I’ve got a bunch of affiliate sites in various niches, and none of them are ranked #1 in Google for the most important keywords.
I used to obsess about that, and compare all aspects of my sites to those ranking better, and try to reverse engineer things.
But I’ve realized that’s a wrong headed approach.
Cease comparisons to the other sites in your niche. Comparisons are a self-inflicted bully.
Instead, just focus on testing, optimizing, and improving your site to make it a more useful resource to your audience.
This reminds me of the keynote from Jim Bouton at Affiliate Summit in July 2006.
Bouton recalled a story about legendary golfer, Arnold Palmer. Palmer was once asked why it was that whenever he played golf with Jack Nicklaus that Jack would beat him.
Arnold Palmer explained that he “was always trying to beat Jack. And Jack was always trying to play good golf.”
Focus on creating good sites and you’ll do well.