When you decide to pursue niche blogging you will need to learn how to find a niche and how to find niche keywords. You must learn those techniques in order to make sure that the topic you chose for your blog is not a vast, impenetrable and competitive market but rather a narrower topic or a niche of the same market, easier to compete in.
When you will learn how to find niche keywords you will be able to asses if your topic is targetable and whether to beat the competition is achievable. In other words, you will find out if there is enough interest about your topic and if you could overcome the competition that stands between your blog and success.
As I mentioned in the niche blogging overview there are a few elements you will need to consider before you will throw yourself into blogging.
1. Topic selection – your topic should be one that you are passionate about or one that you are an expert in. The topic needs to be something you can write about for a long time without getting bored.
For continuity with the previous articles the topic here will be “weight loss”.
As you know weight loss is a huge but not very specific market. It would be unreasonable to start blogging about weight loss in general. Not only it is a huge market, it is so general that before you know it you could get lost in it and your blog would have no sense of direction. As well, the competition is so stiff that in order to succeed you would have to have a lot of people power and money to invest.
2. The first step in narrowing the topic is to do keyword research to find a niche keyword that satisfies the criteria of lower competition and good amount of searches.
I always perform my keyword research in two steps. First I do a general search and select my keywords and then I dig deeper.
1. To begin with there is a wonderful free online keyword research tool that will help you start your search. It is called Google’s Keyword Tool – Google Adwords.
Free Google Keyword Tool
The Keyword Tool allows you to access 100 keyword search results. However, if you sign up for a free Google Adwords account (see red arrow) you can get up to 800 keyword search results
2. Once inside the research tool enter the word or a phrase of the broad market of your topic. Click on search and you will get up to 800 keyword or keyword phrase results. From those select the one that satisfies your criteria with respect to the competition and search volume.
3. In a fresh Keyword Tool window enter the keyword or a phrase you selected. For this example I selected “weight loss diets”. This keyword does not meet all the criteria but I am confident that I would be able to rank well if my supporting keywords I will choose for this example will be well chosen. If your primary niche keyword is not perfect you can still rank well and even outrank your competition but it will take a bit longer.
Keyword Research For Weight Loss Diets
Weight loss diets was entered in the search window. Make sure to tick off the “Only show ideas closely related to my search term” box and proceed with the search.
The keyword research of weight loss diets has given me about 200 results. I selected some of them for this article and downloaded the selected results to my computer. I selected those to analyze further with another keyword tool.
3. Deeper keyword analysis. Unfortunately to dig deeper for your niche keywords you need to resort to paid keyword research tools. Since I have been online I tried and used several different keyword tools. Some worked well but overtime changes have taken place and I do not use them anymore. The one I use now is an inexpensive tool called Stealth Keyword Competition Analyzer (SKCA). I have to confess that I could not imagine not having this tool as I use it for all my keyword research including the one I need when I write an article.
Stealth Keyword Competition Analyzer (SKCA)
Stealth Keyword Competition Analyzer (SKCA) uses 12 different elements to analyze the keywords. At the end it sorts them and labels them as Amazing, Great, Good, Bad and Terrible. The red ellipses mark “Real Competition” (number of websites Google find most relevant for keywords) on the left. On the right the ellipse indicates “Keyword Rating” where the rating is displayed. There you can see Amazing, Great and Good. The other are not visible on the image.
If you compare the keyword research from the Google tool with SKCA tool you can see that even some of the high competition keywords found with Google tool were rated as amazing, great or good. From those you can select keywords for your blog. I also look at the “Real Competition” in SKCA. I am confident to select anything that has less than 500 competing pages. Once you complete the analysis of your niche keywords you can choose some of the keywords to design the structure for your niche blog.
In this example I chose “weight loss diets” as my niche. I further explored this niche keyword phrase using both the free and paid method and selected another 4 – 5 keyword phrases, based on the SKCA research to structure a blog around them.
In conclusion, in this article you have learned how to find a niche and the niche keywords you will need to structure your niche blog. The next step is to set up your blog and define its structure for best possible results online.
If you have found the article helpful, please give it thumbs up and please leave a comment. Also if you have another keyword tool you would like to suggest make sure to suggest it in the comments below.
Good advice Dita. It pays to be passionate about your subject or you will not be able to write engaging content unless you outsource to someone who has good knowledge about the subject.
I know of several internet marketers who do that and they have done well with their blogs. The money they make from the blogs goes towards paying the outsourcer.
Another free keyword research tool that I use quite a lot is SEO Book. Their keyword search powered by Wordtracker. You have to register for an account but it is free. http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/
Sandy
Sandy Halliday recently posted…How To Make Money By Sharing
Hi Sandy,
Thanks for the tip. I’ve used Wordtracker before. I’ll have another look at it. Things might have changed but if I remember correctly the tool is free but quite limited if you do not have the paid option.
Google Keyword tool is completely free, no catch that is why I like to use it for all my niche keyword research.
Cheers,
Dita
Hi Dita,
I use the Google adwords Keyword tool all the time too but I also like to use other tools. The SEO Book site has other free tools as well as the keyword research. The results are powered by Wordtraker but you don’t have to sign up to Wordtracker itself.
Take a look and see what you think.
Sandy
Sandy Halliday recently posted…Discover Pinterest Tips With Pinterest Videos
Hi Dita,
Excellent post here. Keyword research is such an important piece of the puzzle.
I mostly use the Google Keyword Tool, but it’s interesting that you’ve found some “conflicts” with SKCA.
I’m definitely going to have to check that out because it sounds very easy to use and it’s offered at a pretty good price.
Thanks for sharing, Dita! This was a very informative post.
~Barry
Barry Overstreet recently posted…Do You Know Who Your Target Market Is
Hi Barry,
Interesting how you thought of it. It is not “conflicts” I see but rather a further refinement of my search. Google provides us with the overall picture and because the picture is not that detailed if one digs further one will find the little gem. SKCA offers other parameters than Google to look at. I look at the Real Competition which represents the real number of pages published on the topic. If the number is not overly high I go for it.
Thanks for stopping by.
Dita
Dita recently posted…Blog Dashboard Settings In WordPress
Hi Ditta,
Awesome blog! I totally agree that choosing your niche early and having clear niche keywords is essential. Back when I got started online, I totally swept this step under the rug and it delayed my success until I really took the time to work the process.
Hi Susan,
Thank you. I have seen your site and if you are referring to any changes there you have done an amazing job. Congrats.
Cheers,
Dita