AFF - Find a Niche - Step One of Blogging Basics & Ongoing Affiliate Revenue

When you first set out to build a blogging business, you need to find a niche. Now, a niche (rhymes with hitch) is a small area of interest that you can start a business in. There are a few key factors you need to consider before starting this process. Here's some to think about.

First, a niche should not be a broad topic, like weight loss. While weight loss is a very popular Internet search, it also is a competitive one. You'll find millions of sites on weight loss, making the chances of getting a brand new site ranked on Google slim to none. Instead, look for smaller topics within the big one. For example, in weight loss, you could have such topics as abs training and weight loss before a wedding. Once you find a smaller subset, you'll be ready to go.

There are a few hard numbers that can help you in deciding on which niche to tackle. First, you want one that people are actually looking for. Go to the Google Keyword tool, and choose one with a broad monthly search of at least 3000. This will give you a decent amount of traffic to start.

Next, look at competition. When you search for your site in quotes, how many examples come up? It's good to stay under 100,000 results for the best chance of getting your site found.

Finally, if you want to make serious money, make sure that you at least have some interest in the niche. You will need to write a lot of articles to build a website. If you have to do them all yourself, this can be like pulling teeth if you have no interest. Find a niche that you are interested in. It may seem impossible to do, but trust me, the Internet still has plenty of room to grow in almost every topic.