Most people think that finding a blog niche just involves going to Google’s keyword tool and searching for the keywords with high search volume and low competition. If you are looking for a blogging niche in this way, then you are missing the big picture and could be making costly mistakes. Let me explain…
Finding a blog niche requires more than just keyword research. A common mistake internet marketers make when finding a good niche is that they rely too heavily on search volume and competitor scores as if it were the holy grail of niche research. They overlook other important components and then wonder why their niche blog isn’t getting traffic or converting site visitors into subscribers or buyers.
Do not fall in the trap. Here are five costly mistakes to avoid when finding a blog niche.
- Not looking at the intention of the buyers. There are some niches where the traffic comes mainly from gift seekers. If you’re building a blog and hoping to make money from affiliate commissions, product sales, and ad clicks, you may need to focus on a niche where there are a lot of people ready to buy.
- Don’t delve into the microniche level. I have made this mistake in the past when blogging about dog training. It turned out that dog training is a very broad topic, even if it is considered a niche in itself. Upon careful analysis, I realized that this niche can be broken down into dog breed-specific micro-niches where there is more targeted traffic.
- Without looking at the competition. Jumping into a niche without worrying about competition can be costly when you later realize you either jumped into the water full of sharks (big gun competitors) or jumped into the water without any fish (customers). The essence of a niche is to carve out a smaller but profitable segment of the market.
- Without looking at the market. Certainly keywords alone don’t matter. You need to know if there are enough products and services in that niche that you can sell or promote, and if there is a good demand for these products and services.
- Money over passion. Sometimes it’s easy to get carried away with prospects of making money in a niche, but forgetting the most important part of blogging, which is passion. Having a passion in a niche or having an interest in studying or mastering the niche is what will drive you to keep your blog interesting to readers. Without passion, your blog will die a natural death and then join the ranks of abandoned blogs.
Finding a good niche can be a time consuming process and mistakes are bound to happen. But there are already attractive niches waiting for you to tap into them, and they can be good starting points for anyone struggling to find a blogging niche.