Finding a profitable, low competition niche is about as essential as it gets when it comes to making money online. So, how do you find that perfect niche?
Research, research, research. Sorry about that, the fact is there really is no other way but, having said that, if there is a need then there is always or usually always a bit of software that will do it for you.
The process of Finding a niche market is no exception. As is also always the case some software is good and some software is bad so here are some of the essentials that need to be included in effective niche finder software.
Always remember though, in the process of finding a really good niche, research is still the key and software can only shorten the process but cannot and will never eliminate the need for research.
#1:Search Results. Where are the results coming from? Any results you’re going to get will be based on “keywords” and In order for the software to work it has to connect up to the various places online that keep track of how many times at keyword is used. The question to ask then is how many places is the software connecting up to and how accurate it is. As always, test your software first and make sure that you do not have to pay to test it. Most niche finder software that you will find has a guarantee period but some doesn’t so make sure.
#2:The Basics. There are certain basic settings that the niche finder software needs to have. These are; “broad match” which means the software will tell you how many times a keyword phrase is searched in the major search engines.
By broad match I mean that the keywords that you are researching our anywhere in a sentence or phrase which is as compared to “exact phrase match”. The exact phrase match shows how many times your exact keyword phrase is searched and you can find it by knocking in your keyword phrase into the various search engines in “quotation marks”.
This is the money match because the exact phrase match returns are dramatically smaller. Knock out your competition because in focusing on these keywords it is much, much easier to place on the first page of the search engines and that is after all the place you really need to be. I can’t imagine any niche finder software that didn’t include this but, make sure it is there nonetheless.
#3:PPC.You will probably want to, if not now then eventually, advertise with Google adwords or Yahoo etc. so your software should include a facility to find out how much your keyword is going to cost you to promote it.This is a tricky one because there are a lot of factors involved but a rough idea is nonetheless a good thing to have and should be included in the software.
#4:KEI.If you’re not familiar with “KEI” go to Wordtracker but simply put its a designation used to give you some idea on how your keyword will perform. Different applications call it different things but broadly speaking it is the figure you get when you balance search result against competition. Again, this designation is probably trickier than PPC as mentioned above.
In my experience the Wordtracker KEI is just about less than useless, I have tried it on a number of times and found it to be a complete waste of time. However, although probably inaccurate it is a good thing to have because it can give you a rough idea and should be included in your software if only as a point of reference.
These are the basics but if you are going to buy niche finder software then be aware that online there are any number of applications that include many more options. As always the more options you have the better results you’ll get.
It is also essential to remember that whatever results your software gives you must check these results against the search engines. Always go to the search engine and knock in your keyword or keyword phrase and see what you come up with.
Look at the competition; what are they saying? What are they offering? Are the returns in the search engines for the keywords that you find with the niche finder software relevant to you and your website?
Will those keywords create interest or sales? At the end of the day software can only point you in a usable direction, the rest is always up to you.

No matter what business you are in being able to find profitable keywords and do good keyword research will improve your business. Whether you are trying to increase your subscribers, get more readers, find leads for a network marketing business, sell products, make money with affiliate marketing, it can all be done better with the use of profitable keywords.
Why do I need keywords?
Since the advent of web 2.0, and social marketing so many people now think you don’t really need good keywords. They are now learning and focusing on how to drive social traffic to their sites. The problem with social traffic is just that, it’s social traffic. People are looking to interact, or are just stumbling by as they look through sites. It is hard to get social traffic to convert.
However, when you are getting traffic from search engines coming from specific targeted words and phrases that are relevant to your site you are much more likely to make a sale, get a new subscriber or lead. People searching in the search engines are looking for something specific. Social traffic is just looking around. If you can provide what search traffic is looking for you can convert that traffic like crazy.
Keywords for subscribers
Let’s say you are building a list. You are giving away a great course or ebook to get people to trade their email and name. You are getting some traffic, but if you can find a good keyword related to your course you could get even more. Find a good keyword related to your course, set you opt in page up and then build links to the opt in page using your keyword as your anchor text. If your course is on dog training, and you come up first in Google for dog training, and you are offering a free course on dog training, don’t you think people are going to stop by and sign up? Using keywords is a great way to increase your subscribers.
Get more blog readers
There’s a huge debate raging over content being king right now. Content is good, but if you want to get a ton of targeted traffic to your site you should be using keywords. Find high search volume relevant keywords. Then do the work it takes to get to the top of the search engines for that keyword. Have it linked to a specific post in your blog/site and you will be getting good targeted traffic to that post whether you write daily, weekly or monthly!
Get leads for Network Marketing
This is very similar to getting more subscribers. In fact, you could do exactly the same thing, just have it relate to your business. Set up an opt in page, it can go to an autoresponder, or you can collect phone numbers and email and call the person. The key here is to find keywords that are very relevant to your particular business, not just network marketing in general. You will be more likely to convert that traffic into customers and partners if they are interested in the specific type of business you have to offer. You can always try for work from home, or network marketing type keywords, but they are a pretty competitive group of keywords. You will be better off trying to find keywords related to your industry. Say you are in health/wellness related company. Try to find keywords related to specific products or benefits your products provide. Then put together a course or short report to give people to overcome a problem. This will move them to trade an email address or phone number.
How to sell products with keyword research
If you have a product of your own, or are an affiliate, keyword research should be your best friend. Find keywords related to the product you are selling. Set up a page somewhere, with a review, or information about that product. You can then push your content to the top of the search engine for that specific keyword. For example, I just launched a keyword research step by step tutorial ebook. I found keywords relevant to doing keyword research that I could dominate in the search engines. I put a page up on my blog (you could use the affiliate merchants sales page, or a review page on a free blog or your own blog) and now am in the process of getting ranked for my keywords which are linked to the page about my book. This is the best way to get seriously qualified traffic to my sales page. You can do this for any product or service whether it’s your own or you are an affiliate. It takes some time, but it is well worth it, considering the traffic will keep coming, even after you move on to your next affiliate product. You will still be getting traffic from that organic search listing.
As you can see there are so many ways you can increase your business just by doing simple keyword research. Keyword research should be at the top of any internet marketers list of things to do. If you aren’t using it you are leaving tons of money on the table.