How to work smarter, not harder on niche sites

My work ethic falls somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.

I put in 35 to 50 hours per week.

I avoid being exhausted at the end of the day.

There are only so many lengths I will go to in order to rank content (I draw the line at link building).

All of the above puts me in a pickle.

In fact, we’re all in the same jam. There is always someone willing to work harder than us.

How do you go toe-to-toe against someone willing to work harder than you?

The only solution is to work smarter.

So cliche, isn’t it?

But in this business, we don’t have to leave it vague like that.

I hate it when someone says “work smarter, not harder” without any concrete details as to how to do that.

What does it mean to work smarter?

You’re in luck because when it comes to working smarter in this content publishing gig, I know exactly what it means.

It’s so simple.

You won’t be surprised when I tell you the secret.

Here it is…

Get smarter with your keyword research.

Time spent on good keyword research will make your life so much easier.

Let the workhorses go after those keywords that take a Herculean effort to rank.

I prefer to put a little extra “snoop time” into finding good keywords that I can rank for easily.

In fact, all the extra keyword research time I’ve put in over the years has resulted in crazy growth.

Why?

Because I’ve developed KW research processes nobody else uses.

And when you use a different process, you find keywords other people don’t.

And when you target keywords other people don’t, they’re easy to rank for.

Clever keyword research is my “work smarter, not harder” secret sauce.

Early on I did not believe targeting KWs with 100 per month searches would grow into a $75K+ ad and affiliate revenue business.

But it has.

While I’m able to outsource most of the content, I started out writing it all myself.

I just took a little extra time finding clever keywords.

You see, before figuring out just how crucial good KW research was, I was going after idiotic keywords that everyone else did in my niche.

I was spinning my wheels.

Getting nowhere.

It was only by accident that I discovered the power of targeting the right keywords.

I published some articles on different topics that other sites in my niche didn’t cover.

They ranked. I banked.

I ditched my “toe-to-toe” KW approach and started targeting the undiscovered KWs.

I haven’t looked back since.

IMO, that’s working smarter, not harder.

Try it.

I think you’ll like it.

Just keep in mind it’s not instant riches. It takes time.

Jon Dykstra

Jon Dykstra is a six figure niche site creator with 10+ years of experience. His willingness to openly share his wins and losses in the email newsletter he publishes has made him a go-to source of guidance and motivation for many. His popular “Niche site profits” course has helped thousands follow his footsteps in creating simple niche sites that earn big.