When people say making money on the web is getting harder, it sure is.  As more people become aware the internet can become a good income source, there will be more people entering this domain, thus greater competition.  But there is definitely still plenty of opportunities available for money to be made.  In this post I would like to talk about is a short term approach of making money online.  What I mean by short term approach is a period from 6 to 12 month period for trying to rank highly on a particular topic.  A 6 to 12 month term is necessary because it takes time to rank highly and most importantly gain respectable return on investment. 

Opportunities don’t fall at your door step, so it’s important to be determined to make the first move.   Here are the steps I follow when determining if it is a worthy short term investment.

1. Determine a possible popular trend

It is important for you to be up to date with the latest news.

2. Determine the likely revenue

Using the adwords cost calculation tool, you can determine the likely Cost Per Click(CPC).  Also, looking at other revenue streams such as promoting affiliate offers.

3. Determine the likely searches a month for that particular topic

Using google adwords tool and google trends to determine the approximate likely monthly searches.

4. Determine the possible competitors

If your competitors are highly popular websites it would be harder to rank higher than these sites.  However, you do not necessarily need to be ranked number 1.  From personal experience Ranking in the top 3 is adequate.     You need to analyse your competition carefully, usually if there are 2 strong competitors, I would still go ahead.

5. Keyword Research

I would usually target around 10-15 keywords first.  Usually 2-5 would be highly competitive and the rest would be medium to low.

6. Content Creation

Creating the right content is crucial.  Infographics, articles and videos can really give your website a push.

7. Link Building/Social Media Marketing

Finally, promoting your content to the appropriate audience.

My personal example 
Bellow is an example of a short term approach of making money online.  It outlines a period over a 8 month period.  With an initial investment of A$400 and an ongoing monthly content creation cost of $500 resulted in a total expense of $4500.  The return on investment(ROI) from this short term strategy was approximately $40,000, which is nearly an 900% ROI.

Traffic and visitor overview