Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 10:33 pm Post subject: Finding Profitable Niches: Is it really this easy?!?!
I have been diligently studying Ken Evoy's Affiliate Masters Course as well as going back to old favorites like Chris Carpenter's Google Cash and Rosalind Gardner's Super Affiliate Handbook.
In researching profitable niches, it seems as though I've hit a few gold mines....but I just can't believe that I'm either that lucky or that smart!
Anyone, especially you seasoned Affiliate Masters, please read the following and reply.... I can't wait to hear what you have to say!
So, I've reasearched a bunch of keywords and some of them have produced phenomenonal results....so I think....
I'm using a piece of automation software (recommended by Rosalind) that makes doing all of this research easier... but I'm not sure about it's accuracy.
For example, one of my searches returned a demand of 177443, a supply of only 304 and a Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI) of over 103 million!
I just couldn't believe the results so I decided to do it manually...
Overture searches last month 177443, Hotbot (Google) results 304 but, using the free trial of Wordtracker which only searches MSN returned a KEI of 0.922 - hmmm....
Hotbot queries Google so I did a manual search on Google and got a supply return of over 3 million pages. Okay....
Upon looking at the keyword meta tags for several of the top ten sites I didn't see that they were really optimized for search engine ranking.... maybe I could acutally beat out 3 million pages for a top 10 spot.
Yeah, right!
So I'm kinda stuck now.... what do you all think? What am I not seeing? What am I missing? I'm sure it's something obvious (like this keyword niche automation software) and it's probably right under my nose...
Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 529 Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 1:34 am Post subject:
There are many different factors which could explain results. Without actually knowing what the KW's are it would be hard to say what the differentiation comes down to.
I wouldn't rely too heavily on the figures. Use the KW automation software as a guide only. The rest should be manual research and your own deductions.
Declan _________________ Declan O'Reilly
Sometimes it pays to stay in bed on Monday, rather than spending the rest of the week debugging Monday's code.
Do what successful infopreneurs do...
Ok, so being a newbie and working on this with the limited knowledge that I have, and your all's input, this is what I'm thinking....
1. Continue to research profitable keywords around this apparent niche.
2. Write content that is specific to the keywords, crafted to PRE-Sell my chosen affiliate programs (there's only seven) - thanks Ken!
3. Buy a domain name that contains the most profitable keyword or varitaions thereof.
4. Buy month-to-month hosting, in case it doesn't work out I can stop paying for the hosting. I will give it a minimum of six months, though.
5. Create the site.
6. Launch the site.
7. Submit site to search engines.
8. Check rankings.
9. Based on rankings, tweak, tweak, tweak until I'm in the top 10.
10. Pray everyday that this works!
Once I have all of this done, and if my site is generating income, then I'll use that income and look at buying some ads on Google AdWords, to try and get a top 10 Google AdWords spot, thus increasing my traffic.
Anyone else care to make recommendations based on your experience? I would GREATLY appreciate it!
There's A LOT of work here, but anything worthwhile usually has a lot of work involved. I'm not looking at this as a get-rich-quick scheme. I'm looking at this as my next career.....
If I'm only a spectator and never get on the court, how can I expect to win the game, huh?
Here's to jumping into the game!
Respectfully,
Amadeo
P.S. Wouldn't it be great if I actually make this successful? Then I can be a greater contribution to my fellow newbies!
I've read the Affiliate Masters Course by Ken Evoy and also Allan's 18 Steps Affiliate Tutorial and both of them are great. Also I'm always on the lookout for as many free tutorials, and my experience is that good message board like this one always point to a quality source.
If you subscribe to Allan's newsletter, you should check issue no. 261 where Allan review the FindHotNiches membership site by James Jackson. I've been asking Mr. James some questions thru his website and he replied acceptably prompt. I won't elaborate here about the hotniches site, you'd be better informed reading the review. I'm not a member yet but am planning to be one (I've to wait to receive paypal's "expanded number" since I'm using it for the first time).
Even when I'm a member, I still plan to research profitable niches using Ken's Search It tool and other free online tools. This way, I can get variations of the niche keywords obtained thru HotNiches. HotNiches have a trial membership for $1 valid for 7 days.
Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 6231 Location: by the beach, Australia
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 11:47 am Post subject:
Amadeo , Your plan looks good but you haven't mentioned actually marketing your website, getting the word out, getting links to your site... You'll need to research that, too! _________________ Allan Gardyne
AssociatePrograms.com - You're here. Explore it!
Joined: 16 Aug 2003 Posts: 153 Location: Tennessee, USA
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 5:16 pm Post subject:
Hi Amadeo,
Your enthusiasm is really awesome! I have no doubt that you will do very well with whatever you put your mind to
About niche research - I did want to comment on a few things:
1) Dont pay attention to KEI - this is not the accurate way to guage your competition for any given keyword phrase. Instead, you'll want to manually look through the top 10 results for any search and determine exactly what it would take for YOU to get listed in the top 10. The main thing you are going to look for is the number of inbound links (you have to use Yahoo to get an accurate number) and basic on-the-page optimization.
2) Looking at Meta Tags of pages that are listed in the results is not going to be very helpful. Most webmasters leave them out entirely these days, as they are not given very much consideration at all (if any) in regards to ranking criteria.
3) Dont pay attention to how many results you see when you do a search for your keyword phrase. How many pages are listed is NO indication of the amount of competition you will have.
Why? Because most people do not even know HOW to optimize. And of those that do... most of them never actually DO it or follow-through to the end
For this reason, the amount of competition is always much lower than it may seem. The only way to really know how hard or how easy it would be to rank in the top 10 is to analyze the 10 pages already listed there.
I can share a couple of links with you where I have gone into more detail:
I hope some of that is helpful. The majority of the content came straight out of recent newsletter issues, so forgive any extra 'babble' throughout _________________ Lynn Terry
ClickNewz! Internet Marketing Blog
Your input is great - and I take ALL of it into consideration - thank you!
Ok, to summarize....
Lynn - Niche Research KEI - good general guide post, but don't hang my hat on it.
Inbound links - Yahoo! - see how many it would take to get listed - I see how many the others currently have and then try to beat that, right?
On page optimization - keyword rich, highly relevant content that PRE-Sells (i.e. the surfer gives my MWR - most wanted response - click, subscribe, etc., right?)
Metatags - forget 'em - but it couldn't hurt, right?
Number of results - not a good indicator of competition because I WILL optimize, and they probably won't, right?
Analyze the competiton i.e. how well do they optimize their pages? What are they not doing that I can do to get higher rankings, right?
Allan - Marketing Getting the word out - I'm banking on SEO here - the holy grail of Internet Marketing - Free Traffic... However, in addition to that, I'm looking at creating valuable content for other sites in the form of articles with my resource box included, of course. Goal - more in-bound links, more free traffic. Notice however, that I KNOW I will need to spend money to make money - Adwords, etc. I'll be working on the 'breakout/partners' portion of Ken's Affiliate Masters Program... more to come on that....
Eddy - Niche Research
I'll be reading the articles and visiting the site ASAP.....
Whew! A bit overwhelmed, but not discouraged!
So whaddya guys think? Did I get what you were trying to convey?
Joined: 16 Aug 2003 Posts: 153 Location: Tennessee, USA
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 11:52 pm Post subject:
Amadeo wrote:
Ok, to summarize....
Lynn - Niche Research KEI - good general guide post, but don't hang my hat on it.
I actually dont look at it at all...
Amadeo wrote:
Inbound links - Yahoo! - see how many it would take to get listed - I see how many the others currently have and then try to beat that, right?
That's pretty much it, yes. If it's really competitive, I take an even closer look and will go through the pages that link to them. I might look for HOW they link to them (what type of link text, etc), how many other links are on that page, relevancy of that page, etc. Junk links versus quality links, basically.
What I do is search my keyword phrase at Google, then open a new window and look at each pages inbound links at Yahoo. So I take result #1 from Google, put that URL into the Yahoo search box with the "link:" in front of it, and hit Search. Then I analyze *those* results to determine just how well established this particular page is (and how well it is optimized for that particular search term).
Amadeo wrote:
On page optimization - keyword rich, highly relevant content that PRE-Sells (i.e. the surfer gives my MWR - most wanted response - click, subscribe, etc., right?)
That's more along the lines of copywriting than optimization. For "on the page optimization" you want to cover these points:
1) Directory / File Name
If you have already created your website, I wouldn't recommend going back through it to change all of your file names. However, when adding new pages or creating a new site, it makes sense to include your keywords in the directory names and file names. This helps to "define" your pages to both your visitors and to the search engines.
For the term "online business ideas" you can name the page:
Search engines treat hyphens as spaces, allowing them to read the individual words in a file name or directory name.
In both cases the search engines will read the phrase "online business ideas". Again, this doesn't hold a lot of weight in and of itself...
2) The Title Bar
The Title Bar is considered the most valuable piece of real estate on your web page - and for more reasons than one. First, the search engines look here for a general "summary" of the content of your page. It's important that you use your Primary Keyword Phrase at the very beginning of the Title.
You'll find the code for your Title Bar in the heading of your page, towards the top. If you look at the HTML code for you page, you'll see something like this:
<html>
<head>
<title>Online Business Ideas :: Easy, Inexpensive &
Creative Ways to Start an Online Business</title>
Between the <title> and </title> is where you want to place your page title, which should begin with your Primary Keyword Phrase as in the example above.
In addition, it's *important* to word it so that it will interest searchers that are scanning the search results where your listing appears. A title that is "stuffed with keywords" or doesn't make any sense to human readers, will not result in a very high click-through rate.
3) Text Header
Your text header is the heading at the very beginning of your content area that defines the content on that page. In HTML code, it will look like this:
<h1>Online Business Ideas</h1>
You can also create sub-headings, or headings in smaller sizes, by changing the number in the tag. Try using <h2>, <h3> or <h4> to get an idea for how they will look on your page.
The text that is placed between these 'heading tags' is given consideration when the search engines are determining what your web page is about, so you will want to use your Primary Keyword Phrase here as well.
4) Within The Content
You should use your Primary Keyword Phrase a few times throughout the text on your page. Some people say that 'proximity' is important, and that you should use your Primary Keyword Phrase near the beginning and also near the end of your page.
What you DON'T want to do is make your page sound "keyword stuffed". You want it to flow well and to make sense to your human visitors. Be sure to also use alternate combinations (such as other keywords on your original list, or logical uses in the everyday language).
Link out to relevant resources using keyword rich anchor text. Why? Because who you link TO (and how) is an obvious indication of what *your* page is about.
Anchor Text is the text that you link a URL to:
<a href="url-here">variation of your keyword here</a>
This can be an authority site, an affiliate program, a directory, a forum, or any other relevant web page on the same topic as your page. The rule of thumb is to recommend a reputable resource that will benefit the visitors that are reading your page.
Any of these optimization factors alone do not carry very much weight. In fact, "on the page optimization" itself doesn't carry much weight in comparison to your "off the page optimization" (or quality inbound links). However, in a very competitive market - or even slightly competitive - it's wise to cover all of your bases.
Amadeo wrote:
Metatags - forget 'em - but it couldn't hurt, right?
Some people consider the <title> tag a "meta tag" - definitely dont forget about that one. As for the description & keyword tags - I still use them, myself.
In the keywords tag, I put my keyword phrase and any misspellings or variations. Just a handful of words/phrases - not hundreds like they used to a few years ago!
The description tag is actually important, because I notice it displays with my Google listings more often than not. So you want this to be a very good description for your page (yes, unique for each page) and it needs to read well enough to convince searchers to click through to your page!
In fact, if you search some of the pages you already have out on the web now, pay special attention to how your listing appears. Does it appeal? Does it make sense? Do you think it would compel click-through's? Personally, I think the description tag is a VERY important meta tag!
(Not so much for ranking criteria - but definitely for CTR!)
Amadeo wrote:
Number of results - not a good indicator of competition because I WILL optimize, and they probably won't, right?
Yes, plus that number changes so often its nuts. Besides, you're only concerned with the top 10... because that's where you want to be
Amadeo wrote:
Analyze the competiton i.e. how well do they optimize their pages? What are they not doing that I can do to get higher rankings, right?
Yes, and basically how many inbound links they have... and the quality of those links. _________________ Lynn Terry
ClickNewz! Internet Marketing Blog
Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 6231 Location: by the beach, Australia
Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2005 12:02 am Post subject:
One thing I'd add... When you're doing keyword research, don't put all your faith in the numbers you find.
I've discovered that sometimes it's possible to rank well for key phrases which, on paper, look much too difficult. Conversely, sometimes I fail to rank well for phrases which look as though they ought to be easy.
So use a lot of common sense. If it makes sense to discuss a certain topic on your website, go ahead and write an article on that topic, no matter what your research shows. Your visitors will like that.
Also, even if your research shows you that it would virtually impossible to rank well for a phrase, say "cheap web hosting", you can write an article on the topic, optimized for that phrase, and DIRECT traffic to that page from other sections of your site. Thus you can make money from AdSense for a high-paying keyword even though you're not ranking well for that keyword. _________________ Allan Gardyne
AssociatePrograms.com - You're here. Explore it!
Joined: 16 Aug 2003 Posts: 153 Location: Tennessee, USA
Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2005 5:20 pm Post subject:
That's true. Keep in mind, too, that almost 50% of the searches performed each day are unique. Meaning they will never show up in your keyword research tools (such as WordTracker, Overture, etc).
- I believe I read that stat in Aaron Wall's SEO Book...
So common sense is definitely a great tool - agreed. The more in-depth you can go with your content, the better. Imagine this: You search for "bird house" on Google. Now are you looking for bird house plans, an online store where you can buy a bird house, information on which types of birds would use a bird house... or what?
As a webmaster, your job is to make sure you have those bases covered if you are optimizing for general terms _________________ Lynn Terry
ClickNewz! Internet Marketing Blog
Whew! So much info....one could get overwhelmed very easily. However, I've decided to write down the steps and complete each step. Just one step at a time, eh?
But, there's one thing that's really got me and I just have to get the question out there now...
Ok, so, linking to increase page rank... Lynn, I read your articles as listed above, but have a question....
'Intra-site' links (i.e. linking to pages from within your own domain) vs. getting relevant links from other websites - I'm under the impression that outside links are better than having my own great number of 'intra-site' links... would that be accurate?
Also my number one competitor for this niche has over 1,000 links, BUT they're all intra-site links - no links from other sites. Do I need to worry about this? Might I get a higher page rank by having my own intra-site links as well as a good number of outside, relevant links? If relevant linking were the only criteria for high search engine ranking (I know that it's not) do you think I'd be able to beat out this competing website by the mere fact that I would have relevant outside links?
Joined: 16 Aug 2003 Posts: 153 Location: Tennessee, USA
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:50 am Post subject:
There are two things that carry weight when it comes to your ranking criteria - specifically for Google: Link Popularity and Link Reputation (I believe the latter to be the more important).
Internal Links are good for your visitors - where appropriate - so they are also good for search engines (search engines like good human-friendly results!).
Where appropriate: Main categories should be in site-wide navigation, sub-categories on category-wide pages, any other internal links throughout content where relevent.
If the competing web page has 1,000 links showing, all from their own domain... this doesnt carry anywhere near the weight that 1,000 links from 1,000 domains would.
OR: What you think about your own site doesnt say nearly as much about it as what others think/say about your site. Makes sense, right?
I have over 1,000 internal links pointing to my main page. But when I do a search on Yahoo (link:URL), it only shows one... with a link that says "More From This Site".
Also, if you'll notice, it will tell you the number of links towards the top right of that search page (when you do "link:URL" on Yahoo Search). For example: "Results 1 - 10 of about 6,310"
However, if you go to the end of those results, it only actually displays 510 results. Then it says:
In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very similar to the ones already displayed.
If you like, you can repeat the search with the omitted results included.
I start with what's showing. I look through those results to determine how well that particular page is optimized for that particular keyword phrase. In your case of 1,000 internal links - do those links say "home" or "main" or do they link to the page with the keyword phrase as the link text??
Here's what you need: More links using the specific keyword phrase in the link text, coming from various relevant web pages on different domains.... than the competing pages have. That's it.
So let's say they have 1500 links total... but only 142 of them are actually good quality links that have the keyword phrase as the link text and come from decent (related) pages on different domains.
That means you'd need the same - only 143 of them
Link Popularity is how many links you have.
Link Reputation is the quality of those links.
Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 6231 Location: by the beach, Australia
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:52 am Post subject:
Amadeo wrote:
...do you think I'd be able to beat out this competing website by the mere fact that I would have relevant outside links?
Yes, external links from other sites in your niche, which in turn have lots of good links to them, are very important. So publish content that other people will want to link to. _________________ Allan Gardyne
AssociatePrograms.com - You're here. Explore it!
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