How to select a blog niche?

By editor2 on October 07th, 2009

Blog-niche For someone new to blogging, identifying a profitable niche that is also of personal interest can be an arduous process, not to mention the challenge of having to single out a niche amongst endless diversity of unique topics. While it is important to pick a niche you are genuinely interested in, in order to make the entire content creation process enjoyable, not all blog niches are inherently profitable. A niche blog also has to support well with blog monetization techniques such as contextual advertising and affiliate marketing.

Here are some easy steps to determine niche blog topics that are not only potentially profitable but of your interest:

• Create a list topics that excite you, and you would want to write about on a regular basis
If you are blogging on the topic that you are passionate about, half the battle is already won. Select topics that you are genuinely interested in and would love to explore, read and talk about. Remember, you should be able to make numerous blog entries about various aspects related to the topic that you finally choose.

• Assess popularity of various topics at hand
No matter how hard you work, if people do not search for the topic you have chosen, you are sure not to achieve the results that you are looking for. In order to evaluate potential of a niche you need to determine the number of people who actually search for information on the given topic. Start examining the search engine. Eliminate topics that are not popular with internet surfers or do not have much advertising base.

• Consider profit potential
Evaluate affiliate marketing potential. Bloggers can earn noteworthy returns from affiliate marketing. Identify a niche blog topic that aligns well with affiliate marketing

Check to see which topic has ample advertiser’s base in key PPC Advertising networks like Google Adsense and Yahoo Publishers Network (YPN). Look for high paying keywords related to a blog niche using popular tools like Google AdWords Keyword Tool and Google Adwords Traffic Estimator.

Determine search volume and cost per click (CPC) for keywords associated with the topics that remain on the list. CPC determines how much you can earn per ad click. A higher CPC ensures better earning potential for a particular niche blogging topic.

Once you have carefully gone through all these steps and eliminated topics which lack potential, select a niche blogging topic from those remaining on the list and start blogging.