Niche Site Topics

I would like about another 20 sites, maybe more. I'm not talking about totally free sites like this Blogger blog where I don't even have to pay for hosting and domain registration. I'm talking about sites that are my own where I pay for a unique web address (register a domain) and where I pay for hosting.

That's two choices for me:

html/CSS site, which Tony and I can at least design ourselves, to save on the expense of hiring a designer, and the hassle of having to explain to the designer exactly how it is we want our sites to look - and, also, knowing how to design our own sites, we can make any alterations or add new pages ourselves.

The other choice is a WordPress.org site (not the totally free .com WordPress sites, where you don't get your own domain name, but where you rather just use a free theme from WordPress.org (there are over 1 000 to choose from)) and then get a domain registered and hosted, so that I have a unique domain name, rather than one that ends in /wordpress.com

Eg I would rather have myownsite.co.za than myownsite/wordpress.com (as that second one doesn't really seem like my own site since there are tons of sites on the Internet that end in /wordpress/com - and those are hosted on wordpress.com, so not even my own host etc.)

Free Blogger blogs (like this one; the address ends in blogspot.com - see this site's/page's URL address right at the top of your computer screen in your browser bar) and free wordpress.com sites are great and many people use them - I have some Blogger blogs - this one and a few others, but I prefer to mostly have my own unique domain name for my sites.

So,

if I get, say, ten new sites up soon (as well as domain registration and hosting) which should I use? html/CSS site or WordPress site, or a bit of both?

Because Tony and I can design html/CSS sites, and because the hosting package for an html/CSS site can be slighlty cheaper than the larger hosting package needed for a WordPress site, it seems that the obvious choice should be the html/CSS type of site.

BUT, my plan with some new niche sites, is to add new pages of content to them whenever I get the chance, and to display Google Adsense ads on them, to generate a bit of a passive income from them. It is easier and quicker to add new pages of content to a WordPress site than it is to add new pages of content to an html/CSS site.

The hosting is not that much more, either, so I think WordPress should be the choice if I add 20 or so new sites to my collection.

Then, what will the topics of my new niche sites be?

I cannot afford to get domains registered for them all at once, and to start hosting packages for them all at once, so I'll start with just 2 or 3 new niche sites, then add more a month later, and more another month later. It's quite addictive, getting new sites, but not free, so hopefully I don't start thinking of too many new niche site topics by the time I have the 20 new ones set up.

I'm not sure which will be the first 2 or 3 I choose to get set up (getting the others later), but these niche site topics below are likely to be in the 20.

A site about using WordPress, offering tips etc too

A recipe site - possibly just one sort of topic, like just puddings, just starters, just braai recipes etc - so maybe more than one site for recipes

A site where South Africans can advertise for free

A site about anything to do with the garden, and gardening

A site about photography

A site about horoscopes, strange occurrences, the future etc

A site offering writing style and grammar tips

A site about running and walking (competitively, health, shoes, getting and keeping fit etc)

A girly type site offering tips and info to tweens, teenagers, and young women - fashion, make-up, friends tips etc etc

Animals - tips, facts etc about wild animals, pet animals - so perhaps two sites then

A Christmas and Easter site - or perhaps two sites, then - gift ideas, craft ideas, history, facts, food, traditions

A site about security in South Africa

A fiction or creative writing site

A party ideas site

A craft ideas and how to make various crafts site

A site that covers a variety of topics all on one site

A site about places to stay in South Africa, what to do and see in South Africa - perhaps two or more sites - staying in the city, staying in the countryside, staying at the seaside, hiking, things to do, things to see

Houses, homes and interior decor

Movies - info, reviews, info about actors and actresses

The beach - sun sea sand activities ocean fish whatever!

Now, each of these can actually be split into further topics, meaning more sites. Hm.

Why not just one big site covering everything I want to write about?

Google Adsense ads generally seem to display ads that link to sites that have similar content to the site that they appear on, but it seems to be that even more appropriate ads display when the ads are on a site that covers just one topic (a niche site.)

Also, should my sites start getting lots of traffic, some people may want to advertise on my sites, and are more likely to do so if all the topics on the site relate to their line of business.

I am aware that some topics, even though niche, may overlap, for example Chrsitmas and Easter may include some craft ideas for making your own Christmas tree ornaments, and that's a craft idea that could also possibly appear in the crafts idea site, or even in the houses, homes, interior decor site, or party ideas site but I can link to these articles from the similar sites or articles, making that link stronger than if it was from a site that does not have similar content.

I can also still perhaps create a few more totally free Blogger blogs (totally free other than time, having a computer and Internet connection), that each probably cover a similar topic to one that is on one of the new WordPress sites, and can link to that Blogger site from the appropriate WordPress site or two, and also link to some of the WordPress sites on some of the Blogger blogs.

Having lots of sites means lots of opportunity to more easily create links from sites that I know have similar content, and not just on the side of the page, or only on one page, but nicely with anchor text within some of the articles too.

It's fun, all this site creation and linking - plus while I'm having fun with it, I earn a passive income from the ads on the sites. Cool.

© copyright Teresa Schultz 2011