From Published to Profit in 24 Hours (Case Study)

Yes, in this article, I’m going to share with you how I published, ranked, and earned from a short-550 word post within 24 hours. Sounds intriguing? Keep reading…

Low-Competition, Problem-Solution Keywords

When I created my first site back in 2015, I thought writing product reviews was the only way to make money with niche websites. I understood why reviews worked because of buyer intent, but I didn’t understand the power of low competition keywords, nor the power of problem-solution keywords.

By combining these two concepts, I was able to publish and rank a 550-word article and earn a commission the same day with Amazon affiliate.

What are low-competition keywords?

Aren’t low-competition keywords and long-tail keywords the same thing? A lot of times yes, but not always. Long-tail means less searched for keywords, while low-competition means just that, less competition, meaning fewer sites targeting the same keyword.

It’s possible you can have a long-tail keyword with lots of competition or a generic keyword with low competition. In general, though, long-tail keywords will be low-competition.

What are problem-solution keywords?

Problem-solution keywords are keywords around a particular problem that users want a solution to. These aren’t exactly buyer intent keywords since the user doesn’t always plan on buying something, but these users do have problems they want solutions to, which can often be solved with products.

Here are some examples of problem-solution keywords:

• Problem: How to get rid of warts
  Solution: Wart remover products
• Problem: How to fix broken galaxy s8 screen
  Solution: Galaxy s8 screen replacement kit
• Problem: How to prevent hair loss
  Solution: Anti-hair loss shampoo
• Problem: How to make headlights look new
  Solution: Headlight restoration kit
• Problem: How to prevent razor burn
  Solution: Skincare products

Starting to get the hang of it now? All these problems people are using as keywords can be solved with products.

How I Put It All Together

All this came together a few days ago when I started looking for low-competition kws in my niche. I like to use Keywords Everywhere chrome extension and Google autosuggest.

Google autosuggest is a great resource to find queries that people are already searching for.

Here’s an example:

Keywords Everywhere will tell you the estimated number of searches for each query.

To find out whether it’s low competition, you’ll need to look at the search results. If there’s a lot of authority sites answering the question well, that’s a sign of high competition. But if there’s a lot of forums with people asking the same question, that’s a sign of low competition.

With a little practice and familiarity with your niche, you’ll be able to find low competition keywords fairly quickly.

The keyword I found actually had 0 search volume:

I wrote my article addressing the question and providing helpful information. It wasn’t anything fancy and was something that required only a little bit of research.

During my research, I found a product that was recommended several times. It made sense for me to recommend that product in my article. I added two links to my article, one at the top and one at the bottom. I didn’t even add any product images.

After I published, I requested to have Google index my page in Google Search Console. Because there was zero competition, I was able to rank for this keyword immediately after publishing, earning the #1 spot in the SERPs.

Checking back later in the day, I saw a sale for the same product I had recommended. Nice! It wasn’t huge commission, a dollar earnings from a $20 dollar product. But for the amount of work, having a quick article like that bringing in $10-$30 or more per month is actually pretty good, especially for a new site. And remember, 10 of these articles could equate to $100-$300 a month!

To get the best of all worlds, targeting low competition, problem-solution keywords that can be solved with higher-priced products would be ideal.