How To Research Keywords for a Niche
Finding the right keywords for your niche can feel like searching for a rock in a landslide.
As a freelance SEO content writer, I know a thing or two about keyword research. I've spent years helping businesses optimise their websites for the keywords their audiences are searching. I can tell you: niche keyword research is no simple task.
When you're operating in a specific market, you're not competing with massive brands for generic terms like "basketball shoes" or "HR software"—you're hunting for precise, targeted phrases that directly align with your customers’ problems.
In this guide, I'll walk you through my proven process for researching keywords in any niche market. You'll learn which tools to use, how to find niche keywords your competitors haven't discovered yet, and how to prioritise your SEO efforts for maximum impact.
Niche keyword research fundamentals
Niche keywords are highly specific search queries that people use to find answers about a topic or problem. Unlike broader, mainstream search terms, niche keywords typically have:
Lower search volume
Higher specificity
Less competition
Stronger intent
Better conversion rates
Where broad keywords produce thousands of results, niche keywords focus on a specialised area. This means fewer competitors are typically trying to rank for them, giving you a better chance at appearing on the first page of search results.
Niche keywords are often referred to as long-tail search phrases. This refers to their length—a short-tail phrase might be “computer keyboard,” whereas a long-tail alternative would be “ergonomic computer keyboard for graphic designers.”
Why niche keyword research matters for your business
Unless your website already has significant domain authority, focusing on niche keyword research is usually far more effective than chasing impossible rankings for broad terms. You're competing against smaller websites rather than industry giants with unlimited budgets.
Long-tail keywords account for approximately 92% of all keyword searches. That’s a massive opportunity for smart marketers who know their audience.
Specificity also drives more conversions. Someone searching for "CRM software for manufacturing companies" knows precisely what they want. They’re much more likely to purchase a manufacturing CRM than someone simply searching "CRM software."
For newer websites, niche keywords offer a realistic path to page one rankings within months. Competition is scarce, and by focusing your content on a niche area, you can quickly build up topical authority that helps every new piece of related content perform better.
Essential tools for finding niche keywords
There’s no secret to finding niche keywords. You don't need an enormous budget, either. Effective niche keyword research is just a matter of combining the right research tools with a reader-first strategy.
Before investing in premium solutions, there are plenty of free tools you can try:
Google Keyword Planner: Discover related terms with search volume estimates and competition levels
Google Search Console: Analyse which queries already bring traffic to your site
Answer the Public: Find questions people ask around your topics
Google Autocomplete: Use Google search suggestions to find long-tail variants
UberSuggest: Find keyword volumes and competitive density for thousands of terms
If you're serious about niche keyword research, premium tools become worthwhile investments.
Ahref’s Keyword Explorer feature and Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool show keyword volumes, search intent, and competitive difficulty scores. These platforms also offer dozens of other useful tools for optimising your SEO strategy.
Semrush offers a free trial option that enables you to perform considerable keyword research before your trial ends—a great option if you’re not ready to commit to a monthly subscription but still want deep insights.
For most niche businesses, one comprehensive tool is sufficient for all your keyword research needs.
How to find niche keywords
To find niche keywords, you must first understand who you’re writing for, what they’re searching for, and what the intent is behind their search. This process ensures you only select keywords that are the right fit for your website and audience.
Done right, niche keywords offer unparalleled advantages—SEO-generated leads typically achieve a 2.1% visitor-to-lead conversion rate for SaaS.
Here’s the step-by-step workflow I use for uncovering niche keyword opportunities.
1. Define your niche
To avoid a scattered keyword strategy, you need to firmly define the niche you’re targeting.
What does that look like? In many ways, it resembles your value proposition:
"We help [specific audience] with [specific problem] through [specific solution]."
Consider how your audience speaks about its problems. For instance, if you’re selling manufacturing software, then your ideal solution-unaware customer may be more likely to search for “improve manufacturing productivity” over “automated production management.”
2. Generate seed keywords for niche research
Seed keywords are your starting point—the core topics around which your entire keyword list will expand. From these, you’ll discover the subtopics you should be writing about. Aim for 20–30 seed keywords as a starting point.
Begin by brainstorming every topic relevant to your niche. Include industry jargon and terms that your audience actually uses. Niche forums and communities are a great source for seed keywords—spend time reading discussions on Reddit, Facebook groups, and industry-specific forums to discover the exact language people use.
If your niche is accounts payable automation, your seed keywords might be:
AP automation
Invoice processing
Vendor payment automation
Three-way matching
Purchase order matching
Reduce invoice processing costs
Accounts payable efficiency
Analyse three to five competitor websites in your niche. What topics do they cover? What terms appear repeatedly in their titles and headings?
3. Expand your keyword list
With your seed keywords established, enter each one into your chosen research tool and export the suggestions. Try to get a range of different keyword types for the four types of search intent:
Informational: Explain an idea or solve a problem
Commercial: Provide information about a solution
Transactional: Enable buyers to purchase a product or service
Questions: Answering who, what, where, when, why, and how
You’ll likely discover variations of the same keyword, where the wording is different but the goal is the same. This is why search intent is so important: keywords with the same intent should be grouped together.
Don't neglect location-based variations if your niche has geographic relevance. I typically aim for 100–200 keyword variations at this stage.
4. Prioritise your keywords
Take your keyword list and filter it to determine its priority. You can filter by:
Keyword difficulty: If your website is relatively new, target keywords with difficulty scores below 30
Search intent: Prioritise commercial terms over informational to drive revenue in the early stages—but aim to have content for all stages of the funnel
Search volume: Only use search volume to prioritise keywords that are equal in all other areas
You can't target every keyword simultaneously. I use a simple scoring system based on search volume, keyword difficulty, commercial intent, and relevance to your expertise.
Keywords naturally fall into two categories: quick wins (low-difficulty keywords you can rank for within 3–6 months) and long-term targets (might take a year or more but offer substantial traffic).
Categorise keywords by content type. Some suit blog posts, others work better as product pages or landing pages. This categorisation helps when developing your SEO content strategy.
Advanced strategies to find niche keywords
Once you've mastered the fundamentals, these advanced techniques will uncover opportunities your competitors have likely missed.
Mining niche forums and communities
The language real people use in communities differs dramatically from what keyword tools suggest. Join relevant subreddits, Facebook groups, and industry forums where your target audience congregates.
You'll notice patterns emerging. Certain problems appear repeatedly. Specific phrases get used consistently. These organic expressions often make perfect keyword targets because they reflect genuine search behaviour.
Analysing competitor keyword gaps
Your competitors have already done keyword research—why not learn from their efforts?
In Ahrefs, use the Content Gap tool by entering your domain alongside three competitor domains. The tool identifies keywords where all three competitors rank, but you don’t. Semrush offers a similar tool for this.
You'll often discover content angles you hadn't considered. Perhaps competitors are ranking well for buyer's guides while you've only published how-to articles. That's a clear content gap to fill.
Leveraging "People also ask" boxes
Google's "People also ask" (PAA) boxes contain question-based keywords that many SEO content writers overlook. These questions represent real user queries, making them valuable targets.
Use tools like AlsoAsked to visualise these relationships and extract dozens of question keywords from a single search. Creating content that directly answers PAA questions increases your chances of appearing in these boxes yourself.
Exploring niche-specific search modifiers
Different niches have different search patterns. Local businesses should explore "near me" variations. Ecommerce niches benefit from specification modifiers like size, colour, material, or model number.
Problem-solution modifiers work brilliantly in many niches. Terms like "fix," "repair," "troubleshoot," or "solve" indicate users with urgent problems—exactly the high-intent traffic you want.
Organising and implementing your niche keyword research
Once you’ve got your niche keywords, it’s time to turn them into a strategy. This is what separates smart content marketers from beginners.
Creating a keyword map
Maintain a detailed spreadsheet for every keyword project with columns for keyword, search volume, difficulty, intent, target page, priority, and status.
This structure prevents keyword cannibalisation, which occurs when multiple pages target the same keyword and compete against each other. Each keyword should map to one specific page on your website.
Building content clusters around niche topics
Topic clusters establish your authority on specific subjects within your niche. Create one comprehensive pillar page covering a broad topic, then link it to multiple detailed cluster pages covering specific aspects.
When producing the content, it pays to work on one cluster at a time. This way you can quickly produce a wealth of content on a specific area—and so build topical authority around it—rather than slowly adding drips here and there to each cluster. Work with subject matter experts to further improve authority scores.
This internal linking structure helps search engines understand your topical authority. When done well with proper SEO content writing tools, clusters can significantly improve rankings across all related keywords.
Tracking and refining your keyword strategy
Niche keyword research isn't a one-time task. Regularly review rankings and traffic to identify what's working and what needs adjustment.
Monitor which keywords are climbing in rankings and which have stalled. Traffic changes tell you whether your keyword choices align with actual search behaviour.
Research from Semrush's State of Content Marketing report shows that 66% of high-performing content marketers update existing content, highlighting the importance of ongoing keyword optimisation rather than a publish-and-forget approach.
Build a superpowered content engine with freelance writing services
Learning how to research keywords for a niche transforms your SEO from a frustrating uphill battle into a strategic game you can actually win. Start with the fundamentals: define your niche precisely, generate seed keywords, and expand them systematically.
Remember that niche keyword research is an ongoing process, not a one-time project. Markets evolve, search behaviour changes, and your strategy must adapt accordingly.
If you'd like help conducting thorough niche keyword research or need support implementing your strategy through high-quality content, I'd be happy to discuss how I can assist. As a freelance SEO content writer, I can help you create content that ranks and converts.
Book a free consultation with me today to discuss your next niche keyword research project.
