The SEO Strategy to BREAK into Competitive Niches

Summary

This video script outlines a strategic approach to SEO growth in competitive markets. It suggests starting with low competition keywords to build authority and revenue, then leveraging this to target more competitive terms. The key is finding unique 'seed' keywords using tools like Ahrefs, identifying patterns in keyword rankings, and following competitor 'rabbit holes' to uncover untapped opportunities. The process involves creativity, curiosity, and strategic content creation to rank high in search engines and grow a site's influence.

Takeaways

• 📈 The script discusses a successful SEO strategy for growing websites in competitive niches by targeting low competition keywords with high business potential.
• 🔍 The initial challenge is finding these low competition keywords, which is likened to finding unique seeds that have not been widely discovered or used by competitors.
• 📓 The 'notebook' symbolizes the importance of focusing keyword research around one's own product and business to maintain alignment and relevance.
• 🌱 The 'bag of seeds' represents the idea of using unique and less common seed keywords in keyword research to discover untapped opportunities in SERPs.
• 🎲 The 'Connect Four' game is used as a metaphor for identifying patterns in keyword rankings to exploit low competition keywords systematically.
• 🐇 The 'toy rabbit' symbolizes the need to follow competitors' leads and explore deeper into niches to uncover additional low competition topics.
• 🔑 Using unique seed keywords with a tool like Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer can yield a variety of content ideas that are less saturated and more likely to rank.
• 🔍 The process of identifying competitors and analyzing their successful low competition keywords can reveal valuable insights and further content opportunities.
• 📊 By sorting and analyzing competitor data based on Domain Rating and traffic, one can pinpoint niche sites that may offer additional keyword opportunities.
• 🔄 The script emphasizes the importance of creating quality content that ranks for these keywords to build site authority and earn backlinks, which in turn enables targeting of even more competitive keywords.
• 🌟 The ultimate goal is to build a site's authority to the point where it can rank for almost any topic, allowing for the enjoyment of the fruits of one's labor in the form of organic SEO traffic.

Q & A

What is the main SEO strategy described in the script?

The main SEO strategy involves finding low competition keywords with business potential, ranking for these topics to build website authority and financial resources, and then progressively targeting more competitive keywords using the established authority and resources.

What is the biggest obstacle in the SEO strategy mentioned?

The biggest obstacle is finding low competition keywords with high business potential at the beginning of the SEO process.

What role do the four items in the box play in the keyword research strategy?

The four items symbolize different aspects of the keyword research strategy: the notebook represents focusing on one's product and business, the bag of seeds signifies using unique seed keywords, the connect four game indicates identifying patterns in keyword rankings, and the toy rabbit suggests following the competitors' rabbit holes to uncover untapped topics.

Why are hemp seeds used as an analogy in the script?

Hemp seeds are used as an analogy to represent unique seed keywords that, while not as commonly known or used, offer more value and can lead to discovering low competition keywords in SEO.

How can one find unique seed keywords for their keyword research?

Unique seed keywords can be found by using a tool like ChatGPT to generate a list of related words or phrases, which can then be refined and used in keyword research tools like Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer.

What does the script suggest as a method to find low competition keywords related to specific credit scores?

The script suggests using the 'Include' filter with wildcards (*) in Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer to find keywords ending in 0 or 5, which are related to specific credit scores and have low competition.

How can one identify competitors who have successfully ranked for low competition keywords?

One can identify such competitors by using Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer to find low competition topics, then using the Traffic Share by Domains report to see which websites get the most search traffic for these keywords.

What is the purpose of the 'Connect Four' game analogy in the keyword research process?

The 'Connect Four' game analogy is used to illustrate the importance of identifying patterns in keyword rankings, which can then be exploited to find more low competition keywords.

How can one uncover more low competition topics by following competitors?

By identifying low authority websites that get a decent amount of search traffic from low competition keywords, one can follow the rabbit hole by examining those competitors' top-performing pages to uncover additional low competition topics.

What is the final step in the SEO strategy after finding low competition keywords?

The final step is to create high-quality content that ranks for these keywords, which will help build the site's authority and attract backlinks, allowing for a rinse-and-repeat cycle of targeting progressively more competitive keywords.

Outlines

00:00

📈 SEO Growth Strategy with Low Competition Keywords

This paragraph introduces a successful SEO strategy used by rapidly growing websites in competitive niches. The strategy involves identifying low competition keywords with commercial potential, ranking for these to build site authority and financial resources, and then progressively targeting more competitive keywords. The key challenge is finding these low competition keywords, which the presenter suggests can be solved with a 'golden keyword research strategy'. This strategy is metaphorically introduced using a box of items, each playing a role in the research process, with the ultimate goal of finding keywords with little to no competition that have business potential.

05:02

🌱 Leveraging Unique Seed Keywords for SERP Penetration

The speaker uses the analogy of a bag of seeds, including the less common but nutrient-dense hemp seeds, to illustrate the importance of using unique seed keywords in keyword research. By thinking outside the box and using unique seed keywords, one can find low competition topics that have business potential. The paragraph provides a practical example using the credit card and personal finance niche, demonstrating how to use a tool like Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer to find such keywords. The process involves using unique seed keywords to generate ideas and filter them by difficulty, leading to the discovery of valuable content ideas with low competition.

10:05

🔍 Identifying Patterns and Exploiting Low Competition Keywords

Building on the previous paragraph, the speaker discusses the importance of identifying patterns in low competition keywords to exploit further opportunities. Using the credit score keywords as an example, a pattern of keywords ending in 0 or 5 is discovered. The speaker demonstrates how to use Ahrefs' tools to find specific credit score keywords with low competition and significant search volume. The paragraph also introduces the concept of following competitor rabbit holes to uncover untapped topics that are driving business value, suggesting a process of analyzing competitors' keyword rankings to identify low authority sites with relevant traffic, and exploring their top pages for additional low competition topics.

Keywords

💡SEO Traffic

SEO Traffic refers to the volume of visitors a website receives from search engines. It is a critical metric for online businesses, as it can significantly impact visibility and revenue. In the video's context, the focus is on strategies to massively grow SEO traffic in competitive online niches, which is central to the video's theme of keyword research and content creation for search engine ranking.

💡Low Competition Keywords

Low Competition Keywords are search terms that have relatively few search results competing for the top spots in search engine rankings. The script emphasizes the importance of finding such keywords to build a website's authority and bankroll, which is essential for gradually targeting more competitive keywords. The video provides a strategy to identify these keywords in the credit cards and personal finance niche.

💡Keyword Research

Keyword Research is the process of identifying the terms that people enter into search engines when looking for information online. It is vital for SEO as it helps content creators target relevant and valuable search terms. The video presents a unique approach to keyword research using a 'golden strategy' involving various metaphorical items to illustrate the process.

💡Ahrefs

Ahrefs is a popular SEO tool used for various purposes, including keyword research, backlink analysis, and competitor analysis. In the script, Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer and Site Explorer are specifically mentioned as tools to find low competition keywords and analyze competitors' performance, demonstrating the practical application of the discussed strategy.

💡Business Potential

Business Potential refers to the likelihood that a keyword or topic can generate revenue or business opportunities. The video script discusses finding keywords with high business potential, meaning those that are likely to attract users who could become customers or leads, which is a key aspect of the presented SEO strategy.

💡Connect Four

In the video, Connect Four, a board game, is used metaphorically to illustrate the concept of identifying patterns in keyword research. The script suggests that recognizing patterns in low competition keywords, such as those ending in '0' or '5', can lead to discovering a wealth of valuable topics, much like winning a game by spotting a pattern.

💡Rabbit Hole

The term 'Rabbit Hole' is used to describe the process of following a subject or train of thought deeply into greater levels of detail or complexity. In the script, it refers to delving into competitors' keyword strategies to uncover untapped topics with low competition, which can be a rich source of content ideas.

💡Domain Rating

Domain Rating is a metric used by Ahrefs to estimate the likelihood of a website ranking high in search engine results based on its overall quality and authority. The video script advises sorting websites by Domain Rating to identify lower authority sites with significant search traffic, which may be exploiting low competition keywords.

💡Content Creation

Content Creation is the process of producing material such as articles, videos, or other types of media to engage an audience. The script emphasizes that after identifying low competition keywords, the next step is to create content that can rank for these terms, thereby building the website's authority and bankroll.

💡Bankroll

In the context of the video, 'Bankroll' refers to the financial resources available to support a business or project. The script uses the term to describe the funds that can be used to progressively target more competitive keywords after initially ranking for low competition ones, illustrating the growth cycle of an SEO strategy.

💡Rinse and Repeat

The phrase 'Rinse and Repeat' is used to describe a process that needs to be done repeatedly to achieve a goal. In the script, it is used to emphasize the iterative nature of the SEO strategy, where one must continuously find new low competition keywords, create content for them, and build authority to eventually rank for more competitive terms.

Highlights

Massive SEO traffic growth achieved by using the same strategy across various competitive online niches.

The SEO strategy involves finding low competition keywords with business potential to build website authority and revenue.

A step-by-step process of progressively targeting more competitive keywords after establishing initial authority.

The initial challenge is identifying low competition keywords with high business potential.

Introduction of a 'golden keyword research strategy' using a metaphorical box of items.

The importance of a laser-focused keyword selection strategy aligned with the product and business.

Using unique 'seed' keywords to penetrate SERPs in competitive niches, as illustrated by the bag of seeds.

The process of finding unique seed keywords with the help of AI, like ChatGPT, for innovative keyword research.

Utilizing Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer to filter and identify low competition keywords from unique seeds.

Assessing the business potential of identified keywords for various stakeholders like affiliates and companies.

The Connect Four game analogy for identifying and exploiting patterns in keyword research.

Technique to find specific credit score keywords using wildcards and filters in Ahrefs.

Uncovering a large number of low competition keywords with significant search volume in competitive niches.

The concept of following competitor's 'rabbit holes' to discover untapped keyword topics.

Method to analyze competitors' keyword rankings and SEO metrics using Ahrefs' Batch Analysis.

Identifying low authority, high traffic sites as potential rabbit holes to explore for keyword opportunities.

Using Ahrefs' Site Explorer to investigate top pages of competitor sites for additional low competition topics.

Encouragement to continually follow rabbit holes and patterns to expand keyword research strategy.

The final step of creating content that ranks for the identified keywords to build site authority and earn backlinks.

The cyclical process of building authority and revenue through strategic keyword research and content creation.

Transcripts

These websites have had massive growth in SEO traffic in some of the world's most

competitive online niches.

The best part?

They all use the exact same SEO strategy.

The strategy goes something like this: find low competition keywords with business potential,

rank for these topics which will build both your website's authority and bankroll, use that authority

and bankroll to progressively go after more competitive keywords, and rinse and repeat

until your site is so authoritative that it can rank for basically anything.

And then all you have to do is kick back, look up into the sky and enjoy the fruits

of your labor.

Now, while this may sound like pure bliss, the biggest obstacle is at the beginning:

finding low competition keywords with high business potential.

But the solution to this problem is in this box.

Now, we have four items here: we have a notebook, a bag of seeds, cool, a classic game of connect four,

and this toy rabbit.

All of these items play a significant role in the process I'm about to share with you.

And while they hold little utility on their own, when you combine them together, like you'd

do with ingredients for a recipe, the end result is a golden keyword research strategy that can

help you find low and sometimes even no competition with business potential.

And I'll prove to you this works as we head on over to the wheel of impossible niches.

This wheel contains some of the most competitive online niches on the planet.

It's got everything from gambling to insurance to web hosting, and the list goes on.

Let's give this a spin and whatever niche it lands on is the niche that we're going to use

to find low competition topics with business potential.

And there you have it, folks.

Credit cards and personal finance it is.

Back to the box.

Now, the first item I want to talk to you about is this notebook.

This book right here is special.

It holds the secrets to everything that happens at Ahrefs.

It shows our product roadmap, the technical details that make our crawler the most active

in all of SEO land, and it even holds the secrets of what gives us an edge over our competitors.

This book is laser-focused on our product and business.

And if you want to experience the goodness of this golden keyword research strategy,

then your keyword selection strategy should be no different – laser-focused around your

product and business.

Now, let's put the notebook to the side and talk about this strange one right here.

A bag of seeds.

So it looks like this bag is full of pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

Both are edible.

Both are delicious.

But both are pretty ordinary.

Now, if you dig into this bag, you're going to find this.

These are hemp seeds.

Not everyone has tried them.

They don't look as appetizing, they don't taste as appetizing, but they're more nutrient dense,

they contain omega 6 fatty acid, and provide tons of other health benefits that pumpkin

and sunflower seeds unfortunately don't provide.

Hemp seeds are unique and for some, are the key to a healthy diet.

And in the same way, using unique seeds in your keyword research will be the key to

penetrate SERPs in competitive niches.

These are what will help you find low competition topics with business potential.

For example, if I gave you five seconds to think about seed keywords for our credit card

and personal finance niche, chances are, you and I will come back with the same

two seed keywords.

We'd search them in a keyword research tool like Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer, go to a Keyword

ideas report, and set some keyword difficulty filters, only to realize that most keywords are

branded queries where our site probably wouldn't be able to rank.

And even if we did rank, we wouldn't be able to extract any value from these "login"-type

queries because you can't help people login to their credit card account.

The reason why there are barely any good low competition keywords here is because your

competitors all did keyword research with the exact same seed keywords.

They went after the low competition keywords and those are now mid- to high- competition keywords.

Now, if you do this exact same process but use unique seed keywords instead, then you

end up with very different results.

And the fastest way to find unique seeds is to use ChatGPT.

So I'll type: "give me 20 words or phrases related to credit cards."

And in a second or two, you have a whole bunch of potentially unique seeds.

Ask for more… and there you have it.

Now, if you clean up some of these seeds, take them to a keyword research tool like

Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, then go to a Keyword ideas report and set the exact same filters as we

did before, we actually have some good content ideas, like "650 credit score," "cash advances at

capital one," "cash advance apps that don't use plaid," "how much of a home loan you can get

with a 650 credit score," and there's actually so many good topics here if you take 15 minutes

to sift through the results.

Now, whether these keywords have "high" business potential or not depends on what

you do as a business.

But in my opinion, these topics seem pretty versatile for affiliates, credit card companies,

mortgage companies and even general info sites.

Alright, so you have these low competition keywords with business potential thanks to

unique seeds and your trusty notebook ensures that you align these topics with your business

and product.

But stopping here would be a huge mistake because you'd be missing out on what this

can do for you.

While this might look like a classic game for children, Connect Four is a game all about

identifying and playing off of patterns.

And once you identify that pattern…

Beating the competition is quite easy.

Crushed!

So, looking back at our keyword ideas report of low competition credit card keywords, what

pattern do you see here?

That's right!

We have some very low competition keywords related to specific credit scores.

More specifically, these keywords end in a 0 or a 5.

And if we look at the top-ranking pages for one of these keywords, you'll see that the pages are

about whether that credit score is good or bad.

So, let's start a new search in Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer with just the seeds, "credit score"

and "credit scores."

Then let's go back to the Matching Terms report.

Now, to find specific credit score keywords with a 0 or 5 at the end, we can use the Include filter.

And all I'll do is add "*0 , *5."

And what the asterisk will do is act as a wild card.

So let's hit the Any word tab and apply the filter.

Finally, I'll set a keyword difficulty score with a low maximum number and hit the Show result button.

And now we have over 1,500 low competition keywords with a cumulative search volume of

around 200,000 searches in just the US alone in one of the most competitive niches

in the online and offline world.

But we're not done yet.

In fact, we've only begun our work here because it would be a shame not to put Sam to work.

Not me – this one.

Meet Sam.

She loves organic carrots from the grocery store.

And she loves long walks in the woods.

But there's nothing she enjoys more than to burrow into a hole to see where it leads.

We need to let our curiosity lead us down these rabbit holes because your competitors

that have experienced the sweet, sweet nectar of low hanging keyword research driven fruit

have probably gone all in and found a whole bunch of low competition keywords that are

driving business value for them.

So, all you have to do to uncover these untapped topics is find who those competitors are and

follow the rabbit hole.

Here's how it's done.

First, you're going to need a list of low competition topics.

I made a list of a hundred or so keywords based on the exact reports I showed you before.

Next, you'll want to paste that list of keywords into Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer and run a new search.

Then, I'll go to the Traffic Share by Domains report which is going to show us the websites

that get the most search traffic based on these low competition keywords – meaning,

websites that have already done this research and executed on their rankings.

Now, because there's going to be a mix of high and low authority sites, we'll need to

export the list and take it into a tool like Ahrefs' Batch Analysis which will show us the SEO

metrics for up to 200 sites at a time.

The last thing I'm going to do is sort the data in ascending order by Domain Rating,

which is a score that represents a website's authority.

And now all you need to do is this.

Look at the DR column along with the Traffic column.

If you notice a low authority website that gets a decent amount of search traffic like these ones,

then fixate your eyes to the domain name.

If the domain name looks like a relevant niche site to yours, then it's time to follow the rabbit hole.

For example, "cain mortgage team" obviously looks like a site about mortgages.

Click it – and yes, it is.

Mortgages are another insanely competitive niche.

And if your site happens to be about personal finance, then this looks like a rabbit hole

worth following.

So, I'll take that mortgage site's domain and paste it into Ahrefs' Site Explorer, then go to

the Top Pages report to see the pages that send them the most search traffic.

And I'm pretty sure that we've just uncovered some more low competition topics like "how

much house can i afford with a 60k salary" or "protected interest rates in 5 years."

Sift through all the topics and add any worthy ones to your keyword list.

And when you're done, go back to Batch Analysis, choose your next competitor

and do the exact same thing.

And if you run out of competitors, go back a step and play a game of connect four.

Look for patterns in your competitor's keyword rankings.

For example, this topic of "how much house can I afford" also has a specific number there.

So let's go back to Keywords Explorer and search for "how much house can I afford."

Hit the Matching terms report and let's set those same filters that we did in the beginning.

And we now have even more low competition topics that are built around a pattern.

Now, follow those rabbit holes and in the end, you end up with a golden keyword research

strategy that can help kickstart your growth in even the most competitive niches.

Then you need to go and create content that's actually going to rank in Google for these keywords.

And this will again, build your bankroll and help you earn backlinks to your content building your

site's authority.

Then rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.

And when that day comes where you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor,

remember the guy on the grass.