Finding Your SEO Niche in Niche Blogs

Everyone is an expert on the Internet, right? Nowadays no matter what your interest is you can pretty much guarantee you are going to find a community of people and blogs that cater to it. In fact, niche blogs and sites can yield far better links and traffic than trying to get a link with some of the big guys. Let’s face it, it would be next to impossible to get a mention on the front page of CNN.com, but you’d probably get far better quality traffic by getting a mention on the front page of a niche blog that ties directly to your target audience.

As SEO professionals sometimes we forget that bigger is no always better. Niche blogs are excellent sources for links because the traffic coming from these links tend to be more focused (interested in your product or service) and more likely to convert to sales (people who are visiting a niche site are generally looking for specific information on that particular field – so you automatically clear out all the clutter that many links tend to bring). Sure, you might only get 10% of the traffic, but the conversion rate for that 10% may be far higher than the other 90% of the traffic you’d get from more general links!

Of course the big question is how do you find niche blogs and sites that you can form a relationship with? Generally speaking the best way to find them is to be involved in the community they are in. If you are an avid knitter, no doubt you already know where some of the best knitting sites area. When you start to develop content and sites that fit into a niche it’s a good idea to go out there and see what others are doing. Search engines are a good way to find content, of course, but be sure to narrow it down. For example, don’t just search for knitting, but rather search for the specific type of knitting you might be interested in – such as “knitting sweaters with 100% cotton”.

Niche sites also tend to stick around longer than other more general sites. The reason is that for many niche sites it is their passion – or at least their hobby. Anyone can talk about tech, but it takes someone with a real, genuine interest to talk about collecting old railroad memorabilia or discussing alternative educational models for science and math.

When you find sites that you’d like to strike up a relationship with, make sure you adhere to rule #1 on the SEO world: don’t spam. Strike up a conversation, get to know the site owner and make sure you spell out the reason for your contact in the email. If they are interested, they will follow-up with you. If not, then move on. Some niche blog owners are passionate about their topics and don’t accept advertisements or link exchanges from anyone no matter how good your content or product is.

By finding your niche you may find that you deliver less traffic, but the traffic you do get converts into meaningful dollars and cents. It’s a great way for SEO firms large and small can work to help promote their clients by focusing in on the areas and subject matters that will generate the best return on investment and not just eyes and clicks.