 of these the past couple of months on this forum alone.

Makes me wonder if anyone with a bit of knowledge in SEO/Wordpress and a decent budget for content can build a site like these and sell it.

Maybe a fun progress thread...
 

lludwig

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I hear more and more stories like this everyday - SEO’s building multimillion dollar content related sites.

There were least 3 of these the past couple of months on this forum alone.

Makes me wonder if anyone with a bit of knowledge in SEO/Wordpress and a decent budget for content can build a site like these and sell it.

Maybe a fun progress thread...

Mastering SEO isn't as easy as it sounds. It is much than just links and keyword research and much more about UX/UI experience and writing great content.
 
Last edited:

Jonathan Hoch

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Mastering SEO isn't as easy as it sounds. It is much more today about just links and keyword research and much more about UX/UI experience and writing great content.
Links will always be king in SEO. If they can't find you, it doesn't matter how good your site is.
 
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lludwig

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Links will always be king in SEO. If they can't find you, it doesn't matter how good your site is.

Disagree. From my own tests, it is possible for a specific page to rank on a low to medium keyword without any backlinks.

Obviously, if all things being equal a site with more links should win, but for overall SEO strategy don't think just about links.

I didn't focus on backlinks until my last year and Investor Junkie did very well with rankings.

Most of my friends with SEO also don't focus on backlinks as well.
 
Last edited:

Jonathan Hoch

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Disagree. From my own tests, it is possible for a specific page to rank on a low to medium keyword without any back links.

Obviously, if all things being equal a site with more links should win, but for overall SEO strategy don't think just about links.

I didn't focus on backlinks until my last year and Investor Junkie did very well with rankings.

If nothing is pointing at your site, google can’t find you. If google can’t find you, it’s not going to be like, “let me guess if there is a website here...greatgoogelymoogely.com oh, wow great content!”
 

lludwig

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If nothing is pointing at your site, google can’t find you. If google can’t find you, it’s not going to be like, “let me guess if there is a website here...greatgoogelymoogely.com oh, wow great content!”

Adding your site to Google's Search Console and submitting a sitemap are the best ways for Google to find you and index your content.

Links from other sites while do help for authority should NOT be the way Google finds your site.

Otherwise, you are leading it to chance, with your own intra-site links and backlinks to your site.
 
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Mazzolini

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So, I thought long and hard over this post. I am not one to boast, nor do I care to have the spot light on me. However, UnScripted was a beautiful book and I knew it would help MJ draw together the kind of people I want to help. So here goes...

In 2010 I was working for a life insurance agency, similar to Policy Genius (but not policy genius). I was an inside sales guy. I had a law degree but my only experience was a three year internship. The guy I interned for said he could not afford to hire me (big time suck and smack in the face), so I graduated law school in 2009 and applied to 100s of firms, to no avail.

Anyway, I eventually applied for a life insurance sales gig because I needed a job. I figured my law degree might help me out. I was hired and went through training. I had prior experience in sales but I am the type of person who hates when his phone rings (which is ironic since that is when you make money in sales). I was a cubicle dweller and I was having serious doubts as to what my life would amount to.

You see, I went to law school to learn the rules of the game so I could be an entrepreneur, not a sales guy, particularly a life insurance agent (is that a step up from used car salesman?). Obviously I did not think too highly of life insurance. I did not own any and I never saw myself entering that marketplace.

Well, I am a guy who believes in Almighty Providence and so when I was hired at this life insurance agency I kept trying to figure out why. And about a year later I figured it out.

I had a client call in and ask some difficult questions. I ran a Google search and found a website that answered the question. I was impressed. The website was ran by a independent agent who focused on SEO. I spent the next year researching his site and any other SEO sites similar to his.

One day on a whim I sent him an email asking if he would be interested in teaching me some SEO skills. To my surprise he said sure, as long as he could use the information for future classes. It turns out he wanted to teach people how to do SEO for life insurance and I happened along at just the right time. Thank you Providence.

To make a very long story short, I studied hard. Learned from him all I could. Quit my JOB and started my own site. I managed to hold off through credit cards and loans from family and friends, but eventually I moved in with the in-laws. All to pursue my dream of creating my own agency.

Time passed. Three long years of countless hours spent perfecting my trade online and I finally had a site that made enough money to support my family. I moved out of the in-laws house and began to grow my site. All of this was strictly SEO. No black hat. No tricks. Just solid content.

The site was termlife2go.com. I have since sold the site for mid seven figures. It took 4.5 years to get there. I'm not bragging. This is simply what happened. I have a few other sites going right now.

In the end, I had a unique pitch and solid content. No tricks or gimmicks. I ranked for coveted keywords in one of the most competitive industries I know. So all this to say, if you have questions, please fire away. I will do my best to help you out.

Could you give three main ways you would increase SEO on a clients site?
 

Jonathan Hoch

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@lludwig While you're not wrong, we can argue all day about SEO. I guess that's the magic of the algorithm.

Instead of hijacking this success story, I'll tag you in something elsewhere... ;)

Awesome success, @Jason "GrandK"
 

ZeroTo100

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Mastering SEO isn't as easy as it sounds. It is much than just links and keyword research and much more about UX/UI experience and writing great content.

I do agree, especially how important bounce rates are now and social signals. Links are important too, don’t get me wrong but from the latest I’ve seen from Matt Cutts, user interface and experience is one of the areas that smart SEOs aren’t undervalueing.
 
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carnivoreman99

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Really appreciate you doing this.

I have a few questions:

- would you recommend writing articles yourself or outsourcing? does it matter?
- any design recommendations? I'm launching a new blog and can't decide on the theme. How important is this? any critical high level recommendations?
- how important is more technical SEO?

Thanks!
 

Mr. Wick

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@Jason "GrandK" you're my hero.

Really want to achieve this business model in 2-3 years time. Starting some websites now. One problem I have is the content. How effective were your Upwork hires? Did you use them for your money pages? Also, the other sites you are starting now... are they based on keyword opportunities you've identified or based on passion / interest? I feel like I lack the latter so I'm resorting to the former... but then I need to dish out more on the content (vicious cycle). Any insight is appreciated!
 

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