buildpath
Next.js /React dev building in programmatic SEO
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Hi everyone! I've been building and ranking niche sites since 2007.
The most I've ever made was back in 2013-2014 from my affiliate sites, with around $1.1m revenue in 2013.
However, Google updates halved that in 2014, and it's been going down gradually since then.
In the decades I've been doing this, I've watched many people achieve much more success than I ever have because they built a business that wasn't just a "stupid arbitrage game" that can be obliterated overnight by frequent Google algorithm updates, as MJ rightly says.
My Biggest Regrets
Current Situation (April 23, 2024)
Building my first SaaS (only $178 MRR )
In May 2023, I started building a software tool to help increase the quality of content on my directory sites.
It's another AI content writing tool, but I'm not aware of any competitors that can do what I need exactly.
I recently pushed the bulk generation features live, which is mainly what I need to improve the directory sites.
I want to start a progress thread/journal here as I try to build that tool into a business.
While there are plenty of sites using AI content and still ranking well, I know the hype stage of AI content writing tools is gone.
I can only hope that there is still some market there, and maybe if I am smart, I can reach $5-$10k MRR.
I've heard of some other AI writing tools doing $20k or even $50k MRR+, but that could just be follower/engagement chasing on social media and lies.
I recognize that I'm building a shovel business when many people seem to be throwing down their shovels and giving up on their content sites.
But I started building it in May 2023, and I might as well see if I can get any traction.
Freelance Work (love/hate)
Meanwhile, I'm doing freelance Shopify/Bigcommerce development.
Fiverr Income
I make $500-$1500 per month on Fiverr. Sometimes I get great long term clients from there so overall it HAS been worth my time. But Fiverr easily takes over most of my day because of new inquiries coming in. I do one-off custom work like theme tweaks and bug fixes, so I discuss with each person first, get access to their store and check the code, then finally give them the price. But that takes so much time. Multiply times 5-6 inquiries in a day and the cost of the distraction, and I don't manage to get much time for actual client work, let alone working on my other projects like my SaaS.
Independent Freelance Income
I have one client paying $4995/month for the last year for unlimited monthly dev subscription.
I've become like their in-house IT department, and I really enjoy it because they count on me in multiple ways. They have my cell number for emergencies but have only texted me twice over the last year. They are very appreciative and respectful of my time, and they don't have any bureaucracy that prevents me from suggesting ways to improve conversion rate, AOV, page speed, email automations/campaigns, deliverability, etc.
Sometimes, I get the chance to build a fun automation project to get my work done.
For example, in BigCommerce, the only way to add custom content and layout to brand pages is with custom brand templates. You need a unique html file for every brand. Nothing can be edited in BC admin.
They stock a LOT of brands, so I designed and coded a custom brand template and created a Python script that would generate content for each section of the brand page template, including the FAQ accordion, using the OpenAI API.
Of course, I prompt it to make the content read more like a human wrote it, without any "delving," "encapsulating" or "unveiling".
My FTE
Yeah, I'd say my FTE is happening right now. I'm trying to do whatever I can to get cashflow in, so my time and focus are split across too many efforts. After recent declines for my directory sites and ecommerce income due to the Google March update, I'm just finally so tired of enduring decades of these ups and downs, with more downs than ups over the last 10 years.
Because my income depends on search traffic, I have zero control over my future. I've known this for 20 years and just played the game, endured it, worked really hard at it, while also trying to create other opportunities to build something more sustainable. I have not managed to do that so far. That's just how it goes.
My wife's friend works at a hardware tech company and said they need more people on her team, and is trying to refer me in. My wife isn't pushing me hard on it but she is excited about the idea of a steady salary and insurance benefits. If I apply and get the job, my new life will be...
This is too long. If anyone replies, cool.
UPDATE 1: It might sound like I still make more than enough money to support my family. However I still have old business debt I need to pay off from the slow painful ride down over the last 10 years. At this point, I have history of investing money I couldn't really afford to throw away, trying to get my business growing again instead of declining. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes Google's algo update would boost my sites up higher than ever. Then another update would crash them lower again.
In my ecom/supplement business, I initially had a partner. It ended up with me doing almost all the work and him not doing any of the things he said he was going to do for the business. We got along very well and it was my first partnership, and I'm dumb so far, right? So of course we didn't have a proper operating agreement. It just said we both own 50%. Great job Ian... So, around 2020-2021, along with business cash reserves, I got a loan to get me enough cash to buy him out after a lengthy mediation process. I still made more profit than I would have if he stayed in the company, at least.
I owe $20,400 on my loan at 3.75%, and am paying $500/mo on that.
I also was out of inventory in 2023 for 6 damn months because of delays at my manufacturer. That entire time, my traffic was increasing but I had to promote an affiliate offer instead, which earned way less than with my own product. So the business income dropped significantly for 6 months in 2023. Then in sept 2023, I FINALLY got 2500 bottles back in stock! Then 2 days later, Google's helpful content update dropped my traffic by 60% and it continued declining from there. Yeah, felt quite sorry for myself, but it's my fault for having no control. This has just been my world I've tried to make work since 2005. So I still owe $10,000 on a business credit card for that inventory which I'm selling through very slowly.
My business expenses also up card debt on another business credit card over the 6 months I had no inventory, and since the Google helpful content update in september 2023, I've had a hard time paying it down.
We don't carry balances on our personal cards but this business debt is hanging over me, and that's why I need more income than I currently have.
Lastly... looks like another Google algo update is rolling out this week (currently it's 4/24/2024), and my traffic has been halved again. So that $10k/month revenue I mentioned earlier may soon be more like $5k or even 3k or 1k.. who knows.
The recurring theme over the years here is... "If i just keep trying, it will get better. I will keep trying" because that's how I survived since high school and it worked for me, sometimes very well.
Maybe I will have to take this $70k/year job after all. I don't get replies for any dev jobs I apply to because I am not senior, have no degree, and don't have 10 years experience managing a team of engineers.
The most I've ever made was back in 2013-2014 from my affiliate sites, with around $1.1m revenue in 2013.
However, Google updates halved that in 2014, and it's been going down gradually since then.
In the decades I've been doing this, I've watched many people achieve much more success than I ever have because they built a business that wasn't just a "stupid arbitrage game" that can be obliterated overnight by frequent Google algorithm updates, as MJ rightly says.
My Biggest Regrets
- Being too naive: I thought if I was nice and respectful to others, they wouldn't do bad things to me. This led to losing money on investments due to misplaced trust.
- Believing that what got me here would continue to bring success: This led to taking on too much risk in new projects that I thought would be "my next level." I tried to build an indie mobile game studio when that was the hot money grab thing to do. So dumb, guys.
- Forex trading mishap: In 2014, I turned $120,000 into over $400,000 trading Forex using an automated signal service. After months of only a few trades per week, they completely switched their strategy, and I ended up with ~$780k unrealized profit and $700k unrealized loss. I had to use a bot to close the right trades simultaneously to avoid blowing the account. It was the most stressful experience of my life.
- Holding onto assets for too long: I always thought, "This is going great, and I am going to scale these websites even bigger!" Then, something like a Google algorithm change would happen, my site traffic would decline, and years later, I'd sell it for a fraction of what I could have sold for earlier.
- Not restructuring for tax benefits: I believed my accountants and CPAs over the years who told me all I needed was an LLC to save money on taxes. I didn't learn about declaring S-Corp and taking a reasonable salary until 2018, which led to paying more taxes than I should have.
- Not building a sustainable business: My biggest regret is that it's 2024, and I have not managed to build a sustainable business that doesn't depend on ranking in Google.
- Not participating in Fastlane Community sooner. I could have asked for advice here since long ago when I read TMF . But I just lurked periodically. People here could have helped me avoid my mistakes.
Current Situation (April 23, 2024)
- My directory sites with thousands of city pages still get a little traffic from {keyword} in {city} searches across the US, earning ~$10k/month for now. This funnels leads to my supplement product on Shopify, which I've been running since 2016.
- The directory sites used to perform much better but lost significant traffic over the last 6 months.
- They still have thousands of pages of actual SPUN content (using PHP and spintax), so pages have similar content that often reads nonsensically.
- No manual actions, but I think the algorithm can easily determine it's overall spammy.
- I also have a lot of out-of-my-lane content that I plan to noindex.
- I'm trying to build other things. See below....
Building my first SaaS (only $178 MRR )
In May 2023, I started building a software tool to help increase the quality of content on my directory sites.
It's another AI content writing tool, but I'm not aware of any competitors that can do what I need exactly.
I recently pushed the bulk generation features live, which is mainly what I need to improve the directory sites.
I want to start a progress thread/journal here as I try to build that tool into a business.
While there are plenty of sites using AI content and still ranking well, I know the hype stage of AI content writing tools is gone.
I can only hope that there is still some market there, and maybe if I am smart, I can reach $5-$10k MRR.
I've heard of some other AI writing tools doing $20k or even $50k MRR+, but that could just be follower/engagement chasing on social media and lies.
I recognize that I'm building a shovel business when many people seem to be throwing down their shovels and giving up on their content sites.
But I started building it in May 2023, and I might as well see if I can get any traction.
Freelance Work (love/hate)
Meanwhile, I'm doing freelance Shopify/Bigcommerce development.
Fiverr Income
I make $500-$1500 per month on Fiverr. Sometimes I get great long term clients from there so overall it HAS been worth my time. But Fiverr easily takes over most of my day because of new inquiries coming in. I do one-off custom work like theme tweaks and bug fixes, so I discuss with each person first, get access to their store and check the code, then finally give them the price. But that takes so much time. Multiply times 5-6 inquiries in a day and the cost of the distraction, and I don't manage to get much time for actual client work, let alone working on my other projects like my SaaS.
Independent Freelance Income
I have one client paying $4995/month for the last year for unlimited monthly dev subscription.
I've become like their in-house IT department, and I really enjoy it because they count on me in multiple ways. They have my cell number for emergencies but have only texted me twice over the last year. They are very appreciative and respectful of my time, and they don't have any bureaucracy that prevents me from suggesting ways to improve conversion rate, AOV, page speed, email automations/campaigns, deliverability, etc.
Sometimes, I get the chance to build a fun automation project to get my work done.
For example, in BigCommerce, the only way to add custom content and layout to brand pages is with custom brand templates. You need a unique html file for every brand. Nothing can be edited in BC admin.
They stock a LOT of brands, so I designed and coded a custom brand template and created a Python script that would generate content for each section of the brand page template, including the FAQ accordion, using the OpenAI API.
Of course, I prompt it to make the content read more like a human wrote it, without any "delving," "encapsulating" or "unveiling".
My FTE
Yeah, I'd say my FTE is happening right now. I'm trying to do whatever I can to get cashflow in, so my time and focus are split across too many efforts. After recent declines for my directory sites and ecommerce income due to the Google March update, I'm just finally so tired of enduring decades of these ups and downs, with more downs than ups over the last 10 years.
Because my income depends on search traffic, I have zero control over my future. I've known this for 20 years and just played the game, endured it, worked really hard at it, while also trying to create other opportunities to build something more sustainable. I have not managed to do that so far. That's just how it goes.
My wife's friend works at a hardware tech company and said they need more people on her team, and is trying to refer me in. My wife isn't pushing me hard on it but she is excited about the idea of a steady salary and insurance benefits. If I apply and get the job, my new life will be...
- Total commute 2 hours daily and traffic is often bad so maybe more.
- 8am-5pm, M-F. Pays a little extra for overtime and weekends.
- A couple weeks pto/year
- Salary is only $70k/year, but at this time I need another $6k/mo income to handle our family finances. I could really use that money. I just don't want to trade all my time and energy for it knowing there's not much opportunity for increase, and I don't want to become a manager of people.
- The work sounds very boring and it's not related to any of my current skills. I would be importing big data into dataviz tools and preparing reports for execs to understand production issues. My skill is in SEO, Next.js, React, PostgreSQL, Wordpress, Shopify, BigCommerce, etc... dev world...
- I take care of a lot of things with kids and at home because my wife has her own business and clients too and does not work at home. If I take this job, a lot of family logistical work will shift from me to her.
- I will no longer have any freedom over my time.
- The idea of taking a job makes me feel physically ill because I've actually never had a job before. I'm 38 and I've spent my life working solo because I never wanted to have a job and a boss and corporate politics, etc.
- If I take the job, I will have to quit freelancing on Fiverr, as I will only have just enough time for my $4995/mo client. If I could just get one more client like that, I wouldn't even need to consider this job.
- If I take this job, I also probably might as well give up on my SaaS too because I won't have any time to work on user acquisition or improving it.
- I feel like an a$$ if I don't apply for this job. But I also feel like I'm watching myself die if I do take it..
This is too long. If anyone replies, cool.
UPDATE 1: It might sound like I still make more than enough money to support my family. However I still have old business debt I need to pay off from the slow painful ride down over the last 10 years. At this point, I have history of investing money I couldn't really afford to throw away, trying to get my business growing again instead of declining. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes Google's algo update would boost my sites up higher than ever. Then another update would crash them lower again.
In my ecom/supplement business, I initially had a partner. It ended up with me doing almost all the work and him not doing any of the things he said he was going to do for the business. We got along very well and it was my first partnership, and I'm dumb so far, right? So of course we didn't have a proper operating agreement. It just said we both own 50%. Great job Ian... So, around 2020-2021, along with business cash reserves, I got a loan to get me enough cash to buy him out after a lengthy mediation process. I still made more profit than I would have if he stayed in the company, at least.
I owe $20,400 on my loan at 3.75%, and am paying $500/mo on that.
I also was out of inventory in 2023 for 6 damn months because of delays at my manufacturer. That entire time, my traffic was increasing but I had to promote an affiliate offer instead, which earned way less than with my own product. So the business income dropped significantly for 6 months in 2023. Then in sept 2023, I FINALLY got 2500 bottles back in stock! Then 2 days later, Google's helpful content update dropped my traffic by 60% and it continued declining from there. Yeah, felt quite sorry for myself, but it's my fault for having no control. This has just been my world I've tried to make work since 2005. So I still owe $10,000 on a business credit card for that inventory which I'm selling through very slowly.
My business expenses also up card debt on another business credit card over the 6 months I had no inventory, and since the Google helpful content update in september 2023, I've had a hard time paying it down.
We don't carry balances on our personal cards but this business debt is hanging over me, and that's why I need more income than I currently have.
Lastly... looks like another Google algo update is rolling out this week (currently it's 4/24/2024), and my traffic has been halved again. So that $10k/month revenue I mentioned earlier may soon be more like $5k or even 3k or 1k.. who knows.
The recurring theme over the years here is... "If i just keep trying, it will get better. I will keep trying" because that's how I survived since high school and it worked for me, sometimes very well.
Maybe I will have to take this $70k/year job after all. I don't get replies for any dev jobs I apply to because I am not senior, have no degree, and don't have 10 years experience managing a team of engineers.
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