Discover Your Business Niche — The Power of Micro-Niches
When you think about your business niche, it’s only natural to go for a broad topic with large appeal. The problem is that you’re not the first to have that idea. General wisdom about online business says that you should choose a highly specific niche that caters to a small segment of the market so there’s less competition.
Think of it this way. Everyone wants a new smartphone. But if you set up a business selling smartphones, you’ll be competing with huge, established companies with more resources. Choose a micro-niche, and you can focus on one specific group that needs a more specific product where the competition is less fierce.
What Is a Micro-Niche?
A micro-niche is a topic within a topic that caters to just one segment of a target market. Examples of micro-niches within a larger niche would be:
Florida tourism -> Miami bus tours
Smoothies -> Banana smoothie recipes
Laptops tips –> Surface Pro tips
Clothing for men -> Winter coats for men
Dog food -> Food for elderly Alaskan huskies
A micro-niche is just a regular niche drilled down to something more specific.
Why Choose a Micro-Niche?
The main benefit is that there’s less competition. If you can find a micro-niche that’s highly profitable, you can dominate that niche. When people search for the keywords within your niche, they’ll find your site first because the search results aren’t already saturated with competition. You can become the best-known expert in this topic area.
Choosing a micro-niche allows you to better serve your customers. You can’t be all things to all people. When you cast your net too wide, you end up with nothing unique to offer. With a micro-niche, you can get to know the topic well and offer the exact specific help people are looking for.
It’s also ideal for smaller businesses since you don’t have the resources to compete in bigger topic areas.
How to Choose the Right Micro-Niche
A good place to start is with keyword research. Use a free tool to see what searches people are performing. Enter your niche and look at suggested keywords. Pay especially close attention to long-tail keywords. These are longer phrases and full sentences where there is often less competition.
For example, you might sell products related to car enthusiasts. Through your research, you might see a growing number of searches for electric cars or hybrids. You can then focus in this area.
Gather Feedback from Your Audience
Watch your audience closely on the internet, especially social media, to see what they’re talking about. You may find that certain sub-topics are getting a great deal of discussion.
You can also run your ideas by your audience, asking them, “What would you like to see a blog about?”
Start with Your Own Expertise
Look at the niche you’re currently in. What areas within that topic are you most knowledgeable about? For example, if you’re into social media and you have a great deal of experience with LinkedIn, you could focus on LinkedIn marketing or finding jobs on LinkedIn.
Fill the Gaps
Look at competitors in your niche. Are there any areas that they’re not talking about? This is a gap you can fill even if you can’t compete with the big names.
Create content related to this micro-niche that helps people solve their problems and see how it performs. This is a great way to find your own place in a highly saturated marketplace.
