Did you know that 50 percent of Google searches end without a click?
That means that most search queries are answered directly in the search engine results, so the searcher never has to click any links to find their answer.
It’s easier to convert these searchers into leads if you know how to find a niche market. That’s because searchers typically use the specific words for what they’re looking for instead of a broader category. You can use some SEO techniques to manipulate the search results in your favor though.
For example, if you’re trying to sell your bathroom remodeling services, it’s best to select that as your niche instead of saying you’re an interior remodeler. But if you’re an interior remodeler, then that would be your niche instead of marketing yourself as a construction company.
Just keep in mind that the broader your niche, the more likely you’ll be going up against bigger industry players who have a ton of cash to spend on SEO.
But how do you break into a niche in a densely populated city?
Read on to learn how to find a niche in Pittsburgh (or any other city).
Why Find a Niche?
You can’t expect to please everyone at all times. Finding a niche helps you identify your target audience. Speaking to your target audience helps to keep your content focused and relevant, which keeps your visitors engaged since they get more of what they want to see.
You can also focus on one of your highest margin services to maximize your ROI.
Think of it this way. If you have a service, you want people that are ready to buy that service drawn to your site rather than those that aren’t.
Settling your business or website into a niche creates a space for both virtual window shoppers and buyers to find your site. Instead of having a homepage overrun with every possible service option, the attention should all be drawn to one service.
Anyone that sees your website should either be ready to buy your service or already be considering it.
How to Find a Niche Service
This is a multi-step process that’s all about what you’re interested in.
The fact is that you need to be completely real with yourself during this exercise to get the best results.
Identify your Interests
Conduct a self-survey. Here are a few examples of questions you can ask yourself:
- What are my passions?
- What am I good at?
- Who is my dream client or demographic?
- Do I have a compelling story to tell?
- How do I best connect with others?
Hopefully answering these questions brings you inspiration, and then you can move on to the next step.
Identify Holes in the Market
A great way to find a niche is by identifying holes in the market. This means that nobody else has started promoting that idea yet, so it’s an easier game for you.
If your service fills a hole in the market, that means nobody else has thought of it yet and the competition will be limited or nonexistent. Your website will essentially be creating this niche from the ground up.
For example, if you wanted to try your hand at writing an article about “How to Find a Niche Market”, it would be difficult because there are hundreds of articles already out there on the subject. But if you were to write about “How to Find a Niche Market in Pittsburgh”, then you’ll be in for smooth sailing because the competition is almost non-existent.
That works for us, so you could do something similar in your niche as well.
Research Competition
This is where it gets really tricky. After you’ve identified any possible holes in the market, it’s time to conduct your keyword research. Tools like Google’s Keyword Planner and SEMrush’s Keyword Magic Tool can make this part easy.
Not to oversimplify, but it’s just a matter of picking a seed keyword. In the bathroom remodeling example, we’d use “bathroom” as the seed keyword. From there, we can filter to get the keywords we want to target.
“bathroom showrooms near me” is a great term to select because:
- it has a relatively high search volume.
- the results display businesses on the map.
- it doesn’t take a lot of effort to rank for that term.
- and most importantly, it’s a transactional keyword. That means the pages that rank for that term are geared towards closing a sale for that service.
There’s a little bit more to it, but this is a great place to start.
Test Your Idea
The next step is to test your idea on the market.
You can do this in several ways.
- Create a landing page or website and drive traffic to it.
- Share your idea on social media and see how people react.
- Solicit online reviews from your customers.
The key is to get feedback from as many people as possible and then make the necessary changes.
A niche can sometimes be defined by its audience, so get in front of your target market and listen to what they say.
Change Your Mindset
This is crucial for the growth of your business.
If you’re attempting to start a business with a closed mindset, focused solely on one thing working out, you’re dooming yourself from the start.
Changing your mindset to one of adaptability is key. If one of your ideas doesn’t work the first time around, then it’s time to head back to the drawing board. From there, you can refine or change things altogether.
The most important thing to remember is that you should target your audience on a local level. For example, if you’re a massage therapist in Pittsburgh, then you should be targeting keywords like “massage therapist in Pittsburgh” so you can take advantage of the 400 or so monthly searches for that term.
This is where niche marketing comes in handy. It allows you to laser-focus your efforts on the specific type of service that people are looking for, making it easier to attract customers.
It’s natural for things to take a few tries, especially if this is your first time entering a niche market. Taking special care to research the audience you’re attempting to reach in the area you’d like to service is key to success, just like patience.
As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
These Tips Can Help You Learn How to Find a Niche
No matter what niche you’re trying to accommodate, these tips are sure to help your venture grow.
Learning how to find a niche in a city like Pittsburgh can seem daunting, but drawing local traffic to your page in a niche market is a lot easier than drawing traffic to a website with no sense of direction.
If you still need help, that’s what we’re here for.
Just schedule some time to work with us.
We can help you find your target audience and get the most out of your marketing budget.
