What Is a Blog Niche?
A blog niche is the main subject of all the content on your blog. Simply put, it’s what you’re going to write about.
Your niche gives purpose and structure to the topics you want to discuss. While filtering out noise (and time wasted) on topics that don’t interest you or your audience.
The problem: Picking blog niches is hard.
But this guide will help you get to the other side of this problem (step by step)—with a niche in hand.
Let’s start with the basics.
Why Is a Blog Niche Important?
Your blog’s niche is like a compass. It guides your efforts in the right direction to topics that are relevant to your interests and audience’s needs.
Without it, it’s easy to get lost.
Let’s look at an example:
Imagine you have a European travel blog. You might write about topics like:
- Sightseeing in Prague
- Best restaurants in Paris
- Public transportation in Vienna
You’re probably not going to write about:
- Xbox game reviews (even if you play them)
- Skin care tips (even though you have a few)
- Celebrity gossip (even when you have the inside scoop)
A blog niche acts like a filter. It helps you identify the content that is relevant to your main topic or industry. And filters out the rest.
It also helps you identify your audience.
In marketing, a niche is a well-defined segment of a particular market. Niche blogging applies this same concept by targeting a specific group of people.
By homing in on a target audience, you’ll understand the following:
- Their interests and needs: what they like, their aspirations, struggles, values (helps you curate what content to create for them)
- Key demographics: location, age, profession (how you should speak to them—i.e., what kind of language, voice, and tone)
- Platforms they use: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn (where you can talk to them/post your blog content)
Sounds appealing, right? But how do you know what makes a good niche? Is there even such a thing?
Let’s get into that next.
How to Find Your Blog Niche
You need to tick three boxes when choosing your blog niche:
- Expertise
- Interest
- Profitability
Here’s how you do it. Step by step.
Step 1: Address Your Expertise
You need to know what you’re talking about. Otherwise, your audience might have trouble trusting you.
You could also have difficulty ranking in Google.
This is because Google’s E-E-A-T principle states that “Expertise” and “Experience” are important factors in page quality.
You don’t necessarily need formal qualifications.
A prime example is the “Hip Foodie Mom.” Mother of two and cooking enthusiast Alice runs this family-friendly recipe blog. She’s not a pro chef, but she has her audience’s trust.
However, the standards are higher when it comes to YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics. Which can impact your readers’ finances or well-being.
For example, here’s the Google results page for “how to invest in stocks.”
The top-ranking post is written, edited, and reviewed by finance experts. Author bios showcase their credentials.
Ready to brainstorm the topics you could reliably write about? Here are some ideas to get you started:
Interests and Hobbies
What gets you talking? Something you love and comes effortlessly to you (or it requires some work, but you’re happy to do it).
You probably spend significant free time on this activity or topic. Jot down everything that comes to mind.
Your list may look like this:
- Reading
- Cooking
- Formula 1
- “Stranger Things”
- SEO
- Painting (especially landscapes)
Life Experience
Think of life experiences that have made you who you are today. They could be unique periods that brought joy, pain, or confusion to your life. Or intimate moments that had a profound impact.
This list will be all your own, but here are some examples:
- Marriage
- Divorce
- Applying for citizenship
- Studying abroad
- Grief
- Adoption
- Dealing with health issues
These are the stories that make up your life. They come with a unique perspective that only you can write but open the door to others who may share a similar experience.
Professional Experience
What’s your current occupation? Have you picked up tricks of the trade? Has your profession had a major impact on your life?
What about previous jobs? Did you work your way up? Could you teach others how to do the same?
While details of your job may not make for a great blog post, your experience may have given you valuable insight.
Think of how you would connect with others in your industry or what advice you can give to others in the field.
Here are some ideas:
- Recruiter’s insight (interview and resume tips)
- Navigating a career change
- Personal branding
- Freelancing
- Digital nomad life
- Tips for teachers
Accomplishments
Set modesty aside and reflect on your accomplishments (professional or personal).
These topics are great for blogging because they’re highly conducive to teaching others. Which goes back to establishing your expertise.
You’re the proof because you’ve done it!
Here are some accomplishments you could blog about:
- Training for a triathlon
- Making money in stocks
- Quitting smoking
- Decluttering your home
- Improving your confidence
- Getting into grad school
These accomplishments are worthy of sharing. And there’s an audience of people striving for the same success. Dedicate your entire blog to helping them achieve their goal.
Step 2: Identify Audience Interests
You know what topics you have expertise and experience in. But which ones are audiences interested in?
You need to ensure there’s demand for your blog. Otherwise, you’ll struggle to build a readership.
One way to do this is through keyword research with Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool. This tool can provide insights into how many people are searching Google for topics you’re considering blogging about.
By looking at queries related to your blog niche idea, you get an idea of the audience size.
Imagine you want to start a blog about doing triathlons.
See how many people search specifically for “triathlon blog” (and variations):
The “Volume” tells you the average number of searches each month.
There’s some interest here, albeit small.
Next, try a more general search for “triathlon.”
To exclude keywords related to products and services (e.g., “triathlon bike”), filter for “Informational” search intent.
People use informational keywords to find information, so they’re more relevant to many blogs.
You now have a list of keywords you could target on your triathlon blog. The “Total volume” gives an indication of the potential interest in your blog niche. Use this to compare the blog niches on your shortlist.
Step 3: Check for Profitability
Some blog niches are more lucrative than others. If you want to monetize your blog, this is an important consideration.
Gain an understanding of a niche’s profit potential by looking at three main factors:
However, it’s important to remember that the most profitable blog niches tend to be the most saturated. It can be better to get a big slice of a small pie than a small slice of a big pie.
Monetization Models
There are three main ways to monetize your blog:
- Affiliate marketing: Link to products and businesses in your content. And earn a commission on any resulting sales.
- Google AdSense: Automatically display targeted ads on your site.
- Paid content: Sell content, such as online courses or webinars. Or offer content subscriptions.
Not every niche is compatible with every monetization model.
For example, beauty is well suited to affiliate marketing and advertising. Because there are a lot of products to sell (and high budgets behind these campaigns).
On the other hand, political bloggers have few products to promote. And can have difficulty attracting advertisers, who often want to remain impartial.
If you have a blog niche in mind, learn what models work by looking at competitors.
Search “[niche] blog” in Google and explore the top results. Look for affiliate link disclaimers, sponsored posts, display ads, membership pages, and “buy” buttons.
Target Audiences
Your target audience has a significant bearing on profit potential. Are readers willing and able to spend money on your content? Or your advertisers’ products and services?
Get an idea with Semrush’s One2Target tool. It shows you the socioeconomic status of any site’s audience.
Go to “Check Competitors” and enter the domains of up to five blogs you might want to compete with.
For example, maybe you’re interested in starting a luxury lifestyle blog like “goop.com” or a travel blog like “theluxurytraveller.com.”
Then click “Analyze.”
Go to the “Socioeconomics” tab to view data on household size, income level, and more.
Compare the “Income Level” bars to see which blogs attract the most affluent audiences. In this example, it’s “theluxurytraveller.com.” Indicating that luxury travel could be one of the best blog niches for profitability.
For more tips, learn how to create reader personas.
Competition Levels
The more competitive your niche, the harder it can be to generate revenue. That’s because you’re fighting with more rivals for readers’ attention.
To see how strong your rivals are, you first need to identify them. Just search in Google and see who’s ranking well for relevant keywords.
And check out listicles like these:
When you have identified a competitor, plug their URL into Semrush’s Domain Overview tool.
Focus on these metrics:
- Authority Score: A measure of site authority on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the score, the harder it will be to outrank them. Your new blog will start with a score of 0.
- Backlinks: The number of links they have from other domains. These improve search rankings and drive referral traffic. Your new blog will start with none.
- Branded keywords: The number of organic keywords that include the blog’s name. A high number indicates that audiences know this blog well.
You can find more rivals in the “Main Organic Competitors” section.
Evaluate at least five rivals in this way to get a good idea of the competitive landscape.
75 Blog Niche Ideas for 2023
Need some inspiration? Check out these 75 blog niche ideas for 2023.
- Starting a business
- Opening an Etsy shop
- Career coaching
- Personal branding
- Digital marketing
- SEO
- Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
- Retirement savings
- Cryptocurrency
- Family budgeting
- Personal finance
- Getting out of debt
- Losing weight
- Keto recipes
- Healthy living
- At-home workouts
- Yoga
- Pilates
- Weightlifting
- Mental health
- Photography
- Traveling in Europe
- Digital nomad life
- Working remotely
- Sightseeing by country
- Fashion
- Skin care tips
- Makeup tutorials
- Celebrity hairstyles
- Dating
- Wedding planning
- Marriage
- Divorce
- Parenting
- Adoption
- Homeschooling
- Fertility
- Co-living
- Making friends after 30
- Movie reviews
- Video games
- Upcoming concerts
- Local events
- Celebrity gossip
- Apple products
- Bluetooth technology
- Ebooks and tablets
- Book club and reviews
- Home sound systems
- Cybersecurity
- Triathlon training
- Coaching a sport
- Soccer match recaps
- Local sports journalism
- International move
- Visa process
- Applying for citizenship
- Learning a language
- Local culture
- Traveling for work
- Navigating a career change
- Backpacking
- Travel on a budget
- Luxury resorts
- Traveling with kids
- Building a social network
- Life after loss
- Studying for the SAT
- Law school life
- Picking a college
- American campus reviews
- Tiny homes
- Interior design
- Learning an instrument
- Starting a podcast
Next Steps
Once you have chosen your blog niche, you might be eager to start writing.
That’s great. But don’t jump in just yet.
If you plan your content and continue learning, you can get your blog off to the best possible start. Build a strong foundation with both readers and Google.
Here are three resources to add to your reading list:
- Practical and effective blogging tips for beginners
- Blog ideas and topics to write about
- How to write a blog post (even if it’s the first time)
We all want to be satisfied, even though we know some people who will never be that way, and others who see satisfaction as a foreign emotion that they can’t hope to ever feel.
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