The AI Marketing Stack for Niche Sites

This is the exact tool stack I use to run a niche affiliate site end-to-end with AI. From keyword research to published, optimized, internally-linked article — here's what I use, what it costs, and the workflow that ties it all together.

If you want the detailed version with copy-paste prompts, step-by-step screenshots, and a 30-day action plan, that's the AI Marketing Stack Playbook. This article is the free overview.

The Stack at a Glance

Total monthly cost: ~$34/mo (or $0 if you use free tiers only). That's enough to produce 4-8 optimized articles per month.

The Workflow: Keyword to Published Article

Step 1: Keyword Research (Semrush — 15 minutes)

I start in Semrush's Keyword Overview tool. I type in a broad keyword idea and check the difficulty score and search volume. I'm looking for keywords with:

• Difficulty under 30 (manageable for a new-ish site)
• Monthly search volume above 200
• Commercial or informational intent (not transactional — those are hard to rank for)

Once I find a viable keyword, I check the keyword gap analysis to see if competitors rank for related terms I should target too. I export my top 5-10 keyword ideas and move to step 2.

Step 2: Content Brief (Frase — 5 minutes)

I paste my target keyword into Frase. It analyzes the top 20 ranking pages and generates a content brief in under 10 seconds: suggested headings, questions to answer, statistics to include, and related topics. I review the brief, remove anything irrelevant, and add my own angle. The brief becomes my outline.

Step 3: First Draft (Writesonic — 10 minutes)

I paste the outline into Writesonic's SEO Article Writer. It generates a full draft — 1,500-2,000 words — in about 2 minutes. The quality is rough. It needs editing. But starting from a draft and editing it is 3x faster than writing from scratch. I edit for flow, cut redundancy, add my own experience and opinions, and fact-check any claims.

Step 4: Optimization (Frase — 20 minutes)

I paste the edited draft into Frase's optimization editor. It scores the article against the SERP and shows me what's missing: terms I haven't used enough, headings I'm missing, questions I haven't answered. I revise until the score hits 70+ (good enough — chasing 90+ leads to keyword stuffing).

Step 5: Internal Linking (Link Whisper — 5 minutes)

If I'm publishing on WordPress, Link Whisper suggests 5-10 internal links from existing articles to the new one, and from the new article to existing ones. I accept the relevant ones, reject the irrelevant ones, and I'm done. Internal linking takes 5 minutes instead of 30.

Step 6: Publish and Submit (5 minutes)

I publish the article, check the URL in Google Search Console's URL Inspection tool, and click "Request Indexing." Google usually indexes within 24-48 hours.

Total time per article: ~60 minutes in my own workflow, once I'm comfortable with the tools. Without AI tools, the same article would take me 3-4 hours. Your own timing will vary with typing speed, niche familiarity, and how much editing a given draft needs — treat the 3x figure as directional, not a guarantee.

The Budget Stack vs The Pro Stack

Here's how the stack evolves as your site grows:

The key insight: don't buy tools before you need them. Start with the $28/mo budget stack. Upgrade one tool at a time as revenue justifies it. Every dollar you spend on tools you don't use yet is a dollar you can't spend on content or links.

Cost Breakdown: What to Pay For vs What's Free

Pay for (immediately):

• Frase ($15/mo) — content briefs and optimization. Worth every penny from day one.
• Writesonic ($13/mo) — if you'd rather edit than write. If you enjoy writing, skip this and write your own drafts.

Use free for as long as possible:

• Semrush free tier — 10 searches/day is enough for 1-2 articles/week
• Google Search Console — free, essential, always

Add when revenue justifies:

• Link Whisper ($6.25/mo) — add when you have 10+ articles (internal linking becomes painful manually)
• Semrush Pro ($129.95/mo) — add when you need keyword gap analysis and position tracking (usually at 20+ articles)
• Surfer SEO ($49/mo) — add when you want precise optimization and can afford it
• Jasper ($39/mo) — add when you're publishing 4+ articles/week and need faster drafting

Related Reading

• Best AI Tools for Affiliate Marketers — the full 7-tool roundup with pros/cons
• Surfer SEO vs Frase — which content optimization tool to pick
• Semrush Review — deep dive on the keyword research foundation