Niche marketing is a proven path to success on the Internet. A niche is a narrowly defined submarket of potential customers within a broader market classification. There are many ways to categorize a niche market. Market niches can be geographic areas or a specialty within an industry. A niche can include an ethnic, religious, or age group. A niche market is any group of people who share an identified mutual interest.
Why should you be interested in these markets? There are countless underserved niches on the internet and more are developing every day. Online sellers may not be exploiting them and big offline companies are ignoring them. In any market there will always be those whose needs are not fully satisfied. Your Internet business can capitalize on the unmet needs of these niches. There is a plan you can follow that ensures that you consider all relevant factors in your analysis of these specialized markets. Below I’ve outlined the four vital steps you need to take if you want your niche marketing website to succeed.
1. Look for what people are looking for online.
To do this, you will need to use a free or commercial keyword research tool. Google and Wordtracker have free tools. If you have a larger budget, the paid version of Wordtracker offers superlative research capabilities. You are looking for what are known as long-tail keywords. They have the key to the hidden niches. A long-tail keyword is one with three to five words (or more) in the keyword phrase. For example, “dog food” is a two-word keyword phrase. The problem is that it is too general and extremely competitive. On the other hand, “organic dog food” narrows the market considerably. But let’s dig deeper. “Organic Dog Food for Labradors” is a great long-tail keyword and a highly focused and potentially profitable niche.
2. Assess The market.
First, you need to determine if the niche will justify your marketing efforts. The two main considerations are the number of searches for the keyword and the amount of competition. Think of the number of searches as the demand, and the number of competing websites marketing the keyword as the supply. Ideally, you want a keyword with a healthy search volume (demand) with relatively few competing web pages (supply). Once again, a good keyword tool will provide these and other important statistics. Also, keep in mind the price of the item you will be selling to the niche. If you’re marketing a $20 ebook, you’ll need a much higher search volume to make a decent profit than if you’re selling a $1000 product or service.
A problem that often arises for beginners in niche marketing is that they choose a product before researching the market. The best way is to carefully research a niche and then find the best product or service to sell to that market. Learn what people care about, what their concerns are, and what drives their intense interest in whatever niche you’re investigating. Visit forums and blogs that cater to the market to see what they are discussing. This type of research will not only suggest a product or service to offer, but will also reveal additional keywords.
3. Create quality content
When niche members visit your site, you want them to come back often. The way to achieve this is by offering good quality content that they can’t find anywhere else. A typical mistake many niche marketing newbies make is not connecting with their audience. Niche members are fueled by passion and are always looking for information about their particular interest. If your content respectfully addresses that passion, they will come back to you.
Turn your niche site into a repository of insightful, useful, and informative content instead of one blatant sales pitch after another. When you suggest a product, do so with good taste and be sure to fully explain how each feature benefits the niche. The subtle approach will put your visitors in a more receptive frame of mind when they see your offer.
4. Learn Internet marketing skills.