SEO is often associated with booming and broad industries. After all, the more people who are searching for a particular product, the more traffic you can drive to your website and the more users you can convert into customers. But does that mean that SEO doesn’t work in niche industries? Absolutely not!
In this article, we explore the factors beyond market size to consider before committing to SEO.
Low Search Volume Doesn’t Mean Low Value
Niche industries have smaller audiences, so it’s no surprise we’ll see lower search volumes for keywords relevant to them. Some people may tell you that there’s no point targeting these search terms and, as a result, an SEO strategy would be a waste of time. But have you stopped to consider the value of traffic to your website?
Search volume tells you how many people are coming to your website, but it offers no insight into the value of these users. Let’s take the example of a user looking to buy a private island online. There probably aren’t many of these users, and search volumes will be low, but these users are likely to be high-net-worth individuals.
Plus, if your website sells private islands, you probably only need to convert one of these users to make SEO worthwhile. Ultimately, look beyond search volumes and consider the value of your users and the price of your product.
On the flip side, if your product is both cheap and niche, SEO becomes less worthwhile. There is no point driving a handful of users to your website if they are only going to spend a few dollars each. In these industries, it’s probably better to look at other marketing channels.
Do Your Customers Know What They’re Looking For?
The type of product you are selling is probably the biggest factor when deciding how much time to invest in SEO. You need to consider the question: are customers aware that your product/service is the solution to their problem? If they are not, you can’t expect them to search for your product online.
Consider keywords such as ‘sterile water for injection’. This keyword might not get many searches because it’s such a niche product, but users searching for a keyword like this are likely to be high intent users.
What To Do When Customers Don’t Know The Solution
If you are targeting users who are unaware of the solution to their problem, or they are even unaware of a problem they may have, then this changes things, but it doesn’t mean that SEO doesn’t work.
Consider what your users may be searching for before searching for your product. For example, a user may be unaware that makeup for mature skin exists. Instead, they may be searching something along the lines of ‘how to protect skin after 60’. In this case, a skincare blog would be a better fit in terms of SEO strategy.
Does SEO Work In Niche Industries?
Yes, there are many examples of SEO working in niche industries. But ultimately, it depends on other factors such as the value of users who are coming to your website and the type of product/service you are offering. Finally, it’s worth pointing out that sometimes niche industries work better, as they usually involve more specific, long-tail keywords. These keywords usually come from users who are very aware of what they want and, as a result, are more likely to convert.
