In the world of SEO, staying ahead of the competition is crucial. This is especially true when you are in a niche, rapidly growing industry that has increasing competition and demand.
Studies show 15% of daily Google searches are new, which means there’s a potential to target queries that haven’t gotten a lot of traction yet. Tapping into niche and rising keywords is one of the most effective ways to discover hidden gems that can elevate your content strategy.
These keywords tend to be overlooked or underutilized but have the potential to future-proof your content, establish authority in your SEO niche, and give you a competitive edge. In this post, we’ll guide you through the process of discovering, analyzing, and qualifying these valuable keywords to enhance your SEO strategy.
Key Takeaways
- 15% of daily Google searches are new.
- It’s important to consider niche and rising keywords as part of your SEO strategy to ensure you are reaching people who are searching for new or specific topics.
- Niche keywords target a small, specialized segment of the market while rising keywords are search terms that are gaining search volume over time.
- Explore various tools and resources to help you successfully identify niche and rising topics including Answer The Public, Google Trends, social media platforms, community forums, and more.
- Learn how to perform niche keywords research which involves more than just finding search terms with volume.
- It’s crucial to monitor and adapt your content strategy over time to ensure you’re targeting the right keywords at the right time as new topics emerge and search intent shifts.
Table of Contents
- Key Takeaways
- The Importance of Niche and Rising Keywords
- Niche vs. Rising Keywords
- Ways to Identify Niche and Rising Topics
- How to Perform Niche Keyword Research
- Monitoring and Adapting to Changes
- Conclusion
The Importance of Niche and Rising Keywords
Niche and rising keywords are a versatile part of a potential SEO strategy. They might stabilize and build on your existing foundation, or they could turn out to be the missing pieces that elevate your approach. However, without proper identification and evaluation, they could also become deadweights that fail to deliver results.
Even though niche and rising keywords might have low or even zero search volume, it’s important to consider them as part of your SEO strategy to ensure you are reaching users who are searching for more specific topics.
Long tail keywords tend to have low search volume, but they also lead to more qualified traffic which means the users have higher intent and are more likely to engage with your brand. These days, they make up as much as 70% of all queries on Google.
Zero-volume keywords, on the other hand, could indicate emerging keywords for rising topics.
In my experience, a few clients of mine are in the artificial intelligence industry, which has absolutely exploded over the last few years, and I have seen several low-volume keywords quickly turn into 1,000-volume keywords in a few months’ time. For example, the keyword “ai pdf” went from having a search volume of 140 to 14,800 over the course of 10 months.
Niche vs. Rising Keywords
So, what is the difference between niche and rising keywords? Both types of keywords offer unique opportunities to target specific audiences and capitalize on emerging trends, but they serve different purposes. By leveraging both, you can create a well-rounded content strategy that captures attention from both established and emerging markets. Sometimes, there can be overlap where niche keywords are also rising keywords, but this isn’t always the case.
What Are Niche Keywords?
Niche keywords are very specific search terms that target a small, specialized segment of the market with less competition. Broader keywords attract a wide range of searchers while niche keywords are tailored to a particular audience with specific needs or interests. Oftentimes, niche keywords will be longer tail phrases with lower volume. For example, “ai art” is considered a broad keyword while “how to make dark fantasy ai art” is a niche keyword. These niche searches enable you to connect with an audience that is more likely to convert.
What Are Rising Keywords?
Rising keywords are search terms that are gaining search volume over time. They tend to reflect emerging trends, new technologies, or shifting consumer interests. Covering these topics enables you to tap into these topics before they reach peak popularity, establishing your authority in a niche before it becomes oversaturated.
For example, a few past trends that evolved into successful niches include plant-based diets, cryptocurrency, and remote work. Integrating emerging and rising keywords into your strategy can position your brand as a leader in a growing market and enable you to attract early adopters.
Ways to Identify Niche and Rising Topics
Identifying niche and rising topics is the first step toward uncovering valuable search terms that can take your SEO strategy to the next level. In this section, we’ll explore various tools and resources that will help you understand how to find trending topics for your niche so you can stay ahead of the curve.
AnswerThePublic
AnswerThePublic is a search visualization tool that uses search engine data to create visual maps of relevant and useful phrases. This tool is a great way to find out what people are talking about within a certain topic online. You can even track specific searches and get alerts when new phrases emerge, or when phrases start trending higher in volume.
Source: AnswerThePublic
Another unique feature of this tool is that you can see distinct phrases from different platforms including Google, Bing, YouTube, TikTok, and Amazon. For example, one phrase might be more popular on YouTube than on Google which is a valuable insight to have.
Google Trends
Google Trends is one of the most powerful tools for analyzing trending topics and identifying upward trends. By inserting a topic or search term, you can view how user interest has trended over time including the past hour, day, weeks, months, or years. You can even input multiple topics or terms to compare how they relate to one another.
In the example below, you can see how “ai art generator” initially outpaced “ai image generator” in interest, but over time, “ai image generator” increased in interest while “ai art generator” decreased in interest.
Source: Google Trends
When using Google Trends for SEO, you can also view related rising and breakout topics to help take your research even further.
Source: Google Trends
One thing to keep in mind about Google Trends is that it is not directly indicative of exact monthly search volume. Google Trends data is based on a large unfiltered sample of searches rather than the exact data set. This is helpful in processing large amounts of data for the sake of looking at trends over time rather than specific numbers.
Social Media Platforms
Nearly 40% of Gen Z prefers using TikTok and Instagram for search over Google. This provides a unique opportunity to use social media platforms like Reddit, TikTok, X, and Instagram as goldmines for discovering trending conversations and emerging topics. Setting up profiles across social platforms and monitoring hashtags, following popular influencers, and reading comments can help you stay on top of what’s trending in your industry. It’s an easy way to get first-hand experiences of your target audience including questions, pain points, and more.
Occasionally, social platforms like TikTok can even drive search demand in Google. In the example below, turmeric soap started to trend on TikTok, which led to Google searches for “turmeric skin care” beginning to spike shortly after.
Source: TikTok
Source: Google Trends
Industry-specific blogs and publications
Following authoritative industry blogs and publications is another effective way to stay informed about new trends. These sources often provide in-depth analysis, research, and expert opinions on emerging topics, helping you identify rising keywords before they become mainstream. By keeping a pulse on your industry happenings, you can spot opportunities to create content that aligns with upcoming trends and positions your brand as an industry leader.
Competitor Analysis
Studying your competitors’ content and keyword strategies can reveal gaps or rising opportunities that you can capitalize on. By analyzing what your competitors are ranking for, you can identify keywords they may be overlooking or rising trends they haven’t yet tapped into. Competitor analysis is a valuable way to uncover underexploited keywords and gain insights into what’s working in your industry.
Customer Feedback and Forums
Customer reviews, surveys, and niche community forums are treasure troves of information about your target audience’s pain points, needs, and conversations. By listening to what your customers are talking about, you can identify niche keywords that resonate with their specific concerns. Additionally, community forums often highlight emerging topics that are gaining traction among your audience, giving you the opportunity to target rising keywords before they become widely popular.
How to Perform Niche Keyword Research
Once you’ve identified a list of niche and rising topics, the next step is to perform keyword research to maximize their potential. Niche keyword research involves more than just finding terms with search volume, it requires a thorough analysis to qualify them as good topics to go after. In this section, we’ll guide you through the steps of researching keywords for a niche.
1. Compile a List of Seed Keywords
Create a list of seed keywords based on your list of niche and rising topics. Seed keywords are the foundation of your keyword research, providing the basis for putting together a comprehensive list of related search terms. For example, in the image below, we put the seed keywords generative AI, gen AI, and generative artificial intelligence.
Source: Ubersuggest
2. Refine Your Keyword List
From there, refine your list by focusing on long-tail and less competitive keywords by filtering the keyword difficulty or CPC metrics in a keyword research tool. Long-tail keywords typically are less competitive, easier to rank for, and often have higher conversion rates since they target users with specific intent.
Source: Ubersuggest
3. Analyze the SERPs
One of the most important parts of niche keyword research is analyzing the search engine results pages (SERPs). Diving into the SERPs can provide valuable insights into user intent and the types of content that are currently ranking. Sometimes a keyword might have different intent than you might have expected.
For example, according to the SERP, the keyword “generative ai with large language models” appears to be the exact title of an online course so most of the search volume is likely people looking for that course specifically.
Source: Google
Monitoring and Adapting to Changes
Niche keyword research is not a one-time task, it requires ongoing monitoring to stay on top of changes in search trends and user behavior. By keeping an eye on monthly search volumes, you can quickly identify shifts in search trends and adjust your strategy accordingly. As new topics emerge and search intent shifts, it’s crucial to adapt your content strategy to ensure you’re targeting the right keywords at the right time.
Conclusion
Finding niche and rising keywords is a powerful strategy for staying ahead in the competitive world of SEO. By targeting less saturated markets and emerging trends, you can gain early visibility, establish topical authority, and drive more qualified traffic to your site. With the right tools and techniques, you can identify valuable keywords that elevate your content strategy and give you a competitive edge in your industry.
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