Many people agree that one of the hardest parts of creating profitable websites is finding a niche. With countless options, you can easily find yourself in the niche research phase for way too long.
I have been conducting extensive niche research myself recently, and in this post, I will walk you through my process, highlighting essential considerations. Let’s find a profitable niche together!
Setting Clear Goals for Your Niche Site
Before diving into niche research, it’s crucial to define the goals for your website. For instance, one of my major goals this year is to start a substantial project: building the biggest authority site I’ve ever embarked on. I’m giving myself up to five years to (hopefully) grow it to a seven-figure valuation and then exit at a suitable point.
A suitable time is usually when scaling plateaus somewhat. For example, you might notice that content creation and link-building efforts are not yielding significant growth compared to earlier stages.
Diverse Blogging Goals: Catering to Your Needs
People have varying blogging goals. Some aim to create a site that earns a couple of hundred dollars monthly, while others hope to generate thousands of dollars to replace their day job. It’s essential to clearly identify your blogging goals early on, as this helps you find the most suitable niches during your research.
Once you’ve outlined your goals, you can proceed to the next step.
Kickstarting the Process: Ideation Phase
Getting started involves brainstorming potential topics or niches. Create a list of topics that interest you. Here’s what my initial list looked like:
- Running
- Tech
- Kayaking
- Hiking
- Golfing
- Camping
- Travel
- Personal Finance
- Saving Money
- Keyboards
- Laptops
- Standing Desks
- Work Chairs
- Web Design
- Graphic Design
- Dogs
- Nice Homes
This initial list is broad and doesn’t need to be organized. Just jot down any ideas that come to mind within a few minutes. Later, you’ll refine this list and gather more data for specificity.
Estimating Maximum Traffic Potential
This step is crucial for aligning with your goals. We need to gauge the maximum traffic potential for a top site in that niche. Market sizes can vary significantly. For substantial niches, traffic might be in the millions per month, while smaller niches may cap below 100,000 visitors per month.
Understanding traffic potential helps you evaluate what success in the niche might mean regarding traffic and revenue. For instance, what will become one of the leading sites in the niche mean in terms of traffic and revenue?
How to Estimate Traffic Potential in a Niche
Let’s illustrate this with the example of hiking. I’ll start by Googling some short to medium-tail keywords such as “hiking tips, how to hike longer, best hiking gear.”
These keywords help identify authoritative sites that rank well for these broad terms, likely indicating their overall strength in the niche.
Focus on ONLY niche-specific sites, filtering out broader sites covering multiple topics.
Using SEMrush for Competitor Analysis
Tools like SEMrush can be very helpful, though not essential. You can use manual searches as well. If you opt for SEMrush, input one of the niche-specific hiking sites from your search to analyze its data.
Utilizing SimilarWeb for Comprehensive Analysis
SimilarWeb provides broader traffic data, accounting for devices and countries.
Analyze multiple competitors to validate traffic potential and sources. For instance:
Analyzing Link Profiles and Content
Run sites through link analysis tools like Moz and Ahrefs to gauge their backlink strength. Weak profiles indicate opportunities for creating competitive sites.
Content Analysis: Quality and Depth
Evaluate content quality by viewing the most shared articles via tools like BuzzSumo. Identify thin, outdated content you can improve upon.
Exploring Monetization Opportunities
Check how competitors monetize their sites. For instance, in the hiking niche, affiliate marketing seems popular. Consider diverse monetization strategies such as email marketing, info products, physical goods, and sponsored content.
Deeper Analysis: Evaluating Smaller Competitors
Investigate smaller sites: analyze their content, traffic, and backlink profiles to identify areas for improvement and potential acquisition opportunities.
Final Considerations: Scaling Beyond Hiking
Although the hiking niche appears viable, expanding to related niches such as camping, kayaking, and outdoor adventure can maximize traffic and revenue opportunities. Many successful sites cover a range of outdoor activities, which supports future growth.
Insights and Next Steps
The next step involves running similar analyses on related niches to validate and expand your findings, ensuring a comprehensive strategy for growth.
Conclusion
Niche research is comprehensive and requires time. This walkthrough should guide your steps and considerations as you explore various niches. If you’d like more niche analysis articles, let me know in the comments. I’d be happy to share more insights and conduct further analyses together.
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