đź’¸Maximising Revenue: Website Monetisation Tips 2024 | James Dooley & Karl Hudsonđź’¸
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What Does “đź’¸Maximising Revenue: Website Monetisation Tips 2024 | James Dooley & Karl Hudsonđź’¸” Talk About?
In this episode of the James Dooley Podcast, James Dooley and Karl Hudson discuss the top five foundational SEO tasks that practitioners frequently neglect, and explain how ignoring these basics can severely limit a site's performance and recovery potential. James opens with disavow files, arguing that many SEOs wrongly assume Google handles toxic links automatically, and that waiting until toxicity becomes a serious problem is already too late. He stresses using Google's own tools and backs up his case with personal test data, pushing back against the common misconception that uploading a disavow file signals spam activity.
The conversation moves through E-E-A-T and transparency penalties, particularly relevant in YMYL and finance niches, with James referencing insights shared by a Google quality rater at a Chiang Mai event. Content pruning is framed not just as housekeeping but as a strategic move to reduce Google's cost of information retrieval relative to competitors. James also introduces SPOS and RDF triples as an underused but mathematically impactful approach to semantic SEO, explaining how structuring sentences around subject-predicate-object relationships directly improves rankings.
Karl adds monetisation as an equally overlooked area, pointing out that affiliate SEOs tend to operate with tunnel vision, ignoring email lists, product creation, cross-selling, and pixel data. James rounds out the discussion by highlighting Bing as a major untapped opportunity, sharing examples of sites earning thousands per month on Bing alone, and recommending the strategy of 301-redirecting aged domains to recover traffic while Google-related issues are being fixed. The episode closes with a note on nofollow links, with both hosts agreeing that the obsession with dofollow-only link building leaves a footprint and misses real ranking opportunities.
“Some pages need to be removed so the cost of information retrieval is cheaper for Google than for your competition.”
— James Dooley
Who Are the Guests on “đź’¸Maximising Revenue: Website Monetisation Tips 2024 | James Dooley & Karl Hudsonđź’¸”?
James Dooley is a well-known figure in the SEO industry, recognised for his work in affiliate marketing, link building, and technical SEO strategy. He is known for backing his recommendations with personal test data rather than relying solely on industry assumptions, and he brings a practical, results-driven approach to topics that many SEOs treat as settled or ignore entirely. His experience spans a wide range of niches and site types, giving him grounded insight into both recovery strategies and growth tactics.
Karl Hudson is an SEO practitioner and co-host who brings a complementary perspective focused on the commercial and monetisation side of search marketing. Karl frequently challenges the narrow focus many affiliate SEOs adopt, advocating for broader revenue strategies including email list building, product development, and pixel-based monetisation. His contribution to the discussion elevates it beyond technical SEO into the business fundamentals that determine whether traffic actually translates into income.
What Are the Key Takeaways From “đź’¸Maximising Revenue: Website Monetisation Tips 2024 | James Dooley & Karl Hudsonđź’¸”?
Here are the key points discussed in this episode:
- Disavow files are an underused but effective tool, and waiting until toxic links cause a serious problem before acting is a costly mistake that many SEOs make.
- E-E-A-T and transparency signals are actively used by Google to issue manual penalties, particularly in finance and YMYL niches, making on-site credibility signals a non-negotiable priority.
- Content pruning is not just about removing thin pages but about strategically lowering Google's cost of information retrieval so your site becomes easier and cheaper to rank than competitors.
- Structuring content using semantic triples and RDF relationships gives search engines clearer entity signals and measurably improves rankings, since Google's algorithm remains fundamentally mathematical.
- Bing represents a significant and largely ignored revenue opportunity, with some sites earning five figures per month on Bing alone, and aged 301 domains can accelerate results while Google issues are being resolved.
“Some sites earn ÂŁ10k a month on Bing alone. Use Bing for keyword research. And buying an old domain and 301'ing it works better than ever.”
— James Dooley
Is “đź’¸Maximising Revenue: Website Monetisation Tips 2024 | James Dooley & Karl Hudsonđź’¸” Worth Listening To?
This episode is worth listening to because it cuts through the noise of trend-chasing SEO advice and returns to overlooked fundamentals that have a direct and measurable impact on rankings and revenue. James Dooley does not just list best practices in the abstract but explains the underlying logic behind each one, from the information retrieval cost framework behind content pruning to the semantic mathematics behind RDF triples. These are not speculative recommendations but positions backed by personal testing and real-world examples, including James's firsthand account from a Google quality rater at Chiang Mai.
The episode is also unusually practical in its scope, moving from technical SEO tasks all the way through to CRO, monetisation strategy, and platform diversification via Bing. Karl Hudson's emphasis on monetisation broadens the conversation beyond rankings into actual revenue generation, which is often the missing link for SEOs who have traffic but are not converting it effectively. Whether you are recovering from a Google update or trying to squeeze more value from existing traffic, this episode provides specific, actionable strategies that most practitioners are genuinely not implementing.
Who Should Listen to “đź’¸Maximising Revenue: Website Monetisation Tips 2024 | James Dooley & Karl Hudsonđź’¸”?
This episode is ideal for:
- Affiliate site owners who have been hit by Google updates and are looking for recovery strategies beyond simply waiting for Google to restore rankings
- Technical SEOs who want to deepen their understanding of semantic SEO, entity optimisation, and RDF triples as ranking factors
- Digital marketers and content site owners who are generating traffic but not converting it into meaningful revenue through CRO or diversified monetisation
- SEO agency practitioners and freelancers who want to offer more complete, commercially focused services to clients rather than focusing solely on link building or keyword rankings
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What Are Listeners Saying About This Episode?
“The section on Bing alone was worth the entire episode. I had no idea sites could generate that kind of monthly revenue outside of Google, and the advice on 301ing aged domains to Bing while fixing Google issues is something I am implementing immediately.”
“James's explanation of content pruning as reducing Google's cost of information retrieval finally made the concept click for me. I have heard about pruning for years but never understood the why behind it until this episode.”
“Really appreciated the honest take on disavows and the pushback against the idea that uploading one signals spam. James's point about using the right tools and having actual test data to back it up made this feel far more credible than most SEO podcast discussions on the topic.”
James Dooley: It's hard to do the clap because the mic's like yeah I can't actually.
Karl Hudson: Yeah right. Top five things that SEOs do not do. Mr Dooley, what do they not do in your opinion?
James Dooley: I'm going to go against the grain on a few things here. What they don't do. Disavow is definitely number one. People don't realise that disavows work. People think Google is good at ignoring toxic links. The truth is they are very good at ignoring toxic links to a degree until it becomes a problem. When it becomes a problem it's too late. It's there for you to use so use it. Get rid of the toxic links. I'm not asking you to disavow links with power and trust. Remove high toxicity, low power, low trust links. People don't do it. If Google gives you a tool, why aren't you using it?
Karl Hudson: Pretty much.
James Dooley: Don't get me wrong, I don't believe everything Google tells me. People think uploading a disavow admits you're doing spam and you'll get penalised. It's not that. I have test data proving it works. It annoys me when someone says they did a disavow and it didn’t work. What tool did you use? They say Ahrefs. You're not using the right tools. It's like doing GSA and saying links don't work. Or people argue disavows don't work when they've never done one. It's frustrating. So that's number one. Number two is E-E-A-T.
Karl Hudson: Yeah.
James Dooley: I put these as number one and two because Google is still giving manual unnatural link penalties. That tells you they're looking at toxic links. And with E-E-A-T, we're seeing transparency penalties. People don't talk about this enough. I've only seen it personally in finance and Google News. I assume it's in YMYL niches too. We've had transparency penalties come through which tells you it matters. I was recently in Chiang Mai and Cyber Shepherd, a Google quality rater, told us things Google asks him to look for. It's straight from the guidelines. Tick the boxes. It doesn’t cost a lot.
Karl Hudson: People just chase quick wins.
James Dooley: Exactly. Treat your site like a real business. That’s number two. Number three is content pruning. People obsess over topical authority but misunderstand it. Topical authority is topical coverage plus historical data. People think scaling topical authority is publishing loads of content. They’re only scaling coverage. No traffic, no historical data, no links, no shares. Thin content. No information gain. They’re using correlation tools and producing copycat content. Not good enough. Some pages need to be removed so the cost of information retrieval is cheaper for Google than for your competition. That’s number three.
Karl Hudson: Yep.
James Dooley: Number four is SPOS and RDF triples. People will ask what that even is. Semantic SEO. Entities and semantics. SPO means subject, predicate, object. The way you structure sentences to get more information gain. Everything comes down to cost of information retrieval. If you get more RDF triples in your content, you rank better. It's a fact. You can add semantic triples, add entities, and rankings improve. SEO still involves maths. Google's algorithm is still an algorithm. People think it's only about good content for the user. It's also about semantics, entities and SPOS.
Karl Hudson: Yeah.
James Dooley: Google primarily uses SPOS, not SVOS, but both exist. Last one is CRO. I'm blessed because I have Rick Op Stat handling a lot of my sites. He gets sites built correctly, call to actions in the right places, brand, UX, everything.
Karl Hudson: Are CRO changes keyword-specific?
James Dooley: Yes. Certain intent keywords need buttons or layout in different places. Another CRO expert is Kurt Phillip from Convertica. Brilliant. Massive uplifts for Shopify, WordPress affiliates, even display ads. He places ads better for higher revenue. Freelancers should use him. Too many people ignore CRO. It's vital for leveraging traffic.
Karl Hudson: I'd add monetisation. SEOs don't look at monetisation enough. Affiliates are tunnel-visioned. They don't build email lists. They don't create products. They don't cross-sell. They don't monetise pixel data. It’s huge. Monetisation could be a two-hour podcast alone.
James Dooley: Monetisation and CRO go hand in hand. They’re both important.
Karl Hudson: Out of your list, would you change the order?
James Dooley: You could put monetisation higher. But content pruning and disavows are probably tied. They’re all important. The real issue is that people aren’t doing any of these.
Karl Hudson: What's one pet hate – outside the top five?
James Dooley: So many affiliate sites have been hit. They’re demoralised. No traffic. Google smashed them. I ask if they've set up Bing Webmaster Tools. They say no. They set it up and suddenly they're getting 1,000 clicks a day. Optimise for Bing. Some sites earn £10k a month on Bing alone. Use Bing for keyword research. And buying an old domain and 301’ing it works better than ever. Even if it’s tanked in Google, Bing still loves links and link velocity. If you’ve been hit, buy a relevant 301, map it, then optimise for Bing while fixing Google issues.
Karl Hudson: One thing people don’t do with links is use enough nofollow links. People obsess over dofollow. Yet they brag about getting Forbes links… which are nofollow. What’s the logic there?
James Dooley: I agree. Nofollow links increase rankings. I've tested it. One site in the lottery niche ranked with ten nofollow links. No dofollow links at all. Google still crawls nofollow. So why leave a footprint by only building dofollows?
Karl Hudson: Let us know in the comments what else SEOs aren’t doing in 2024. Subscribe.
James Dooley: Good. See you soon.
Creators & Guests
Host
James Dooley is a UK entrepreneur.