Gain the Advantage Through Niche Market Websites

Competing with the major sites on the Internet may seem like a fantasy but it is not. Search engines don't care how big your site is as much as they care if your site is relevant to the search query of their visitors. If your site has the answer to the question it will gain a higher ranking in the search results.

A properly optimized niche market website will provide the answers search engine visitors are looking for. Your job is to create the website, fill it with relevant content and optimize it for inclusion in the search engine results. If you do this, pre-qualified visitors will come.

With few exceptions, mega sites don't take the time to focus on a specific niche. They focus on little other than trying to be everything to everyone. They are hoping that their pay-per-click advertising will draw the niche crowd.

With a niche market website you can easily outrank the mega sites and gain a greater market share of a specific product or category. The Internet is a great equalizer when it comes to delivery specific products. Create your own niche market website and take visitors and business away from the mega sites.

What is a Niche Market Website?

The best way to describe a niche market website may be to describe what it is not. It is not a site that encompasses the largest selection of items on the planet. It is not everything to everyone. It is not a website patterned after a Wal-Mart, Sears or any other major superstore.

A niche market website isn't even a department in one of these stores. A niche market website is not the automotive or sporting goods department of a department store. You need to think even more exact with the items in a niche market website.

Imagine the fishing section of the sporting goods or possibly the accessory section of the automotive department and you are now beginning to get the idea but you need to go further.

When you can imagine the fly fishing shelf or the floor mat area you are now able to understand what a niche market website is.

Creating a Niche Market Website gives you the Advantage

In so many ways the Internet is a great equalizer when it comes to market presence. Search engines and their users are not interested in who has the biggest site, the largest database of items or the most graphics. Search engines and their users are looking for information on a subject, the answer to questions and for a specific group of items.

These users don't want to wade through hundreds of pages to find their answer. They don't want to see every fishing lure known to mankind as much as they want to see the specific one they need to fill their collection.

They don't want to see every auto parts for every vehicle as much as they want to see what fits their particular make and model. Ford truck owners don't particularly care what accessories are available for a Chevy or vice verses.

You, as the niche market website have the advantage over the large department store style websites in that you don't have to be everything to everyone. Instead, you can focus on providing the answers and products that Internet users are looking for. This gives you the advantage over every other site on the Internet. Search engines will send hundreds or even thousands of visitors to your site daily if you can provide what their users are looking for.

Optimize your Website to Attract a Crowd

You entire site can be focused on providing the answers Internet users are looking for. Keep the information on your niche market website on your topic and you will soon become the darling of the search engines. Be the expert and you will gain the reputation you desire. Your search engine optimization efforts can focus on building landing pages that will attract pre-qualified visitors to your site who are looking for what you have. Think about it. Are you wanting someone who wants to browse or buy? Bring in a pre-qualified visitor who is looking for your specific items and you stand a better chance of turning them into a buyer.

Your off-site marketing is easier focused on a specific niche market than broad based topics. For instance, the articles you publish off-site can be targeted at the niche market your site targets, bringing in better qualified visitors to your site. Articles about fly fishing will bring visitors interested in that particular type of fishing rather than all types of outdoor enthusiast. Deep sea fishermen are interested in fishing but probably not in fly fishing. Target your off-site marketing toward the fly fishing crowd and you will have much better results in bringing in the buyers you want.

Be the Expert

Build your niche market website like you are THE expert on the subject. Use article directories and RSS feeds to bring in fresh content. Write your own fresh content to enhance these outside sources on the subject.

Use legitimate search engine optimization techniques to convince the search engines that you are the authority on your keyword phrases. Make sure that these keyword phrases are in your page titles, meta tags, content headers and in the body of the pages.

When building your shopping cart pages take time to properly name each item so it is easily found by the search users. Manufacturer, model number and descriptions need to include different methods of describing the item. Take into account misspellings of the keywords so you won't miss any potential buyers. If your site is targeting Chevrolet truck accessories don't forget to have the word Chevy in your descriptions.

When you are done, your niche market website will rank higher than the mega sites that try to be everything to everyone. Your niche market website will have more targeted pre-qualified visitors than other sites and could become the site people prefer to the mega sites that don't cater to their specific needs. Be the answer to their needs and they won't go elsewhere for their answers. Be the expert they need to make them smarter, better and a better fly fisherman and you will have a customer for life.

Jerry D. Wilson has over 25 years of experience applying technology to solve business problems.

Please visit some of Jerry's recent launches:

• CJ Gift Baskets
• CJ Picnic Baskets
• CJ Patio and Grill