7 Ways To Scratch Your Niche Itch

Got an itch for a new niche? Me too. Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time exploring new niche ideas to build blogs around. It has been quite a learning experience and a lot of fun. It’s the thrill of the hunt!

As I’ve gone through countless searches — and I do mean countless — I wanted to share with you some places you might look for niches that you might not have thought about. It’s surprisingly simple and soon you’ll find yourself getting hooked, too.

1. Just Brainstorm
Clearly, the most common method of searching for niches is just spending time thinking about it. However, it may be a little unproductive at times. Just like finding the inspiration you need to write your next post, so too can waiting for lighning to strike on that next money-making keyword.

But don’t fret. There’s something that will help. I carry a small notebook with me to jot down ideas. Sometimes I just create notes on my BlackJack II phone. Whenever I have an idea pop into my head, I jot it down. Whenever I see a product, name, object that might have potential, I write it down then and there to research later.

2. Google’s Keyword tool
A no-brainer, but I can’t tell you just how much this tool has helped me find more about what I was searching for. In fact, it has often been a waterfall of ideas for me. Not only does it tell me about things I typed in, but the other related keywords it produces have frequently spawned off other ideas, which I then investigate, and so on, and so on.

3. Google Keyword tool - Part 2
Don’t overlook the website content searcher which is the second radio button on the left! Let’s say you find a site that’s in a niche you’re interested in. You could brainstorm all day and hope to find untapped keywords, or you could let Google tell you what the related keywords are for that site. At the very least, you could end up with ideas you hadn’t considered before.

4. ebay Categories
Just like the previous two methods, ebay categories can help you avoid reinventing the wheel by showing you what someone else has already thought about. So if you’re interested in finding a product that has potential for you to create a niche blog on, I suggest you browse the categories to get your juices flowing. Making sure to check the “completed listings” will assist you in determining what are good sellers.

But don’t stop there. Still do your research on the products/keywords that show promise before deciding on which ones you should really go after.

5. Add pivotal words to your keywords
I call them pivotal words, words that can open up a whole new category simply by attaching them to your list of keywords. For example, let’s say you’re interested in the “real estate” niche. A pretty crowded niche, no doubt, but if you were to add some other words to it you might have something like “real estate software”, “real estate jobs”, “real estate supplies” you might be able to crack open a hidden niche.

6. Google Trends
Yeah, Google again. Using Google Trends can help you see what’s hot right now. What are people interested in at the moment? I’ve known people who’ve been able to capitalize on these hot topics, but you have to be quick and you’ll get better results if you respond on an established blog as opposed to building one for the sole purpose of what you find.

7. Resource sites
Probably not something that comes to mind for niche ideas, and personally, I’ve never used them for this yet, but I’ve heard that places like HowStuffWorks, eHow, Wikipedia even can help spark an idea. HowStuffWorks in particular I can see why because they have a “what’s hot” category.

What are some other ways that you use to generate new niches or keywords?

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