When Sara B. Hansen was busy at her day job as a journalist and editor at The Denver Submit and The Des Moines Register, she was on the lookout for a inventive outlet.
As a canine proprietor her entire life, she determined to start out a weblog to share her expertise: Canine Greatest Life. That was again in 2011.
Today, her weblog has been garnering tens of millions of pageviews and was incomes as much as $10k per thirty days earlier than the current Google updates. Full disclosure: her web site has been affected by the HCU like most individuals, and whereas it was fairly devastating, she’s not letting it deter her from working her method again!
Maintain studying to search out out:
- Extra about Sara’s background
- When she began the location
- When she determined to make it a precedence
- How a lot she had been incomes per thirty days
- Her important advertising and marketing technique
- Her method to key phrase analysis
- How she creates content material
- Her favourite instruments
- Her largest problem
- Her biggest accomplishment
- Her important mistake
- Her recommendation for different entrepreneurs
Meet Sara B. Hansen
My identify is Sara and I’m knowledgeable editor and author with over 20 years of expertise.
In 2011, I launched Canine Greatest Life, an internet site devoted to serving to canine house owners with info on varied subjects reminiscent of well being, coaching, grooming, and adoption.
I’m additionally the creator of The Full Information to Cocker Spaniels. I’ve owned a number of canine all through my life, together with Browning, a Labrador-beagle combine; Finley, a beagle-cocker spaniel combine; and Sydney, an Australian shepherd-corgi combine.
I now share my coronary heart and residential with Nutmeg, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi.
Why She Created Her Web site
I spent most of my profession working for newspapers and magazines, together with enhancing roles at The Denver Submit and The Des Moines Register.
I needed a inventive outlet and, since I’ve at all times liked canine, I made a decision to launch Canine Greatest Life. Initially, the web journal was a ardour mission; I labored on it 10 hours or so per week.
I made a decision in 2019 to make the location an even bigger precedence for my time. Over the following few years, it began producing sufficient site visitors and income to grow to be a viable monetary endeavor.
Whereas site visitors trended upward because the web site’s launch in August 2011, the recognition of adopting canine through the pandemic boosted site visitors and advert income sufficient to make it worthwhile.
That pattern has continued, and 2023 was on observe to be the location’s greatest yr for advert income (anticipated $80,000+ via a partnership with Mediavine).
Sadly, Google’s updates this fall have been problematic for the location (as has been the case for a lot of area of interest web sites). Whereas the location averaged about 400,000 web page views per thirty days earlier than the updates, that’s dropped to about 200,000.
How A lot She’s Incomes
The positioning was on observe to make $80,000+ this yr. It didn’t make vital income till 2019. It has at all times been a ardour mission, not a fast moneymaker.
I attribute the location’s ongoing recognition to the spike in canine adoptions through the pandemic. However pet possession, notably canine possession, is standard with Individuals.
I work on my web site roughly 15 to 25 hours per week.
As for site visitors, the location generated 2.3 million pageviews in 2020, 4.9 million in 2021, and 4.2 million in 2022. It was on observe for about 3 million pageviews in 2023.
Then, site visitors took a tumble after the current Google updates, however I am sticking with the location and already beginning to see a restoration.
Sara’s Prime Advertising and marketing Technique
My objective with the location has at all times been to supply high-quality, useful info for canine house owners. The truth that the location generates an revenue is a blessing.
Her Ideas on Web optimization
Web optimization is crucial to serving to readers discover the location and its content material. We don’t write for Web optimization, however we at all times make sure that the articles and headlines are maximized for search.
As for studying about Web optimization, as a result of I labored on information web sites, primarily after I was the breaking information editor on the Denver Submit from 2014 to 2018, I discovered on the job about Web optimization and the way necessary it was to maximise your work to achieve potential customers.
Key phrase Analysis
The first objective is to supply useful info that’s optimized for optimum attain.
I’ve been utilizing Semrush for years. I began utilizing its free instruments and switched to the paid model within the spring of 2019.
On the time, the location had about 10,000 natural key phrases serving to drive site visitors. We finally climbed to 177,000 natural key phrases at our peak in November 2022. We at the moment have about 60,000 natural key phrases driving site visitors to the location.
I used Semrush’s key phrase magic device and key phrase hole instruments to determine key phrases we must always embody on the location, however I don’t let that be our solely information. I additionally belief my information judgment and am at all times trying to find attention-grabbing article subjects.
For instance, I’m at the moment engaged on an enormous canine breed information that may function a cornerstone article for the location.
Sara’s Content material Creation Course of
My objective is to first, discover attention-grabbing, well timed, or useful subjects. Then, analysis them to make sure the articles present the knowledge readers want most. Final, optimize them to make sure they embody search phrases that may assist convey readers to them.
To search out the correct subjects, I exploit information judgment, key phrase search, and key phrase hole search.
For instance, over time, I’ve labored so as to add articles on a number of canine well being points, coaching points, and canine breeds.
I publish at the very least 3-5 new articles weekly and frequently refine and replace present articles. I don’t have a devoted crew, however I’ve sometimes used skilled writers. We additionally usually publish contributed articles from veterinarians, canine trainers, and different canine web site house owners.
As of November 2023, we now have 1660 articles on the location.
Her E-mail Lists
I write a month-to-month e-newsletter. Readers can use a signup type on the location to get on the e-mail checklist. I exploit MailChimp to handle my checklist of 980 folks at current.
Her Go-To Instruments
My favourite instruments are as follows:
WordPress, because it’s the best content material administration system I’ve ever used. I like to recommend it extremely, particularly for individuals who have little internet expertise.
Semrush, as this can be very useful for figuring out key phrases and the way greatest to develop them.
And Headline Studio, which is a good device to make sure you’re writing probably the most compelling and Web optimization-friendly headline.
Her Largest Problem
Within the early days, my important problem was making time for the location along with working full-time.
Honestly, the largest problem is Google itself.
Its updates this fall have been heartbreaking and extremely irritating. In some ways, I really feel like I’m beginning over.
The most effective factor I can do is proceed to supply high quality info to assist canine house owners.
Her Biggest Accomplishment
Constructing a profitable web site that helps canine house owners, particularly first-time canine house owners, is my biggest accomplishment.
Being a canine proprietor is quite a lot of arduous work.
You get unconditional love and plenty of snuggles, however guaranteeing you may have a wholesome, well-behaved canine takes effort and time.
Too many individuals suppose coaching stops after finishing a 6-to-8 week primary obedience course. In actuality, coaching ought to be a lifelong mission.
My objective with Canine Greatest Life is to supply info to make making a wholesome, completely satisfied, well-behaved canine simpler.
What She Needs She Knew When She Began
After I acquired able to launch the location, I purchased a template.
Massive mistake. Massive, massive mistake. It was glitchy and didn’t work. I ended up hiring a designer to rebuild it and make it work.
Looking back, beginning with the designer from the start would have been smarter and simpler.
Her Important Mistake
My largest mistake is just not constantly updating content material to maintain it contemporary and guarantee it’s optimized.
When you don’t frequently work to replace your content material, you threat having Google downgrade it.
Now I exploit Semrush’s instruments to investigate our prime 10 to twenty articles every month to search for alternatives to enhance them.
Her Recommendation for Different Entrepreneurs
Now’s a difficult time to start out a brand new web site.
Some folks may suppose the rise of AI would make it simpler, however I imagine it doubtlessly poses threats to look and content material technology that we don’t totally perceive but.
When you plan to start out a web site, be affected person.
Deal with researching and writing high quality content material. Don’t anticipate to generate income in a single day.
