As with any type of business, it’s always important to do your research before you begin. You’ll need to know your market and understand what you can bring to your potential customers.
If you’re interested in affiliate marketing, it is especially crucial that you know exactly how to choose a niche and one which will offer you a chance at a profitable business.
Not all niches offer the same level of profitability, so the Importance of market research is a huge factor; in fact, the ability to weigh market profitability with potential customers and the right use of keywords can be a crucial factor in getting to know your audience and grow your affiliate marketing business. You need to know what your customers are searching for and the potential earnings available in that particular niche.
There are some important things you should consider when choosing a niche for your affiliate marketing. For example, you’re going to be working your affiliate site just about every day, so choose something that you’re interested in. Additionally, you’ll need to consider the availability of products in your niche.
Research affiliate opportunities through various companies to determine your potential ability to earn a reasonable commission. Some companies have very small margins for affiliate sales. It can also be helpful if there are several products across a range of price points, this will give your customers more options. Another factor that needs to be carefully considered is the amount of competition already in the niche.
How To Research Keywords For Your Niche
The Google Adwords Keyword Planner tool can be a valuable tool in helping you understand your market. You will need a 
google account to use it however you can use this tool to check on the number of searches in the niche by using a variety of relevant keywords and keyword phrases.
Additionally, Google search results offers affiliate marketers a very useful tool that can help them determine the amount of competition within a particular niche.
This is important because it can help you have a better understanding of an area that might be difficult to gain a foothold in; however, even difficult niches can have a profitable market if you’re willing to put in the work.
It is often a good idea to select niches that are easy to target as well as a few that have some tough competition. Take a look at the top search results and you’ll have an idea of what you’re up against.
When you use the Google Adwords Keyword Planner tool, be sure to keep an eye out for keywords that fit your niche. You might type in a keyword only to discover that it gets very few searches; however, the Keyword Planner tool will give you other ideas that can bring up a number of great keyword possibilities. This is also true when you use Google search. Type your keyword into the Google search bar and scroll down to the bottom of the returned results. You’ll find a list of suggested relevant keywords. This can help you identify some of the keywords that your potential customers might be searching for.
Take a look at my search results inside the google keyword planner for the term “improve my golf swing”
So as you can see from one term you can find many keywords that people are actively searching for, but this is just the beginning. Obviously you wouldn’t stop there but keep digging down to find keywords that have moderate to high search volumes, medium to low competition and that make grammatical sense.
Another great keyword tool and the one that I use everyday is Jaxxy – my #1 recommended keyword research tool
It is a premium tool but very affordable and worth the investment for your business if you are serious about finding profitable markets. Jaxxy offers a lot more information than just google alone as well as available domains, brainstorming ideas, search analysis and so much more. It’s worth checking out and starting with a lite account to test drive it, I think you’ll love it.
It can be hard to determine if a particular niche is going to provide a profitable base for your affiliate site, but the best thing you can do to ensure success is to do plenty of research. Taking the time to understand the Importance of Market research and thoroughly researching your particular niche will give you an idea of whether it is something worth pursuing.
It is also a crucial step in making sure you know your audience. Even if you have a driving passion for a particular niche, if others aren’t interested or if you simply won’t have enough traffic to make your efforts worthwhile, you might want to choose a different area to concentrate your affiliate marketing efforts.
What Other Options Do You Have?
Consider the benefit of micro niches. Choosing a smaller segment of a larger niche can help you take over that micro niche, 
which can later be used to funnel traffic to a broader and more profitable general niche. It’s not always necessary to go after the niches with the most searches, you just need to make sure that there is enough traffic that can be converted into sales.
When trying to determine if a particular niche has potential, it can be extremely useful to take a look at other affiliate sites. When a niche has successful affiliates already making money, you know there is potential; however, you’re also going to be facing some competition. Finding a unique way to bring these niche products to your market can be an important part of breaking into the niche. Try to find a unique angle that will give you an edge in your chosen field.
In order to do well in a particular niche, you want to be able to offer your customers value. Take a look at the top affiliate marketers in your chosen field and determine if you have something more to offer. If you can’t out deliver the top competition, you’re likely going to have a hard time making your chosen niche profitable.
You don’t have to be an expert, but you should be willing to research and bring regular content to your potential customers that will provide information and products that they will find helpful. Content is King as they say so being able to write content that pulls the visitor in is crucial to your success. I go into more detail about writing compelling website content here.
However you decide to move forward remeber this: one small step everyday will get you on your way. You won’t get it all done in one day so take your time and you will find that market you are looking for.
All the best in you business – God bless
-Andy
