When you are researching a particular niche, it’s not uncommon to become sidetracked by another eye-catching phrase. To learn how to save your searches as you go along, read this previous blog post: Manage Searches Feature .

Yet, if you see a new term in your search results and instantly want to investigate this new term further, you can do what is called a “Narrow Dig”.

For my example, I searched the term “dog training”. Yet the term “deaf dog training” caught my eye; to investigate “deaf dog training” further, I clicked on the phrase and found the option “Narrow Dig”.

Narrow Dig

Click on Narrow Dig and Micro Niche Finder will instantly and automatically search that term – it saves you the hassle of having to type this term in the top search section. Think of it as a handy shortcut for niche research!

One of the most anticipated features of Micro Niche Finder 4.1.0 is the new Background Download Service.

The Micro Niche Finder Background Download Service is installed with Micro Niche Finder 4.1.0 as a Windows service, which means it runs in the background whenever your computer is running.

You must be connected to the internet in order for the Background Download Service to function properly.

The service can download Exact Match Phrase Counts, Ad Cost, OCI and SOC in the background, allowing you to continue working with Micro Niche Finder while the results are being collected.

The service is set to pull information at a slow interval, to minimize the risk of being blocked by Google. It can pull up to 3 separate results each minute.

For this reason, we recommend using the service during “down time” (perhaps before going to bed) — simply perform a few searches in Micro Niche Finder, select which results to download in the background, exit Micro Niche Finder and go to bed. In the morning, you should find your results!

If you add results to the service “queue”, please be aware that performing additional queries (like clicking the Get Exact Match or Get SOC links) within the program will increase your odds of being blocked. the service attempts queries at a “reasonable” rate in order to minimize the odds of a block, and any additional queries will increase the burden on Google’s servers.

We’ll post more about this exciting feature over the next few days. In the meantime, if you have questions about the service, please email Micro Niche Finder Support.

Google has different servers for every country in the world. Just as Google is ranked as the #1 search engine in America, it is just as popular throughout the entire world, and to handle the massive data loads, specific servers related to specific countries arose.

Micro Niche Finder’s default Google setting is www.google.com (this is the American setting). If you are based in America, or are selling products or services in America or for Americans, this would be the ideal Google setting to use.

However, those who are based outside of the USA would do well to use the Google server specific to their country in addition to the default Google setting. Suppose a person based in India were to research a niche for “torans”- a type of wall hanging found in India, usually draped over the door.

Torans

If using the default (American) server, the results would not be particularly encouraging or accurate because torans are not common (or frequently searched for) in America.

American Toran Screen

However, if this person in India changes the Google Server Settings to India and then searches “torans” the results would be different, for more people in India search for torans because torans are quite common throughout India.

Indian Toran Screen

If you, your products, or your clientele is based outside of the USA, it will certainly work in your favor to do niche research not only in the default American setting, but in the setting for your particular country. By doing this, you will get a complete understanding of the niche and gain a comprehensive list of good keywords and phrases to help make your niche profitable.

To change your Google Server settings, open your Micro Niche Finder. On the main page, in the bottom right hand corner, you will see a section titled, “Google Settings”. It should say you are on the default server, and underneath there should be you can click on called, “Click to Change Your Google Server”.

Google Server Settings

Once you click on that link, every country’s flag and name will appear on your screen. Click the name/flag of the country that you want to use for your Google Server. Now, type in your search term as you would normally do, and viola! Results based on Google’s server in whatever country you chose!

If you want to go back to the default setting, follow the same process as before. Click on the link stating, “Click to Change Your Google Server” again and merely click on the default image – the default image looks like:

Google Default Server

As you can see, the Google Settings feature is incredibly easy feature to use, and certainly very useful in our globalized world.

Last night (February 24, 2009), we became aware of an issue with performing searches in Micro Niche Finder 4.

A message titled “Incorrect Response” would appear, with details about “keywordList=[]” being returned by the data provider.

The problem was identified and fixed within 2 hours of the initial reports of the issue, and we have posted a new update which corrects the error.

The new version is 4.1.0, and it contains many enhancements in addition to the keywordList[] error fix.

 To download the new version, open your Micro Niche Finder software. Click on the Downloads Button:

On the website that comes up look for a link to:   micronichesetup.exe

Make sure that Micro Niche Finder isn’t running — if it is close it out — then download and install micronichesetup.exe.   Open Micro Niche Finder and verify that the version number is 4.1.0.

Thank You for using Micro Niche Finder!

Micro Niche Finder allows you to view Google Trends for phrases. One may argue that it’s a lesser known feature on Micro Niche Finder, but it is certainly important when creating a comprehensive understanding about a particular niche.

When you find a phrase that appeals to you, click on that phrase and a narrow purple box will appear on the side. Click on “Google Trend”. A new internet window will automatically pop up showing you the Google Trend for your particular phrase. Using this graph, you can chart (over the course of years!) the rising and waning search popularity of a product. It will also show news articles that pertain to your phrase – for example, my phrase is “wine cooler” and it displayed six recent news articles about wine coolers.

Google Trends

One of the best uses for Google Trends is to determine if a particular niche market is seasonal in nature.  You can very easily see by looking at the Google Trend Chart if the market peaks or valleys at certain times of the year. 

By using this Google Trends feature in Micro Niche Finder, you have yet another tool to show you if the niche you are considering has great potential or not. Of course, the data provided by OCI, SOC, Ad Cost, Search Count, and Exact Search Count reign supreme; if a niche is on the fringe though, looking at the Google Trends for the term just may help you determine if the niche is worth your time or not!

Micro Niche Finder provides way more services than what initially meets the eye, and the Google Product Search is only one example of such a service. To illustrate how to use the Google Product Search, I will use an example phrase (“umbrella”) and explain how to use the product search in relation to the phrase.

“Umbrella” is a very vague term, with far too much competition, so I settled on another term that came up with this search – “bubble umbrellas” (the strength of competition for this term is still intermediate, but it will do). Bubble umbrellas are a tangible item so in addition to my normal routine (checking exact phrase counts, ad costs, search counts, etc) I will also use the Google Product Search to see the market for this product, and perhaps find a good program to affiliate with!

To find the Google Product Search, click on the phrase of your choosing ( in my case, bubble umbrellas). A narrow purple screen will appear, and this has a list of clickable features. Click on the feature that says “Google Product Search”.

google products search location

Upon clicking this, a new internet window will appear – this is the Google Products page as dictated by your phrase. Since my phrase is Bubble Umbrellas, my Google Products page displays pictures, prices, and sources for this particular type of umbrella.  If I click on any of these pictures or descriptions, I will be redirected to the source (for this example I clicked on the first picture and was redirected to the source, Miles Kimball.com). This is an excellent way to peruse a potential website of an affiliate.

Google Product Search Results

Remember, if you find a niche that is focused on tangible items, check the figures for the phrase across the board (is SOC good? Does Exact Phrase Count and Search Count work? Is the Ad Cost reasonable?) and if so, use this Google Product Search feature to find an affiliate program that’s right for you.

If you find a particular term or phrase that has great data across the board, why not check and see if there are any affiliate programs on the internet that correspond with that phrase? Affiliate programs are a great way to make money – by promoting a product or website, you will receive a portion of any sales that come from your referral .

Before the Search for Affiliate Programs feature is explained, it’s important to give just some basic insights into affiliate marketing. Every affiliate program is different – for example, some affiliate programs may only offer you 5% commission, while other affiliate programs may offer you 100% commission. Knowing how much commission will be paid is important, but so is the method in which you will be paid (store credit, directly into your paypal account, mailed check) and how often you will be paid (monthly, quarterly, etc.).

Besides payment, it’s also important to analyze the overall aesthetic value of the website – does it look appealing? Is all the information straightforward? Put yourself in a customer’s position – would you want to buy from this website? Does this website come highly recommended and with good customer service? Any defect in the website could deter people from making a purchase, which equals less sales and money for you. If the website meets all of your criteria, however, proceed with the affiliate process.

Becoming an affiliate does vary from website to website, but in its most basic form, you provide necessary info to the company and they in turn provide you with links, pictures, banners, and an unique affiliate code to put in the links, pictures, etc. It is from this special code that the company will be able to track your sales. Sometimes the website will have to approve your request to be an affiliate which can take some time, but other times becoming an affiliate merely requires filling out a short form. 

Affiliating yourself with a product can make you a ton of money, but it’s important to find a good affiliate! If no one is searching for the term that corresponds with your affiliate program, you won’t make that much money. This is where Micro Niche Finder can help you!

Search for a phrase that has good data on Micro Niche Finder (make sure OCI, SOC, Ad Cost, Exact Phrase Count, and Search Count are all satisfactory). Once you find a suitable phrase, click on it. For example, I searched “wine bottles” and settled on “personalized wine bottle” as my phrase. I then clicked on “personalized wine bottle” and a narrow purple screen appeared. Next, I clicked on the “Search for Affiliate Programs” link. Once you click this, a new internet window will pop up displaying websites that have affiliate programs related to your phrase.

My example, “Personalized Wine Bottle” produced pages of potential affiliate programs. From here, I will just click on a few and select the one that best fits my needs concerning commission, pay schedule, and overall presentation. I will fill out forms, get my links, and start promoting the product via squidoo pages, articles, twitter, etc. By using Micro Niche Finder’s “search for affiliate programs” feature, I have saved hours of detective work and all the information (SOC, Ad cost, etc.) is at my fingertips. You can do this with almost any phrase, so don’t be scared to expand your horizons with affiliate programs!

One interesting feature Micro Niche Finder offers is called “Hot Trends”, and it is located in the top section of your screen between the “search” button and the “brainstorm” button.

When clicking the “Hot Trends” button, Micro Niche Finder will show you a long list (100 phrases) of popular search trends. You can use this list to quickly determine profitable niches, or you can use this list as a launch point for further niche research.

hot trends button

When you register for a website, there are several types of domains to choose – the most popular being “.com”, but “.net”,  ”.org”, “.gov”, and “.edu” are some other types of domains found on the internet.

The domains of “.edu” and “.gov” are not available to the general public. In order to get a “.edu” or “.gov”, you must indeed be a government agency (“.gov”) or a fully credited postsecondary institution, such as a four year university (“.edu”).

Yet out of the other domains, which are all publicly available, the “.com” domain is the preeminent domain for marketing purposes. While search engines rank “.com”, “.org”, and “.net” etc. equally, people are more likely to type in “.com” at the end of a website than “.org” or “.net”. For this reason, if you are offered the choice of several domains when registering your website, it is always preferable to register with “.com”.

Micro Niche Finder scours the vast internet to bring you all the information you need on particular niches. Our software specifically uses Google to pull its information – and this is not an accident. While there are many other search engines out there (Yahoo, Live, AOL and MSN instantly spring to mind), none of these search engines compare to the sphere of influence Google possesses.

Unless your product and website domain name is immensely popular world-wide, it is very likely that most of your traffic will come via search engines. Well, let me rephrase that sentence: there is a HUGE chance most of your traffic will come from Google. When people discuss “search engines” the topic is really about Google, which has become synonymous with “search engines”. Google has indexed more pages than any other search engine and thus provides a greater amount of search results. It also offers an increasing array of free services, which makes it more appealing to internet users. It comes as no surprise then, that Google is the top ranked search engine year after year.

Here’s an astounding figure: more than 60% of all search engine traffic comes from Google. In fact, Google is so popular now that if every other search engine were to disappear tomorrow the flow of web traffic would remain almost virtually unchanged. Many internet users searching habits would remain completely unaffected; it is simply undeniable that Google is the top search engine in the world. For an interesting article with charts and figures explaining the search impact of Google, click here.

Thus, we use Google to extract the information you need on Micro Niche Finder. It is the most comprehensive search engine, it generates the most traffic, and it is used by more people than all other search engines combined. If we were to use another search engine to pull results for Micro Niche Finder, the information produced would not be of the highest caliber.