How To Start a Rank and Rent Business in 6 Steps (From an 11-Year Expert Who Scaled to $50K+/Month)

1. Research Google SERPs to find low competition opportunities with search volume

The first step to start a rank and rent business is to find the right opportunities to target. As a beginner with minimal SEO experience, it’s best to go after low competition keywords in non-saturated markets so that you can get some easy wins early and build momentum.

I recommend identifying 10 opportunities to target when starting out. Over the years, I’ve never met anyone who had built at least 10 websites who wasn’t making money from this business model. In my coaching program, I have my students show me their first 10 niche picks so I can validate them and make sure they are targeting the right opportunities for the best chance of success.

What are the best rank and rent niches?

The best rank and rent niches include home service businesses like:

• Asphalt
• Cabinets
• Decks
• Drywall
• Flooring

Check out my full list of rank and rent niches for my favorite niche ideas and niches to avoid.

Which factors make a good rank and rent niche?

• Phone-driven business
• High ticket
• High profit margin
• Relatively low competition
• Low customer loyalty

Phone-driven businesses are businesses that go to their customers' locations to complete their work, such as roofers, plumbers, or electricians. The rank and rent business model exists because there are phone-driven niches that rely on digital marketing to get customers. For example, dry cleaning is a service business that is not phone-driven, as dry cleaners typically have an in-person store where customers drop off their clothes. Therefore, dry cleaning isn’t a suitable niche for rank and rent because there’s not really an opportunity to capture customer leads before they go to a dry cleaning business.

The best rank and rent niches are also high ticket and high profit margin because it means the business owner can afford to compensate you well for your leads. High-ticket means the service costs at least $500 and a high profit margin is at least 20%. For example, the average roof replacement costs $11,500 and the average profit margin for a roofing company is 20% to 40%, according to Joist. That means most roofing contractors will have the financial means to pay well for the leads they receive.

Some niches are too competitive for rank and rent. For example, the real estate niche is dominated by big names like Zillow, Realtor, and RE/MAX. Outranking these kinds of national sites that are optimized for local search is nearly impossible. The best rank and rent niches are also those with low customer loyalty. Low customer loyalty means that instead of calling a service professional they already know, the potential customer is likely to call any business that can fulfill their need.

What size cities are best for the rank and rent model?

Cities with populations between 50,000 and 250,000 are typically best for the rank and rent model. Cities with populations below 50,000 are usually too small to produce a suitable amount of leads while cities with populations above 250,000 are typically saturated and difficult to rank in for beginners. However, you can certainly find success outside this range depending on the specific niche you choose.

For example, I’m able to rank in Los Angeles by targeting a sub-niche. Here is my rank and rent website ranking at the top of Google for a city with a population of nearly 4 million.

Although the demand for the service isn’t very high, I can still make good money from the leads because the jobs are high-ticket. One recent lead resulted in a $26,610 job for my partner. Their profit was $11,950 and I got paid a commission of $1,793 for that one lead.

How can you validate a rank and rent opportunity?

You can validate a rank and rent opportunity by analyzing the competition for your target keyword in Google SERPs and using SEO tools to confirm search demand and ranking difficulty.

Ahrefs and Semrush are two of the most popular SEO tools for analyzing Google SERP competition. I also built this free rank and rent niche finder tool that pulls Ahrefs data you can use. With my niche finder tool, just enter your niche keyword and target city into the tool and it will pull Google SERPs data. You’re able to see the Ahrefs domain rating score and other important SEO analytics like the number of backlinks the website has. The higher the domain rating and the more backlinks a website has, the harder it is to outrank generally.

I also teach my students to look for other factors beyond what the SEO tools show, including exact match domains (EMDs) and subfolders. Exact match domains are often easier to rank on Google because you can trick Google that your brand name is the target keyword. If you see an exact match domain ranking at the top of Google for your target keyword, it doesn’t mean you should not pursue the opportunity, but it does indicate it may be harder to outrank them.

Another way to gauge competition is whether the ranking websites are ranking with their homepage or a subfolder page like a location page or a service page. That’s because a website with a high-quality homepage targeting the main keyword can often outrank websites that are ranking subfolder pages for that keyword. Therefore, if you see many websites on Google ranking with a subfolder page for your target keyword, there’s a good chance you can outrank them with the right website structure.

Besides competition level, it’s also a good idea to consider search volume. Usually, you do only want to pursue opportunities where the SEO tools show search volume because there’s a better chance that you’ll make money. However, it’s important to note that these SEO tools aren’t 100% accurate. They can show 0 search volume even if there is some search volume. I’ve definitely made money by going after keywords with 0 search volume according to the SEO tools.

2. Buy website domains that include your target cities and niche keywords

The idea with rank and rent is to either buy an exact match domain if it’s available or a partial match domain. Exact match means the website domain matches your target keyword exactly while partial match means it contains your target city and niche with some other branding words.

I actually like partial match domains because it makes your website look more like a real brand to potential customers. Some words I like to add when forming partial match domains include:

• Superior
• Expert
• Premier
• Pros

Here is one of my websites using a partial match domain. This website generated 45 leads in the last month, showing how effective partial match domains with the right SEO strategy can be.

Search and purchase your domains from a reliable domain registrar like Namecheap, GoDaddy, Squarespace, or Cloudflare. Try to buy only .com domains as these are the most trusted for website visitors. You can also buy .net or .org domains but I personally avoid these and all other TLDs.

3. Build your rank and rent websites

There are many options for developing and designing websites depending on your skill set. The best option for most beginners is to use a drag-and-drop website builder like WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace.

I’ve also built my own website builder specifically for building rank and rent websites fast and provide rank and rent website templates in my coaching program. This website builder also integrates right into my all-in-one rank and rent platform where you can track your leads and Google rankings.

Here is one of my students recommending my website builder over WordPress for beginners following my proven ranking process.

How long does it take to build a rank and rent website?

It takes 10 - 15 hours to build a rank and rent website for most people using a drag-and-drop website builder and leveraging AI tools like my agentic content writer to create content.

How should you structure a rank and rent website?

You should structure a rank and rent website similar to any local business website. That includes a high-quality homepage, service pages for each of the niche services you want to promote, and location pages for the cities you want to generate leads for.

One of the most important things is to place your call to action (CTA) above-the-fold (the top of the page before a user scrolls). CTAs at the top of the page receive 304% more clicks than CTAs lower on the page, according to data from landing page builder Flint.

How many pages should a rank and rent website have?

A rank and rent website should have at least 20 - 30 pages usually. The precise amount of pages depends on factors like competition of your target keyword and intended service area. You shouldn’t wait until the website is fully complete to launch it, though. I launch my rank and rent websites when just the homepage is ready so that Google can start detecting the brand as soon as possible and build history with search engine algorithms.

4. Implement local SEO on your rank and rent websites until they rank and generate leads

Improve the chances that your websites rank well on Google by performing SEO initiatives like adding citations, getting backlinks, and potentially setting up a Google Business Profile (GBP).

Which citations should you focus on getting for rank and rent websites?

The citations you should focus on getting for rank and rent websites include social media profiles and relevant local and niche directories.

Start with social media profiles as these are free. Add the social media links to the footer of your website and link back to your website from the social media pages.

There are also many niche and local directories where you can create a profile for your rank and rent website. Some of these directories are extremely valuable and can positively impact your search rankings, like a local chamber of commerce directory listing. However, these premium directory listings can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars a year for membership. That’s why I recommend starting with all the free, relevant directory listings you can find and reserving the paid directories for the instances when you aren’t ranking well with just the free ones.

The most important thing when setting up these local citations is to use consistent NAP. NAP means name, address, and phone number. You need to make sure your NAP is exactly the same across all online visibility, including the contact information on your website and directory page listings. Consistent NAP helps Google trust your website and improves your chances of ranking well.

How can you get backlinks for a rank and rent website?

You can get backlinks for a rank and rent website by:

• Creating profiles on website directories with do-follow backlinks
• Create a link-worthy piece of content or tool for your rank and rent website like a high-quality article that features real niche data or a niche calculator
• Perform guest post outreach to place links on other publisher websites
• Pay for press releases that allow backlinks

Do you need a Google Business Profile to make money with rank and rent?

You do not need a Google Business Profile to make money with rank and rent. However, getting a Google Business Profile is worth it if you can get your listing approved. 87% of local-intent searches generate the Google Map pack listings and 44% of all local clicks go to those map pack listings, according to data from New Media.

Although getting a GBP can be tricky these days, I teach advanced strategies in my rank and rent program on how to get them. These strategies have enabled me to verify dozens of Google Business Profiles for my rank and rent websites over the last year, increasing my lead flow and earnings considerably.

How long does it take for a rank and rent website to rank on Google and start generating leads?

It typically takes 3 - 6 months for a rank and rent website to rank on Google and start generating leads. However, it can happen as fast as a few weeks in some cases.

Here’s one of my students that generated their first lead in just 3 weeks.

Here is another student that landed a 7% commission deal on a website that was just 1 month old.

5. Send your leads to local business owners to trial for free

Find high-quality local service providers ranking poorly for your target keywords and forward them your rank and rent website leads.

How do you find rank and rent clients?

You find rank and rent clients by searching for local businesses that aren’t already ranking at the top of Google for your website’s target keywords. Specifically, look for businesses with poor organic visibility in your target market. Some ways to find these businesses include:

• Looking at Google Maps “More businesses”
• Searching companies on business directories like Thumbtack
• Sourcing companies that are ranking in other service locations
• Browsing local Facebook group conversations

Google Maps “More businesses”

To find rank and rent clients through Google Maps, search your target keyword on Google and click on “More businesses” to see all the businesses competing for that target keyword. Navigate to the businesses appearing at the bottom half of the first page of Google Business profiles and lower as these businesses get little to no clicks. Find businesses with positive reviews and verify that their websites aren’t already ranking on the first page of Google. If a business has solid reviews but poor visibility in Google Maps and first page organic results, that’s a good prospect.

Online business directories

Search your target service and city zip code to pull up the list of businesses with profiles to find potential rank and rent clients from online business directories. Website directories like Angi’s and Yelp are filled with local service providers, some of which don’t even have a website or Google Business profile.

Companies ranking in other service locations

You can find rank and rent clients by searching your niche target keyword in other cities surrounding your main target city. For example, if your primary city is Carlsbad, look for businesses ranking in Oceanside, California. Many businesses have a broad service area spanning multiple cities but only rank well for their primary city where they have an office address because physical location is one of the most important ranking factors for Google Maps. As such, these businesses want to perform work beyond their main city but often don’t have the organic visibility to attract customers from these markets.

Facebook group conversations

Search your target niche and location with the word “Facebook” on Google to find relevant Facebook groups for contractors in your target city. In these groups you can find many small service providers commenting as well as referrals. These groups are full of small businesses with poor marketing that are hungry for leads.

How do you send phone call leads to potential rank and rent clients to trial?

You send phone call leads to potential rank and rent clients to trial by using call tracking software and either using a whisper message or warm hand off to let them know the lead came from you.

A whisper message is a short audio recording that plays before a call is transferred. I set up my call tracking whisper message with the recording “this call came from Ippei.” So when a lead calls my rank and rent call tracking phone number, I automatically forward that phone call to my client. When my client answers, they hear the recording and knows the lead came from me, then they are connected with the lead. When you don’t have a client yet, this whisper message helps build interest in meeting you after you’ve sent your prospective rank and rent partner a few jobs. That way, when you call to introduce yourself and the service, they already know your name or your agency name.

This is my favorite tactic for getting new rank and rent clients without making cold calls. I used this method to land a client for my rank and rent website Downey Elite Drywall. This website generated an $11,521 multi-room renovation drywall job that earned me a $518 commission.

A warm hand off is when you answer the phone call yourself and provide customer service to the prospect. You can either just collect the contact and project information from the prospect and then provide those details to your target rank and rent client or you can actually transfer the phone call directly to your target rank and rent client once you’ve validated the lead.

6. Close business owners on a commission deal to start the partnership

The easiest way to close clients as a rank and rent beginner is to start them on a performance-based commission deal. This is the lowest friction route for closing clients because it takes away the risk that they can lose money. They only pay you when your leads actually result in revenue for their business. Most local business owners are comfortable paying 5-10% commission on the overall project revenue. Paying 15-20% of profit is another common structure that I see.

Once you’ve proven that your website can produce consistent leads over 3-6 months, you can try to convert your partnership to a flat fee rank and rent deal where the business owner pays you anywhere from $300-$3,000 per month on retainer.

However, I’m starting to keep many of my high-ticket rank and rent clients on commission deals because it can be more lucrative. The biggest issue with commission deals is that you need to trust that your rank and rent partner will be honest and pay you for the leads that convert. The way I ensure I get paid with rank and rent commission deals is by getting access to my clients’ CRMs. That way, I can check the status of my leads in real time from within their systems to ensure I’m getting paid when my leads convert.

Here is one of my sites. Irvine Elite ADU Builder generated a lead worth $146,520. My client earned $17,500 profit from the job and I earned a commission of $2,625.

What are the best rank and rent courses?

The best rank and rent courses include:

• Ippei's Rank and Rent Coaching Program by Ippei Kanehara (Best for advanced SEO knowledge)
• Flat Fee Mastery by Nick Wood (Best for sales skills)
• BAM University by Joshua Osborne (Best for outsourcing work)
• Digital Storefronts by Cory Long (Best for Christians)

Conclusion: Should you start a rank and rent business?

You should start a rank and rent business if your goal is to achieve financial and location freedom by building digital assets that generate passive income online. Rank and rent is ideal for people who enjoy variety in their work. You'll research markets, build websites, implement SEO strategies, and negotiate deals with local business owners. You need some startup capital for websites and SEO, along with patience while your sites gain traction.

If you're ready to build your own portfolio of income-producing digital assets, join my rank and rent coaching program. I'll provide step-by-step guidance and hands-on support to help you build, rank, and monetize your websites so you can start generating income online.