Niche Pursuits Podcast: Find Your Next "Niche" Business Idea! – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, SEO expert Casey Markee shares insights from over 175 audits of food and lifestyle blogs in 2025. He breaks down what's actually working right now, from email list growth strategies that doubled subscriber counts to SEO fixes that led to traffic increases and higher RPMs.

We also dive into how bloggers can use AI tools smartly, what mistakes are killing traffic, and how to build topical authority beyond Google. If you're feeling lost post-HCU or wondering how to future-proof your blog, this episode is full have useful information!

Sponsor: 201 Creative
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Links & Resources
MediaWyse: https://www.mediawyse.com/
Casey's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseymarkee/
AI Isn't the Enemy article: https://searchengineland.com/ai-isnt-the-enemy-how-bloggers-can-thrive-in-a-generative-search-world-459672
Google's AI-powered SERPs: Strategies for recipe, travel, and lifestyle bloggers: https://searchengineland.com/google-ai-powered-serps-strategies-recipe-travel-lifestyle-bloggers-454170


Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week? Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter

Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links?  Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

In this episode of the Niche Pursuits podcast, Andy Skraga goes into detail on the secrets behind Facebook's evolving Content Monetization Program and how creators can start earning money directly from their posts. He shares his proven strategies for growing a Facebook page to 10,000 followers, maximizing engagement, and using AI to scale content production effortlessly.

Andy also breaks down his process for making up to $30,000 a month, reveals key tips for avoiding Facebook penalties, and discusses what's working right now to drive revenue. If you want to make money on Facebook, this is a must-listen!

Sponsor: 201 Creative
Get your FREE GEO Snapshot today! - https://201creative.com/geo-snapshot/?utm_source=niche_pursuits_podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=geo_snapshot_launch&utm_content=show_notes

Links & Resources
Andy's new course Content Into Cash: The Facebook Monetization Masterclass  https://hikeyourlikes.com/facebook-monetization-masterclass/

Use code NICHE20 to get 20% off!

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week? Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter

Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links?  Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

In this episode of the Niche Pursuits Podcast, Frey Chu shares his journey of building successful directory sites that generate passive income. He discusses his strategies for niche selection, site structure, and SEO, offering valuable insights for anyone looking to leverage their SEO skills in a side hustle. 

Frey also reveals his tech stack, monetization methods, and link-building techniques that have helped him grow directories to 100,000 monthly visitors. Are you looking to learn more on how to build directory site that earns long-term, passive income? Then make sure to listen to this interview!

** Podcast Sponsor - Mailtrap

Try Mailtrap for free - https://l.rw.rw/niche_pursuits_2 

This episode is sponsored by Mailtrap - an Email Delivery Platform designed for product companies.

Go for high deliverability, growth-focused features, and industry best analytics.

Get 20% off for all plans with our promo code NICHEPURSUITS.

Links & Resources
Frey's Youtube Channel
Ship Your Directory Community
Sign up to his Directory newsletter

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week? Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter

Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links?  Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Welcome back to another episode of the Niche Pursuits News podcast!

It's been a very big week in the news, with Google taking center stage for several different reasons. This week, Jared and Morgan break it all down for us, and they also share the progress they're making on their side hustles, and some weird niche sites!

Let's jump into it!

The first order of business is Google's announcement about its August core update, which the company has been teasing for some time.

Moving along, they talk about an article in the New York Times about how the US Justice Department is considering several scenarios after deciding that Google is a monopoly, including possibly breaking up the company.

Jared shares the timeline and the opinions of Duck Duck Go, and Morgan talks about what happened in the EU when Google was forced to give users a choice when installing their web browsers. It's pretty surprising what she reveals!

They also talk about the ways this ruling could change the internet and which of the scenarios they'd prefer to see. Is Google really resting on its laurels, as Morgan says?

The next topic up for discussion is that Reddit investors are concerned about what all the traffic is doing to its stock price, as company shares have plummeted by 26%. 

Why are they complaining about the traffic? Why are "logged in" users more valuable than "logged out" ones? How does Reddit's current situation contrast with its attitude just a few weeks ago? 

Then Jared and Morgan tie the Reddit news to Google's announcement about its current core update. What do they predict might happen? Listen to the full episode to hear what they say!

When it's time to talk about their side hustles, Jared comments briefly about the course he recently launched on the Amazon Influencer Program, but then dives into the newsletter he recently acquired, The Slice.

He shares his stats, such as open rates, ad earnings, and affiliate income, and his future plans for the side hustle.

He also talks about Creator Connections, in the Influencer Program, and shares his latest earnings.

Morgan then talks about her Amazon Influencer side hustle and shares her experience creating more polished videos for the program and the impact on her video clicks. She also shares a strategy she's going to experiment with in the coming weeks.

Jared's weird niche site comes with its own personal story this week: San Diego Sandcastles, which he discovered while at the beach with his family. 

When it's Morgan's turn, she shares This Person Does Not Exist, which generates AI images of people who don't exist.

This site has been around since 2021, and she shares some of its stats. 

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter

Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links?  Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

If you didn't get into paid media before Google changed up the traffic game, you can still get into it now. That's what Alex Goldberg is showing us on this week's podcast.

Alex started a site as a side hustle, but it eventually grew into a portfolio of sites. Organic traffic was abundant, but he decided to experiment with paid media arbitrage.

In the end, he built up a portfolio of sites earning $20k/month and then sold it for a hefty sum.

For people who are generating a lot of traffic from SEO or social media, Alex outlines a great strategy to diversify, and for people who aren't getting as much traffic as they used to, they can also diversify.

Don't miss this episode where Alex shares a lot of great advice and tips for getting started and succeeding with paid ads.

Alex starts with a brief introduction of his background, talking about how he always wanted to be an entrepreneur, how he started side hustling, and how he eventually exited one of his main projects, a portfolio of health and wellness sites.

He starts by talking in more detail about his initial site, which he started in 2018 as a side hustle with a colleague. They were reviewing fintech companies, but pivoted to health and wellness when they sensed there was a better opportunity in that niche.

In 2021, he quit his job, eventually bought out his business partner, and went on to create a portfolio of related sites. He also shifted his focus from organic traffic to paid media arbitrage before he eventually sought out, and found, a buyer.

Alex goes into more detail about switching from SEO to paid media arbitrage and why he decided to diversify. He talks about the challenges he faced setting up a paid arbitrage strategy, but claims that once you have a roadmap, it's easier than SEO.

He discusses the types of keywords he bids on, how to meet the demand of underlying queries, and future-proofing your business.

Alex had experience before he started using this strategy, but for people who don't usually use paid ads, he shares tips and tricks and challenges people generally face.

He reveals the percentage of campaigns that are generally successful and talks about how to talk to brands about using this strategy, what kinds of niches it would work in, and he compares it to SEO, content creation, and organic traffic.

Alex explains social whitelisting and then goes into a lot of detail on conversion tracking, and he also talks about scaling the business and reaching $20k/month in profit while providing immense value for his clients, which was very important to him.

Towards the end of the interview, he talks about being hit by the HCU and how diversified his sites were, and he also shares some stats: how much his business was earning and how much he sold it for.

• Alex's course, Paid Media Affiliates
• Alex's LinkedIn
• Alex's Twitter

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter

Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links?  Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Welcome back to another episode of the Niche Pursuits News Podcast, where Spencer and Jared talk about the biggest news in the SEO and creator industry and what it means for you. They also share their inspiring side hustles and some weird niche sites they've discovered.

Today they tackled the biggest news item we've seen in a while: Google's antitrust lawsuit.

Google has been in the news for a while now as the courts have been trying to determine whether or not it's a monopoly and a decision was finally handed down, stating that the company does have an illegal monopoly on search.

What did the company say on Twitter and how did others respond? And what are the potential outcomes? 

Spencer and Jared talk about how Google got here, what it might be asked to do in the future, and what they really think about Google's claims.

Moving along, they head into the Shiny Object Shenanigans portion of the podcast, and Spencer goes first. He talks about his experience with the Facebook Bonus Program, of which he has been a member for the last 2 months.

His first month in the program, he earned $3k, and he was on track to surpass that in his second month. What happened at the end of July? How did it all play out? 

When it's Jared's turn, he talks about the Amazon Influencer Program. 

Although he had a few complicated days, his monthly earnings were in line with his usual performance. He also announces the release of his new course, which walks you through the process of getting started in the program.

He shares some interesting data, comparing his performance with Spencer's and another member of the Amazon Influencer Program, who recently joined. He looks at how much they're all earning and how many clicks each of their videos are receiving per month.

He also talks briefly about his experience with the Creators Connection program.

Then they move on to their Weird Niche Sites.

Spencer goes first with Spot the Difference which, as the name suggests, shows users two photos and they have to find 4 things that are different. It's monetized with a lot of display ads and gets around 23k organic visitors a month.

When it's Jared's turn, he's excited to share Where Is My Milk From, indubitably a weird niche site that helps you locate the origin of your milk.

And that brings us to the end of another episode of the Niche Pursuits News Podcast. We hope you're feeling informed and inspired.

Don't forget to catch Spencer and Jared next Friday when they tackle the latest news and provide updates on their projects.

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter

Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links?  Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

This week on the podcast we have a familiar face! 

Spencer Haws comes on to talk about a very interesting, and surprisingly lucrative, side hustle both he and Jared have been working on for the last year: the Amazon Influencer Program.

In this episode, Spencer and Jared talk about their experience with the program, discuss the different strategies they used to grow this side business, and share some insider tips for succeeding.

Jared also reveals that he teamed up with Authority Hacker to create a course that helps people through the entire process.

They begin with a brief overview of what the Amazon Influencer Program is all about: creating shoppable videos and posting them on Amazon's product pages. By doing this, you get a sliver of Amazon's massive traffic.

But before you can participate, you need to get accepted into the program. 

Jared gives a rundown of the primary requirements, and then he and Spencer talk about the path they each took to get accepted into the program.

Spencer even shares an Amazon Influencer Program secret he hasn't shared before!

They talk about making the first three videos for your account, and why they're important. If your videos get rejected three times, you won't be able to participate in the program.

With that in mind, Spencer talks about what makes a great first video and lets listeners know what not to do. 

He and Jared also talk about whether or not you need to show your face in the videos, what type of product features to discuss, and how to approach Amazon's long list of rules when making videos.

They also share some of the mistakes they made, which got some of their videos rejected.

Then Spencer shares his personal journey on the program, which he joined in January 2023, and talks about adding videos gradually. By December of that year, he peaked at $6k for the month. 

To give an idea of how passive the program is, now he's earning an average of $1500 a month and hasn't added any videos for the last 7 months.

Jared shares his story, too.

He got accepted in May 2023 and frontloaded a lot of the work, publishing +200 videos in his first month, which led to earnings of $1000. 

He continued to gradually upload videos, and he's currently earning around $3k to $4k consistently per month.

Then they move backwards slightly, and Spencer talks about how he got his videos done. The first ones he did himself, and then he outsourced the next 1000. 

He shares where he found people to create the videos, how he paid them, and how much he paid them. He also shares some of the pros and cons to this approach.

When it's Jared's turn, he shares his strategy for growing his Amazon Influencer account. Jared did the bulk of his own videos, reviewing products that he had around his house, his neighbors' houses, and his parent's house. 

He even shares a cool hack for accessing even more products for videos.

Equally importantly, he talks about how long he spent doing his videos and how he became super efficient for the best possible ROI.

To close out the interview, they share some important insights they've gathered about slightly over a year in the program. 

These revolve around reviewing higher priced products, showing lots of close-ups, skipping long winded introductions, seasonality, creating SOPs, among others. 

All in all, this is a fantastic, information-packed episode if you're curious about the program and looking to get started, or if you're already using it and want some fresh ideas.

Links & Resources

• Upwork
• Amazon Influencer Program
• Product Review Profits (Jared's course)

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter

Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links?  Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of the Niche Pursuits News podcast. Jared hosts this week's episode, along with Morgan Overholt, who's standing in for Spencer.

They kick off the news portion of the episode talking about Reddit and how it has blocked Bing Search. Microsoft has confirmed this news and is respecting Reddit's decision, but the plot thickens when Reddit's CEO speaks out.

This leads them to another article that talks about how the traditionally mutually beneficial arrangement of web crawling is breaking down, referencing Google and Reddit's relationship, Reddit's decision to block Microsoft, and how these moves are really hurting the internet.

The conversation then shifts to SearchGPT, and they look at and dissect a sample query.

As for side hustles, Morgan talks about an idea that came to her through her graphic design agency, where she has consistently designed ebooks for clients.

Now she wants to try her hand at it, publishing her own book with the content she had originally  published on her website, which was hit by the Helpful Content Update.

When it's Jared's turn, he explains the Creator Connections program inside Amazon Influencer and how it's been going since he started participating. 

Then the conversation moves on to their Weird Niche Sites. Morgan goes first with Chirper AI, a site that looks like the Sims meets ChatGPT. In this wild little AI virtual reality world, you create characters that interact with others created by different users.

When it's Jared's turn, he shares an image-to-text converter which, as the name suggests, takes pictures and converts them into text files. 

That concludes another episode of the Niche Pursuits News podcast, where you can hear about the latest and most important news in the SEO, online business, and blogging world as well as feel inspired by the hosts' side hustles and get ideas from some weird sites.

Catch you next week!

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter

Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links?  Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Brian Nagele has had a lot of success building online businesses, but nothing could have prepared him for what he has been able to achieve on Facebook.

You can join Brian's Social Growth Mastery to learn how his exact Facebook strategies here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/socialgrowthmastery

After his niche sites were hit by Google's Helpful Content Update, he fully understood the importance of diversifying his traffic, and he turned to Facebook.

He started building Facebook pages, and some of his posts started going viral. Once Facebook noticed the engagement he was getting, he got invited to the platform's Performance Bonus Program. After one of his new pages in the program earned $11k its first month, he was hooked.

Today he's earning $20k per month posted viral content on his Facebook pages.

Don't miss this episode, where he shared a ton of his secrets and gives listeners the tools to get started earning money on Facebook.

Topics Brian Nagele Talks About

• His experience online
• How he rebounds after adversity
• Facebook Performance Bonus Program
• Getting accepted
• Ad campaigns
• Engagement and niche selection
• Posting and creating content
• Outsourcing
• Getting unstuck
• Daily time commitment
• Earning money
• Beyond the program
• Pages in sub-niches

• Canva Pro
• Strevio
• Social Buddy
• Brian's program: https://www.nichepursuits.com/socialgrowthmastery
• Brian's website
• Brian's Twitter
• One of Brian's Facebook pages

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter

Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links?  Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative

Welcome to another episode of the Niche Pursuits News Podcast, where Spencer and Jared offer their thoughts on the latest news in SEO, Google and AI; talk about their side hustles; and share some funny and weird niche sites.

They kick things off by talking about the SearchGPT announcement. Spencer talks about how the tool looks like it will work and whether it will include links to sources.

They reference an article on Wired and talk about how SearchGPT's initial search functionality would be limited, but what will it look like when and if it eventually expands? 

What type of approach will SearchGPT eventually be based on? How does this impact publishers?

Tune in to hear Spencer and Jared's initial thoughts on this bombshell news item!

Moving along, they talk about how Google is planning to scrap its plans to kill 3rd party cookies in Chrome. This news is quite shocking, as Google has been talking about killing those cookies since 2020. People have been preparing for it for years!

Why does Spencer think they made this decision? And what trend does Jared highlight and question? How's this going to play out in other countries? 

And what's likely driving this decision by Google? Is this good or bad news for publishers?

Next up is more Google news. Google recently released its Q2 earnings and revealed some interesting data, such as growth in its search revenue.

Although the company beat some of its estimates, where did its projections fall short? And where does its stock price stand? What does Jared point out about CEO vs public perception? And does this performance suggest that there's room for SearchGPT to get a piece of the pie?

Also, what's the status of AI Overviews, according to Sundar Pichai?

It's on to the Shiny Object Shenanigans, and Spencer kicks things off talking about his experience in the Facebook Performance Bonus Program.

After just 2 months, things are going very well. In the first month he earned slightly less than $3k and this month he expects to surpass that.

How often is he posting? How has his strategy changed? What does this mean for the niche website associated with the Facebook page?

For Jared, he talks about a side hustle within a side hustle: Creator Connections inside the Amazon Influencer Program.

He recently discovered higher-paying opportunities within the program. How did he find out about them and how do they work? And why did he and Spencer describe them as "free money?"

Check out the episode to hear all the details!

Spencer shares his weird niche site first when the time comes: Test My Thumbnail, which allows you to upload a sample of a thumbnail and see what it will look like alongside others on YouTube and tweak it accordingly.

The site offers lots of other features and functions, such as a/b testing thumbnails and YouTube revenue calculator.

What does the traffic look like? What do Spencer and Jared have to say about this site?

When it's Jared's turn, he goes pretty weird with Gift Wrap My Face which, as the name suggests, lets you print your fact on wrapping paper.

This DR27 site doesn't get a lot of traffic and isn't ranking for a lot of keywords, but what's so interesting about it, according to Jared? What's the story behind the brand?

Jared also checks back on a weird site that was featured previously. Find out how that site is doing!

And that takes us to the end of another episode of the Niche Pursuits News Podcast! 

Don't forget to come back next week for some more insight, inspiration, and fun!

Ready to join a niche publishing mastermind, and hear from industry experts each week?  Join the Niche Pursuits Community here: https://community.nichepursuits.com

Be sure to get more content like this in the Niche Pursuits Newsletter Right Here: https://www.nichepursuits.com/newsletter

Want a Faster and Easier Way to Build Internal Links?  Get $15 off Link Whisper with Discount Code "Podcast" on the Checkout Screen: https://www.nichepursuits.com/linkwhisper

Get SEO Consulting from the Niche Pursuits Podcast Host, Jared Bauman: https://www.nichepursuits.com/201creative