The Business Pod's Blog

If you haven't heard the word 'niche' being batted around by Marketers then you haven't been listening. Finding a niche has become the antidote to competing in overly saturated online markets.  What is a niche?  According to Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary a niche is described as "a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted... a specialised market".  Have you noticed that despite the closing of many businesses in these harsh economic times, the local hobby train store is still around? That the 'hole-in-the-wall' eatery is thriving? Or that trends such as scrapbooking can start with a bang and still close within a year when four similar businesses start up in the same area?  The online business world reflects the same trends as experienced in the offline world - often with faster turnover and startup rates. Those who promote a product or site that targets a small, select audience can tap into a m...

If you’ve been researching keyword phrases and popular keywords you’ve likely found that many popular potential markets are quite broad.  When you brainstorm and research to come up with ideas for your new business, it’s likely that the first ideas you identify are likely to be broad markets. It’s generally better to try to identify market niches (or sub-markets of the broader market) on which to build your business. Trying to compete with other business at a broad market level would likely require a substantial amount of time and effort, and probably financial resources as well. Instead, you can increase our chances of success by identifying a market niche.  Using a weight loss market example, you might focus on keyword terms such as “fat burning foods” or “low carb diets”?  By targeting a market niche, there would likely be much less competition from other businesses, so you’ll have a greater chance of bringing targeted prospects to you.  And this, of course,...