You want to start making some money and you end up with an idea – making a website and get money by doing affiliate marketing. Great, good for you! But you’re stuck on choosing what kind of products to promote because you don’t want to waster your money and effort in chasing a niche that might not have great ROI and end up spending more than you generate. Choosing your niche is the most important step you will take in this journey because you can’t really change it in the long run, especially if you decide to go with a niche related domain name. Also, you need to be sure that the niche is profitable and there is room for you to grow in it.

The main criteria for choosing a profitable niche:

  • There is enough search volume of interest for it

This can be easily done by using Keyword Planner from google (of any other similar paid tool) and search for your desired keywords. It needs to have enough volume to surely generate a few sales per day or week, depending on your ambitions and expectations. I would try to go with anything over 800 searches per month. This will show you that there are people interested in that kind of product or service.

  • Buyer intent

Make sure there are people ready to spend money in that niche. People buy based on emotions, fears or needs. Some niches like health meet all three criteria.

  • There are at least 3 merchants to promote

You need to make sure that there are at least 3 merchants with affiliate programs that you can promote. You need to be sure that if, at some point, the product/service that you promote disappears, you can easily change it with a competitor and still use the website. Also, you can A/B test the multiple affiliate programs to see which one converts better for you.

  • Competition is not always bad

People are always saying that you need to find a niche with no competition. But if something has no competition, maybe it is because there is no money to be made in that market. Competition shows you that people are making money with that niche and there is potential.

Also, you can study your competition and replicate what they’ve done ok, skip the bad stuff and add more value. This is the most basic recipe for entering any market. Don’t try to find a loophole, a magic bullet or a secret method that someone will sell it to you for $9.99. Every success means preparation, working hard and being consistent.

  • If you are interested in the topic, go for it

If you find a niche that you are genuinely interested in, that’s the golden ticket. No one can write a better review of a product than someone that has actually use it. No one can give you better advice about something than a person who did it previously. It’s the same thing with the niche selection because you can really give proper input and provide value in your articles, and writing  many good articles about the same thing is very hard to produce (assuming you don’t pay for the content).

  • Seasonal or Evergreen

Be careful when you choose the niche and adjust your efforts and expectations accordingly. You can’t make money all year round with a seasonal niche, but you can make a lot in a short period of time. On the other hand, evergreen niches can make you money every day and that might force you to give it attention everyday.

That’s it, short and simple. Of course every point can be dissected and write 3.000 words about it, but in the end, this are the main points you need to follow in order to find a profitable niche in affiliate marketing.