Rank and rent is a business model where you become a digital landlord by building simple service sites, ranking them on Google, then getting paid for the leads your sites generate. Local lead generation is the best way to do rank and rent because you own your digital real estate properties and you get paid on autopilot after ranking them at the top of the search results.
This article will reveal 5 examples of rank and rent websites that you can base your lead generation websites on. We'll go over my tree care website in Grand Rapids, Dan Klein's pool cleaning site, Jarrett's pressure washing site, Chad's electric site, and an international rank and rent site which proves this business model can work in other countries.
How Does Rank and Rent Work?
Rank and rent works by building simple websites that offer a specific service, ranking it on Google in the market of your choice, sending leads to a local small business in need of more work each month, and getting paid a recurring income every month. You get to dictate what you are going to get paid each month for sending exclusive leads.
The best way to rank local business in local SEO is to first choose a niche and location. Then you can use free tools like Ubersuggest, Google Search Console, or Keywords Everywhere to research search volume and the best keywords. You can also use a third-party software like SEMRush or AHREFS to assess what the competition is doing with their marketing strategies.
With rank and rent, the focus is local rather than national which is why it's easier to rank your service sites. If your tenant decides to stop working with you, you can sell your leads to the competition and continue to generate cash flow because your digital properties are yours.
What Is A Rank and Rent Website?
A rank and rent website is a digital property you create that offers the service of your choice and funnels all leads you generate on a search engine to the local small business who you choose to work with.
What Are Rank and Rent Website Examples?
1. Grand Rapids Tree Care and EDH Pool Cleaning
In the last 7 years, I have built and ranked over 80 sites and currently have 55 paying business owners. If you're wondering what an Ippei rank and rent site looks like, below is an example of an asset I built following Dan's lead gen training. It is a tree care site that I ranked in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
My Grand Rapids Tree Care site took about 15 hours to build and rank and the overhead costs were around $500. My tree care site has paid me $2000 every month for over 8 years. That's a total of $192,000 with a profit margin of over 95%. In an average month, this site will produce between 30 and 50 leads.
Dan Klein spent almost 18 months testing, failing, and retesting several strategies to create his proven concept. The EDH Pool Cleaning site below is one of the first websites he built. He ranked it at the top of the SERPs and generated a steady influx of high-quality leads without relying on paid traffic ads. The site didn't even have a Google My Business listing. Fast forward to 2023, this digital asset still pays him every month. In an average month, this site will produce anywhere between 40 and 70 leads.
2. Can-B-Clean
Jarrett is one of Dan's students who started his rank and rent business right before the COVID-19 pandemic. He went from a self-employed commercial construction worker and associate pastor in his local church to a $100,000+/year earner and SEO professional.
Jarrett built over 50 websites and paid off his tuition in his first year in the program. One of his lead generation properties is the Can B Clean website that offers pressure washing services in Metairie. In an average month, this site will produce over 35 organic leads.
3. Windward Side Electric
Chad is another local lead generation student. His Windward Side Electric site is his first lead generation property but it brings in a steady stream of leads for his paying client. In an average month, this site will produce over 20 leads per month with the search engine optimization skills he learned from Dan.
This site has paid him $500 every month for the last 2.5 years. Chad continues to build assets that pay him every month.
4. An Example Of An International Rank and Rent Site
Below is an example of a rank and rent site created by one of our students in Europe. He joined in 2020 and now has over 60 lead generation sites.
This is proof that this business model can be done anywhere you have an internet connection. Some of the over 7000 students in the local lead generation training program are from Australia, South Africa, Europe, and Asia.
What is a Rank and Rent Course?
A rank and rent course is a training that teaches the rank and rent business model. The best way to learn how to create an operational rank and rent site is to take a course that reveals all the necessary steps you must take to make the business work for you. A good rank and rent course is going to teach you each step of the process, including growing your SEO knowledge and provide all the resources and tools to help you avoid common mistakes. You will also learn how to attract potential customers, and the course will usually have a private community for support.
Nick Wood Rank and Rent: Flat Fee Mastery Review
Flat Fee Mastery by Nick Wood is a free rank and rent training. Nick learned this business model from Dan Klein in 2016 but took things seriously in 2019. There are 8 training modules that breakdown the basics of how this business model works. If you are still interested in this business model, you can join Nick's higher ticket program to make money from your SEO efforts.
More Info: Flat Fee Mastery Review
Herc Magnus Rank and Rent Club?
Rank and Rent Club by Herc Magnus is a training program that teaches you how to create 3 and 4 page sites that you build, rank and rent each month. You learn how to leverage PBNs and you learn how to rank your google map listings to increase your lead flow. There are 3 membership levels to choose from but you only learn how to build sites on WordPress.
Price: Rank and Rent Club price is $1,747.
More Info: Rank and Rent Club Review
What is Rank and Rent Club Review?
My Rank and Rent Club review is that although you learn a business model that is more passive than other online business models, Herc's course is lacking in information when it comes to teaching you about the power of sites. One downside of the Rank and Rent Club is that the SEO tools that are provided to you are only made to work with WordPress sites, they don't provide you with any outsourcing services such as link-building or citation creation to help optimize your digital properties.
Mike Martin Rank and Rent: Hybrid Lead Generation Review
The Hybrid Lead Generation digital marketing course by Mike Martin will teach you the rank and business model. You also learn how to implement paid traffic ads to generate even more leads. Mike teaches you how to run Facebook ads and Google ads (previously Adsense). Google PPC will help you get more leads faster than organic SEO, although you have to pay more for them. When you join, you have access to 13 training modules, a private Facebook group and Mike's CRM software that will help you run your business.
Price: Hybrid Lead Generation is free.
More Info: Hybrid Lead Generation Review
What is Rank and Rent Reddit?
Rank and rent Reddit reviews are mixed and filled with skepticism. This Reddit post highlights the biggest hurdles they see.
They said getting Google Business Profile validation appears illegitimate and selling the service to business owners doesn't appear easy at all. They also said that ranking sites against legitimate businesses must be harder than people make it out to be.
This Reddit comment also comes from a place of skepticism by saying the rank and rent business model is "one of the worst ideas."
It is possible this person didn't try to make this business model work for them. If they did, they would see the benefits it provides instead of judging it.
This next comment is from someone who has made this business work for them because they got their sites to rank in the top 3 of the search results on Google for the main service keyword. They said competition was low, which when this happens makes it easy to rank.
What are the Best Rank and Rent Courses?
The best rank and rent courses are:
- Flat Fee Mastery by Nick Wood
- Rank and Rent Club by Herc Magnus
- Hybrid Lead Generation by Mike Martin
- Udemy Rank and Rent Local Lead Generation: The Complete Guide (Udemy) by Jamie Tsang
- Effortless Rank and Rent Formula by Luthor Landro
These are some of the best rank and rent courses you can learn this business model from, starting with the rank and rent free course by Nick Wood. Even the Udemy rank and rent course might be worth looking into if only to show you how the business model works. Still, the local lead generation training program by Dan Klein is the top recommendation for learning the business model.
What are Rank and Rent Niches?
Rank and rent niches are services you offer with your rank and rent sites. They can be tree care, pool cleaning, plumbing, home remodeling, medical suppliers, etc. The fastest way to get your service sites to rank is to choose a niche that is considered "low-hanging fruit". The more specific you get with your niche and keywords, the easier it is to rank, because competition for those keywords is not as high. For example, ranking for "home improvement" is harder to rank for than if you went after keywords like "residential deck repair" or "bathroom tile installation".
What are the Best Rank and Rent Niches?
The best rank and rent niches to start a rank and rent business are:
- Pressure Washing
- Auto Detailing
- Carpet Cleaning
- Moving
- Photography
- Catering Services
- Accounting
- Appliance Repair
- Pool Cleaning
How Do You Make Money On Rank and Rent?
You make money in rank and rent in many ways, which include:
- Flat Fee
- Pay Per Lead
- Commission Deal
- Arbitrage
- Sell the Website
- Pre-Sell Rank and Rent Websites
Flat Fee:
To get paid a flat fee, you first need to research your niche to determine the value of your leads, factor in how many leads you generate each month, and calculate a flat fee agreeable to both parties. A flat fee is less of a hassle to monitor than pay per lead.
Pay Per Lead:
Pay per lead is a strategy that pays you per lead you generate. Because you own a tracking number and your website, you can monitor the quality of the leads. Then come up with a price per lead based on the duration of the call, the quality, etc. Pay per lead is a payment strategy that some business owners might want to implement when you first work with them. If you want to make a steady cash flow with your rental site, your goal should eventually be to move over to a flat fee as soon as possible.
Commission Deal:
A commission deal is when you get a percentage of the profit on completed jobs. For this to work out, you need to trust your business owner and make sure that you are paid your fair share.
Arbitrage:
Arbitrage is when you start your own company and hire a team to run the operation for those lead generation sites you can't sell.
Sell The Website:
Selling your online property is another option to see a high return on investment, all in one payment. Once your site is ranked at the top of the SERPs, it's a valuable asset. Business owners are often happy to pay for that value. Websites can typically sell for 12-24X the monthly revenue they generate. If you can find a buyer, you'll stand to make a good ROI.
Pre-Sold Rank & Rent Websites:
Pre-selling rank and rent websites before you build them is another great way to get started with this business model. If you can get a business owner to agree to a start-up fee, you don't have to pay for anything. They don't give you additional money until the leads are generated. This way a business owner might be more patient because they understand it takes some time to get setup and ranked.
Savvy sales skills are needed to get a business owner to agree to this, but the local lead generation training program shows you how to succeed with this strategy.
No matter what strategy you go with, the goal is to get the best possible price for your rank and rent site. The local lead generation coaching program helps you make money in each of the ways shown above, but it comes down to how you want to make your money and what you feel comfortable doing.
You can make anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars per month with rank and rent depending on the niche you get into and the deal you cut with a business owner. Keep in mind your profit margins are 95% + since you aren't paying for traffic. You can't see those types of returns if you run a business like affiliate marketing or social media marketing.
How Do You Start A Rank and Rent Business?
To start a rank and rent business, you need to go through several steps to get your web property to the top of the SERPs. That is when you are in position to get paid each month. The barometer of success is calculated by the number of calls or contact forms you can generate for small business owners. There are five steps to start a rank and rent business:
When selecting a profitable niche, you're looking for niches that are phone-driven business. You should also aim for a population between 75,000 to 250,000 because that way there is more demand for the service without too much competition.
Pro Tip: Niche research is key to profitability. Therefore, look for businesses that don't have a website listed in the map section or a lot of reviews.
Use sites like Wikipedia for size and demographics. Third-party tools like AHREFS can help you check the number of backlinks and citations competitors have. If you spot websites that don't have a Google Business Profile in the top three results in the Google map pack, it may be easier for you to get in that niche.
Read my article on the top local lead generation niches.
To build your website, you must first choose a domain name and your hosting platform. Your call to action (clickable phone number and/or email) needs to be above the fold and you should aim for 1000-1500 words on the homepage and 500-1000 for every service page. Google like high-quality website content, so it's best to use sites like AnswerThePublic and Google Trends to assess top search queries and get ideas for your content.
Pro Tip: Include the same topics found on competitor's sites, then write more and better content.
Building out, verifying, and optimizing a free Google Business Profile is of utmost importance. Adding geotagged images and posting regularly, along with generating reviews, will help boost your ranking.
Site optimization includes adding relevant keywords to your content. Placing backlinks with the help of tools like Majestic and SEMRush will also boost your sites online presence. Leveraging online tools like BrightLocal and WhiteSpark will help with placing citations. These tools will aid you in building your site's authority online.
Pro Tip: You don’t need to be an SEO expert but never buy cheap links from sites like Fiverr and ensure your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) is consistent online.
Sales and prospecting is made easier when you implement the leads in advance method taught in the local lead generation coaching program. This method allows you to lead with value when talking to business owners. Not only that, it makes it easy to sell your rank and rent sites for the best possible price.
Pro Tip: Your sites don't need to be at the top of Google to strike a deal renting websites to potential clients.
Scaling is easy because the focus is on local SEO. You can build and rank multiple sites simultaneously and it only takes renting one to generate a profit.
Pro Tip: Do your due diligence, especially with keyword research. You can start a digital real estate business and rank your online property at the top search results in as little as six weeks to six months.
How Much Does It Cost To Rank and Rent A Website?
A rank and rent website costs at least $500 to get started if you do the link and citation building yourself. While you're ranking your website, you'll need to cover the costs of things like:
If you're looking for the best training to rank and rent a website, the rank and rent lead generation coaching program costs over $5,000.
How Do You Find Rank and Rent Clients?
You find rank and rent clients on Google. Businesses who are on page 2 of Google or worse, those who don't have a GBP that is ranking well, and even businesses who are already paying to run Google ads are all ideal candidates.
If you don't want to contact business owners directly, you can sell your leads to an intermediary or lead broker.
How Long Does Rank and Rent Take?
It takes as little as six weeks to rank and rent. Sometimes, it can take longer depending on a ranking factor like the level of competition, population, etc. It's essential to set realistic expectations. If you need to generate leads faster, you can advertise on Google until your site generates leads organically. After all, organic traffic is more consistent and sustainable long term.
To check the keywords on which your competitors are ranking, you can use tools like Moz and Marketmuse, so you can use those same keywords and increase your chances of ranking your digital properties faster. A ranked website equals a passive income.
What is Rank and Rent Case Study?
The following rank and rent case study shows how lucrative and passive the business model can be.
What Are The Benefits Of Rank and Rent?
Is Rank and Rent Legal?
Rank and rent is legal because there is nothing wrong with building a website and Google Business Profile that offers a phone-driven service, nothing wrong with link building or citations, and nothing wrong with sending leads to a local business owner. A rank and rent business model can only contribute to the economic growth of a business and even entire markets.
Is Rank and Rent Dead?
Rank and rent is not dead because you can earn a passive income. This business model allows you to create digital billboards for services actively searched by people daily. There are 41,704 zip codes in the USA. Each one represents a local market. All you need to do is identify profitable niches and to generate free traffic.
Local ranking is less competitive than the global market, so your sites rank faster. In addition, local small business owners don't understand the success clues of the internet. Therefore, you can outrank them with relative ease. The internet continues to grow. As long as you focus on keyword research and finding new opportunities to make money with the rank and rent business model, you will succeed.
Is Rank and Rent Legit?
Rank and rent is legit because you're not selling your leads to multiple business owners or engaging in a bidding war. Instead, you sell your leads to one business owner for the agreed price. If you are still worried about rank and rent being legit, there are a few things you can do to make sure your digital assets come with less pushback and skepticism.
Tips to Keep your Online Assets
Lead generation is all about driving organic traffic. But this steady flow of free high-quality leads is more predictable than paid advertising. Plus, it's more cost-effective and sustainable long term.
When you understand how to generate local leads and can rank websites that reach the top of Google's search engines, the result is valuable online real estate that pays you a recurring income each month. These digital billboards belong to you which is why you can predict how much and how often you get paid.
This rank and rent website took me about 15 hours to build, and has been making me $750/month for over 8 years.
My top recommendation for making money online in 2023 is the local lead generation business model that shows you how to start and manage this business model so you can earn a passive income.
Hi Ippei,
Great article, facts, and examples of the rank and rent model. I am just starting out in the rank and rent game. My background includes website design, website marketing (SEO) and graphic design so I think my background is perfect for rank and rent.
One question. How do I approach content when first starting? Sure I can grab some information from many relevant websites in my niche and rewrite but how do I create content that can be trusted, that is authoritative?
When you look at the example rent and rank websites you shared, you can see more details in the content such as the owners name and story behind the owner. I assume the content used on those example rank and rent websites is from their client.
But when first starting and waiting to rank, what kind of content could I use? it just won't be trusted content, it will be just general content, correct? until I can find a company in my niche to send leads to and grab some content from them. Is that how it works?
Hey Mike! Yep you’ve got it. Create content for a home page and service pages. Take a look at other websites and see what keywords they’re using and ranking for. You want your content to be authoritative but it doesn’t need to be company specific. Hope that answers your question. Best of luck in your lead generation journey and thanks for reading my blog.