What defines a strong niche must be a strong niche for you. This means it has to be very specific to your own criteria. Thousands of clicks per day sounds fantastic when you’re not footing the bill.

Think about what it would take to give you command of the right keywords. Maybe each one delivers at least 20 clicks per day.

Then, you need just the right amount of advertisers. Not too few. (They tested and didn’t find it all that great.) But not too many. (Way too heated to make a strong profit.)

Here’s a tip to keep in mind: the count is for number of advertisers over the past 12 months or more, not the number of advertisers at a time. Consider a bigger number than what you might have thought.

Alright, so what if it is really heated and competitive. That’s a good sign when you’re in great company, right? But are there people looking for it? You’re going to want to make the call on how many searches there are each day for this unknown keyword.

Quick note: Unless you have switched to SpyFu’s UK data, this will count US-only searches. The reason we limit searches to “local searches” (like US search volume or UK search volume) is to avoid relying on bloated search numbers that would come from casting a really wide net.

Choose your search volume range.

Of course you don’t want to go tossing money at keywords just because of their attractiveness. “These need to match my budget!” you say. “Don’t forget Cost per Month,” you say.

Done.

We’ve also got Cost per Click if you prefer that angle.

Since Related Keywords builds lists from keywords your competitors are already buying, you narrow the field by establishing the ground rules. Have you captured the performance that matters most to you?

But what about profitability? How do you pinpoint keywords that bring traffic that converts? Long tail keywords are the secret sauce, so let’s insist on those, too.

Here’s the kicker. Every step is a necessary part of the ladder, AND each one can stand alone search. This is a reliable way to generate new keyword ideas, but keep in mind that if you are just starting out, you might want to check out ways to find the most important keywords in your market.

In this related article, we will show you how to make the best performing keywords rise to the top.

We’ll end with a brief peek at how some SpyFu customers have used Related Keywords to dig up leads.

To find leads for their business, and SEO professional turned to Related Keywords with this question.

Which high-cost keywords point to advertisers who are willing spend the money for big traffic numbers in a lucrative market?

Choose these filter settings:
Cost per month: $500 or more
Advertisers: 20 or more
Monthly search volume: 1750 or more

This clever combination led to specific advertisers the SEO pros could reach. (Just find out who was advertising on these keywords through Ad History). Once they rank on these expensive keywords, the advertisers can divert that spending into other keywords. And bonus points to the SEO pros for selecting long-tail keywords. That makes ranking on these high-profile terms a more attainable goal.