Previously, I wrote about different questions that you should ask yourself for selecting the niche or topic for a new blog or website. I wanted to share some thoughts on how focused you will make your niche once you select a general topic or general niche.
What defines a website niche?
It seems everyone has a different definition of a website or blog niche. I remember a friend telling me that their niche is programming which is a very broad topic. It could be focused down to Javascript or PHP or perhaps programming for Unix servers or programming for blogs.
There are others who think that a niche is super tight like Android cell phones for American women. I just wonder how many USEFUL and interesting articles or posts could be written about that. Also focusing on a very specific technology means that in a few years your site will be irrelevant to the general public. Only those who haven't moved on to the next big thing would be visiting a site about that. I could imagine that topic as being a great post or article, but as a niche for an entire site or blog, I'm confused. That just seems very short term.
Advantages of a general niche (disadvantages of a focused niche)
A general niche like programming means that you can change and adapt over time to the new technologies as they arrive. Perhaps 10 years ago people were looking for Basic and C programming, but now they are looking for PHP, Ruby, programming for Facebook, and programming for cell phones. It is difficult to guess what will be popular in 5 or 10 years. If you want to start a website or blog that will be used as an asset and perhaps as leverage for other sites and services, a more general niche might be the best for you.
Interests change over time including yours. Perhaps you are all about Reggaeton music now, but next month you'll be listing to Pop and the following to Banda. Locking yourself into a tight niche means that you'll either get bored writing and updating content on your site when your tastes change, you'll be writing off-topic, or your drop or abandon that site for another one. A more general niche will cover your range of tastes and interests in a topic. It will be more timeless and you'll be less likely to repeat yourself from one article to the next.
Advantages of a focused or tight niche (disadvantages of a general niche)
A tight niche for your new blog or website means that you will get more targeted search engine results since your keyword list will be smaller and your articles or posts will be very related. A website about your favorite Chinese food recipes will have similar keywords, but a tight niche about cooking sweet and sour dishes will be very focused. It should be very likely to get on the first page in search engine results for the main keyword(s) of a tightly focused niche.
If there are advertisers or products that match your focused niche, you should also get a higher conversion rate and hopefully make more money. It should also be easier to attract direct advertisers.
A focused niche should get traffic much faster than a general site. The more focused your niche site is, the less competition you should have for your keyword phrase.
Make a choice
You will find people who will swear that you need to have a very focused niche site and others that will swear that you should have a more general niche. I only suggest that you weigh each option carefully after checking out the competition and then stay on topic. People who come to your site about imitation fur coats will be turned off to find articles about your favorite musician. If you can't relate the ideas then it is best to start another site.
I do find it fascinating how many people who advocate tight niche websites often have rather general niche sites not focused sites. It seems that you should do what they say not what they do even if most of their success came from that very website or blog!
How do you feel about niche topics? Are your websites and blogs on focused niches or general topics? Which get the most traffic or earn the most money?
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