Building A Super Site

This article is just my notes taken from Court & Mark Tuttle's webinar on building super sites (SS). Ideally a SS is created from an existing site that Google already trusts. It is designed to grab a large number of keywords and pull in a lot of traffic. It can have 25 keywords or 2000 keywords. The size will vary according to the niche, although the bigger the better (as always).

The Keyword Academy's (KWA) 100 Blog Post Experiment was the genesis of the discovery of the SS.
Court & Mark (C&M) challenged themselves to place 100 posts to an existing site that already had authority with Google. In 30 days that SS made $2700 from the new posts alone. They did no link building for the new posts. The best way to do this is to add to an existing site but you can start a SS from scratch and get the same results, it will just take longer to get results.

Just a note: this method doesn't take the place of setting up niche sites (NS). NS's are still a great way to do things, but a SS isn't a niche site. A NS can be made into a SS though.

Setting Up a SuperSite

Building a SS starts with keywords (KW). You want to choose a topic that has the potential for hundreds of KW's and subjects that are related to each other.

Examples:

• Outdoors
• Family
• Home Decorating
• Sports

Essentially you will create a site with a broad topic and then grab every available KW that falls under that umbrella. You should begin by creating a spreadsheet with hundreds of green KW. A green KW is a KW that you can easily get on the first page of Google with a reasonable amount of time. (If you join the Keyword Academy you will receive free tools for finding green keywords.)

Researching Keywords

Open Googles KW Tool. Type in one word  that describes your SS, such as "family", "sports", etc. You'll come up with a huge list of KW's.

Set the KW Tool to the following:
Match type = Exact
Hide Ad Competition & pssbly Local Search Volume or Global Monthly SV depending on your niche.
Show Est. Avg. CPC
Show either LSV &/or GMSV - you want to show at least one of these and if you're not sure which to show then choose GMSV.

Exporting Lists
At the bottom of the first list you'll see a link to export that list. Export it using either the "csv (for Excel)" or "csv".I've found that if I'm exporting to Google Docs then I need to use the plain "csv" export option and upload it to Google Docs. If I use the "csv for Excel" option then the spreadsheet doesn't populate correctly.

Finding Additional KW's
To expand on the KW that you've just run the KW Tool on. Either use one of the KWs in the top list of KWs or look at "Additional keywords to consider". Sometimes if this list looks good in and of itself I'll just export that list also, then come back to it and pick out some good KWs to run the KW Tool on.

Keeping Track of Your KW Research
Name the spreadsheet something like "keywords_home". That will be your main spreadsheet that you will add all your other KW's to and later add sheets to as you build your SS. Use the KW Tool to drill down through the KW's and continue finding KW's so that you end up with thousands of KW's. You're looking for "cousins" or KW's that are related to each other. For instance when you run the KW tool for the word "family" you will get suggested KW's such as "family locator", "family auto", "family counseling", "family vacation". You should open a new KW Tool window for each of these and type each one of these into the tool. These will in turn give you more KW's. As you work, export each list to a spreadsheet, naming them "keyword_family_locator", then the next spreadsheet might be named "keyword_family_locator2". Your goal is to find groups that are related to each other that are green. After Google likes you then you can add more difficult keywords.

When you are done collecting KWs then you can begin opening the spreadsheets and adding them to your main spreadsheet. Basically its just a process of copying and pasting all the rows from each spreadsheet to your main spreadsheet, saving the main spreadsheet each time you add a major chunk of KWs. You can delete the smaller spreadsheets which you used to populate the main spreadsheet after you've saved the info to the main spreadsheet.

Note: C&M suggest deleting red keywords but I like to keep them for two reasons; 1) so that I don't waste time researching a keyword that I've already determined is red and 2) when I gain more authority with Google for this niche then I have a list of these more difficult keywords that I can now try for.

How to Determine Which Keywords Are Most Valuable
Add a column to the right of the existing columns in your spreadsheet. Name this column "Potential". Type the following formula into the first cell in that column, which will be Column D, Row 2:
=B2*.25*C2*.4*.05

B2 = the AVG-CPC Column
C2 = the Monthly Search Volume Column


Note: I'm not sure why C&M don't instruct us to use the KW Academy's Niche Support Tool to upload & analyze the .csv files downloaded from Google KW Tool. This makes the job so much easier, especially since it also evaluates keywords based on the competition against them and points you to the competitive sites to make it easier to research them to see how you can beat them.

At this point you want to look for your "greens". When you have plenty of greens you know it will work. Court says if he can find 100 greens then there is no way it won't bring in money.

Once you have green KWs then check out the competition.

Create a new worksheet for each Green. Hyperlink each Green keyword cell in Master Keyword Sheet to its corresponding sheet in the same workbook. Copy 1st row to each sheet along with the corresponding row from MKL.

Setting Up Super Site

Don't get too hung up on the domain name. www.courtneytuttle.com ranks high for his SEO niche. Age will trump having your KWs in domain.


Choose the KWs with the highest potential for your home page. Check out Courts example site at http://www.tkasupersites.com

One thing that's different in a SS from a niche is that it's set up to show 20 article excerpts on the home page. If your theme isn't set up to do this, then open WordPress theme file "home" or "index". Look for "php the_content". Change "the_content" to "the_excerpt". This is useful because the home page is the strongest page on your site. You want to push that link juice to as many articles as possible.

Create Article Targeting Each Keyword

Title
Title contains keywords with additional words, i.e. "pine bedroom furniture" is the keyword phrase, but title is "Two Types of Pine Bedroom Furniture".

If possible structure title to draw in visitors searching for the product rather than looking for an article about the product.

Article will explain what two types are, how they are made, made where and by what company. Copy keyword (not the additional words in title) and paste it into tags, paste it into the box for All In One SEO title field. Do the same for Permalink box.

Write Article/Post
MAKE SURE TO find 3 to 5 keywords that are related to title keywords and use these in your article. Not doing this will lose you a lot of money. Use the Google KT to find these and enter them into your spreadsheet just like you did to find your MKL.

Write agonizingly long posts and work in as many KWs and variations of the KW as possible. Don't even bother if it isn't at least 500 words.

Add column to worksheet "On Page" to mark when I add that KW to the post.

Rewrite existing articles, add keywords, make longer.

Use Automatic SEO Links plug-in or Related Posts plug-in.

Use Related Posts plug-in to link posts.

If there is a good keyword that is hard to work into a sentence then just add it to the tags.

Tag Progression:

• babysitting
• find a babysitter
• find an Orange County babysitter
• find a prescreened Orange County babysitter
• find a prescreened Orange County babysitter with a licensed agency

Use at least 5 tags.

Convert PR 5 Site That Isn't Keyword Focused

Find 100 keywords related to domain name, if possible, otherwise just pick 100 keywords related to theme of site.

Showing 20 Excerpts on Page - How Does This Affect Adsense?
Still put 1 Adsense block on page at top on right.

Treat each post as a site unto itself. What is the best way to maximize your earnings on this page?

One post per keyword. Since you're working with related KWs you'll find each post supports the other and often gives you a double indexing in Google without even trying.

Niche Site

Static home page. Single posts on each page. Use related post plug-in so that if your post gets scraped there will be a link back to your website.

Adsense
Although you can add Adsense from day one, try to wait until you rank. It may help you to get more related ads. Don't install StatCounter or Adsense for at least 3 months. Place Adsense to the right of the article with the article wrapping around the ads or have a bit of the article above the ads. Place 2nd ad unit same shape and size as 1st unit at end of article. A lot of times after someone has read your article they're looking for something to do and so will click on ads. This block won't do as well as the 1st block though.

Court & Mark put Adsense in the HTML editor for each page so they can set up a channel and track it. Don't put Adsense into the theme. If using single.php this isn't possible.

When you hit $10k/mo then might want Adsense caps channels at 200. You don't need to keep a channel forever. Use a channel to test things and inform your choices. Once you have everything in place, then you can delete the channel.

to think of a 2nd Adsense account. As long as you're playing by the rules, there's no need to worry.

Home page can have ads. Test to see what works for you.

Comments
Ad comments to site. You won't get that many comments, so it won't take up too much of your time. If you do get comments though, it will help your site to look more alive, more relevant.

Categories
Give thought to useability rather than to SEO.

Buying a Domain

Age of site matters way more than PR.

Getting BackLinks

Add columns showing where getting links such as HubPages, GoArticles, SearchWarp, one of my sites ...

Make sure to keep track of where I've posted articles. In the future I may link to one of these to give them juice.

Its a lot of work, but the return is phenomenal.

Linking strategy is different from a niche site. Each page is somewhat seperate from the rest of the site. Seperate your home page from rest of site. strengthen home page as much as possible. Remember that it has 20 exercepts on it as well as all the categories.

Limit supporting posts to 5-10/day to look natural.

Build links to:

• home page
• category pages

Setup Domain
It should make sense. Setup for a "babysitting" site, www.findababysitter.com, www.findchildcare.com, etc.

To protect the site, it should have its own hosting account. If purchase your hosting through KWA they will give a 30 minute coaching session free of charge. Note: Court likes Host Gator and Host Nine.

If you purchase Linkvana thru KWA you will also receive a free 30 minute coaching session.

Go to Keyword Academy to sign up.

Free Internet Directories

There are tons of free Internet Directories out there. One by one they are a waste of time, but posting to dozens, even hundreds though can boost traffic to your blog both by directing visitors to you and by providing DOfollow links. Its not worth the time to check which ones provide DOfollow links and which don't, it's easier to just post links to your blog and let them work for you.

Write down a few keyword rich business names to use for your link text in place of the name of your business or blog. For instance, one of my niches is a babysitting agency based in Orange County California so I would use the following in place of the actual name of my business:

Irvine Babysitter
Orange County Babysitter
Prescreened Babysitters
Licensed Babysitting Agency

Vary which names you use so that not all of the directories use the same link text.

If you do not have a brick and mortar store and don't care to leave your home address on directories that ask for a street address just type "1234 Any Street" into the Street Address line. If your business is geared to a particular local, go ahead and type in the city, but if you prefer not to leave a city then type the name of your country or a keyword in the City box.

There are programs out there that will automate submissions to free directories. If you would like to use one of these programs then you won't need the list of directories below. I wouldn't recommend using a paid submission service though. Submitting to these directories is pretty much a no-brainer job. Sit down with a favorite television show or movie and work your way through the process of submitting to these directories.

List of Free Internet Directories

A Big Directory
Adventure Pro
All Red Roster
Auto Web Directory
Baby Blog Dig
BizWeb
City Search - spend some time on this one, making sure that your listing is correct and responding to any reviewers, both positive and negative.
Creative Agency
Distro Fight
DMOZ 
Esgsite
Exact Seek
Fast Pitch Networking
Find Child Care By Zip
HR Web Directory
Infignos
Insider Pages
IozooJayde
Gimpsy
LDM Studio
Link Centre
Little Web Directory
Magic Yellow - they will attempt to contact you to verify your information. Because this is a traditional "slamming" technique I ignored their attempts to phone verify our information. I haven't yet checked to see if they went ahead and placed my listing in their directory.
Merchant Circle - it pays to spend a little time setting yourself up with this directory. I recommend setting up a coupon here.
OLX
One Million Directory
Patient UK
Pedsters
Pegasus Directory
Phone Who Is
Roask
SEO Directory
So Much
The Giant Directory
T Section
Value Exchange
Vie Search
When We Get There 
When We SEO
Wikid Web
World Site Index
Xtreme Nights 
Yelp - this site is worth spending time on also. Set up an offer for Yelpers, respond to reviewers both positive and negative.

Pay attention. More directories will be added to this list as I find them. Please feel free to leave comments re: any of the directories here that you feel will help other readers and to leave info re: directories you don't see listed here.

Posting on Internet Community Boards

Internet based community bulletin boards can be a way to either drive traffic to your blog and/or get your phone ringing. All of the boards listed here are free - I've never found a board that brings in enough traffic to make it worth paying for.

Writing Ads to Post

Title

Begin by writing a title that will stand out from all the other ads that are posted and that is keyword rich. Even though these ads are NOfollow, they will still show up in Google, so you will want to apply all that you know re: using keyword rich text.

Do not use all caps, although you may want to capitalize one or two words. Using a font such as Wingdings, preface and end your title with 3 to 4 characters that are related to your ad.

Example
**** Prescreened BABYSITTERS Available ***

In this example, the stars could be hearts or flowers. There are also a couple of Wingding type fonts where the characters are taller than normal. Using a few of these character before and after your title can REALLY make your ad stand out as it will take up more space on the board. I use these characters but I cannot remember what font they are. When I do get it figured out, I'll post an update to this post.

Write several different titles, either focusing on different aspects of your niche or just stating your case in several different ways to see which title draws more visitors. In the case of CraigsList, having several different ads available to post will allow you to post more often than they would normally allow if you find that you need to do so to stay on top of the competition.

Ad Copy

The first couple lines of your ad will either show up in Google and/or show up when someone searches from within each board, so make them keyword rich also.

CraigsList and BackPage allow you to use HTML coding to enhance your ads. All other boards mentioned here will accept text ads only.

For CraigsList and BackPage you can make your ad all text, enhance it with bold words and/or headings or you can make your add a picture. You'll see some simple examples of HTML coding which unfortunately the only way to be able to see and therefore learn, the code is to view the page source for this page. To do that, simply right click anywhere inside this article and choose View Page Source from the menu that pops up. Then scroll down through the document to find the coding for any of the elements below. Or you can click over to The Web Source HTML Tags.

To make your ad a picture - design the ad in a program such as PrintShop, PrintMaster or Adobe. Upload the picture to your server. You must have access to a server to do this. CraigList will not host your picture. Then when posting the ad on the board use the following code:




I like to preface a pic ad with at least one or two lines of text and follow the pic with more text that repeats the highlights of the pic ad. Basically, I want the reader to be able to read my post if they cannot see the pic.

It helps to know a little HTML coding so that your ads won't look like a bunch of words all bunched together. For instance if you don't use the paragraph tag
after each line then all lines will run together into one big block of unbroken text.

If you want to add a bulletted list then take a look at the code below:

• item 1
• item 2
• item 3
• item 4

You don't need to have any spaces on each line, I put those in to make it easier for you to read the HTML code.

To bold a word or phrase:

bold words

To make a line a heading:

heading

You can use h1, h2, or h3. You can also use h4, h5 and h6 but you won't find them useful in an ad of this type.

If you find that you want to be more creative in your ads then check out this chart showing more HTML codes.

Write several different ads to match each of your titles.

Keeping Track of Ads

I use a spreadsheet to keep track of my community board posts.

WORKSHEET 1 = Internet Boards
Column A = BOARD (name of board)
Column B = URL (link to board using URL)
Column C = SIGN IN NAME
Column D = PASSWORD
Column E = NICKNAME
Column F = LAST DATE POSTED
Column G = HOW OFTEN to post)
Column H = AD TYPE (HTML or text)

WORKSHEET 2 = (name of niche) Ads
Column A = TITLE
Column B = AD COPY

By separating the title and ad copy into their own cells I simply click on each cell, copy the cell and then paste it into the proper spot on the internet board.

I continue adding worksheets for each niche.

A setup like this makes it not only easy for me to repost on a regular basis, but makes it very easy to psss this task on to someone else, such as a college student you bring in once or twice a week to perform tedious tasks such as this.

Posting

All of the internet based community bulletin boards below use NOfollow links, which makes them almost useless, with the exception of CraigsList. Still, I make it a habit to post monthly to each board, again, CraigsList being the exception to that.

Even though these boards use NOfollow links I still make it a point to keyword anchor my links.

CraigsList

This is the mother of all internet community bulletin boards and frankly the only one that I've found to produce any results at all. Depending on your category and geographical area that you're posting in you may post daily, every couple of days, weekly or bi-monthly. Monitor your posts and when they move below the first screen that pops up and definitely if they move off the first page, then you'll want to repost.

If your new post highlights a different offer or different area of your service or a different product then you can leave your previous post up.
But if your new post is essentially the same ad (even if you use different wording) then delete your old post so as to avoid triggering someone flagging you for overposting.

BackPage

I post each of my offers here once a month, but I have not seen any new business come in from these ads as of yet. That said, I don't monitor incoming calls to match them to incoming traffic on my website. Once I start to do this, I'll post an update if I find that I am getting traffic from this board. I have however, posted ads on this board with only a phone number and have received no calls from those ads, while receiving calls from the same ad on CraigsList.

Kijiji

I post each of my offers here once a month, but I have not seen any new business come in from these ads as of yet. Again, I don't monitor incoming calls to match them to incoming traffic on my website. Once I start to do this, I'll post an update if I find that I am getting traffic from this board. I have however, posted ads on this board with only a phone number and have received no calls from those ads, while receiving calls from the same ad on CraigsList.

San Clemente Bookoo

This board is for residents and businesses located in San Clemente, California. Anybody can post here, but you should be aware that if your business is located outside of San Clemente, you probably won't get any traffic.

I post each of my offers here once a month, but I have not seen any new business come in from these ads as of yet. Again, I don't monitor incoming calls to match them to incoming traffic on my website. Once I start to do this, I'll post an update if I find that I am getting traffic from this board. I have however, posted ads on this board with only a phone number and have received no calls from those ads, while receiving calls from the same ad on CraigsList.