Five months ago, I looked at how the 45n5.com Top 100 list changed due to a PageRank update. Since then Google has updated some PageRanks again, and I wanted to go back over the previous list and see where people stand today.
I am using my original list from the post entitled “An Entirely Different Top 100 Make Money Online List”
When I last did this, my blog wasn’t listed in the top 50, and it really bummed me out, but since then I have made it into the top 50 and have done rather respectable in my opinion, but the one thing that strikes me about this new list is how many blogs that weren’t in the top 50 have also joined the ranks. Look at all the ones listed as being NEW to the top 50, and you will undestand what I mean.
This to me says two things.
The first thing it points to is something that I say all the time to people, which is, if you are passionate about any niche, no matter how saturated, take a stab at it, as you might be “the voice” everyone has been waiting for.
The second thing this list shows is how many really respectable and interesting bloggers run out of steam, and are unable to compete with all the new up and coming blogs in the niche.
With the “make money online” niche, I have found it to be very cyclical with old blogs dying off as they run out of fresh ideas and new blogs taking their place. Near the very top of the list, you can see there are some blogs though that are just cemented in their spot, which is proof of how far and how long you can really be the expert in a niche if you really want it bad enough.
Also, if you look at the list, and compare it with the last list, there aren’t as many double digit movers and shakers in this update, but I believe that it is in part because I don’t have the full list from five months ago. Some of the blogs listed as NEW were most likely on the list, below the top 50 threashold, and so while they are new to the top 50, they aren’t new to Mark’s Top 100 List and many might have experienced double digit gains in their position over the last five months.
There are a few blogs that weren’t able to stay in the top 50, including notable site, Cash Quests, which currently ranks at 59. It had a previous rank as high as 15, but after being sold, it wasn’t able to maintain its higher Alexa ranking and has dropped drastically.
Another that is sitting outside the top 50 after once being deep entrenched in it is Nate Whitehill, who with his Unique Blog Designs was very heavily linked at one point. Five months ago his blog was ranked number 18, and before that it was number 10. Now it sits at the spot number 52. Another blog that looks like its rank was killed thanks to a drop in its Alexa score.
The final interesting note that I wanted to add to this post is something that I noticed while creating it: blog names. It seems many people in the make money online blog scene have decided to use their own name or a pen name for the site’s URL and title. Over a dozen blogs in the list are currently using the real name or pen name of the author.
I am not sure why they have done that, but I think it’s interesting to note.
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Adnan
March 28th, 2008 at 5:52 am
Great research David – and yeah it’s interesting to see how many new blogs have managed to climb the rankings so quickly.
Blogtrepreneur used to be fairly high up in the Top 100, but since getting slapped to a PR0 I’ve gone way way down the list! A bit annoying really, but text links still make up a large portion of my income, so I can’t remove them just yet!
Caroline Middlebrook
March 28th, 2008 at 6:47 am
That’s interesting! Five months ago I was about 154, nice to be 11 now
Lori
March 28th, 2008 at 7:53 am
My goal is to get into the that top 50! Oh, I will make it one of these days!!
And good for you for being up there already:)
Laura Spencer
March 28th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Good list. I’ve seen most of these blogs.
What criteria did you use?
David
March 28th, 2008 at 10:44 am
I just used the 45n5.com/top100 list and from there, I compared it against the previous post I did on where they all stood. Check out the top of the post for links.
David
March 28th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Lori – I know you will make it. You have an amazing blog that just needs to be discovered by more people.
Jon - FreelanceFolder
March 28th, 2008 at 11:17 am
woohoo! +8 for freelancefolder hehe
Hey xfep, +30! That’s awesome!
Thanks for updating this list
Ten Blogs Not in the Top 50 That Should Be - eXtra For Every Publisher
March 28th, 2008 at 11:54 am
[...] ← Five Months Later: Top 50 Make Money Online Blogs Shuffle [...]
45n5
March 28th, 2008 at 11:58 am
what’s interesting is things pan out the way i expected
things like caroline jumping to the top are well deserved
things like nate whitehill and cashquests dropping makes sense, their blogs have really gone downhill last 6 months
what’s interesting about that is no matter what people think of the metrics they seem to work pretty well given time and “in general”
David
March 28th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
45n5 – I hate to agree with you on that because I hate Alexa, but you are right. Pretty much people are where they should be, I see some people that deserve to be higher, and I’ve posted them in a separate post today, but other than that, I’d have to agree.
I am glad Nate went down, as I think the majority of his “love” was due to Unique Blog Designs smart business move with some big name bloggers.
Lori
March 28th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Awww shucks! Thank you for those kind words. I do think I have written some decent posts…I’m just not “out there” yet;)
Jason
March 28th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Cool post. Luckily I snuck in at no. 50, eh?
Matthew
March 31st, 2008 at 1:50 pm
This is an interesting list and post. We actually dropped a bunch from the original list. When we lost a PR point we dropped down to 30’s… we were in the top 20s.
If it would of went up instead of down we’d be in a great place.
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[...] half ago I looked through the Top 100 Make Money Online blog list (see the previous post entitled: Five Months Later: Top 50 Make Money Online Blogs Shuffle), and compared it to five months previous, and to my surprise, very little had changed. Many blogs [...]
eXtra For Every Publisher » Blog Archive » Top 50 Update: Make Money Online Blogs - New is Hot
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:24 am
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[...] at Xfep compares the top 50 make money online blogs, showing the ranking change over five months. He also lists nine blogs that should be in his list [...]