Perhaps the most common question that I get asked by people in regard to online marketing really, is ‘how do I choose a great niche market?‘. So assuming a lot of my subscribers would like to know this, I decided to write this post on the topic.
Finding a great niche involves uncovering a need that people are looking online to have fulfilled. However it doesn’t mean that you have to find niches that no one has ever found before, which is often where people get confused. I’m sure there are niches out there that no one is marketing in, and you may do well if you find these, but I don’t look for them myself. I prefer to look at niches where there is money being spent, and where I know I can make a site that will out do the competition on some level. You don’t have to be the first one in the niche to be able to make a profitable site in the niche. Just do your site better than the others, and look for weaknesses in the main players sites.
So with that said, some of the key things I like to see in a niche are as follows:
Plenty of Keyword Variation
If I’m going to build a website, I like to build medium/larger sized authority sites in most cases, as I think these perform better in Google. In order to do this, I like to see a lot of keyword opportunities in the niche. If I find that the scope for keywords is narrow, then I quickly give up on a niche and look for another. The kind of markets I like are ones with lots of different topics that I can get content created on. This means I can target lots of keywords, get lots of traffic and produce a good quality site.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking keyword variation means: dog training, train dog, dogs training etc… as that is not good variation, although that probably isn’t the best example, as the dog training niche actually does have a lot of variation, but it looks more like this: train dog to sit, stop dog biting, stop dog peeing on carpet, train dog to roll, Chihuahua training, bulldog training, etc….as you can see there are more different topics.
An Opportunity in the Niche
I also like to see an opportunity in a niche market, where I can do something better than other sites in the market. So I spend some time looking at the main players in the market and analyze their sites, and note down anyway I can do a website better than they are.
Right now I’m working on a site where I’m planning on getting some cool tools made, so that people share the site with friends. This will help create natural links coming in too, and distinguish me from the other sites in the niche. This does take more work and is not essential in all cases, but I thought I would share what I’m doing anyway.
In addition to this, I also like to see an SEO opportunity also. So if it’s hyper competitive for all the main keywords, I will then look at other angles for keywords, and if I still find it to be super competitive then I don’t bother.
I also like to enter niche markets where there is room to grow the site out over time, and even introduce more traffic streams, from YouTube, Facebook, etc…once I gain momentum.
Good Monetization Methods
It’s also important that you’ll be able to monetize the traffic that you get to your site. You can do this in a number of ways, such as affiliate marketing, Adsense, lead generation, ecommerce stores, to name a few popular ones.
You need to make sure you plan out your approach though, so that you know how you intend to convert the traffic. If doing an ecommerce store, make sure you call around suppliers and check prices and availability of stock. If affiliate marketing, then make sure there are some good offers, and also make sure that if an offer stops running, that you have a backup plan. If lead generation, then make sure you’ll be able to find a company willing to buy your leads. This just takes a few calls, not hard to do.
Backup Plans
It pays to have a backup plan for your website in case it’s not working out liked you planned. Let’s say you’ve built a site with intention of using affiliate marketing as your monetization strategy. If the offers aren’t converting, or the merchant stops their affiliate program, then you don’t want to be left with a useless site. This is why it’s always better to choose to domain names that allow room for change.
I’ve been guilty in the past of building on exact match domains that were tightly focussed around one product or a few products and due to the nature of the domain not being able to do much with them in terms of growth or change. Also Google doesn’t really like these thin exact match sites anymore, which is why I updated my Rapid Profit Formula course to this new style.
Some examples of backup plans are to sell the website. You could approach other webmasters in the niche and ask if they’re interested in buying your site. This is obviously easier to do if you have decent traffic. Or if you have a lead generation site for example, and the leads aren’t working out like you planned, then you could approach merchants in the niche and ask if they would like to pay to run a banner on your site. You can get scripts to rotate different banners, so you can have many banners bringing you recurring income.
Another backup plan may even be to become a merchant in the niche yourself. Either way, I think it is wise to plan for all outcomes.
Something Interesting
Although starting a website in a niche you’re interested in is not always great advice, it does have its place. The problem is when your interest is in something that will be extremely difficult to monetize. If your interest is ‘cleaning sinks with a toothbrush’, then I think you’ll struggle to build a profitable website in this niche.
However if you do have a real interest in something that could be monetized then it does make it much easier to produce high quality sites. My ecommerce store is in a niche that I’m passionate about, and my wife too, so working on the store is really enjoyable and researching and producing content too.
Ethical
Another important thing to consider is whether the niche is an ethical one to be involved in. I personally don’t want to enter a niche market, even if it seems like I could make some good money in it, if it’s not an ethical market.
That’s all for this update folks. As always, if you like my content I would greatly appreciate it if you shared it around using the social share button below.
Hi I’m Matt Carter, hope you enjoy the posts and community chat here at MattsMarketingBlog.com. I’m a full time internet marketer, and have affiliate marketing sites, lead generation sites, adsesne, an ecommerce site and create my own products where I teach internet marketing.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to sign up to my mailing list at the top right of this page, as I often send out important updates about live workshops I run. You can learn me about me here – Matt Carter
Related articles
Great blog matt.
full of good common sense mixed with canny business nohow
Cheers
Matt Carter Reply:
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:11 am
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Thanks Keith
Matt
Mirko Reply:
February 23rd, 2012 at 6:18 pm
@Keith You nailed it. A truly remarkable blog post, Matt! A great read. Thanks.
Terry Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 5:09 am
Hi Matt, Some really good tips here and as you so often say, spending the time on the detail in the first place is really where its at! A bit like building a house on sand, it probably won’t get you very far in the long run and is less likely to stand the test of time? Keep talking we are listening
()
Lani Reply:
February 29th, 2012 at 3:22 pm
I have to agree with you all this is a wonderful post full of great tips and ideas what to look for and possibly implement into our own business. And the internet is drastically changing with improvements and more restrictions, but if we do our homework we are able to glide through it. Glad I came by and thanks for sharing! Mahalo, Lani
Matt Carter Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 6:38 am
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Hi Lani
Great to hear from you again, and thanks for your feedback
Matt
Hey Matt, thanks for sharing these tips. Often, choosing the right niche market is one of the hardest steps. these are some really great insights.
Matt Carter Reply:
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:11 am
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Thanks James
Matt
Hi Matt,
Some good tips here, was just wondering what you thought of Amazon’s associate-o-matic sites, any specifics on how to SEO them as opposed to WP sites. My site: fragrancesandperfumes.net is created using aom. Would really appreciate your opinion on this.
Thanks
Kne
Matt Carter Reply:
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:11 am
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Hi Kne,
If this is the service that build affiliate ecommerce stores for amazon then I would stay well away from this, as I’m pretty sure it is something I tried a few years back and it got deindexed twice by Google, so need to be careful with this mass site builders.
Matt
Adam Bell Reply:
February 23rd, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Hey Matt,
I also looked at these AOM sites and turned my nose up at them thinking they would be nothing but trouble with Google. But on the subject of site builders what are your thoughts on Weebly? Their sites seem like a much quicker way of testing the water in a niche as opposed to installing, setting up, and theming WordPress.
Thanks,
Adam
Thanks Mark!
Great thought provoking post!
Too bad “ethical” in not in most marketers vocabulary anymore!
JB
Matt Carter Reply:
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:09 am
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Anytime,
Matt
Sorry for Mark, I mean’t Matt!
PicKing a niche and finding the right keywords is probably the most important foundation in building your internet business. If you have chosen a wrong niche it could spell disaster for your business.
I’ll want to make sure that there is commercial value within a niche before I create a site around it.
Thanks for this post Matt!
Matt Carter Reply:
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:08 am
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Thanks Jeff
Roy Reply:
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:16 pm
Niche choice affects keyword research. Choosing the wrong niche can make keyword research next to impossible.
A keyword phrase like “x-plane simulation” or “bulldog agility training” will give a reasonably reliable result in keyword tools, but “get ex back” returns unreliable rubbish results.
After 2 hours of manually checking “get ex back” keywords I found a large proportion were out by powers (plural) of 10. Like 7,230 instead of 1,600,000, and many times were out by one digit, the leading one, like 34,600 instead of 335,400.
Roy
Great post Matt – lots of good ideas for “backup” plans.
Is there a rule of thumb on what to charge for a banner ad? Such as so much per page view?
Mike
Matt Carter Reply:
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:08 am
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That’s a good question and one I need to find out too, as I haven’t needed to rent banner space on my sites before, but I’ll do some investigating into this, as I have a site I will be doing this on soon.
Matt
Matt,
Great post. Question: is that a WordPress plugin you are using for the flike, google+, and twitter buttons? If so, can you share the name?
I noticed it shows up on your home page too under recent post. I like that.
Thanks,
Ronnie
Matt Carter Reply:
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:07 am
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I think its called “Twitter Facebook Social Share plugin”
Regards
Matt
Good tips there Matt.
I would add that using Google Insights is a great tool for not only checking that the niche you are planning on targeting has a steady or rising search trend, but can sometimes be a great place to start hunting for new niches.
Cheers
Peter
Matt Carter Reply:
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:06 am
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Thanks Peter! Google insights is a good tool
Matt
Hey Matt, I’ve searched, but wasn’t able to find you on twitter?
Do you have one and do you update often?
As always, thank you for your awesome posts!
Matt Carter Reply:
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:10 am
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Hi Drew
I hate Twitter, so don’t use it, I have a facebook page though – http://www.facebook.com/mattsmarketing
Thanks Matt, this is very helpful information, so with keyword variation, do you create one piece of content for say ‘train dog to sit’, maybe an article, OR do you create a ‘train dog to sit’ section on your dog training site and create a bunch of content for that ‘sub-niche’?
Thanks again.
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:45 pm
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Hi Andrew
I look at all the categories that I good site on the topic of dog training should have, and once I have the categories mapped out, I then look at what articles would be required to make each category and good category that covers all the essential topics needed.
Matt
Great post, Matt! I especially like your thoughts on “keyword variation”. I have found the same thing: if you can’t get a handle on some good keywords, you are best off leaving the niche alone.
I’ll be sharing this post throughout my SM newtorks.
Scott
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:46 pm
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Thanks Scott
Matt
Hi Matt,
I was looking for some information on this subject so your invitation to read your post was just in time.
I like what you said about not going into a niche just because no one is marketing it. That turns out to be fools gold.
Thanks,
Mike
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:46 pm
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Hi Mike
Thanks for stopping by
Matt
Hi Matt,
Great Blog, Great Post , Great Content now that’s what I.M is all
about buddy. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us and that
plugin after the post I also like it .( simple , clean and nice )
Thanks alot Matt, I love reading your blog and I find that you always come through with thoughtful content just at the right time. I have found that choosing the right niche a bit of a stumbling block for me. So thanks for this
Holly
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:47 pm
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Thanks Holly
Yeah it can be a tough thing sometimes, but the more your do it the easier it becomes.
Keep up the good work
Matt
Nice post matt,
Do you have anything on finding new niches.. not keywords?
Great job as always Matt.
Also you mentioned your new version of Rapid Profit Formula, I just finished it and you did a great job. Thanks for updating it and making it available to those of us who bought the older version.
Keep up the good work!
Matt
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:48 pm
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YOu’re very welcome Matt
Hope all is well with you
Matt
Good article and good advice Matt.
I too have suffered in the past by building exact match domain sites with single or limited products, when the product owner decided to change their marketing strategies and not include SEO sites.
Months of work and a good income stream down the drain.
In saying that some are still raking in good incomes. Win some, lose some.
Will be broadening my approach as you have over the years, away from these traditional “Sniper type Sites”.
Always a good read Matt
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:49 pm
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Good stuff Peter
Regards
Matt
Thanks again for these tips. This is often overlooked when one is so anxious to start building the new website.
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:49 pm
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Thanks Sara,
Matt
This was very helpful Matt thanks for the detailed post on choosing a niche I’m working on choosing some new niches now and this info has me thinking of different ways to get into more niche markets.
Thanks for the post!!
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:50 pm
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You’re welcome Anthony,
Good to see you taking action
Matt
Recently, I’ve read in a few places the importance of creating great content and capturing e-mail addresses as the two most important aspects of the IM business. However, if one does not select the correct niche and do the right keyword research, then the other two is useless.
Thanks Matt for this great post. I love reading your posts. As always, mate, you cool bro.
P.S: BTW, whats the url of your e-commerce store? Are u only targetting Aussie market?
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:51 pm
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Hi Owen
Good points here.
Sorry but I don’t give out my URL’s, too many folks to the wrong thing by me and copy, I’m sure you can understand
Matt
Once again great information. I have only been following you for a month and I made more money listening to you than the people I have been following for years. Keep the good content coming.
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:51 pm
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That’s great news Cedric!
Matt
Very educative post Matt. All what you said makes sense mostly when buying a domain name as I always buy generic domain names that would enable me use it for other purposes in case anything happens.
Thanks so much. I learnt quite alot in your post.
John
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:52 pm
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You’re very welcome John, glad to help
Matt
Hey Matt,
Thanks for inviting over for the free tips and good information on web site SEO and building with a plan.
Good job.
Your efforts are appreciated.Your welcome to come over to my blog and visit any time you like. We like to talk to good folks that are helpful and ethical .If you stop by leave a comment so I know you were there.
To your Success
Regards
Zora
Thanks for the article Matt…
The last point brings it home so to speak. There are just so many niche sites out there that are absolutely junk and have no intentions of providing value to anyone other than put money in their pockets.
Cheers
Dave
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:52 pm
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Yeah very true Dave
Thanks
Matt
Back when I first started in this grand adventure, I sought out weird repugnant niches so as to avoid competition.
There is only so much you can write about urinary incontinence and bladder leakage. I must admit I was happy when I learned to adjust and target buyer keywords within the more profitable niches.
Sales still trickle in from time to time on that old urinary incontinence blog. (pardon the pun)
First rate post as usual, Matt
Thanks!
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:53 pm
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Thanks Brett,
Glad you liked the post
Matt
Yes Matt, I quite agree with you your point is very clear. But I believe that having a network of quality contents in authority sites and converting the traffic to an ecommerce store is a good monetisation method
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:53 pm
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For sure,
Matt
Nice tips Matt. I love that you mentioned keyword variation as in my opinion, this is crucial for you to target them and get traffic via various kind of keywords. I’d always prefer traffic from multiple keywords comparing to one single keyword.
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:54 pm
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Yes indeed Ming,
Matt
Thanks, Matt, for your thoughts and suggestions on finding a good niche. This is something I struggle with and any advice is always appreciated. I’m actually glad to hear that you think it is best to move away from exact match domains now and use broader domain names. It’s so much easier to come up with more content for a broader site and hopefully rise in Google’s eyes. Karleen
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:55 pm
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Hi Karleen
Yeah it is easier to produce high quality sites this way,
Keep up the good work
Matt
Great information. I keep struggling with the niche keyword problem!…
Interesting to post a comment tomorrow, today! Still the 22nd in Tennessee, USA. You always send tips worth reading. Keep up the good work.
Cararta
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:55 pm
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Thanks Carata
Matt
Thanks, Matt, I am starting over and trying to do a better job of niche and keyword finding.
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:56 pm
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Hi Elizabeth
I sarted over many times when I got into this online stuff, it’s all part of the journey so don’t feel disheartened.
Matt
Hi Matt
Just to clarify… if I’m in the gadget niche I should get a generic domain name (e.g. greatgadgets.com) and use product-specific keyword-targeted individual pages (e.g. title: swiss army knife) within that site, rather than a use product-specific domain name. Correct?
Thanks
Louise
Matt Carter Reply:
February 23rd, 2012 at 5:36 pm
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Hi Louise
The question you need to ask yourself is, have you covered the niche topic well or not? yes it is much better to have a general domain like you mentioned, BUT you still have to make sure your site as a whole still provides valuable content for the user. ALWAYS think of the user experience on your site, and ask yourself if you arrived on this site about swiss army knives, would you see it at as a great resource?
Regards
Matt
Mr. Matt,
As always you have given me a lot of food for thought. Your post was very helpful to my online work.
I also am one who is passionate about what I do, I just lack the online education, thankfully I have you and your guideance to show me the way.
respectfully
frank
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:57 pm
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Good stuff Frank, you’ll get a handle on this online stuff if you stick at it and take action on what you learn.
Matt
Thanks Matt…always great stuff!
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:57 pm
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Your welcome
Matt
Matt,
I have not seen all of your materials but do you do all of your own website programming? I just have one site I am building out with a lot of posts and content but finding it a bit painful to outsource the word press programming. At the same time I do not want to spend hours trying to figure out HTML programming. Any suggestions? thanks again for the great content as always
Mark
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:59 pm
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Hi Mark
I outsource all of that stuff, no point in wasting time trying to learn it when there are great outsourcers. I find workers in the Philippines are good, and also Russia. Not had a very good experience with workers from India though.
Matt
Mark Armstrong Reply:
February 25th, 2012 at 10:04 am
Thanks Matt. I have been more or less having the same experience. I can find some Phillipine guys on Odesk but not many and almost never anyone from Russia or other Eastern European countries. I will have to perhaps look at Elance.
Matt,
I was hoping you could clarify 2 things for me:
1. What do you consider a medium / large scare site? Is it based on number of pages? If yes, can you give us an approximate number of pages it should contain?
2. What do you consider good keyword variation?
Is it a seed keyword say with 50 different variations?
Thanks.
Matt Carter Reply:
February 23rd, 2012 at 5:33 pm
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Hi Metrod
The size of a site is not as important as the quality and the site structure. If you have a well planned site with 30 pages, that covers the niche topic well, then that is enough. However if you have 90 pages and the content is low quality and doesn not cover the niche topic well then that is not enough.
Matt
Great post as always Matt. I have made a few websites now but on looking back I realize that I have made mistakes in choosing my niches as I’ve not much headway. Great advice from you on this. Thanks very much for sharing.
Cheers
Rema
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 7:59 pm
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Don’t worry Rema, we have all done that at some stage, it’s all part of the process.
Matt
Hi MAtt
Nice Post. I think I’m going to have to listen to your Rapid Income blueprint lessons again as I found your pre-Panda link building lessons weren’t really producing backlinks in my niche
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 8:00 pm
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Panda isn’t about links, it is about content, but anyway the link building works fine for me.
Regards
Matt
Hey Matt,
I was referred here as I am on your mailing list. I like your point that you don’t have to be the first to build a site in a particular niche. Just need to do things better.
This so helpful for people who are building niche authority sites, of between 50 to 100 pages, and who are thinking of monetizing from the traffic. It is a slow but rewarding process.
Very informative paragraph on BACKUP PLANS. Can you kindly revert how to get scripts to rotate different banners? Marvelous idea Matt.
Awaiting your reply. Thank you.
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 8:01 pm
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Just outsource this on odesk.com and someone will build you a script.
Matt
Hey Matt,
Thanks for the good stuff once again. Some day I would like to hear more from you on “Monetization Methods” – What works more and what works less, at the moment. I believe, a lot of us will benefit from your insights.
Best Regards,
Somen.
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 8:02 pm
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Hi Somen,
I do a lot of things, affiliate marketing, lead generation and ecommerce more recently. I enjoy them all, and they all work well.
Matt
“Cleaning sinks with a toothbrush” – this is what my next website will be about lol
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 8:02 pm
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Let me know how it goes!
lol
Matt
Great info Matt,
I am new…haven’t built a site yet but have read your updated RPF. I want to compliment you on your knowledge in this field and high level of integrity. I get slammed with so many SCAM artists in this industry. I plan to follow your RPF exactly and not procrastinate looking at all these other options. Yes, I too would like to know the URL for your ecommerce site.
Aloha and Mahalo, Allen
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 8:03 pm
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Thanks Allen
Can’t share URL’s here though, far too public.
Regards
Matt
Love the post Matt, great information on how to approach niches and how to find keywords and beat the competition on some level. I especially liked the something interesting part. I’ve learned it sure does help! Regards..Grant
Matt Carter Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 8:04 pm
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Thanks Grant
Matt
Hi Matt,
I always enjoy reading your post as it contains a lot of common sense to be implemented, straight forward without too many technical jargon.
Keep posting useful article Matt.
Thanks
Another great post Matt
I don’t want to come across as “gushy” or anything but I really do believe that you’re raising the standard of online marketing. Unfortunately I suspect that IM is only a reflection of society in general so you and others like you have an uphill battle on your hands. Even some of the “top name” marketers can’t spell ethics. The people I now have time to listen to are a very select bunch. Thanks
Hi Mat
Thank you for the tips on picking a niche, I have got to say any advice you give you always go into it in depth.
Lorean
Thanks Matt,
Great post and excellent recent update to Rapid Profit Formula by the way.
I know you don’t like plugging products but, I must say, that I subscribed to SE Cockpit (on your recommendation) and it’s been brilliant for uncovering some great niches in some surprising areas. Niches that I would always have thought were sewn up a long time ago.
I was hesitant to spend yet more money on internet marketing (like everyone, I’ve been through the mill) but, your methods actually work! It’s not just more “pie in the sky” crap. I know I can build a real, profitable, long term business online. So, that’s worth investing in.
On another point – I’ve been building mostly exact match domain sites for a couple of years now and I’ve just been through them all to work out how many visitors = how many affiliate link clicks = how many sales = how much profit per keyword.
Sounds boring but, I’ve now built a formula into a spreadsheet that allows me to roughly estimate what the potential profits are in the niches I’m investigating (It’s like your rapid profit formula one but with a $ total at the bottom).
If I can’t make $500 US a month from a decent selection of keywords I don’t go into that niche.
Cheers
Mark
Greetings Matt,
I like the idea of eCommerce store since I am not able to sell
AMAZON, all the software and WSO’s seemed to be geared to it.
Got any place I could find store template theme for a new site?
As always, I appreciate all the good information, I like to follow you because you are among the few people I subscribe to that does not jam my email inbox with a lot of Rubish.
Thank you!
Hi Matt,
I’ve messed up some affiliate website startups because off no proper keyword research, but thanks to your SEO experts academy and reading your blog, I’m on the right way now.
Thanx,
Ewald.
As always you info is very helpful to me. I am a newbie and find you stuff is some of the best I have found.
Thanks much
Dan
i think that choosing the niche is harder thing but i prefer any one who want to build a site that he love the nich
All great points. All the research in the world can lead you astray. In my opinion… it’s all in the keywords. Thanx
Hey Matt – Thanks for another great post. After reading your comments I always head back to my sites for tweaking.
One question… Is it acceptable to have a single post under multiple categories on a website if the content pertains to more than one or would that be viewed as duplicate content?
Thanks!
Those are the rock solid fundamentals that can’t be overlooked if you want to be successful. Thanks Matt
Some great advice there Matt this is something I struggle with I have built sites in the past that get to the front page of Google but make no money because I have one of the elements wrong that you talk about.
Thanks
Hey Matt. More great stuff. I’ve paid money for lesser information than what you provide for free.
Ever since I’ve started marketing, keyword and niche research have been my biggest hurdles. It’s great to gain some clarity concerning these aspects of gaining ground online.
Thanks again, Trev
Matt, IMO what you’ve described above quite well are great characteristics of a good niche market rather than how to find a good niche market as your title suggests!
Tony
Hi Matt – I have been following your blog for a while and really appreciate the help you offer. Learning SEO is tough at first but you help to make things clear, so thanks for that!
I know this is a bit off topic for this post but I wondered if you could give me your thoughts on Backlink Banzai, have you used it? I think it sounds perfect for my needs but can’t find much neutral info online. Any advice you could give would be really useful. Cheers!
There is some great ideas here. Thank You for all the help you give me for everyday cash
Hi Matt,
Great post! Thanks for sharing your insights and awesome tips that can shed light to those who seek. Great job and keep it up!
$onny
Hi Matt: Thank you for your insight as always. I am curious what you do for lead generation? Being in the insurance business, it would be helpful to create and follow-up my own leads.
Cheers,
Chris
Your advice is spot on.Because I have followed you for some time now and read all your posts it has made me go from $50 a month to $1500 a month on a regular bases.
What I do is reviews on products-however there is a spin to this-A hobby became a earning site,because I knew what I was talking about and owned the product.I realize that is hard for everyone to do that,but I feel even if say you were a beginner oil painter and had bought some brushes,paints,etc you then know what works for you and can easily make great unique content.
I have many blogs on reviewing products,the only ones that work are the ones I have used the product.
The other thing I do is for instance I am into the RC world of model helicopters and planes-if doing a review of a certain heli I think is really just average I tell my viewers “no I would not buy it” The return comments and emails sent to me are “What would you recommend” -do you see how being as you mentioned ethical and honest will still get you sales-Great post Matt-Thank you for your past help and advice.JT
Really helpful tips here. I am still fairly new at affiliate marketing and ill have to keep this in mind. I have recently created a website http://www.affiliates-market.net and i am finally making some progress. Thanks for the help!
Hi Matt
Firstly, great post with useful information as per your norm. I have also used Amazon.com to research good Niche’s. Basically, you look at the ‘best selling products’ and from there you can think of a Niche based on what people are already spending money on.
After that, do your keyword research!
FYI
I’m half way through your ‘SEO Experts Academy Course’ & it’s a Great Course – Thank You!
Rapid Profit Formula next (Maybe)
Thanks for another great post, Matt.
One question… If Google doesn’t pay attention to domain names, what do you think about this backup plan – to create a new project in an old domain, regardless of what the domain name is. In this variant, keywords needed for SEO will be in the URLs of web pages.
Can the project be successful?
Thanks,
Albert
Another great post and I have found that variety of keywords with fairly low search volumes gets an overall good amount of traffic which then goes on to buy a variety of items.
Variety of keywords is a thumbs up with me and exact domain seems to have lost its potency.
I see that Duane mentions Rapid Profit formula, well I can tell you that it works. Common sense, a methodical approach and the course has now seen affiliates sale every month in my three sites.
Thanks
Jon
Hey Matt,
Good post as always sir. You covered a lot of info in this post, kind of a summery of your free video course. It doesn’t matter how long an individual has been in this game / business, there is always room for improvement. I really appreciate the reminders, this post prompted me to check my sites keyword structures again and had I not, I wouldn’t have known that an auto-save by WordPress had deleted most of my content on the front page of my main site! I was wondering why business had dropped off.
It’s important to check yourself from time to time,there is always room for improvement!
Roland
I simply wanted to jot down a simple word to thank you for those great ideas you are giving out here. My prolonged internet lookup has now been compensated with incredibly good knowledge to write about with my contacts. I ‘d state that that most of us visitors actually are undoubtedly endowed to dwell in a decent community with many awesome individuals with beneficial hints. I feel rather fortunate to have seen your weblog and look forward to really more fun moments reading here. Thanks once more for a lot of things.
Hi Matt,
I see you mention an upgraded version of RPF. I have the original; how do I get an upgrade?
Thanks
Matt Carter Reply:
February 25th, 2012 at 6:27 am
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Its in the same place.
Matt
Hi Matt,
Thanks for highlighting the mistake on using ‘exact domain match’, I am sure there are still many Internet marketing Gurus that advocates ‘exact domain match’ techniques. I guess from key points that you have highlighted I will start to change my strategy as well. After, you rightfully pointed out the impact of using this method.
Thanks
Matt Carter Reply:
February 26th, 2012 at 7:29 am
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Yeah I would, the problem is that a lot of people who have course our there don’t update them and so people are still doing old tactics that don’t work.
Hi Mat
I have 50 + sites and not one of them earns more then £2.00 a month, I would be quite happy if they did, I have been trying to mack mouny on line for years and don’t seem to be able to do very well I follow you and have several sites with your theme on them http://www.amazoning.co.uk http://www.1stpro.com and http://www.dawntrade.co.uk
I have addsence on them all and Amazon but still don’t earn much mony
Google ows me £53 odd not enough to pay me yet and that has taken years to earn. It’s all very hard work, I try hard to get things on the sites looking good as you serjest but frankly I am begging to wander if any of them ever will earn.
Any comment?
regards
A bit sad dpo.
Matt Carter Reply:
February 27th, 2012 at 6:36 am
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My best advice is to forget about the 50 sites, as there is not way you can do 50 sites of high quality, these sites I assume are thin affiliate site. Find a good niche, and build out an authority site, and make it awesome, then you will do well.
Matt
Frankly, I was in the list of many Internet Marketers. But in the past few months, I’ve been striking my name off some of these marketers’ lists.
But Matt is NOT one of them. I remain in Matt’s list because of posts like this – sensible, logical, practical advice.
Thank you, Matt.
Matt-
You talk about backlinks quite a bit. Is there a free tool to find the amount of backlinks going to a competitors site?
Thanks
Kevin
Matt Carter Reply:
February 28th, 2012 at 6:38 am
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SEO Spyglass is ok, for free version.
Kevin Reply:
February 28th, 2012 at 9:37 am
Thanks for your reply. I do feel that buying one of these programs is probably a good idea. Can you recommend one? Thanks again.
Thanks – Great tips Matt!
Love the one about lots of keyword variation. This is so true, I often run out of keywords to go for!
Nice one!
Thanks for the great article Matt. I’m glad you included the back up plan section as that is something I think all of us have been guilty of neglecting. Always take a long term view to these things and you’ll do a good job of avoiding failure.
Fantastic post!
Mark
http://marklyons.net/
thanks for the tips, keyword variation is very good advice, I learnt something new today.
Matt,
Thanks so much for your free Affiliate marketing training. I have learned more from your free information, than from another site that I paid for.
Matt Carter Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 6:38 am
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You’re welcome
Matt
I’d like to thanks you Matt. I’m only starting out in internet marketing and I like your ethos of ethical niches. It’s so easy (when you’re starting out) to fall prey to the big promise of big £!
I think that keyword variation is a very important aspect to building a site. You need to create unique content centered around your niche and main keyword, so having many options really helps. Also, need to make sure that people are actually searching for your keywords. Doesn’t make sense to put a lot of time and effort in a website only to have no visitors.
when you mention ethical market….what are the examples of unethical sites or niche….
Matt Carter Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 6:37 am
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Anything that is helping people, that also doesn’t hurt others in the process.
Matt
Hi Matt, to me finding a good niche is one of the hardest things. I found some niches using MS but I have no interest in them, so working at them is not as enjoyable as I had hoped.
I always welcome your mails as it is usually good stuff, and I enjoy your webinars.
Thanks for it all.
David.
Matt Carter Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 6:36 am
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Thanks David
Matt
Thanks Matt, i can testify to the fact that if there is no money to be made in a niche, getting to the top page of Google will not do you any good, it looks good but doesn’t pay.
I was unable to post to the WordPress Thread, so forgive me posting here.
Hi Matt,
I just wanted to say that we are working on our first website, after going through your Rapid Profit Formula program.
In working on this website, I have come across a few WordPress plugins that I have found useful. I don’t know if others have used them, but I thought that I would share them, as they have been a big help to us.
The first one is Exclude Pages from Navigation (version Version 1.92). It allows you to choose whether or not you would like a given web page to be included in the menu bar or not. I am creating pages that I reference via links from other pages, but do not need them to show in the menu bar.
The other is Category Order (version 1.0.3). At first I was using posts and categories, but have since decided to just go with static pages. When I was using the categories, this plugin was very useful in allowing me to choose the order in which the categories widget displayed the categories.
Both of these plugins have been useful to us. I hope other can make use of them as well.
Thanks for all that you do, Matt.
Regards,
Skipper and Linda Stevens
Atlanta, GA
Matt,
I’ve been balancing my niche sites between ecommerce and affiliate and trying to fine-tune the best mix. With much higher margins coming form ecommerce, there are also bigger headaches. Good domain names for SEO have always been key as well for me. thanks!
Hello,
Thank you very much for these excellent tips and advice. I am still new to niche marketing and devouring every little bit of niche marketing knowledge that I pick up, so to speak!
I learned more in your one page than I did with several books on “how to pick a niche”! Thanks again! 
Hey Matt,
I like your point about looking for opportunity in a niche. Finding the weak spot with the competition and figuring how you can add more value or do something better is always a great thing to think about.
With so many websites to compare ourselves to, we have to look at how to be different and resist the temptation to do more of the same. Not so easy sometimes.
Great food for thought,
Liz
Matt,
In your video on building web sites, you make a comment about SE Cockpit, but I never heard anything about this. Did I miss a video? The previous video I have was about competition. Also, did you have any training on getting a host gator account, or was that for me to get figured out. Thanks.
Matt Carter Reply:
March 3rd, 2012 at 10:42 am
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Hi Susan
I did a webinar all about SE COckpit here – http://mattsmarketingblog.com/webinars/keyword-profits-webinar/
Regards
Matt
Hey Matt,
I am following your Blog from a a while, and this is the first time that I am commenting. I really like your Blog!
The articles are amazing. I would like to participate at the Seo Expert Academy. However, unfortunately, it is close. Do you have any idea about when will it open?
I am looking forward to do this course.
Thanks.
Matt Carter Reply:
March 3rd, 2012 at 10:41 am
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HI, thanks for stopping by. The SEO Academy is closed for now and not sure if and when we will reopen it.
Regards
Matt
One word of advise which I didn’t follow when I made my site because I didn’t know any better is have the name of your niche in your website name if at all possible. I’ve inquired about changing the name but it seems like too much of a hassle. Also, there are usually a lot of products that you could branch out into. Like if your site was about dog training you could look into other products that would compliment the site like dog leashes, dog supplies, books on training, etc.
Hi Matt,
your blog is defently one of the best blogs out there with allot of information. I also try to use separate niche blogs for user information, on of the best is urlaub.
Greetings from Germany
hey Matt,
where can I get lisa’s authority site building course ?
Please advise.
dean