Which side of the debate is correct? Is it better to create a lot of mini-sites laser targeted to snipe down a specific keyword or to spend the time on one large site aimed at many different keywords?

There is no right or wrong answer but I do have my own preference that I think uses the best of both worlds…

Each type of site has its own benefits; a mini-site has a clear goal and can make use of exact domain name matches for very fast results – 1 page in a week!

The problem is that they are often created with no scope in mind.  The exact match domain name often makes branding difficult and the pages, as informative as they may be, aren’t something that would make a user want to return or tell their friends about it.  They still require maintenance to keep them ranking on the first page of the SERPs and tracking the progress.

A large authority site on the other hand can make ranking new pages easy and these new pages can be added without upsetting the flow of the site.  The authority site can build up an online presence and become a true brand.   Different monetisation methods can be used depending on the page and keyword.  You can create powerful business opportunities with custom advertising and joint ventures that wouldn’t become available from a 5 page site about 4 slice toasters or yoga mates.

If you plan your large site right you can have a web site that is a great user experience that will have them returning for more after that initial Google search.  This opens up the opportunity of people in your niche talking about your site on their blogs, Twitter, Facebook accounts etc.  This free exposure is priceless…backlinks will flood in if your site is a resource of useful information!

A large site does take work and the results aren’t as fast as a mini-site (with exact match domain).  This puts a lot of people off.  With the right planning though a large authority site will produce faster results from new content over a mini-site as Google will begin to index content almost instantly.

Mini-sites do have a place.  I like to use mini-sites as a way to fund my larger online projects and experiment with my SEO techniques.  Rather than creating an army of 100+ sites that takes all day to track and manage, create a handful at a time and use the boost in income to fund the expansion of a few larger sites that have the potential to become something great online.

The income from the mini sites makes creating the larger sites easier as there is no panic to generate fast results.  You can plan properly and execute carefully without the fear of not having money coming through the door.

If you want to try a new backlinking method or site structure or some other secret SEO technique it is best to try it on mini-sites before risking a large site with history.  The results won’t be as skewed and if it backfires you won’t lose as much work.  It is easier to recreate a mini-site than a large authority site.

Once the large site is up and running and creating a nice income itself, you can cull back some of your mini-sites by flipping them for a lump sum bonus.  Your time can now focus purely on expanding the larger site or creating a new one.  Time won’t be wasted building hundreds of backlinks to hundreds of domains for small returns and trying to follow the ups and downs many keywords face – across many domains.

After 6 months of your large site being online you should start to get massive increases in results as Google learns to trust your domain.  It will be at a stage where you get quicker results be creating a new article on the large site rather than making a new exact match domain from scratch.  This is due to the authority, trust and internal link juice flowing through your site – things wasted on a mini-site.
If you are considering taking over the web with a swarm of mini-sites, take the time to consider if there is a more efficient way to spend your time.  Diversification is great and highly recommended but instead of spreading the work over 100 domains consider a handful of large authority sites instead.

Think of each of your sites as a small business rather than a way to get a few AdSense clicks or Amazon sales here or there.

Posted in Niche Marketing
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