There are a lot of keyword and niche research software available.

I personally use 3 different programs to help do my research

• Micro Niche
• Market Samurai
• SE Nuke

And you know what the oddest thing is?

All the software tools I use interface in some way with the Google Keyword Tool.

In other words, the software I uses not only grab the data from Google Keyword Tool, it sometimes displays the data verbatim, i.e., it displays exactly what you see in Google Keyword Tool.

Then the question is why do I even bother with these 3 tools and just head straight to the horse’s mouth in this case Google Keyword Tool.

Well, for the simple reason the software was created in the first place.

To make our life easier and perform our task faster.

It takes me 2 hours to write an article using paper and pen but it takes me 45 min to type one using my computer. And that doesn’t include checking the spelling, using a thesaurus  …etc

In the same fashion, it takes me 5 hours to analyze niche and keywords but it takes me 1 hour to decide what to do using the software.

But I am not going to ask you to head straight off and purchase the software.

And, I will not spend the rest of the blog post reviewing the software.

There are plenty of reviews available out there that more or less tells you the same information.

That is … the software delivers as promised and more.

However, what I can do is to tell you what situations I use the software in.

You should purchase software ONLY if your situation fits the criteria, otherwise, it will be just a waste of your money and your time.

The software I use cost as follows:

• Micro Niche ($97)
• Market Samurai ($150)
• SENuke ($127 per month)

I use Micro Niche to find new niches and keywords.

Just type in the niche, and it returns a list of related keywords and key phrases, the number of times the term is searched every month, a button to click to get the exact phrase count (the real number of competing websites) and a strength of competition (SOC) indicator.

The SOC is presented in a simple to follow traffic light style manner, green – low competition (go ahead), red – high competition (avoid) and orange – medium competition (maybe, use your judgement).

I personally look at the average of 10 niches per month and in some months even up to 30 niches.

Because of the volume I deal with, Micro Niche has saved me hundreds of hours giving me exactly the right information when I want it.

However, if you don’t have the volume that I deal with, that is, you only deal with 1 or 2 niches per month or even per quarter. I suggest you use Market Samurai.

You may be asking yourself “What? Use the more expensive tool is I need it less?”

Let me explain why…

Market Samurai has a relatively good niche and keyword module among the many modules included.

For a one time cost, it provides modules that not only help you figure out your niche, get the keyword for your niche but it also provides you the ability to drive traffic to your site.

That includes looking for high-quality sources for backlinks, looking at your competitors, gathering quality content for your blogs, articles if you have any.

Market Samurai

Unfortunately, because of the numerous modules this software has, it is not as robust as I want it to be.

It is slow, cumbersome and not very user-friendly. Many times, I could have taken a leisurely stroll to the kitchen, grabbed a snack and get back all while it is moving from one module to the next.

But, boy, does Market Samurai delivers.

SENuke is my favorite software but it is also the most expensive.

At a monthly cost of $127, you have to think seriously and hard about such an investment.

Although it has a pretty good niche and keyword module, I rarely use it.

To be honest, I really shouldn’t include SENuke among the software list.

It is really more of a traffic generation tool with a niche and keyword module thrown in (maybe even as an afterthought)

But SENuke is such a powerful tool and helps me deliver so much traffic to my websites that I think it would be almost sacrilegious for me to not make a mention or two.

So in summary…

If you are working on lots of different niches, get Micro Niche.

If you have deep pockets like Donald Trump, run not walk to get SENuke.

If you wish you had deep pockets like Donald Trump, then get Market Samurai.

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Till next time…

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Cheers,

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Someone was asking me if there are other ways to get Niche Ideas besides Google Keyword Tool

Thanks to Ed from 30 Day Challenge, here is 54 other websites that you can use to get more Niche Ideas.

Websites To Get Niche Ideas

1. 43things.com http://www.43things.com/
2. About.com Be a Guide Topics http://beaguide.about.com/topics.htm
3. About.com A to Z list http://azlist.about.com/
4. Alexa Top 500 http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_500 Read the rest of this entry »

This informative article is designed to expose you to just what exactly video marketing is and exactly what it can do to your internet business.

It’s going to also highlight some other articles or blog posts like How to Create Your Own Marketing Video.

Let us begin!!
Read the rest of this entry »

One of the best “secrets” to internet marketing is to find a underserved niche market – and serve them with the products and info they want.

Not much of a “secret” now, is it?

The concept sounds simple enough, but I find that for many folks (unfortunately even myself), actually going and FINDING a niche market proves to be a very difficult task – let alone finding niche keywords to go with it!

But before I even jump into the how and why of finding a niche market.

Let me tackle a more fundamental question. Read the rest of this entry »