Nov 11, 2011 2 min read General

How Do I Know if I Have a Good Niche?

A few months ago in our Private Blog Mentoring Program a student asked a really good question: “How do I know if I have a good niche?” Now, I recognize that not everyone wants to earn an income with blogging. Some just want to have their voice heard or have a crowd around their passion. … How Do I

A few months ago in our Private Blog Mentoring Program a student asked a really good question:

“How do I know if I have a good niche?”

Now, I recognize that not everyone wants to earn an income with blogging. Some just want to have their voice heard or have a crowd around their passion. However, my focus today is going to be centered around earning an income with your passion. Here are some great questions to ask to see if you have a good niche.

1. Are people reading about my topic?

You want to be in a niche that others like to read about. The best way to discover your answer is to go over to Amazon.com. You can do a quick search on your main topic and see how many books there are. Are people leaving reviews of the book? How is the ranking of the book compared to others? You should be able to get a quick overview to see if people are reading about your topic or not.

2. Are people searching for information online about my topic?

This is a big one for me and something that weighs heavily in my decision making process. I love search engine traffic. I think it is one of the most targeted types of traffic that you can get. In order to have an idea if people are searching for information in my niche, I need to use a keyword research tool. A free place to start is the Google Adwords Keyword Tool. It will give you an idea as to the search volume that happens each month in your niche. Is there a good number of people searching for information in your niche?

3. Are advertisers paying money for traffic about my topic?

Another great insight as to the potential that exists in your niche is if advertisers are willing to pay for traffic. I like to use a tool called Spyfu.com. This tool gives you great insight in two key areas:

How many advertisers are competing for traffic in this niche?
What are they willing to pay to get this traffic?

You can easily compare one niche with another if you are having a hard time deciding which direction to go.

4. Are people having passionate conversations online about my topic?

The more people are willing to have online conversations about your topic the better off you will be. The best way to find this out is to see if online forums exist for your niche. Use BoardReader.com and do a quick search to see how many forums there are. You can also look to see how active these forums are as well.

Take a moment and watch this short video below. I show you how to use each of the tools mentioned above in researching your niche. Keep in mind, your niche does not have to pass all 4 tests above to be successful, but the more good signs you have the better off you will be.