15 years ago i noticed a little niche in a big industry and decided to exploit it. I had mentioned it before to executives who just laughed and said it was naive, and gave me that 'look' they give you when they pity your ignorance.

So I did it anyway, and within a few months, my Google expense for paid search was $30,000.00 a month, and that was back when Google was cheap. We hired a general manager, and 20 more employees to keep up with the demand.

Then the competition, the ones who laughed, all climbed onto the same bandwagon, and soon there were more vendors than customers. Our market share eventually dwindled to almost nothing.

The point of this little story is just one thing. Once it's out there, once they see yours is better than theirs, there is nothing to stop them from stealing it. And if they have the bucks they can out spend you on paid search and make your organic rank irrelevant.

I'm not saying this to discourage anyone. The fact is that you attracted their attention by being better than them. You built a better mousetrap. Now, you have to do it again, and again, and again. If one niche gets pounded into the dirt, find a different one, a better one.

You may find a niche that returns long term passive income. Those are rare. In most cases you have to keep plugging away to stay ahead of the pack.

Gary

"Great post" I learn along time ago you should just concentrate on your niche and not others. Because if you worry about others then you'll loose track on your goals and wont succeed. That's what i do, I just don't worry about other websites, I need to focus on my own website

I think you have gotten some good advice so far. And the thieves , sooner or later will get themselves smooshed between the ole rock and the hard place.

First off,...Great blog post!
Competition overall is definitely not the end of the world. Having competition assures you that there is demand for your niche. It also provides you the opportunity to excel and overcome your competitors.

Branding and marketing will ensure that you set yourself apart from your competition. Branding and marketing takes time, but is well worth the effort. It helps you rest easy knowing there is no way that someone can totally copy exactly what you are doing.

It does sound like they copied you, but we can't be sure. I wouldn't worry about it too much. At the end of the day you have the potential to blow the other guys out of the water and into the side of a cliff.

Hey Chris, the fact that the competitors are possibly flipping some of your content to make their own in a way is a good sign. This should tell you that your content is of value to them. Keep on with your posts and don't worry about your competition. If you put out a great post and theirs is very similar after yours then Google should pick up on it with the old duplicate content scenario? Keep the faith!
Cheers
Darwyn

The way I see it, I am competing for keyword phrases. If my content satisfies the reader, great. I can't worry about what my competitors are doing. I can only focus on improving my own content.