by Jon Wuebben
The rise of small business…it’s unbelievable what has happened. Did you know that there are 6.6 million home based businesses in the U.S.? The number of small businesses is increasing in the United States. According to the SBA, the number of non-employer firms has risen steadily this decade to 21.1 million in 2007, a jump from 16.5 million in 2000.
There are thousands… and in some cases, millions of people out there who want what you are selling. And with the internet, you can be found by anyone searching for you! That’s the real change. You just need to be optimized for search, right?
Not convinced? Consider this: Google has reported that 20% – 25% of their daily search queries are unique. That means even interest in different niches on the web is constantly changing.
What you don’t want to do is enter a market where there are too many “browsers” and not enough buyers. Or enter a market with so much competition that it takes years to rank on the first page of Google, or costs $10 per click to advertise on the first page.
How about some techniques on how to brainstorm new niches?
1. WordTracker’s Top 1000 Search Engine Keywords:
There are two kinds of Top 1000 Keywords reports: the “short-term” report, and the “long-term” report. The short-term report shows the highest-volume keywords from WordTracker’s database over the past 24 hours. With this report you can pick up on the new, hot trends as they emerge.
2. “How to” websites:
Examples of free how-to websites include general sites like eHow and WikiHow. They allow you to search for the most popular articles and categories. Ehow.com is a great example. The site displays the “Top 10 eHows” on its homepage. In just five minutes of browsing the site, you can get a good sense of the solutions that people are searching for online. Now that’s what I call speedy market research!
You can also use Amazon Bestsellers and Amazon Movers & Shakers.
The key to finding success online? Find a niche and go after it!
