niche-marketing-and-why-it-worksEstablishing an online presence isn’t nearly as difficult as most people think. While there is always going to be competition, only a small minority of other businesses will ever pose a threat.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is trying to establish a business in a broad niche. You’ll never outrank websites at the top of the search results in these industries unless you have a very large marketing budget and an experienced team of professionals behind you. In order to make money you must delve deeper into your niche and find sub-categories that other businesses aren’t targeting.

Assessing the Competition

Online marketers often take a methodological approach when niche hunting; however, this rarely works. It doesn’t matter how many exact match searches a keyword gets or how many competing websites there are in Google; what matters is the quality.

When assessing the competition, analyze the results based on logic. For example, it is difficult to outrank eCommerce companies, charities and established websites in popular sectors, especially websites which have been around for a while. Smaller niche categories on the other hand, although may not necessarily always make you more money straight away, can often be more profitable – especially if you find a few smaller and less competitive sectors.

Quick example would be comparing an e-cig sector which is a massive niche with a website like this for example, to a company formation agents to promote local accountants in your country or even city. Now check search engines for the main e-cig keywords publishers would normally target and then do the same for company formation agents. If you understand even a little of online marketing you will see our point! Use your common sense; niche hunting is more an art form than a science so try finding a niche within a niche.

Choosing Keywords that Sell

When you find a niche and start researching keywords, remember to search for phrases that target buyers. Someone who types in, ‘free online guitar lessons’ clearly isn’t interested in spending money; therefore, they’re not worth targeting. However, someone who types in, ‘professional guitar lessons online,’ is probably more serious and could be looking to spend some cash on a ‘professional’ course.

There is, however, a danger with using phrases that target buyers. For example, if you put ‘buy’ or ‘cost’ in front of a keyword, especially if it’s a product, you’ll most probably find yourself competing with eCommerce websites. Get creative and try to find keywords that target buyers in a less obvious manner.

Writing High-Quality Content

Without content the Internet wouldn’t exist; it’s the building blocks of the web and search engines always prioritize quality. Niche marketing is all about filling in the gaps. Broad topics have already been written about in great detail and simply don’t need any more attention; however, niche topics often lack decent information.

The role of a search engine is to rank websites in order of quality, so always write to the highest of your abilities. Google and Bing are constantly updating their algorithms and finding new ways to filter out junk. While poor content can rank in the short-term, it will inevitably fail.

Fundamentally, niche marketing is about tapping into the unknown, which is one of the reasons why it’s such a scary prospect. You never know how much your efforts will be rewarded. However, due to the little effort involved, it’s quite easy to simply learn from your mistakes and try something new with little expense.