Not just my own recommendation, it appears that folks have been moving steadily in this direction, as evidenced by last week’s XBIZ Poll, where I asked, “How Many Sites Do You Own?” The results indicated that 23 percent of respondents had only one website, while 35 percent reported owning between two and ten. 29 percent said that they owned more than 10 websites, while 13 percent claimed none.
Contrast these figures with the responses I received when I asked this same question over two-and-a-half years ago, in the early spring of 2004: at that time, only 16 percent of respondents were focusing on only one website, while a full 45 percent had between two and ten. 35 percent claimed 10 or more sites, with only four percent having none.
As with all polls, you can spin the answers to reveal anything you wish; in this case, I’ll start by offering a broadening of our readership demographics to account for the increase in respondents without websites. As for the other numbers, to me anyway, it’s clear that the burden of profitably operating many websites at once has taken its toll, dropping the overall number of webmasters with between two and ten properties by a full ten percent. Those operating only one website rose by seven percent, which could be an indication of newbies entering the market with their first site – or of more experienced operators trying to focus on doing one thing ‘right.’
Regardless of the conclusions you wish to draw from these numbers, one thing’s for certain; the market is changing and there’s no longer any room for mediocrity. Focus on one or two websites and develop them to the very best of your ability – you may be surprised by a healthier bottom line.