It's Saturated! It's Too Late! It's Too Competitive.

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"It's too late, the web is saturated. It's just too competitive..."

How many times have you heard that. Maybe you've even thought it. I certainly have.

But, the internet is barely a toddler... in fact, the majority of websites that dominate your niche may only be a few years old.

One day that may not be true, but right now, TODAY... it's beachfront property for anyone willing to wake up, sit at the keyboard, and just take it!

How many people stay stuck in a job or career that makes them miserable for ten, twenty, thirty... even forty years simply because they can't wake up a couple hours earlier and do something that'll change their life forever?

Of course, it's not that they can't. It's not even that they won't.

It's usually because they don't know what to do.

But even when they do know what to do, they're probably worried it's not going to work and who wants to waste their time on something that won't work, right?

Being too late to the party is one of those worries.

There are so many unknowns which is why the traditional "go to school and get a job" path is so comfortable. It might not be the life you want, it might not even be life you like, but it's considered safe and normal. It's what everyone else does.

And it's good that others follow that path...

One... we'd be in trouble if everyone quit their "job" and despite the "make-money-online" hype and promise of a better life... the working world isn't all bad for all people (there are even some days I miss it... especially the people).

Another reason it's not all bad is because that means there's less competition online than you may think. How many people do you know personally (in the OFFLINE world) who make their money online?

Probably not many. Most have a job.

Just in my neighbourhood there's easily ten thousand people (more than a thousand just in my daughter's school with two more schools just up the street).

How many of them have an online business in my niche? Not many (if any at all).

So where is all the competition? Is it really that saturated?

Building Your Business in the "Digital" Suburbs


There are roughly 1.8 billion websites online which is A LOT of websites for sure, but here's the thing...

Only 0.1% of those websites account for 50% of all web traffic according to statistics on Tek Eye.

Furthermore, the vast majority of sites are inactive or abandoned. They are NOT your competition.

The big sites that dominate the internet are also not your competition. At least, not when you know how to build your online business strategically (if you try to build the next Facebook or chase a big niche like weight loss for example, you'll have some difficult competition).

It's estimated that only a few hundred sites actually dominate the web.

And, when you break it down further to your niche (or micro niche) as we're taught here at Wealthy Affiliate, you may only have a dozen or fewer sites you're actually competing with.

In other words, you're not competing with the "entire web". You're only competiting with sites in your niche, which may only be a handful of homes out in the digital suburbs.

The image below is a visual representation of the internet. You're not looking to take over the world, just one small corner of the web where the competition is relatively low and there's enough people hanging out.


I don't mean to say it's easy or you won't have challenges along the way. But as great as it would be to jump in a time machine and start your online business ten years ago... imagine what it'll be like for those who decide to start their journey ten years from now.

They'll be looking back at all the great opportunities that we in 2019 had? They'll be saying, it was easy for you back then because there wasn't as much competition.

I don't know about you, but I'm grabbing my digital beachfront property while there's still plenty to grab :-D

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Recent Comments

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"And, when you break it down further to your niche (or micro niche) as we're taught here at Wealthy Affiliate, you may only have a dozen or fewer sites you're actually competing with."

Never a truer word spoken or written!.

As a newbie doobie a few years back I was able to dominate my niche based on that very principle! So little exact competition I was able to inside 3-4 months pull in $200 days.

And that is all the while not being an expert in anything and knowing not a lick more than what is taught here!

Great post Jay! Very motivational.

This was also one of my questions. Unfortunately I have been questioning it for years instead of take a realistic step. Wish I noticed it and took the action earlier.

I know it’s not going to be a easy job like flipping hamburgers at McDonald’s. One day at one point I may want to give up. Hope you will push me through it.

The stars are out there in the sky. I really want to get them, lol.

: p

Hi Amy, I think we all feel this way at times (especially when we start out) but I truly believe we're in the "golden age" of online opportunity so to speak.

It's never been easier (with all the tools and training we have available) and it's never been less expensive (also with all the tools and training we have available).

The only thing we're up against is our own perception of the task ahead of us. And the fact that the financial commitment is so small can sometimes devalue the opportunity. What I mean is... if you had an "offline" business you invested $50,000 in for example (which is normal), you'd treat it seriously... have a plan, a schedule, etc.

This opportunity deserves the same kind of effort... but since there's no significant money on the line it's easy to slack off if you know what I mean, lol.

It just takes time, effort and a willingness to learn is all... and myself (and the community) are here to help you every step of the way.

Also... here are some WA success stories compiled in a post by littlemama (who also has a great success story of her own and video training that walks you through her entire journey). All the best Amy and talk soon,

Jay

Over time I've learned there are two kinds of people. Those who are content with working for someone else, and those who prefer to blaze their own path and build residual income so they don't have to worry about the 9-5 JOB. The former ones are usually the ones with the excuses. They find themselves living beyond their means, with bills to pay, and want a quick fix to solve their problems. It's too hard, It's saturated, or any number of other excuses. This is the same reason why the "get rich quick" schemes are so popular because there are so many that want something for nothing. Those of us here at WA would rather be in control of our own future, so we don't use the excuses. Sure it may get rough, and there will be bad days, but we stick with it because we know success is possible. And the idea of living the life we truly want is much better than spending countless hours in a windowless cube.

Hi Jennifer, couldn't agree more about the 'get rich quick' schemes. I guess we could add the lottery to the list. I get it of course, I wouldn't mind getting rich quick as well. I mean, I certainly wouldn't turn it down.

But I do wonder if they are actually content working for someone else? I suppose some are, but most that I know suffer through it at best... I'm not sure they're content. It's just all they know, or believe is possible.

What we do here is definitely not for everyone though. It requires discipline, a willingness to learn, and significant time-commitment that's difficult to balance when you have a full-time job and family at home.

Thanks for reading and I really appreciate your insight :-)

Jay

I will take that beachfront property Jay. As you say there are millions of websites, but the majority have no intellectual presence. If you work at your niche there is no reason why you cannot end up being the goto person in your niche.

Derek

Hi Derek,

You're absolutely right. It seems like we're all bumping shoulders at times, but when you consider the number of people producing content (real content for a specific purpose) online vs. the number of people who consume that content... the road really is wide open.

Having said that... although the beachfront property is free for the taking, we still have to build our house :-)

Thanks for reading,

Jay

Great post. Really liked the school analogy. Hadn't thought of it like that before.

All the best

Hey Jon, thanks for reading...

Yeah, that school analogy actually came to me when I was sitting in a movie theatre. I was on my phone waiting for the movie to start and thinking of the monumental task of getting 300 premium referrals for the WA Vegas trip.

How the .... was I going to pull that off?

When I first joined WA I had those "it's saturated, it's too late" thoughts and the idea of 300 referrals was crazy to me.

But as I sat in the movie theatre it hit me... There's probably 300 people sitting in this one room. And there's half a dozen similar sized rooms just in this building.

And how many of those people have a website, never mind writing keyword rich content that ranks? I'm guessing not many...

Anyway, as one thought leads to another, the school analogy came to me and I only remember because I Googled how many schools there are in my city, lol (there are 213).

It quickly becomes obvious that the web is really a wide open space that barely anyone (relative the people around us) are taking advantage of. That doesn't mean what we do is easy, but we're definitely not too late the party :-)

Jay

Hi Jay, thank you for the excellent data and the way you are "connecting the dots" and the different angle you are observing the web reality!

Hi Anton,

Thanks for reading and for the kind words. I know it's not a common angle to look at the web, but I do feel it's accurate.

In a traditional offline business you're looking at tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars and competition that might be large corporations, or businesses that were established generations ago.

There are so many niche's online that are virtually untouched.

Even some of the larger niches are still only occupied by independent websites that are just a few years old ... it's really an extraordinary time.

Jay

Hi Jay,

Sometimes I feel I get caught in the negative framework of reading the numbers in a way there is not much room for newcomers on the table of established web players.

That is why I liked the way you read the numbers - the perspective you give is different, but logical, and it clearly shows the room is big enough and not even half full:)

Hey JKwest earlier today I posted on the Goals page that the internet is as vast as the sea or space...this is pretty much what you have said. I'm in it to win it and I'll be darn if I'm gonna let posting blogs about great products get in the way of success...not success over night but success in the waiting.

You're absolutely right. Having put in thousands of hours at this, I'll be the first to say it's not easy... but it is, as you say, as vast as the sea or space.

Ten years from now starting an online business might be comparable (in cost and effort) to starting a traditional 'offline' business... but those who stick with it (and we're only taking about simple keyword research and posting content) have an opportunity that might not be available to future generations... at least not one that's as simple and wide-open as the one we have today.

Thanks for reading Ingrid, I love your perspective and enthusiasm :-)

Jay

A great way to look at the Affiliate Marketing business. Thanks.

Hey Roger,

Thanks for reading. I know it's an uncommon perspective, especially for those just getting started... but really, when you consider how competitive, expensive and difficult a traditional business is to start, this really is an unbelievable opportunity.

I know a lot of people (from my B2B sales days) who saved and borrowed six-figures to start their business... with no guarantee of success, or even a regular paycheque.

I sometimes imagine what kind of authority site I could build with six-figures. Free to work 12-hours a day, hire great researchers, writers, out-reachers, social media managers, etc.

But for now it's wide open online, free for anyone who puts in the effort :-D

Jay

I don’t care if it’s saturated ...I am ain’t leaving

Nope... I'm not leaving either :-)

Thanks for reading Richard,
Jay

Great post, very enjoyable read thanks. Yep I’m loving my beachfront real estate, even bought a second condo lol.

lol... I like that, a second condo. Hadn't thought about it that way... but I guess I own multiple properties as well :-D

Thanks for reading Heidi,

Jay

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