Finding niches, Method 2: the Ahrefs/SEMrush filter method

Taught by Sir Tanveer Nandla, except "A revision pass on the same filters" below, from a niche-finding methods revision class taught by Sir Naveed Kalro.

Where Method 1 starts from an existing site and reverse-engineers its keywords, this method skips the site entirely and goes straight at the keyword layer, searching directly inside a keyword-research tool for queries that already meet a niche's criteria, rather than finding them second-hand through someone else's website.

Steps

1. Go to ahrefs.com (or SEMrush).
2. Open Keyword Explorer (Ahrefs) or Keyword Magic Tool (SEMrush).
3. Select a blank search in your chosen country.
4. Apply filters (SEMrush needs more manual effort here than Ahrefs):
   • Lowest DR: 20, in the top 10 or top 5 results.
   • Word count: 2 words maximum in the keyword.
   • "Include" filter: add words matching your interest.

A later pass on the same method added a second filter set:

• Volume ≥ 20000
• KD 10
• DR 5
• Words: minimum 2
• If EMDs (Exact Match Domains) appear in the results, allow at most 2, and none of them should have an RD (Referring Domain count) above 60
• APK not required
• Category: Tool/Info
• Word count = 2
• Use an "include" term such as generate, calculate, or click, any word a user would search alongside your niche.

A revision pass on the same filters

Method 2 of a niche-finding methods revision class taught by Sir Naveed Kalro added a few more filter details worth combining with the ones above, still inside Ahrefs Keyword Explorer with a country selected:

• Intent: filter to informational intent.
• Volume: around 30,000.
• KD: up to 25.
• SERP Features: open the "All" rule and deselect whichever features make a keyword less worth targeting for your case, e.g. exclude keywords where Google already shows an AI Overview, or where video results dominate the page.
• An "include" term, same as before, matching your niche.

Combination ideas

A single niche keyword can multiply into dozens of low-competition variations just by pairing it with every entity in a category (every bank in a city, every company on a list), since each pairing is its own low-competition search with its own, smaller audience. Blend a fixed prefix/suffix with your niche keyword to surface untapped combinations:

• {FAB}: balance-check content covering every bank in a target city
• {BANK}: salary-check content covering every bank in a target city
• {Company}: tracker content covering every company in a target city
• Manuals: deep-diving into a niche's manuals can surface "diamond" sub-niches nobody else has covered

Seed keyword targets (a worked example)

• Search volume: minimum 15,000/month (Keyword Everywhere)
• Moz KD < 25
• SERP analysis: at least 3 sites with DA < 20
• Main competitor's Ahrefs DR < 20
• Organic traffic: more traffic generally means more revenue

Country matters here: a seed keyword volume of 10,000 in the USA (a Tier 1 country) is not directly comparable to 100,000 in Pakistan: Tier 1 traffic is worth more per visit.

Class infographics

Class infographicTap the image to zoomClass 4, niche research with AI and AhrefsOpen full sizeShare

Class infographicTap the image to zoomNiche finding revision class, three methods (Sir Naveed Kalro)Open full sizeShare