What's the difference between a $1000 site and a $50,00 site?

[Andy]

Or to restate for clarity: Why does one site generate $1000 a month while another generates $50,000?

Yes, the mathematical difference is $49,000 in revenue, but WHY?

Is it traffic? Product mix? Quality of product? What makes one site rake in big bucks while others languish for nickels?

Can a $1000 site ever compete with site $50,000 site?

Okay I know this is a terribly general question but I think it may help to understand the dynamics of how and why sites are profitable.

Any insight on this is appreciated.

Andy

[hooperman]

Or to restate for clarity: Why does one site generate $1000 a month while another generates $50,000?

Both have similar content and conversion rate but the second gets 50x the traffic? Or they get similar traffic, but the first gives a poor user experience?

Can a $1000 site ever compete with site $50,000 site?

Do you mean compete for your hard earned $$$ when you'e looking for a site to buy? The first will probably be cheaper so you might be able to afford that one and not he other. Maybe teh first is easier to maintain.

I'm struggling here! Got any more hypothetical details Andy?

[Clinton]

It's not just a matter of a bigger version of the same thing - niche, owner's skills, business model, scalability etc., all play a part.

[TrustButVerify]

It has a lot to do with the niche. You can "dominate" a niche online but their may be a limited amount of traffic. I have sites that do well for their niche but there just isn't much room to move the dial. Right now I'm going after some bigger markets that have a lot of search volume and a high transactional value.

Choose your markets wisely.

[leadegroot]

I don't think there is necessarily a comparison to draw between to such sites.
Different niches offer different returns - this should be taken into account in the price for the site, or the amount of work that goes into it.

Its only an issue if you put work in expecting a $50K return and find, after poor research, you're actually in a $1K niche. Oops!