How do I Find Profitable, Untapped Niches?

First, let’s break down the question. There are really two:

1. How can I find a niche in which I can make money?

Although this question sends people to business school and drives many marketing research businesses, there is some basic information you can use to help you set up a profitable ecommerce store without you getting an MBA or hiring a Fortune 500 research company.

Pointers to keep in mind:

o    Look for niches that show signs of profitability.

o    Look for niches that allow you an acceptible profit margin.  Ideally, you want a mark-up of between 50% to 100%.

o    Look for products that are not easily available through mass market outlets.

o    Look for evergreen markets and then drill into the niche for a product that shows promise.

o    Be prepared to test.

22 Evergreen Niche Suggestions

o    Entertainment

o    Home improvement

o    Collectibles

o    Pet supplies, pet food, pet accessories

o    Lawn care

o    Food and cooking

o    Grilling and BBQ

o    Health and physical fitness accessories

o    Vintage clothing

o    Baby clothes

o    Security equipment and accessories

o    Personal protection

o    Sports equipment and accessories

o    Auto parts and accessories

o    Green energy

o    Trees, plants, flowers and gardening

o    Bathroom supplies, such as towels and soaps

o    Camping and hiking

o    Bicycles–kits and accessories

o    Toys and hobbies

o    Metaphysical products, supplies, accessories

o    Military related

Your niche research begins with you as you must begin with at least the seed idea. You must also take the research initiative by gathering information, asking questions, and connecting the dots. Do not expect to go to a website, click a button, and be handed an answer that is worth anything.

There are many sites offering trend research information. I think it is worthwhile taking a peek at what’s available, but if you simply want to put up a small ecommerce site that stands a chance of showing a profit within a month or two, it isn’t necessary to lose yourself in trend research. Trend spotting is different from finding profitable niches. We will stick with finding potential niches.

Beginning Niche Research

Keywords

I would start with key words to get an idea number of searches for product related terms and already existing competition.  Try these free tools:

o    Google External keyword tool

o    Google Suggest

o    Google Wonder Wheel

o    SeoBook Keyword Tools

The Google keyword tool will also link you to Google Trends and Google Insights.  By drilling into these results you can help further narrow you niche research and discover more search terms and areas of niche interest.  Google Suggest is simply the Google search function that lists current search terms below your search term.  The Seobook.com tool give you a vast amount of information on your keyword searches.  You must sign up, but use of the tool is free.

For an expanded list of keywords from Google Suggest, try using this free site:

o    Ubersuggest

Market Research Sites

o    eBay

o    eBay Pulse

o    Amazon

o    Google product Search

No surprises here.   For quick, accurate insight into the online world of retail sales, these resources will give you a pretty accurate picture of what people are buying right now.  Take some time to learn how to use these sites as research tools, and you will gain valuable insight into profitable niches.

You can also use product sourcing membership sites such as Salehoo to help with niche research and insight into what niches real sellers are making money with.

This article is not a complete guide to untapped niche market research. But, and this is significant, by using the resources given in this post you have everything you need to find niche product markets you can begin making a profit with almost immediately.