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Niche marketing will always be one of the best ways to reach a targeted market. If you are selling products and services then you want to market to them directly for the best conversions. When you can market to a highly targeted group of people and offer them the information, products or services they’re looking for, you’re going to do well. The key, therefore, is to find those niche markets which are looking for answers and are in your expertise and/or passion.

Keyword Research

Most often keyword research is the best place to start. However, keyword research doesn’t have to be a systematic non-creative process. Rather, use keyword research as a brainstorming tool.

The first step is to start with potential keywords or phrases you’re interested in. They can be a little broad, this is brainstorming and you’ll start scaling down as you search. Use the keyword tools to generate a list of viable keywords and keyword phrases. In addition, research the viability, supply and demand for your topic keywords. I love using the free keyword tool at google.

Start by taking your main topic and finding its most popular version. Which related keywords receive the most searches? Once you have your main keyword, then spend some time researching the lower competition keywords and keyword phrases. People are becoming savvier with their searching and instead of typing in generic keywords like “pet care,” they’ll be very specific and type in “Golden Retriever puppy nutrition.” These are the keywords and keyword phrases you’re searching for and the results from your keyword tools will help you find phrases with high demand and low supply. Here are a few keyword tools to use when doing this type of research:

* Google AdWords – Visit adwords.Google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal. Enter your keyword/keyword phrase here and you’ll see a different list of results. You’ll see advertiser competition and approximate search volume. I have this listed first on purpose, it’s truly my go to site for finding a profitable niche market.

* KeywordSpy.com – This is a great tool to research your competition. It’s also an excellent tool for generating profitable keyword ideas.

* WordTracker – This will show you how many searches have been conducted for your keyword phrase, how many they predict, how many pages Google lists for that search term and a number called KEI or Keyword effectiveness indicator. Tons of resources for finding a profitable niche and a free keyword research tool. However, the paid version is affordable and highly recommended.

* KeywordDiscovery – This site works in a similar way to WordTracker and also requires a monthly subscription.

Trend Analysis

Being on the leading end of trends is also a great way to find niche markets. Imagine if you can predict a quick niche. It will provide a very affordable few months, with room to build with add-on sales.

There are a few great tools to analyze trends including:

* Google.com/trends – This shows the most popular trends for the day.

* Pulse.ebay – Here you can analyze the most popular searches for the day. You can also see the most popular stores and the most watched items.

* Buzz.yahoo – This works similarly to Google in that it highlights the most popular search terms. However, it seems to tend toward gossip and entertainment topics rather than products and industry trends.

* Springwise  – A newsletter, which you can subscribe to, that highlights current and possible trends.

* Trendwatching – Emailed to thousands globally to spot and report on upcoming trends. They produce an annual report as well as monthly “trend briefings.”

* Entrepreneur – Annually predicts the upcoming trends for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Social Networking

Finally, social networking can be a great way to recognize trends and niche markets. Pay attention to hot topics, frequent questions and controversy stirred up on mainstream sites. Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace are all great places to observe, research and brainstorm.

Finding niche markets is an ongoing process and it can be a fun and interesting process as well. Think outside of the box, analyze trends and pay attention to what’s going on online. The next big niche could be right around the corner and an offshoot of ideas you already have running!