I've been creating successful, money making blogs and niche sites for the past 10 years. Here is my guide on how to start a blog in Australia:
How to Start a Blog in Australia: Step-By-Step
Choose a Topic
The first step to starting a blog is choosing what you're going to blog about. The most successful blogs are focused on a particular niche. For example if you know a lot about photography you could start a photography blog reviewing the best equipment and sharing techniques.
The best niche to choose is something you're passionate about. This will make it easier to generate content ideas and Google loves people who are genuine experts in a niche. So while you don't need to pretend to be a pro, it's a good idea to at least know a bit about what you're planning to write about. Personally I've never started a blog on something that I haven't actually done myself.
One thing to be aware of is Google makes it harder to rank websites in Health and Finance related niches. There are also regulations in Australia related to promoting those niches as an influencer. So it's probably a good idea to choose something else.
Choose a Hosting Platform
I use and recommend Siteground as the best place to a start a blog in Australia. Here's why:
- Local Australian Servers – You can choose to host your blog on servers in Australia. This means your site will load faster to Australian visitors. This is really important and faster loading sites will rank higher in Google.
- .com.au and .au Domains – You can start a blog using a .com.au or the new .au domain with Siteground. I've found most international hosting companies don't support these domains. But if you're creating a blog for an Australian audience you should use one of these domains. You'll rank higher in Google if you do!
- Easy to Use Platform – Even if you have never setup a blog before, using Siteground is really easy. They have built an automated tool that will install and setup your WordPress blog for you.
While many sites recommend Bluehost, I wouldn't recommend using Bluehost in Australia. They don't offer .com.au domain registration and they don't have servers located in Australia. It's not a good choice for starting a blog in Australia.
Design Your Blog
The great thing about using WordPress is there are countless themes that you can use. Many of these themes are completely free. If you're new to blogging using a free WordPress theme is a great place to start.
I use the Blocksy theme. It's free with a premium option. I love using Blocksy as it gives you the tools to completely customise everything about your WordPress blog with a point and click interface. It makes great looking sites! This blog uses Blocksy!
Create Your Content
The most important thing about running a money making blog is creating content. The type of content you should create will depend on your niche and how you plan on making money.
For example if owned a photography blog I might create content on specific techniques with detailed tutorials. If I was planning to monetise my blog with affiliate marketing I might create posts such as “The Best 5 Lenses for Micro Four Thirds Cameras” etc which can contain affiliate links.
Knowing the type of posts that will do well and make money is a skill that you will learn over time. My number bit of advice to people starting out is to stick with it! The first posts you do probably won't end up being the best. But overtime you will get better and better.
I use tools like Semrush and Ahrefs to generate lists of post ideas. These tools are expensive and you don't need them when starting out. Once you've started getting traffic and maybe even revenue, they are great tools for knowing which posts will rank in Google and which won't.
Grow Your Blog
Once you've started creating content you can start to also focus on promoting and growing your blog. There are many ways to do this, and I'll probably do a whole other blog post on this topic.
A good place to start is with social media. I like to create a Twitter, Facebook Page and Pinterest account for my blogs. Depending on the niche I might also create an instagram account. I promote the posts I write through these channels.
Many people focus on building backlinks. This can lead to some pretty bad ideas like paying for backlinks. You'll eventually get nerfed by Google. It's a better idea to build backlinks organically. Guest posting is sort of organic, and probably won't get you in any trouble with Google. The best way to create great backlinks is to create amazing content. This isn't the advice most people want to hear, because you can't just pay some writer in India to create amazing content for you. You actually put in the hard yards yourself to create it.
