How to make a profitable gaming blog is a hot topic. Gaming is a million-dollar industry. As a gamer, you’re probably wondering how to turn your hobby into an income. Check out the 10 reasons to start a gaming blog. Making money with a gaming blog is fairly simple. We’re going to go over the basics of starting a blog in this post. Before you can learn how to drive traffic, increase conversions, and SEO (search engine optimization) you need to create your website first.
You don’t want to promote a blog that has no content. In the early stages of blogging, your main focus is deciding how you want your brand to look. Gaming is going to be your niche, but you can always narrow that down. There’s no reason why you can’t write your blog on a specific game. You’ll want to consider the audience size for whatever blog you’re trying to create. The audience needs to be large for you to make a profit.
Planning your blog, in the beginning, will increase your chances of success. Blogging is a business. When you decide to become a blogger you’re making a choice to help others. It’s important to place yourself in the minds of your readers. You need to figure out what they need. By writing for the readers you’ll be providing them with value. Value is what will keep them coming back to your website. You want to make sure your website is easy to navigate. If your blog doesn’t run smoothly then readers won’t stay on the website. The majority of website visitors will leave a page if it takes longer than 3 to 5 seconds to load.
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How To Make A Profitable Gaming Blog
Where To Begin
- Pick a Niche
- Register a Doman and choose a Host
- Install WordPress
- Pick a Theme and Customize your Blog
- Add Necessary Plugins
- Write Your First Post
Let’s Break Down Each Step
1. Pick a Niche
The first step in how to make a profitable gaming blog is to pick a niche. As you’ve already decided to make a gaming blog that is your niche. But, the broader the niche the more competition you have. Competition isn’t exactly a bad thing, because you want to know there’s an engaged audience looking for your content. Your goal is to stand out from the other gaming bloggers. Find a micro-niche within the broader niche to increase your chances of making conversions. A micro-niche will give you the ability to become an expert in your field.
A conversion is what you want your audience to do. When a visitor comes to your website each article should have a specific purpose. You might be writing a game review, but what do you want your visitor to do? Are you trying to make a sale, or are you looking for them to sign up for your newsletter? Having a micro-niche can help because if there are fewer bloggers talking about your area of gaming then more readers will flock to your website.
Examples of A Micro-niche:
- Building Gaming PCs
- Analytics (examining the state of the gaming industry such as stock trends, etc.)
- Specific Games (especially if the game has a large following)
- Gaming Chairs
- Video Game Reviews and Product Reviews
- And much more!
Within the gaming niche, you could become an expert on many specific topics. As long as you can provide value to your readers, and you’re able to suggest products and programs they can use it should work. Your niche is the first thing you should be thinking about when you want to start a blog. If you know what the direction is for your blog then you’re already on the right track.
2. Register a Domain and Choose a Host
The next step in how to make a profitable gaming blog is to choose a domain name for your website. A domain name should be something easy to remember. You want readers to not only return to your website but to also suggest your blog to their friends. In order to have domain authority with Google and other search engines, it’s better to own your own domain.
Some hosting providers like Bluehost will provide you with a free domain when you pay for their hosting services. Bluehost and Siteground are good hosting companies for first-time bloggers. When you’re just now starting your website you’ll want to keep costs low. Your website traffic will take time to grow so you won’t need to worry about joining managed hosting companies like Kinsta or Liquid Web from the beginning. It can take up to 6 months to a year before you began to make a real profit. So you’ll want to factor in the budget. There are two types of hosting websites. One is shared hosting and the other is managed.
What to Look For in a Good Host:
- Support
- Speed
- Price
- Security
- Ease of Use
What is shared hosting?
Shared hosting is when your website is run on the same server with other websites. When your website is new shared hosting should be fine. Most shared hosts are cheaper than managed hosts. A shared hosting website like Bluehost or Siteground may only charge $3.95 a month. With that price, you receive a free domain for a year and an SSL certificate. An SSL certificate makes it possible for your website to send encrypted information between a web browser and a web server.
What is managed hosting?
Managed hosting is when your website has it’s own server. A managed host usually has faster website speed. They may offer backups to protect your website data. Managed hosts have better customer support. So you’ll receive a more hands-on experience if you have questions. One problem with managed hosting is the cost. Managed hosts like Kinsta and Liquid Web start $30 a month. The price is determined by how many website visitors you have. A website with more traffic will need a better server.
3. Install WordPress
WordPress is considered the best option for running a blog. There are other options including Blogger and Wix, but most bloggers use WordPress. As a result, WordPress has thousands of plugins created to help your blog run smoothly. A plugin is like an App for your blog. Some plugins are a necessity like your SEO plugin which allows search engines to find your website. Other plugins are optional.
To install WordPress, you’ll need to follow the instructions from your hosting provider. You should be able to log into your hosting website and install your WordPress from there. Be sure to speak with customer service if you have any questions. If you’re transferring your website from a different host you’ll also want to speak with customer support to avoid any problems. A transfer can cause problems with your website, so you want to make sure everything will be okay.
How To Make A Profitable Gaming Blog Continued
4. Pick a Theme and Customize your Blog
What to look for in a good theme:
- Ease of use
- Matches your niche
- Menus are attractive and not clunky
- Free vs. Paid
- Good customer service
After WordPress has been installed it’s time to choose a theme. As a gaming blogger, you’ll want your website to be visual. A good idea is to check out popular gaming websites and pay attention to how they’re designed. You want your readers to connect to your blog’s identity. WordPress has themes for you to download, but there are companies that make themes for WordPress blogs. A couple of suggestions for you to try is Superb Themes and Elegant Themes. Both websites offer WordPress specific themes.
Some themes are free. Premium versions of themes are of better quality. It’s not easy to find a free theme that doesn’t have an error of some sort. Hosting isn’t the only thing that matters when it comes to your readers. If your theme is hard to navigate they might give up and leave your website. A theme should always match your niche, be simple, and give your blog a unique look. All themes can be customized.
After you choose your theme you’ll want to decide what colors and fonts to use. You’re giving your blog it’s own unique identity. Readers will be able to recognize your brand by the little touches you add to your blog. The look of your blog can also seep into your marketing efforts like creating Pinterest pins that match your brand. So you want to put thought into how your blog is going to look. There’s a certain feeling you want your visitors to have by coming to your website.
5. Add Necessary Plugins To Your Website
Plugins are like apps for your website. Some plugins are a necessity for your website to function. A plugin every website needs is for SEO. SEO means search engine optimization. An SEO plugin ensures that your website can be found by search engines. Your website will need to have meta-tags and meta-descriptions. All websites need to submit a sitemap to search engines. The best SEO plugin to use is Yoast SEO. Yoast does more than make your website discoverable by Google. The plugin also offers advice on what your posts are missing. For example, if your content is lacking a keyphrase then Google won’t rank it. Besides Yoast SEO another option to use is All In One SEO.
How to Add WordPress Plugins To Your Website
To install a WordPress plugin you need to visit the admin area of your website. You can find the admin area at https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin. When you log into your admin panel you’ll want to view the menu on the left side of the screen. Repeat the steps below for any plugin you add to your website.
Step by step
- 1. Visit the admin area of your website: https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin
- 2. Find the ‘Plugins’ section in the menu
- 3. Click ‘add new’ plugin
- 4. Type ‘Yoast SEO’ in the search plugins toolbar
- 5. Click ‘install now’ under the Yoast SEO
- 6. Then click ‘activate’
6. Write Your First Post
Now that you’ve got the basics of how to make a profitable gaming blog it’s time to write. Content is the number one reason visitors will return to your website. As a gaming blogger, most of your content will be focused on that niche. Your first post won’t be your best because it takes time to learn what makes quality content. Knowledge of SEO and other technical factors of running a blog will also take months of practice. At this stage, your focus should be on producing content.
To write a blog post you’ll need to visit the wp-admin area of your website. In the left menu, you should find a section labeled posts. If you click on that section you’ll see ‘add new’ at the top of the page. Before you write your post to be sure to pick your keyphrase. A key phrase is what visitors type into Google when they have a question. The best way to ensure you’re choosing the right words is to use a keyphrase tool like Semrush.
Semrush will tell you how likely a key phrase is to bring in traffic. Your goal is to choose a key phrase that’s a low hanging fruit. You don’t want to pick something like ‘the most popular video games’ because everyone is writing that. The higher the competition is for a keyword, the more likely your website will end up on page 5 of Google. Page 5 is no man’s land. A keyphrase should have the potential to rank highly because people are searching for it, but not many bloggers are using it.
Write your first post continued
When you’ve determined what your keyphrase is then you can begin your post. Yoast SEO will tell you at the bottom of the post whether or not your SEO is good. If the smiley face is red or orange then you need to follow the instructions Yoast is giving you. Those instructions will help your blog rank better in search. Each post should use H2, H3, and H4 headers. The headers make Google happy so use them. Every post also needs a meta-description. Yoast gives you the option to include your snippet at the bottom of the post. Be sure to include your key phrase in the meta-description.
What if you can’t think of anything to write?
Don’t worry if you can’t think of anything to write. Work on other parts of your website first. Each blog needs an about page, an affiliate disclosure, and a privacy policy. A first post could simply be an introduction to the website and what you hope it will accomplish. As a blogger, your job is to help others. No matter what part of the gaming niche you’re focused on, try and find out what your audience wants to know. Write several posts on it and eventually, you’ll begin to see traffic.
How To Make A Profitable Gaming Blog
Extra tips
Now you know the basics of creating a profitable gaming blog. Blogging takes time to master. Don’t be discouraged if your traffic is low for the first six months. As a new blog, Google doesn’t trust your website. Every website goes through the Google sandbox. After six months to a year, your website should begin to see traffic growth. Relying only on Google isn’t a good strategy. Google changes it’s algorithms all the time. Many bloggers have been hit by famous Google updates like Penguin or Panda. When Google updates its algorithm it forces you to learn new SEO strategies to get your content in front of your audience.
One way to get around this is by using Pinterest and pay-per-click advertisements. Pinterest is a search engine, not a social media website. A Pinterest pin has a key phrase, an eye-catching image, and a link to your blog. The best way to use Pinterest is by using schedulers like Tailwind. Pinterest isn’t a miracle worker though, and it can take a few months before you see real traffic gains. At least with Tailwind you’re able to connect with other bloggers. Fellow bloggers share each other’s pins which can put your pins in front of more people
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements are Google and Bing Ads. When you run a PPC campaign you want to use Semrush to figure out which key phrases will be most successful. Bing Ads are easier to use than Google Ads because Google doesn’t accept as many advertisements. Keep the bids low. The goal is to gain as much traffic to your website as you can without spending too much money. PPC campaigns are something a beginning blogger wouldn’t be ready to use right away. Every business will require an investment, but before spending money on advertising be sure your website is ready.
If you have any questions please leave a comment below and I’ll help you out. Thank you for hanging out at my Hearth.
Happy Hunting,
Spyells