Learn Internet Marketing > Weekly Tips > SSWT 5/18/05
 

How To Expand On Your Niche

   
Last week we talked about "Finding New Niches" and I gave you a free report on "Finding Products That SELL!". You can get all of that information online from the archived issue by clicking on the link above.

This week I'd like to continue on with "developing your niche" and what to do with all of the keywords you DONT use...

 
How To Expand On Your Niche
 

In our last issue we looked into keywords related to "birds" and, digging deeper, we looked into "bird feeders". Again, if you missed that issue, you can find it online at:

http://www.selfstartersweeklytips.com/archives/051005.htm

We found that most people were looking for Free Information, such as: how to build bird feeders, bird feeder plans, etc. But we also found one really interesting keyword phrase that got over 140 searches a day: "buy bird feeders online".

So what do we do? We ditch all of those other keywords and focus strictly on building a site and/or pay-per-click campaign around "buy bird feeders online". Right?

Wrong! Let's take a look at how valuable those other keyword phrases could be to us in selling our bird feeders online...

Using the free trial at WordTracker.com, we find that "bird feeders" gets approximately 1,150 searches a day and "bird feeder" gets over 700.

NOTE: Many people mistakenly believe that the trial version of WordTracker will only work once, or for a certain amount of time. Not true! I use the free trial every day, and have for well over a year!

Go to WordTracker and click the trial button in the top navigation bar.

 
Back to our bird feeders - combined the singular and plural forms of that phrase get over 1,800 searches a day. To take a closer look at the "niche", we'll type "bird feeder" into the free trial form at WordTracker. These are the results:

bird feeders 1150
bird feeder 719
squirrel proof bird feeder 302
window bird feeder 270
wild bird feeder 263
oriole bird feeder 197
bird feeder plans 196
wood bird feeder 151
buy bird feeders online 142
decorative bird feeder 134
bird feeder accessories 130
humming bird feeder 109
free bird feeder plans 106
wooden bird feeders 75
wild bird feeders 69

 
(the number out to the right represents the approximate number of searches each day)

 
The phrases above can each represent new sections to your website, all pointing visitors to your "buy bird feeders online" page.

 
What you want to look for in those keywords that you DON'T choose are:

 
Two things to note about this method:

1) If you write an article on your topic, using a keyword phrase in the title, and submit it for reprint on other popular (established) websites... then your article on that page stands a chance of ranking very well for that term. This is a great way to "rank well" in the major search engines well before your own (new) website is ranking at all ;)

2) The same goes for popular (and frequently spidered) discussion forums in your target market. WITHOUT SPAMMING, try to use keywords/phrases in the title of your forum
post... it is much more likely to get picked up by a search engine this way, putting your link/branding in front of your target market well into the future for that keyword term!

 
Not only do both of these methods give you a means of exposure through the search engines before you own site is ranking well... but they also give you Inbound Links to your site, which in turn IS what helps you to get indexed and begin to rank well :)

 
Moving on...

For "bird feeders", I would suggest creating a website with the goal of selling bird feeders as an affiliate. I would specifically look for a merchant that offered a variety of feeders, as listed in our keyword list.

If you are familiar with this type of product, or can find the information, you might also consider building content pages around the various types of bird feeders, or do-it-yourself plans... as well as ANY OTHER bird-related topic that you feel would attract your target market (such as bird watching, bird baths, bird food, etc).

 
Also, consider ANY potential variation of your keyword. For example, note the number of searches for "birdfeeders" instead of "bird feeders":

 
birdfeeders 340
purchase birdfeeders online 79
buy birdfeeders online 78
decorative birdfeeders 65
squirrel proof birdfeeders 65
screen tray birdfeeder 34
birdfeeder 33
birdfeeder plans 25
songbird cedar woodpecker birdfeeder 24
hanging poles for birdfeeders 22
birdfeeder with stand 17
birdfeeder location tips 15
free birdfeeder plans 13
how to make a birdfeeder from household objects 13
squirrel birdfeeder protection 13

 
Or even Bird Houses - which would most likely be the same market that would specifically buy Bird Feeders:

 
bird houses 1025
bird house 434
bird house plans 260
wooden bird house 244
free bird house plans 169
blue bird house 128
decorative bird houses 116
buy bird houses online 79
decorative bird house 78
blue bird houses 75
wren bird house 72
wooden bird houses 67
bird house kit 66
bird house patterns 48
building a bird house 46

 
All of a sudden, you have A LOT of potential content angles to work with! Now here's an interesting twist. Your main goal is to get people to buy bird feeders from your "buy bird feeders online" page, right?

But what about all of the people who are looking for free information on your topic? Will you be able to capitalize on the traffic coming in to your content pages... or interest them in the bird feeders that you are selling?

Not all of them. However, the terms "bird house" and "bird feeder" each have OVER 50 Adwords ads running on Google. This means that there is plenty of opportunity for you to earn an income on Google Adsense click-through's with those content pages!

Now you have two potential sources of income: Affiliate Sales + Google Adsense Revenue. Want to add one more? Set up an email list, or e-course/autoresponder and build a niche mailing list of people that are interested in bird feeders and bird houses.

You can easily offer other products through your list (such as a bird-watching guide), or accept paid advertising from your competitors!

 
That's it for this week. If you have any questions, be sure to meet us over at our Discussion Forum! Also, Be sure to grab your copy of Finding Niche Products That SELL! at this link (it's free!): www.webservicenetwork.com/free-report.htm

  
Have a Super-Successful Week!