Luke (interactivetools.com): Austin, could you tell us about your website?
Austin Davis: Myhonestmechanic.com is a content site focusing on auto repair. I give auto repair advice to readers and supply auto repair and maintenance information. I started this new site using
Article Manager because I had another auto repair site that I was getting a lot of e-mail car questions from, but that site was just a static HTML site that was hard to update. So I started answering the new questions as they came in and uploading that content to the new site because it was so much easier to update and manage content using Article Manager.
Luke: How was the process of setting up Google AdSense with Article Manager?
Austin: It was very simple. I just placed the Google script in the Article Manager template, saved, uploaded the template, and I was done.
I routinely change ad positions, colors, and ad types, then watch revenue and statistics to determine the best ad campaign for that page.
Luke: What made you choose Article Manager over other products?
Austin: Really it was two things. Tim Carter with askthebuilder.com was using it and was having extreme success with the software, and I wanted to build a quality website so I didn’t want to use a free content management system.
I really believe that a large majority of the success I’ve had with this site has been because Google recognizes it as a professional site in part because of the Article Manager template. The free template systems get overly used by amateurs and spammers, so sites made with those templates might not get the professional recognition that are critical for my business.
Luke: Tell us about your success with the AdSense.
Austin: AdSense probably makes up about 50% of my revenue on myhonestmechanic.com. The site has been up for about a year now, has over 1,000 pages of unique content, and will do over $100,000 in revenue this year.
If you want Google to bless your site, you need to be using a good CMS and not the same templates as the sploggers are using. I think Google knows that I paid for a license of Article Manager and chances are I am a legitimate site owner producing legitimate content.
Luke: How long were you running ads before you began to see some real revenue?
Austin: With a brand new site on a brand new domain, I started adding five new unique articles a day, and I started seeing some revenue at about three months. I included no reciprocal linking, article exchanges, no directory submissions... none of the "SEO tactics." I did create an RSS feed and submit it to all the major RSS directories, but that is about all of the linking I did.
The key for me is unique content and paying a lot of attention to keywords. I spend a lot of time determining what articles I am going to write, and how I am going to word those articles instead of any other SEO tactics. This unique content and keyword research is where I focus my resources.
The keyword needs to have enough monthly traffic to make it worth my while, but I don’t want to waste my time with highly competitively keywords. The "long tail" is where I want to be — not trying for traffic on phrases such as "auto repair manual" that require linking and page rank strength to get good search engine placement, but writing for "2001 Chevy pickup truck auto repair manual" which has little competition, and I can easily rank in the top 3 with all of the major search engines.
Luke: How did the results compare to your expectations?
Austin: Good. I feel that my expectations were realistic, and that I used the right tools, resources, and the commitment needed to meet those expectations.
Luke: What would you recommend to someone right now who wanted to start their own article site and earn revenue?
Austin: This is what I routinely recommend on a weekly basis to people wanting to build a good content site:
- Buy good content management software.
- Pick a topic that you are passionate about, or at least familiar with.
- Make sure there are enough other people interested in your topic to make it worth your while — do your keyword research first.
- Consistently post quality, unique content and articles to the site.
It really is that easy. The key is due diligence to start and long term consistency to finish.
Luke: What other benefits of using Article Manager really stand out to you?
Austin: I love that Article Manager is actually so easy to use that my overseas writer picked up how to use it in twenty minutes and is now able to handle a lot of my posts for me. I write the content and e-mail it to my overseas writer, he then posts it for me on myhonestmechanic.com. It saves me a lot of time.
Honestly, I recommend your software to all of my online web marketer friends, and my site is now receiving well over 5,000 visitors and $400 a day since my launch about a year ago.
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