If you’re someone who’s looking to earn money online, you might have come across Niche Site Academy. Mike Pearson, the founder of Niche Site Academy, claims that his program can help you build a successful affiliate marketing business. But, you might be wondering if his program is legitimate or just another scam.
As an online entrepreneur, I’ve had my fair share of experiences with online programs. I’ve reviewed hundreds of them over the years, and in this review, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on Niche Site Academy.
Before we dive in, I want to make it clear that I’m not affiliated with Mike Pearson, nor am I paid to write this review. So, everything I’ll be sharing with you is unbiased.
At the end of this review, I’ll also be sharing with you a better alternative that has helped me earn a full-time passive income online.
Table of Contents
What is Niche Site Academy?
Niche Site Academy is a course that teaches you how to build a profitable niche website and monetize it using affiliate marketing.
So, what exactly is a niche? It’s the topic or category of your website, such as camping, bowling, finances, or losing weight. By building a website around a specific niche, you can attract a targeted audience and make money through affiliate marketing.
Personally, I love blogging and niche websites as a way to earn a living. I’ve created multiple profitable blogs over the years and enjoy the free traffic that comes with it.
At the core of Niche Site Academy is the goal to help you earn a profit. With no costs associated with blogging, there’s plenty of potential for growth.
The course includes eight modules that cover the entire niche website model, plus a few bonus materials.
- Learn more about how to make money with affiliate marketing.
Who is Mike Pearson?
If you’re curious about who Mike Pearson is, you’re not alone. While there isn’t a ton of information out there about him, it’s clear that he knows his stuff when it comes to blogging and affiliate marketing.
One of the main things Mike is known for is his website called Stupid Simple SEO. It’s a popular resource for people looking to improve their SEO skills and learn more about niche site creation. In fact, his Niche Site Academy is hosted on this website, and it’s been a huge success. With tens of thousands of monthly views, it’s clear that Mike has built something special.
What’s more, Mike’s Stupid Simple SEO website has a high Alexa ranking, which is a sign of its popularity and influence. Clearly, he’s doing something right!
Mike has also created other courses that have helped people improve their blogs and increase their earnings through affiliate marketing. Many people have seen real results after taking his courses, which is a testament to Mike’s expertise and knowledge in this area.
While he may not be a household name, it’s safe to say that Mike Pearson is a legitimate business owner who knows his stuff when it comes to niche site creation, SEO, and affiliate marketing.
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How is the training structured?
The following is an overview of exactly what you will learn:
Module 1: The Niche Site Model
Here you’ll learn how to create a niche blog, as well as how to make money, and a look at plenty of successful niche sites, among other topics.
Module 2: How To Find A Niche (Part 1)
There are three parts to finding a niche, and this is part one.
Module 2 describes how Mike chooses niches, including the factors he looks for when choosing a niche, the criteria he uses to evaluate whether a niche is worth pursuing, as well as various tools that can help you find the perfect niche.
Module 3: How To Find A Niche (Part 2)
The most important step to making money online is picking a niche for your website. Some niches are profitable while others aren’t. This module will show you how to differentiate the winning and losing niches.
Module 4: How To Find A Niche (Part 3)
During the third section of the niche course, you’ll learn how to choose the niche you want to dedicate your time to. There’s a difference between a great niche and a good niche. This section explains the differences between the two.
Module 5: How To Set Up Your Niche Site
This section is dedicated to explaining the steps you need to take to set up your website once you’ve selected the niche. The good news is that you can do it in a few hours and it’s extremely easy.
This includes:
- Choosing a domain name
- How to choose the right WordPress plugins
- A tutorial on how to set up Google Analytics and Search Console
- Setting up your website and ideas for fonts and colours
- What to look for when selecting a theme for your website.
Module 6: Creating Your Niche Site Structure
Creating your website takes the next module, which focuses on the legal aspects of your website. You will learn what pages your website needs (Homepage, about page, legal pages, contact page) and how to create them.
Module 7: Niche Site Keyword Research
In my opinion, keyword research is the most important part of getting traffic. There is a science involved in choosing good keywords, and Mike discusses it well in this article.
It explains how to choose keywords that are likely to rank and that will attract traffic. Additionally, he shows you how to select a keyword that will convert.
Module 8: Niche Site Content Creation
This training program ends with a module on content creation. This module discusses what kind of content you should write and how to satisfy your readers.
Content should actually answer the questions of your readers. That’s what you’ll learn here.
Bonus 1: Outsourcing And Scaling Content
Bloggers are in the content business, so the first bonus you get discusses outsourcing and scaling content. You make more money by creating more high-quality content. This bonus will teach you how to hire writers so you can write more articles for your blog.
Bonus 2: Private Facebook Group
In addition to the course, members of the Facebook group will be able to interact with one another and get answers to any questions they may have.
How much does Niche Site Academy cost?
The course is priced at $397, which might seem a bit steep for some people. However, there’s also a three-month payment plan available if you’d prefer to spread out the cost.
This plan costs $147 per month, which might make the course more accessible to some learners.
Refund Policy
Mike Pearson offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, which is always a nice reassurance when you’re investing in a course. However, there’s a catch – you have to “take action” in order to qualify for the refund.
Unfortunately, Mike doesn’t provide much guidance on what that means exactly. It’s up to you to figure out what actions you need to take to be eligible for a refund.
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Praise for Niche Site Academy
1. Michael Pearson is a Legit Instructor
Michael Pearson is a reputable instructor who has published more than one course, including Stupid Simple SEO. His courses have received great reviews, which is a testament to his expertise and effectiveness.
2. Solid Training
The course offers comprehensive training that equips you with the necessary knowledge and skills to start a successful niche blog. You’ll learn everything from niche selection, keyword research, content creation, to SEO and backlinking strategies.
3. Fair Price
At $397, the course offers solid value for money, considering the extensive training and resources provided.
Criticism of Niche Site Academy
1. “Action-Based” Policy
To qualify for a refund, you must demonstrate that you have taken action by completing certain tasks or milestones. However, the specific actions required are not clearly defined, which may lead to confusion and frustration for some students.
Is Niche Site Academy legit?
If you’re a beginner blogger or affiliate marketer, Niche Site Academy is a good course to consider. Mike Pearson designed it to teach the basics of picking a niche and creating a profitable blog. However, it’s difficult to gauge Pearson’s success as there isn’t much information available about him.
Although the course is geared towards beginners, experienced bloggers may not find the course very challenging. The emphasis is mostly on picking a niche and theoretical concepts, which may not be that helpful in practice.
If you’re looking to improve your SEO skills to rank better on Google, this course may not be the best fit. Pearson doesn’t teach advanced SEO techniques, which are crucial for earning passive income through blogging.
Overall, Niche Site Academy is a legit course, but it has its limitations. If you’re a beginner looking to learn the basics, it’s worth considering.
However, if you’re looking for more advanced SEO techniques or a course that’s challenging for experienced bloggers, you may want to look elsewhere.
Is there a better alternative?
So what’s the best alternative to Niche Site Academy? My #1 recommended platform is called Wealthy Affiliate.
Wealthy Affiliate is an all-in-one platform for building your affiliate marketing business from scratch.
When you join Wealthy Affiliate, you can get access to the first-class web hosting service, keyword research tools, community support, comprehensive training, writing tools, and other software to help you build an online business step-by-step.
You can register a free account with Wealthy Affiliate, which enables you to get started with affiliate marketing right away without paying a penny.
If you like the platform, you can then upgrade to the premium membership to get access to everything on the platform. There are no upsells afterward.
But How Much Can You Earn with Wealthy Affiliate?
A 21-year-old student from Wealthy Affiliate was able to earn $7,395 in just 1 week, which means he made more than $1k a day…all while applying what is taught inside Wealthy Affiliate.
Compared with Niche Site Academy, Wealthy Affiliate has a much longer history, which has been established for 15 years and there are many success stories in the past decade.
Actually, Wealthy Affiliate has more than a million members so far, so you can see how popular this platform is.
For more information, you can check out my full review of Wealthy Affiliate.
Where to Join Wealthy Affiliate?
Wealthy Affiliate has a very simple pricing scheme. It has a free and premium membership. The premium membership only costs $49/month or $395/year.
If you want to feel about Wealthy Affiliate, you can sign up for the free starter membership (no credit card required). You can select to be a free member with no time limit.
So I strongly recommend you register a free account and see it yourself.
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Jeff Smith, Founder of High Income Source, is an online business coach with a BBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Pennsylvania. His online business coaching program is so popular that more than 100 students have benefited and started successful online businesses under his guidance.
Jeff started dabbling in online business while he was in college, where he began with dropshipping. After college, Jeff worked at a marketing agency and freelanced as a writer. His breakthrough came when he realized the potential of blogging, leading to a $100,000 sale of a dog-focused website. His expertise includes SEO, affiliate marketing, Amazon FBA, blogging and dropshipping.