Niche research and trends analysis in internet marketing

Professional activity starts with detailed research. Marketing solutions should be well-reasoned and backed with facts. Based on the chosen strategy, it is possible to state the budget for a marketing campaign and establish a set of metrics to measure the effectiveness of each marketing channel and the entire marketing activity as such.   

We have developed a method to study market capacity, evaluate marketing value for business and define trends in a specific market niche. As we perform niche research and competition analysis, we analyze the following essential aspects:

1. Total demand for products/services on the online landscape.

2. Marketing potential (sales/leads) across search channels.

3. Online brand exposure and website visibility among target users.

Such an approach leads to clear understanding of a particular market capacity in a specific business niche. As we study search queries in a respective niche, we can grasp demand for specific products or services. Based on statistics and previously gained experience in a relevant market niche, we estimate the conversion rate in Top-5 search results.

Here are detailed insights into the essential aspects of our niche research in terms and figures:

Total demand for products/services

The analysis of the total demand for products and services is based on collecting the active search data for respective queries. They are grouped in two categories – B2B and B2C, so that we can evaluate the total demand for both groups of search queries. Further on, we choose relevant semantic groups that cover the nature of business and evaluate marketing capacity among them.

Google Keyword Planner generates keyword and ad group ideas based on products/services specifics and provides traffic estimates. It integrates a set of features to analyze keyword’s popularity, exclude low-volume queries and develop a broad range of target keyword combinations.

Keyword Planner is an effective tool to build traffic forecasts. It provides statistics about growing or declining popularity for selected keywords and show the changing trend for those keywords over time. Generally, Google’s keyword tool gives all the necessary information to help marketing specialists take informed decisions in keyword selection and planning.  

Marketing capacity

Marketing capacity for each semantic group is evaluated by calculating the following parameters: an average amount of monthly searches, CTR Top-5 and conversion rate. The analysis gives a clear view of the total market capacity in the area of active search among B2B and B2C queries and enables to compare them in terms of business value. Here is an overview of parameters under analysis: 

An average amount of monthly searches defines an average amount of users’ search queries per month in Google and Yandex. It gives insights into the total market capacity for target products and services.

CTR Top-5 is defined as the number of clicks in Top-5 search results divided by the number of impressions for target queries. A website with Top-5 position in search results can contribute to 14% click-throughs.

Conversion rate (CR) is a rate of visits to the website that leads to conversion. Conversion rate is an essential indicator to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing activities.

Based on the analyzed data, we estimate search demand, as a website reaches Top-5 for target keywords. Based on the total search demand, we evaluate active search volume and measure effectiveness of marketing activities across a set of selected channels.

Online exposure and website visibility

The final stage in niche research is SERP analysis across selected queries for single or multiple websites. As a part of website visibility research, we study website visibility in search results for target keywords and analyze search results structure for relevant queries (images, video, articles, etc).

On top of that, we build a portrait of a typical website in Top-10 based on the following aspects: domain age, the number of pages in the index, paid advertising in search results, the use of a keyword in a domain name, etc.

An important part of niche and marketing trends research is competition analysis. Competition research enables to understand what websites take top positions in SERPs and what best practices can be adopted to increase client’s website visibility, i.e. use of images and video, regular content updates, expert comments, etc.

As a part of niche research, we perform SERPs analysis. In particular, we take into account what type of web resources take the leading positions (information or marketing websites) or whether there is a prevailing amount of video and images in a given niche.     

The results of niche research and competition analysis have the following practical value: 

1. The research gives an idea of the market segment and niche capacity, including the estimated number of traffic conversion into sales and leads.

2. As a result of a comparative analysis, we grasp client’s website visibility in search results compared to niche counterparts.

3. Based on the analytical data and previously gained niche expertise, we can develop an actionable marketing plan.   

Summary

Developing a well-crafted marketing strategy from scratch is an important step in moving beyond mere planning and generating tangible results for business. There are no short cuts here – it implies much time and effort. Based on marketing resources, there is a plenty of methods to find your way on the online landscape. However, with a robust marketing strategy that comes from research and analysis, we can efficiently apply the existing marketing tools and make them work to client’s business advantage.