In the age of social media and internet-savvy consumers, it is more important than ever to have a well-thought-out niche defined for your blog.
If you are looking into starting a blog (or even if you’ve started one that doesn’t seem to be getting any traction), choosing the right niche is the most important thing to look into.
While it is true that blogging can be lucrative, you still need to choose the right niche for your blog if you want long-term success. If you don't know where to begin with choosing a profitable niche, read on. This article will break down how you should go about choosing the right one for you.
12 Steps to Help You Choose The Right Blog Niche
Here are the different factors to consider before making a final blog niche decision.
1. Determine what you love to write about passionately
People can sense when someone is passionate about a topic that they are writing about. This increases the engagement others will show towards such a blogger.
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Don't choose a topic that you don't feel strongly about or something that bores you to death because chances are if it doesn't interest you, eventually your readers will see through your lack of enthusiasm and stop following your blog. It all starts with choosing a topic that you love sharing your opinion about.
2. See if there is enough demand in this niche by the monthly search volume for popular keywords
While it may be time-consuming at the beginning, finding out how many times people are searching for keywords related to your blog niche will help you decide whether or not starting a blog about that topic is worth it.
Suppose people are searching for something specific related to your niche and aren't finding anything they like (i.e. there are missing gaps in a niche). This is a good sign that you can fill such a content void by starting up a niche blog dedicated to that topic.
On the other hand, don’t be afraid of competition. Sometimes, it’s better to have competition in a niche because it shows that people are searching for, and buying products related to that topic. If there is absolutely no competition in a niche, chances are that it is not worthwhile getting into.
3. Make a list of all the subtopics that fall under what you love writing about
For example, if you decide on starting a blog about sports - your blog niche ideas could be soccer, football, baseball, rugby, etc. If you're interested in writing about those topics as well as coaching youth soccer or playing for fun on the weekend with your buddies, now is the time to take note. These things might make great content for your blog. 'The Insider's Guide to Playing Soccer' would attract a specific type of audience, whereas 'My Love/Hate Relationship with Rugby' might bring in a different kind.
Don't be afraid to branch out into other areas as your niche blog grows if you decide that another topic is more interesting to you. Your first few posts should be about what interests you the most as a blogger, and then as time goes on, it will become easier to write about things outside of this initial niche because you will have an audience that gives you feedback.
4. Look at what competitors are creating to see how you can stand out
Spend some time reading articles and looking at stats related to blog topics in your industry before starting up a new site so that once everything is up and running, you can stand out from everyone else who writes about those same topics.
This will also help you avoid the most common affiliate marketing mistakes that others have made before you.
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If there isn't much difference between your planned blog's content and the content of other popular blogs in your particular space, you may want to reevaluate what topics you want to blog about. No one wants to read another regurgitated article about 'Why Soccer is awesome' or 'How To Train Like a Pro'.
It may be tempting to get discouraged when you see how many established bloggers are already in your chosen blogging niche, but don't let that affect you too much because other blogs on similar topics are created all the time.
While it's important not to put too much pressure on yourself during this process, understanding what will make your blog unique is something that you should consider.
Also, keep a list of domain names that you come across as you are doing your research. If you do decide to go ahead with the niche you’re considering, you'll have to choose your domain name. Do yourself a favor and save yourself some time by making a list of domain names that you like which can help with brainstorming later. Also, keep a list of domain names that you come across as you are doing your research.5. Define your audience and where they hang out
Ask yourself questions such as:
Most profitable blog niches revolve around a specific target audience. Once you know your target audience, it will become much easier to come up with ideas for posts that these readers will enjoy reading. Moreover, you can easily promote your future posts by using social media channels.
This also means that it will be much easier to come up with future blog post ideas, things you can offer potential advertisers, and ways that you can monetize your website. Profitable blog niche ideas are easier to generate when you have solid numbers about a particular industry and understanding your audience and where they can be found is key to starting this process.
6. Decide on the topics that will be covered on your blog
What are some topics that you could write about in-depth without needing much research at all? Answering this question might be key to unlocking the exact topics to go for.
You need to be willing to come up with lots of ideas for blog posts regularly - the more, the better. If there aren't many things that will regularly inspire writing topics, it might not be worth starting a blog on this subject just yet.
Remember that not only does good content help readers find your site, but Google likes well-written blogs as well so this will come in handy when trying to increase organic SEO traffic for your website.
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Also, think about the potential of creating viral content within your blog niche idea - this is content that your readers will love so much that they will be willing to share with their friends and family without you having to ask them.
If you manage to create content that does go viral, then this could be the key to growing your blog's audience and increasing earnings.
7. See which blogs have the most influence on your niche
Blogs with more influence tend to have a bigger audience and often more traffic. They are the best of the best in your niche so if you can get on their radar, it could be a great opportunity for your blog to grow - especially since they may eventually link back to your website.
You'll want to choose a blog niche and investigate blogs that have been creating content for at least one year and are updated with new content regularly. You can start by using free or paid tools (think Ahrefs and Semrush) to see how many backlinks they have from other websites. The more quality backlinks they have, the higher up these blogs are in the eyes of Google.
If a blogger (or multiple ones) hasn't updated their blog lately or doesn't have lots of quality content, then this could be another sign not to jump into this blog topic right now.
Blogs that have more followers on social media are likely to be more successful and well-known. You might not want to compete against them unless you can do something very different than what they are already doing.
Since starting a blog and getting visitors to it will take some time, it's okay if you decide to wait until you can get a better picture of the whole niche - sometimes observing your competitors for longer is something that needs to happen. This way, instead of fighting an uphill battle from the beginning, you’ll have all the right information when you do decide to take that first step.
On the flip side, keep in mind that just because someone has many followers, it doesn't necessarily mean that their content is engaging or interesting enough for people to want to share with others. You will need to look at their blog and social media for yourself and see how much engagement their posts are getting.
Some businesses decide that the way forward for them is to buy followers which often leads to inflated numbers with little engagement. All in all, having a look at the most important metrics (such as comments, shares, number of backlinks, etc) is crucial before making a final decision.
9. Research who is linking to these blogs
We’ve spoken about backlinks before but being such an important topic, they deserve their own section. Backlinks are a strong indicator of how popular and well-known a blog is online.
When secondary websites link to them, it's an indication that the original website or blog has good content - especially if those linking sites are seen as authorities when it comes to a particular industry. As you can imagine, your competitors will be doing everything they can to get as many backlinks as possible by publishing high-quality content or hosting events or webinars.
Using tools such as Ahrefs backlinks report or Moz Link Explorer to determine how many backlinks your competitors have can help you decide whether it's worth getting into the blogging game. The more authority they have, the harder it will be for you to catch up to them so even if you do choose not to compete against them - there are still benefits of studying their work and learning from them.
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You can then use this information to get into blogging in another industry. You should also look at which keywords they are using in their blog titles and blog posts so you can model what they’re doing when creating your own content.
Do keep in mind that although links to other websites are a good sign of success, this doesn't mean that they're high-quality links. There are ways people try to trick Google into thinking that their website is authoritative by trying sneaky tactics such as buying links, building link farms, and even creating relationships with other bloggers to get reciprocating links.
With that being said, it's important not to get too caught up just on the number of backlinks and instead focus more on their quality.
10. Budget how much money you can invest in this project including time, money, etc.
Creating a blog in the niche that you choose is going to require some up-front investment. This is something that you also need to consider. Remember that blogging isn't a get-rich-quick scheme and it can take a few months before you start seeing any positive results from your efforts.
Suppose you're still in the planning stages. In that case, it's okay if you don't have a specific plan for making money yet or even having a set goal, but this is something worth thinking about because these decisions will affect your approach.
The more time and money you can initially invest in your blog, the easier it will be to build momentum and start earning an income. Understanding what’s at stake will allow you to execute correctly when the time comes, which means that reaching satisfactory goals won’t take a much longer amount of time than initially expected.
Understanding what type of blogs make the most money can help you better comprehend how much work and effort your competitors put into their brands. With all this data in your hands, you’ll be able to make a well-informed decision about the blog’s niche that you are interested in.11. Take a contrasting opinion about something others are saying in this niche
Having a contrasting opinion can work wonders. Also, having a unique point of view helps as well. If you have both, then that’s even better.
If nothing else, think of what you would want to read about on another blog that would make it stand out from the rest - and then consider doing this for your site.
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It may seem like common sense advice, but it's essential not to get discouraged when coming up with ideas for your blog - just keep writing them all down and see which ones resonate with you the most. When in doubt, start small - this way, if it doesn't work out, then you haven't wasted too much time or money on something that wasn't right for you.
12. Take the leap and just do it
At the end of the day, you will never see success unless you take the plunge and start your own blog.
The more time you spend familiarizing yourself with the realm of possibilities, the less chance you have of succeeding. No one ever said that starting a blog was going to be easy and there will likely be plenty of times where you want to give up or feel like quitting, but the most important thing is to keep going because things will get better over time.
Ultimately, the best way to know if your blog is successful is by gauging your traffic numbers and determining how much money you're making over time - if both of these numbers are growing steadily, then you know it's working.
Also if you feel you’re not as technical as some of the other people that you might know, check out our article on how to set up a blog on WordPress to be on your way in no time.Final things to consider
The right blog niche is often a combination of what you know, what you like, and what other people are reading.
If you are still stuck, consider starting with an evergreen successful blog niche and brainstorm subtopics that you know people are interested in. If you’re looking for more blog niche ideas that form part of evergreen topics, these can include niches such as:
Moreover, understanding Google trends and doing the right keyword research in a particular niche can help you come up with ideas when choosing a niche.
Finally, don't be too afraid of too much competition. A good niche idea should still have room for you to stand out if you choose subtopics to blog about.
Conclusion
If you follow the steps laid out in this article, then choosing the right blogging niche shouldn't be too difficult for you. Remember to take your time and come up with ideas that you are passionate about - this will help separate yourself from other brands in your category.
If you're still not sure what to blog about after making a list of topics that interest you, then consider asking friends or family which topic they believe you are the most passionate about.
When it comes down to it, just remember that building quality content is everything when it comes to blogging success, so always put yourself in your reader's shoes when writing content for your blog. Most importantly, don't give up because sometimes things won't work out immediately.
Good luck with your blog, and once it’s up and running, keep us posted on how it's doing in the comments section below.
