Key criteria for selecting your niche

In this article we look at some criteria for picking a niche, rather than jumping in and starting a site then realizing after a period of time that either you get no traffic or are simply making no money you should follow a few simple checks which are listed below which you can use as a guideline for picking a niche.

Is there enough article content and is it popular

Can you come up with 40 to 50 solid 1500 word articles on the niche on topics that people are searching for. Google is your friend here – use the autocomplete feature, so as an example I typed in Rock climbing. In the image below you can see some of the suggestions.

A couple of ideas there to go on and maybe drill down into for articles or you could go deeper into some of these like rock climbing equipment.

If you navigate down the page you will get the gold – the People Also Ask box. This is the questions people are actually asking Google regarding that niche. Lets see the first 4 results

People also ask
Is indoor rock climbing a good workout?
How dangerous is rock climbing?
What is the correct way of rock climbing?
What is rock climbing without ropes called?

A couple of possibles there as well. Can you write an article on that and is there enough traffic on that subject. If you select one of these, Google will add more questions.

You can also use other sites, so if you use Ecosia as an alternative you can also do this. At the bottom of the first search results you will see something like this

Searches related to Rock climbing
world’s best free climber dies · bouldering gym near me · free climbers who have died · rock climbing equipment · rock climbing near me indoor · free climbers killed while climbing · rock climbing article · climbing rock walls

Again some ideas which are search links, click on one of these and you see more

Does the subject matter classify as Evergreen Content

In the technology field this is relevant, if I had started a Windows XP only blog a few years back then I might be kicking myself as we are now mainly on Windows 10 from an operating system point of view, this means that less people are searching for this now meaning a lot less traffic to my website. Likewise devices like mobile phones and tablets, computers are always being updated.

So is the niche evergreen – if you write an article today will it still be relevant and up-to-date in 5 years time or will people simply not be interested by then. Navigate to google trends, enter your search query and then change the date range to 5 years and look at the graph. Is it a straight line, is interest rising or do you see a steep downwards drop. If its the latter then that niche may be dying. Other good examples would be fidget spinners, PC games (think sports games here), fad diets etc

Is it seasonal

A lot of sports would seem to be a good idea for a niche but if you think about it they have a season where a lot of people are talking and looking for information as this is when the games are played (think NFL, NBA, NHL etc) and then in the off-season it dies down a bit. The same could be said of Winter sports in some countries, certain outdoor hobbies etc

If your niche is seasonal then you may have a date range on your site where your traffic takes a major hit – this may mean less adsense revenue, less affiliate sales and product sales. You do have to weigh this up by the size of the niche and the amount of traffic – you may still get large enough amounts to make a decent amount of money.

Just be aware that it might drop off though. Check google trends again for the niche and look at a 1 year date range, does the trend drop off or is it a fairly constant flat line.

Affiliate opportunities

This is what you are looking to place on your site to sell, you may create an article that solves a problem then lists a product that helped or even have a top list of products.

So, are there multiple affiliate products available, are there multiple merchants selling products in the niche so you have a selection to choose from – you don’t want one source of products who then goes bust and closes down or stops their affiliate program (been there, done that).

Are there good profit potentials from the products – are they mainly low cost products with small profit potential or do they pay small commissions or are there several high priced products with substantial payouts.

Remember that autocomplete trick with Google I talked about earlier – try this on Amazon.com. Insert Rock climbing and see the autocomplete options for products

Some ideas for products there – maybe even some article ideas.

Can you create a product or promote someone else’s

Are you able to create an ebook or course on the niche. If the answer is yes then you are onto a winner. Creating a product is one of the best ways to earn money from a specific niche, write good articles, drive traffic to your niche site and you have a useful product that your visitors may be interested in as they are already looking at the subject matter you discuss in your product on the website they are on. A greater chance to convert a visitor to a sale of the product if tehy are reading good content.

Another option if you do not want to create a product is to check if there is an existing product you can promote. Clickbank would be an example for ebooks and info products and Udemy is an example for a course meaning that you could promote someone else’s products and receive a commission.