Learn how to research a niche: follow these easy methods to choosing the right niche for your business, and increase long term revenue.
Searching the web can return over eight million hits on the word combination niche market. Unfortunately only ten to twenty percent of the search returns contain relevant data. There are few, if any website owners who will share their niche secrets with someone who is not a business partner. Most websites provide minimal information, and then direct the visitor to a sales page. What we intend to do here is to help new business owners increase revenue by implementing proven startup marketing strategies into their overall marketing plan.
Niche Market Example
A good research strategy starts up high and then spirals into more detail. Working from the top down will provide the best results. For this article the example of a fictitious company which sells used house windows is used. A search can start with the keyword, “house windows.” This is considered a high level starting point. Using the free Google AdWords tool, this keyword returns a result of 135,000 searches in a given month. This sounds great, but in reality it is very poor. Most of the traffic will not be targeted and results in very little sales or interest. what is needed are more targeted keywords that drive traffic based on one particular need. That need is used house windows.
If to look further down the results, the keywords, “replacement house windows” and “used house windows” pop up. For this company, “used house windows” is an exact phrase match with results showing only competition of 50,000 web pages. This keyword would be a perfect fit to build a new niche website or web page.
Now when visitors find the website they are more inclined to stay longer and possibly buy a product or service. The research has provided an exact match to the customer’s need. This example is a great way for a new company to research their domain name or niche and also a great way for an older company to expand traffic and add new business. This method cost nothing and a few hours or more of effort will result in long term gains.
In his Forbes article entitled “The Magic of Niche Marketing for Authors,” Alan Rinzler use selling literary novels to explain niche marketing. He explains the importance of meeting the customer’s needs.
Results of Researching a Niche Market
The effort of research, creating or updating a website can get a bit time consuming. Yet, the payoff is worth the efforts. Do not expect results immediately. This is a long term strategy that takes time to grow. Six months to a year are the normal time-spans to see growth in an existing company and payoff for a new company.
Why Does Niche Marketing Research Take So Long to Pay Off
Online marketing in general is a whole different beast compared to regular “brick and mortar” companies. The efforts that go into an online company take time to grow. Search engines can take two to three months to index a website. For an existing company, web pages may rank in less time. Google’s PR ranking is only updated every three months or more. Backlinks to a website can take months to show up. The life cycle of an internet business starts slow and increases after the first year where traffic will peak and then start to level off. It is at this point where the niche planning and strategy starts all over again.
What is discussed in this article takes time and effort. Many website owners do not allow themselves the time for the business to grow, they give up. They cannot wait for the true magic to happen given that change does not happen overnight. It may take six months to a year, but change does come and for the most part it is for the better.
Entrepreneurs who want real and fast results hire a digital marketing firm. They know it pays to collaborate alongside an agency with expert knowledge in sophisticated marketing campaigns.
