Who is your website really for?
Short answer: Decide who your website is for before you build it. I spent about $27,000 on my first site with no plan, then later built 1,200 neighborhood pages for “anyone.” Only 18 ranked. Pages aimed at one audience, with clean links and redirects, work better than a large count of generic ones.
What was my expensive website lesson?
In 2008 I spent $17,000 on my first website and another $10,000 on a fancy homepage. I had no plan for who it was for. I copied other agents' sites, and then the market crashed. The site sat mostly unused for almost two years. I got through that stretch on HUD homes, short sales, and YouTube videos explaining the process.
A good-looking site means little if you don't know who it's for and don't work it daily.
Why start with the “who”?
Agents often tell me their website doesn't generate leads. Usually they never decided who the site was for. I made the same mistake for years. I looked at who had the better website and copied it, so I chased their traffic and their kind of client.
After 21 years I flipped the question. I decided who I want to work with and built backward from there: families going through probate, foreclosure, and tax sales, and the professionals who advise them. Decide your niche first, then build for it.
What did the performance report show?
On my earlier sites I had about 1,200 neighborhood pages. A Google performance report showed that only 18 pages ranked for anything I was getting leads from, and those were mostly buyer traffic. A big page count looked like progress, but pages built for “anyone” attracted nobody in particular.
So I rebuilt around one audience. In one week I created 243 pages and 95 blog pages, all aimed at heirs, executors, and the people who advise them. I also redirected old pages cleanly and fixed broken links. It's early, so I'm not claiming rankings. What I can say is that every page now points at the right people.
How did I build that much in a week?
I used AI connected directly to my website through something called MCP (Model Context Protocol). In plain terms, it lets an AI assistant work inside your site: read pages, create new ones, check links, and fix problems, while you review and direct the work.
That is how I built niche pages quickly, fixed chained redirects with clean 301s, and turned every video I've made into a blog page. You still make the decisions. The AI does the repetitive work.
What actually works for a niche website?
- Local content people want. Real information about the situation and the area, linked together.
- Automated follow-up. Many estate situations take years to move, so use a long nurture plan.
- Patience with SEO. Organic rankings can take 12 to 18 months.
- Leverage. Templates, helpers, writers, and AI keep content moving.
- Turn videos into pages. Give every video a written home that links to related guides.
- Housekeeping. Fix broken links, add clean 301 redirects, and avoid redirect chains.
Why think engagement, not only leads?
Only a small share of people are ready to transact right now. Many are planning two, five, or ten years out. A family dealing with a loss rarely decides in a day. Your site and your follow-up are how they find clear answers now and remember who gave them.
Why did I change platforms?
What I wanted most was control. On shared platforms, changes went through a development queue and some requests were declined. With GGMS (Unlocked) I can build a site specific to my niche. I'm a GGMS customer, and I receive a discount from GGMS. A GGMS account is a separate purchase. Platforms are tools: ask who your site is for, and whether you can change it when you need to.
Try this week
- Write the one audience your site is for.
- Pick one page that answers a question that audience already asks.
- Check your site for broken links and redirect chains.
Questions people ask
How many pages does a niche website need?
There is no magic number. In my case 1,200 generic pages did less than a smaller set aimed at one audience. Start with the questions your audience asks most.
Do I need AI to build pages?
No. AI saved me time, but the work that matters is choosing the audience and writing honest, helpful answers.
How long does SEO take?
In my experience organic rankings can take 12 to 18 months, and results vary.
Example: See an example page built for heirs (my own site). This links to my own site, Cities Real Estate.
Watch this lesson, or talk it through.
The video is in the free course. Or book a 21-minute call.
This lesson is educational. Results depend on your niche, your effort, and your follow-up. Nothing here is legal advice, and nothing here promises leads, listings, clients, or income.