One of the biggest mistakes so many beginner marketers or seniors make when building a niche site is delving into the wrong niches. Either they don’t choose a profitable niche, or it’s overly competitive with big players dwarfing the competition.
The beginner has not niched down enough and stands little chance of ranking for anything because they don’t have the budget or resources to do so.
In this article, you’ll be presented with 11 points to take note of when choosing a niche. Use the points as a checklist to pick a niche that will be profitable for you.
1. What is the keyword research like?
There must be people looking for keywords in your niche. If your niche is so narrow that no one is really searching for keywords on it, your site is not going to get much traffic.
For example – Imagine you’re passionate about “hand-carved wooden toothbrush holders shaped like animals.” While unique and creative, this niche is so specific that it likely has very low search volume—few people are actively searching for “hand-carved wooden animal toothbrush holders.” Consequently, your site might struggle to attract consistent traffic since the audience for such a specific item is very limited.
Instead, by broadening the niche to something like “unique wooden bathroom accessories” or even “eco-friendly bathroom decor,” you open up to a larger audience while still allowing for a specialty in handmade, wooden items. This approach helps ensure that your site has enough search interest to drive traffic while still showcasing your unique offerings.
Look at your keyword list and assess roughly how much content you can create for the niche. You want a niche that’s not so narrow that you run out of topics to blog about after 20 posts.
2. Are there buyers in the niche?
This is probably one of the most important points to take note of. You need to be in a niche where people are willing to spend money. There are some niches where people mostly look for free information but aren’t willing to buy anything.
So, if you see products selling well in the niche, that’s a good sign. You can search on the Amazon marketplace to assess how sales are and so on. If you see Google ads showing up, that’s a good sign that the market is willing to spend money.
Take note of the products being sold. These are the products that you can promote later or model to create your own. Make sure they have affiliate programs that you can sign up for.
3. Competition
Ideally, you want to pick a niche where there is competition. That means there is money to be made in the niche. However, the competition shouldn’t be overwhelming.
If all you see are huge sharks swimming in the niche pool, you’ll need to drill down further into the niche until you find a sweet spot you can compete in. Check the keywords you’re targeting and look at the sites that show up. Will you be able to compete with them?
For example – Suppose you’re interested in the “weight loss” niche, which is highly competitive and dominated by big brands, major health websites, and popular influencers. If you target broad keywords like “weight loss tips” or “best weight loss diet,” you’ll be competing against established sites with vast resources, making it tough to rank.
To find a “sweet spot,” you can narrow your focus to a sub-niche within weight loss that has lower competition but still appeals to an audience. For example, consider focusing on “weight loss for women over 50” or “plant-based weight loss for beginners.” These more specific niches can help you stand out, attract a dedicated audience, and create unique content that resonates with your target readers.
If you can, go for it.
4. Is it a desperate niche?
The difference between a desperate niche and most other niches is that people in the desperate niche will be willing to quickly pay to solve their problem. For example, if you have a site that sells an eBook on getting an ex-girlfriend back, tons of guys who are heartbroken will buy it just to win their ex back and put an end to their pain.
On the other end of the spectrum, if your site is about keeping a pet goldfish happy, most people will just skim over it. It seems interesting, but they’re not desperate enough to quickly make a purchase.
Ideally, you want to choose a niche that’s either desperate or the people in it have problems to solve. The golfer who is trying to improve his swing is having a problem that he wants to solve.
It may not seem like a problem to someone who is not interested in golf, but it’s a problem to the guy who is golfing. He’ll most probably buy a book or video course showing him how to correct his swing.
5. Look for evergreen niches
There are some niches that are super-hot but are just flash-in-the-pan trends. Think Pokémon Go. No one even talks about it now, and the popularity has died down. If you built a site just for it, now you’d be stuck with a web property that hardly gets any traffic.
Pick a niche that is stable and evergreen. You can check Google Trends to see if your niche qualifies.
6. Profit Margins and Monetization Options
It’s helpful to consider how easily the niche can be monetized. For instance, niches with high-ticket items, services, or affiliate programs offering substantial commissions might be more profitable than those with lower-cost products. Additionally, look at various monetization strategies (e.g., ad revenue, affiliate marketing, e-commerce, sponsored posts) to see if multiple income streams are viable within the niche. More options mean more flexibility in scaling income.
7. Niche Longevity and Growth Potential
Beyond choosing an evergreen niche, evaluate whether it has growth potential. This means looking at emerging trends or if the niche can evolve to keep audience interest high. A niche with upward growth will allow you to adapt and expand over time, possibly increasing both traffic and revenue.
8. Community and Networking Opportunities
Being part of a supportive community within a niche can be invaluable for growth and learning. Look for niches with active forums, social media groups, or industry events. This opens up opportunities for collaboration, joint ventures, and an engaged audience, helping you gain traction more quickly.
9. SEO and Content Gap Analysis
In addition to keyword research, conducting a content gap analysis is crucial. By identifying topics that competitors haven’t covered thoroughly, you can target less competitive content areas and attract niche traffic more effectively. This strategy can give you an edge, especially in competitive niches.
For example – Let’s say your niche is “organic skincare.” Through keyword research, you find that many competitors cover popular topics like “benefits of organic skincare” and “organic skincare routine.” However, when conducting a content gap analysis, you notice that few have covered specific topics like “organic skincare for sensitive skin in winter” or “DIY organic skincare for acne-prone teenagers.”
By creating content around these uncovered topics, you tap into less competitive areas within the broader niche, attracting a more targeted audience. This strategy allows you to draw in readers searching for highly specific solutions, giving your site a unique edge even in a crowded market.
10. Target Audience Financial Capacity
It’s wise to assess if the niche’s audience has a higher disposable income. Certain demographics are more likely to spend on products or services, especially in niches like luxury, business, and fitness. Choosing a niche with an audience that can afford premium options may lead to higher revenue.
11. Your Interest
Last but not least, you should be interested in the niche you’re in. While this is not a hard-and-fast rule, being passionate about your niche will make it easier for you to create content if you’re doing the writing yourself.
There are many marketers who go into niches that they don’t have much interest in. Usually, they outsource the content creation to others and don’t have to do it themselves.
If you have the budget to hire writers, you don’t need to worry if you’re passionate about the niche. If you’re writing the content, it’s best that you like the niche you’re in.
Taking note of these 11 tips will help you pick a niche that is profitable from the start. It would be a good idea to create a customer/visitor avatar, so you know exactly what type of visitor you’re targeting.
This will help you to tailor more targeted content for your audience and build a loyal tribe, increasing your conversions because you and your visitor are on the same frequency.
Apply the info from this article and choose your niche wisely. It can make or break your success. Choose a profitable niche and your well on your way.
