Face it: every marketer dreams of finding that one particular keyword. One that resonates with audiences. All right notes are hit, low competition and high search volume but with that sweet going-to-blow-up vibe all in one. That is, for a marketer, the holy grail, this golden ticket, that old SEO unicorn. To qualify niche and rising keywords? That’s the job.
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So if you’re anything like me, you’ve spent hours and days over keyword research tools and, search volume metrics and competitor analyses. Maybe you wonder what you’ve gotten yourself into by choosing this line of work. I totally get it. Keyword research can feel like panning for gold in a stream that nine out of ten times is mostly mud. But when you do hit that keyword gold? Game Won. Game over.
Today, look at the art and science of finding and qualifying niche and emerging keywords. And by the time you’re done reading this, you’re going to be an SEO wizard! So, let’s get into it!
Great. Now that we’re all good, let’s get tactical.
What Exactly Are Niche and Emerging Keywords?
A niche keyword, on the other hand, is the super or super-specific phrase for a super-focused, pretty narrow audience. Long-tail on steroids, basically. Think of them this way: long-tail keyword, only on the subject and or niche you do. They can appear thousands of times a day; they don’t have to. People want exactly what they want and are ready to buy.
Emerging keywords are ones that are just getting started. Even though they may not even be remotely popular, they’re slowly growing in search volume. Then, the early bird gets his worm, getting in on an emerging keyword early could put you ahead of your competition, ahead of the crowds, securing those top rankings before the world catches on.
If you know how to find and qualify them, then niche and emerging keywords are goldmines.
Why You Should Learn the Game of Niche Keyword?
Here’s the thing: Niche keywords convert like crazy. Why? They’re so specific. The intent of the searcher is laser-focused.
For example, you have a dog toy business selling green toys. Fast forward, and you burn through some marketing dollars chasing a very broad keyword, such as “dog toys.” Yeah, yeah, “dog toys” has an awful lot of searches, but so do 100 other brands. Popcorn, anyone? Good luck ranking for that term unless you have the same budget as Petco.
Now, with a long-tail keyword such as “organic hemp chew toys for large dogs,” you are speaking directly to a very motivated and very specific audience. Fewer searches? Yes. But those searchers are ready to buy from you now.
And here’s the thing: as you go along finding your niche, you start building authority. Google now treats you in the context of eco-friendly dog toys. Over time, you’ll find that you are ranking above even more competitive terms because your authority built through niche domination signals to Google that you actually know what you’re talking about.
Outside of SEO: Niche Keyword Benefits
That’s just the beginning, however. Niche keywords help rank you on Google, but the real magic is to really know your audience. Think of every niche keyword as a clue into the minds of your customers. It’s only when you actually know what they are asking questions of and the words they are using that you’ll finally be able to create content that actually speaks to them.
This is why niche keyword research often leans over product development, customer service, and even email marketing. Now, you must be clear about how to customize everything in your business to meet those needs.
Your marketing isn’t just “marketing”; it’s solving real problems, answering fundamental questions, and becoming an irreplaceable resource for your audience.
Tools of the Trade: Hunting for Niche Keywords
So, how do you find these magic niche keywords? You have to dig much more profound. Let me share with you my personal favorite tools and strategies for uncovering those hidden gems of keywords.
Google Suggest and Related Searches:
Maybe the most underleveraged yet simplest tool is just sitting in front of you: Google’s search bar. The most basic way is to type in a generic term that has something to do with your industry and see what populates the suggestions. Autofill by Google basically tells you what real people are searching for.
Now, come down to the “Related Searches” section on the results page, almost like getting Google’s blessing on what you ought to target next.
AnswerThePublic:
It, in short, takes your keyword, that golden egg, and transforms it into a kind of a treasure map. Input a broad term such as “eco-friendly dog toys,” and the service hurls back dozens or maybe hundreds of questions, comparisons, and related searches which people are actively hunting for. Often enough, these turn out to be this kind of niche goldmine waiting for you to dig up.
You’d understand from here what people want and what people need, and you could produce the content now that indeed answers the needs of those people in the most straightforward way.
Ubersuggest:
Good ol’ Ubersuggest: It won’t be as perfect for long-tail keyword research, but it’s going to find variations and the long-tail iterations of your core terms. You can get a sense of the competition level and even see how the trends are evolving over time. Plus, Neil Patel has done the heavy lifting by integrating SEO-friendly insights so that you can make decisions with data.
All-in-one tool: Saves hours jumping around all the keyword research tools. Bonus? Also provides suggestions on those niche keywords for content ideas.
Keywordtool.io:
This is pretty similar to Google Suggest but cross-cutting across multiple platforms: Google, YouTube, Bing, and Amazon. It is an amazing way to diversify your research and get a chance to find some nice terms you’d otherwise miss.
Things are about to get a little sneaky. Both Reddit and Quora are treasure troves of niche keywords. People go there to ask the most specific questions imaginable. Scanning through threads in your industry or even related to your product will help you come up with ultra-specific terms that you would never have even considered on your own.
Find more frequently used phrases, similar frequently asked questions, or common problems. These are your niche keywords in disguise, often with zero competition on the search engines.
Competitor Analysis:
Spying is one of my favorite techniques. Using SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz, you can see what keywords your competitors rank for. The idea is that they may have overlooked or at least have underoptimized niche keywords.
Look beyond the head terms. Start digging deeper to see what long-tail keywords they are targeting and where they’re missing the mark. In most cases, there’s room for improvement or refinement of something your competitors are already ranking for.
The Savvy Marketer’s Checklist: Qualifying Niche Keywords
This isn’t about finding a few obscure words but qualifying them. Here’s how you ensure the keywords that you are ending up with are profitable and not just niche.
- Search Volume: Niche keywords mean you do not want high volume, but you do want people at least to be looking for the term. I like my keywords in the range of 100 to 1,000 searches a month. Below that is too niche, and then above 1,000 brings in more competition.
- Competition Levels: Not all low-competition keywords are created equal. I use SEMrush or Moz to evaluate the keyword difficulty scores. Anything with a difficulty score under 30 is up for grabs as niche keywords. This approach depends on a very precarious balance between competition and intent. It’s not as simple as just targeting some low-competition term, which brings me to this.
- Intent: Does it have a relationship to the product you are selling? Would “organic hemp chew toys for big dogs” make someone want to buy, or is this just someone browsing? Tools like Ahrefs help you decide intent through a review of the SERP landscape. Is the eCommerce site ranking? Are blogs? News articles? This will help you know if it’s worth targeting the keyword.
- It is the holy grail of keyword research: ‘the user intent.’ Narrow down on keywords whose intent is directly proportionate to your offering. You’re not looking for searchers; you’re looking for buyers.
- Trends: AVOID pinpointing some faddish keyword that’s on the cusp of going out of style. Use Google Trends to ensure that the niche keyword you’ve selected isn’t plummeting. Bonus: it’s also a kinda cool way to find keywords that are heating up (which we’ll discuss next).
How to Find Keywords That Are Hitting It Big
The rise of keywords will be your secret weapon to keep you a step ahead of the game. Catch a keyword before it spikes and set you ready to rank early; enjoy the traffic flood once it peaks. Here’s how.
- Google Trends: I can overstate, for all the money in the world, just how precious Google Trends is: a gold mine. It shows if the keyword’s popularity is going up, staying stable, or on its way down. If you’re seeing a keyword that’s been steadily increasing for the past year, grab it before someone else does.
Watch for those steady upward trends and start building content around them before everyone else catches up.
- Exploding Topics: One perfect tool, particularly, is Brian Dean’s. Specializing in surfacing trends as well as terms and keywords that are on the rise, it’s almost like being given the insider scoop on what is going to blow up.
Exploding Topics aggregates data from social media, search engines, and news sites so you know what’s going on and what’s about to pop off. Get in early on a rising trend so you dominate the search results ahead of the competition before they even know what hit them.
- Social Listening Tools: Sometimes, the rising keywords begin because of real-time conversations. Tools like ‘Brandwatch‘ or ‘Mention‘ can track what is being said through multiple social media platforms. If that very phrase continues to pop up and come up again within your niche, then you are likely looking at what will soon emerge as the next rising keyword.
Pay attention to what your audience is saying about specific topics or emerging trends. In their language, the first signs very often happen of how the larger market might evolve.
The Niche And Rising Keywords: The Verdict
Finding and qualifying the niche and rising keywords is not magic; it is a process. Once you get it, though, you will see how much easier it can rank, attract traffic to the site, and convert them into actual customers. And the best thing is that you naturally increase the size of your keyword portfolio as you start taking on more competitive terms.
Not a guess. This is how you position yourself to own those essential keywords and leave the competition scrambling.
Let’s go hunting for that elusive keyword! Enjoy the hunt!