How to Find Niche Keywords in 7 Steps

How to Find Niche Keywords in 7 Steps
Keywords form the backbone of any strong SEO strategy — they're the bread and butter of search engine ranking. But single, broad, high-volume keywords aren't always the answer; there's another player in the game that often goes unnoticed by marketers - Niche Keywords.

Niche keywords, also known as 'long-tail keywords,' are highly specific, focused phrases that drive targeted traffic from search engines to websites. These phrases are directly related to the specific industry or market segment, often known as a 'niche,' in which the company operates.

a diagram shows the distinguishing features of niche keywords

For example, say you're a company selling handmade vegan soaps — 'vegan soap' or 'handmade vegan soap' could be niche keywords for you. They are smaller in volume compared to broader keywords like 'soap,' but they attract a highly relevant audience.

These keywords are vital to your SEO strategy, and here's why:

  1. Less Competition: Niche keywords are highly specific, meaning fewer businesses competing for the same terms. This gives you a higher chance of ranking on the first page of Google.
  2. Increased Visibility: Niche keyword traffic usually ends up with higher engagement rates, conversions, and return on investment — simply because the traffic they attract is highly targeted.
  3. User Intent: In a world where Google prioritizes Intent-match, niche keywords enable you to closely match a user's intent, serving exactly what they're looking for.

Examples of Niche Keywords

Here are a few examples of how niche keywords work. For three different businesses in the fashion industry:

  1. If you're selling winter jackets for men, instead of targeting 'jackets,' you could go for 'men's waterproof winter jackets' or 'insulated men's winter jackets.'
  2. For a business selling designer dresses, 'designer dresses' or 'luxury designer gowns' could serve as niche keywords rather than broad phrases like 'dresses.'
  3. A shoe store could use 'women's athletic running shoes' instead of just 'shoes.'

Remember, the goal isn't just to attract traffic; it's to attract the right kind of traffic. And niche keywords do exactly that.

The Key Benefits of Finding Niche Keywords for Your Business

an illustration of a women that walks onto a target

Here are the main reasons how niche keywords can boost your business:

SEO Ranking

SEO is all about improving your site's visibility to increase its ranking on the search engines. One of the best ways to do this is using niche keywords. When you target a specific niche, competition for your keywords decreases.

Why?

Broad, generic keywords might have high search volume, but they're also targeted by numerous businesses, making it harder for you to rank. On the other hand, niche keywords are specific terms related to your business, and not every business will be using the same set!

Using these niche keywords in your content, meta tags, URL, and other SEO-friendly locations sends signals to search engines about the relevancy of your content. This strategy can lead to a better position in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), giving your website a ranking boost.

Niche keyword ranking = Better visibility = More chances of getting clicked = Increased business awareness!

Increased Organic Traffic

The secret sauce to driving organic traffic to your website isn't just through getting a higher ranking. It's about driving the right kind of traffic - the type that has the potential to convert into loyal customers.

When individuals use niche keywords in their search queries, they are more likely to be closer to making a purchase. They know exactly what they are looking for.

For instance, someone looking up 'shoes' is just browsing. But someone searching 'women's black leather hiking boots' has a specific product in mind and is probably ready to buy. The latter keyword phrase is a great example of a niche keyword.

Including these highly targeted terms increases the chances of your site appearing in front of these motivated searchers. As a result, you can expect to see an increase in organic traffic and conversion rates.

Focused and Relevant Content

Another significant benefit of using niche keywords is that they guide you in creating focused and relevant content. These keywords align closely with your products or services, helping to keep your content focused.

When visitors come to your site, they are looking for information on the specific niche keywords they've used in their search. Creating content that incorporates these keywords ensures that you're providing exactly what your audience wants to see.

Not only does this satisfy your readers, but it also tells search engines like Google that you're a reliable and relevant source of information, creating a win-win situation!

Additionally, through niche keywords, you may also identify areas where there's a knowledge gap and tackle it. For example, if there's a significant volume for 'how to use essential oils for stress relief' and you sell essential oils, crafting content around this topic can be an excellent opportunity for you to establish authority and provide value.

Naturally incorporating niche keywords into your piece enhances your content's relevance to search engines, helping them understand what the page is about and enabling it to show up precisely where it matters... On the front page of Google!

Step-by-step Guide on How to Find Niche Keywords

an illustration that includes two people doing keyword research

Finding niche keywords need not be a daunting task if you know the right steps to follow. Here is a comprehensive step-by-step guide to help you find the best niche keywords for your business.

Step 1: Define Your Niche Target Audience

When it comes to finding niche keywords, the first step you want to take is defining your target audience. Who are you catering to? What are their interests? What kind of content or product are they likely to search for?

The closer you are to understanding your audience, the better your chances of finding niche keywords that resonate with them.

Define their demographics, online behavior, interests, and needs. Gauge their language, pain points, and aspirations. This will form the basis of your niche keyword research.

Step 2: Look for Common Questions in Your Niche

With your target audience defined, start digging into their common queries. What are the typical questions your audience asks related to your niche? What problems are they trying to solve?

You can use platforms like Quora, Reddit, and niche forums to see what your audience is discussing. Social media platforms can also be a goldmine of information.

The aim here is to find long-tail keywords in the form of questions. Later, you can craft content around these questions, providing value to your readers and serving their intent.

Step 3: Use a Keyword Research Tool

Now that you know your audience and their common questions, it's time to identify potential niche keywords. For this, use a keyword research tool.

Tools like SEOmator, Ahrefs, or even Google's Keyword Planner can help you uncover low-competition keywords that are still highly relevant to your audience. They also provide important metrics like search volume, keyword difficulty, and cost-per-click (CPC) – insights that help you decide which keywords are worth targeting.

You're looking for keywords with a decent search volume but low competition. Investing in low-competition keywords can bolster your chances of securing a spot on the first page of Google search results.

Step 4: Refine Your Niche Keyword List

At this stage of the game, you probably have a long list of potential niche keywords. Not all of them are going to be useful, so your task now is to refine and sort this list.

Start by eliminating irrelevant or off-topic keywords. Then consider the user intent behind each keyword. For this, analyze the SERPs for the keyword. If the content aligns with what you have to offer, it’s a good match.

Next, you need to consider your business capabilities, your SEO resources, and goals while finalizing keywords.

Step 5: Determine How Competitive Your Niche Keyword Phrases Are

Now, you need to evaluate the competition level for your chosen niche keywords. Understanding the competition will give you an idea of how challenging it would be to rank for these terms.

Use your keyword research tool to check the keyword difficulty (KD) for your chosen keywords. Generally, keywords with lower difficulty scores are ideal since they are less competitive and thus easier to rank for.

Consider the SERPs as well. Look at the top-ranking pages — what type of content are they providing? How comprehensive are their posts? Do you think you can create better, more valuable content?

Step 6: Compare Keyword Metrics

Once you have your narrowed-down list of potential niche keywords, the next step is to compare their metrics. Comparing the search volume, click-through-rate (CTR), CPC and conversion rate will give you an idea of their potential to drive traffic and generate conversions.

In the end, choose keywords that strike a balance between high search volume, low competition, and high relevance.

Step 7: Track Niche Keyword Performance Over Time

Now, this is an ongoing task. SEO is an ever-changing field, and you need to stay up-to-date with your performance.

Tracking your keyword success gives you valuable insights into what's working and where you need to iterate. You can monitor your keyword rankings, organic traffic, bounce rate, and most importantly, conversions.

You can use a rank tracking tool to help you keep an eye on your keyword performance. Remember, seeing positive results could take time.

Tips for Finding the Best Niche Keywords

Focusing on niche keywords brings several benefits to your business's SEO strategy. But how do you go about making the most from your niche keyword research?

It's all about understanding how to segment your keyword research and knowing what keyword features to look for.

Segmenting Your Keyword Research

One size does not fit all when it comes to keyword research. Your SEO strategy should be tailored to your business's needs, and one effective way to do this is by segmenting your keyword research.

cubes grouped by their colors

Doing so can help you gain more granular insights, align better with your audience's intent, and ultimately drive more targeted, high-converting traffic to your site.

Here's how you can segment your keyword research:

By demographic information: Are you catering to a young audience or an older generation? Are your products or services more suitable for one gender? By segmenting your keywords based on demographic characteristics, you can uncover valuable insights and more effectively cater to your target audience.

By geographic location: If your business operates in specific regions, segmenting your keywords by location is essential. Doing so helps you tap into local SEO, an important aspect of any successful SEO strategy today.

By user intent: User intent, or the reason behind a searcher's query, can be either informational (they want to learn), navigational (they want to go), transactional (they want to buy), or commercial investigation (they are considering buying). By identifying and segmenting your keywords according to user intent, you can create content that directly caters to your audience's needs.

By product category: Especially beneficial for eCommerce businesses, segmenting keywords by product category helps you create highly targeted and relevant content.

By seasonality: Some keywords are seasonally relevant. Segmenting them based on seasonality helps you capitalize on timely trends and events.

Segmented keyword research helps fine-tune your SEO strategy and increases your chances of attracting the right audience at the right time with the right content.

Keyword Features To Look For

Knowing which features to look for when conducting your niche keyword research can drastically enhance your strategy. Here is a brief look at some key keyword features that you need to consider during your research process:

Relevance: As mentioned before, relevance should be the backbone of your keyword research. The more relevant a keyword is to your content or business, the higher your chances of attracting qualified organic search traffic.

Search Volume: This refers to the number of searches a particular keyword gets during a specified time period on a search engine. It’s crucial to find keywords with a significant search volume within your target audience.

Keyword Difficulty: Some keywords are harder to rank for than others due to high competition. An ideal niche keyword should be relatively easier to rank for—meaning it should have lower keyword difficulty.

Cost-per-click (CPC): If you use PPC in conjunction with SEO, CPC is an important factor. It tells you how much each click on the keyword will cost when you bid for it in your PPC campaigns.

Competitive Density: This is the number of advertisers bidding on each keyword relative to all keywords across Google. If you're also running PPC campaigns, look for keywords with lower competitive density.

By segmenting your keyword research and understanding the features to look for in a keyword, you can strategically enhance your SEO performance, converting a passive browser into a devoted customer.

5 SEO Tools to Find Niche Keywords

Once you've understood the importance of niche keywords for your business and have learned about how to go about finding them for SEO, another important aspect to consider is how to find these niche keywords.

Here is the good news: You don't have to do this manually. There are several exceptional tools available that can simplify the process for you and are extremely efficient at discovering and analyzing niche keywords.

1. SEOmator: SEOmator is a comprehensive all-in-one SEO platform for digital marketing professionals. It's particularly known for its exceptional keyword research tool.

2. Google Keyword Planner: The Google Keyword Planner is a free Google Ads tool for new or experienced advertisers to help them research and discover new keywords related to their business.

3. MOZ Keyword Explorer: It allows you to find keywords by site or topic and provides keyword suggestions, SERP Analysis, and a competitor keyword matrix.

4. KWFinder: KWFinder specializes in finding long-tail keywords with low SEO difficulty.

5. SpyFu: It allows you to see every keyword your competitors have ever bought on Google Ads, every organic rank, and every ad variation in the last 13 years.

Improving Your Campaigns With Niche Keywords

arrows o the paper

Embarking on your SEO journey is not a one-way street. You don't just choose keywords and forget about them after they're added to your website's content. One of the most significant aspects of a successful SEO campaign is the constant improvement and enhancement of your strategy.

In this section, we will go over two key strategies involving niche keywords – optimizing your Local SEO and creating valuable content using niche keywords.

With the right approach, these methods can significantly enhance your SEO campaign and drive more targeted, organic traffic to your site. Let's dive right in!

Optimizing Local SEO With Niche Keywords

Local SEO refers to the practice of optimizing your online presence for attracting more business from relevant local searches on search engines. It is essentially the practice of getting your business to appear on the front page of Google for a local audience.

While local SEO involves many factors, incorporating niche keywords is one of the most fundamental ways to give your local SEO a boost. Below are some methods to do so:

Use location-specific niche keywords: Consider keywords that your local customers might search for. For example, if you run a vegan restaurant in Miami, keywords like 'vegan restaurant in Miami' or 'Miami vegan eatery' should be a part of your SEO strategy.

Optimize your website content with local keywords: Once you have your list of local niche keywords ready, incorporate them organically into your website's content. This includes your main pages, blog posts, meta titles and descriptions, and URLs.

Optimize your Google My Business profile: Make sure your Business Profile is claimed and verified on Google, with complete and accurate information. Use local keywords in your business description and your posts.

Earn backlinks from local businesses: Backlinks from respected local businesses or local directories can significantly boost your local SEO. Not only do they help your site's overall SEO, but they also help Google identify the location relevance of your website.

Get reviews: Positive reviews on your Google My Business profile and other online platforms can significantly impact your local rankings. Encourage happy customers to leave a review about their experience.

Remember, when users conduct a local search, they're most likely looking for a business they can visit immediately or soon. By harnessing the power of local SEO through niche keywords, you're better positioning your business to appear in front of these ready-to-act customers.

Creating Content Using Niche Keywords

Once you have conducted niche keyword research, the next step is to utilize those keywords by creating top-notch, valuable content that caters to your target audience.

Here's how you can do that:

Understand user intent: This will guide you in creating the right type of content. Is the user looking for a product to purchase (transactional), information (informational), or a destination (navigational)? Craft your content according to the intent.

Create content that aligns with search queries: If your niche keyword is a specific question, you can create a blog post or article addressing that query in depth. For instance, if you sell beauty products, and your niche keyword is 'how to apply liquid eyeliner', you can create a tutorial article or video.

Incorporate keywords naturally: Your content should be written for humans, not search engines. While it's important to include your niche keywords, ensure they're slipped in naturally and don't disrupt the flow or readability of your content.

Update existing content: Rather than always creating new content, look at your existing content and see if you can optimize it with your new niche keywords. This could give your old content a new lease on life and improve its visibility.

Consider long-form content: Detailed guides, tutorials, and e-books allow for more natural inclusion of niche keywords and their variations. They also tend to rank higher as they provide more value to users.

By leveraging niche keywords in your content creation strategy, you are enhancing your chances of attracting targeted, high-converting users to your site.

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