# Finding niches, Method 2: the Ahrefs/SEMrush filter method (/docs/niche-research/finding-niches/finding-niches-ahrefs-filters)

---
type: Document
title: "Finding niches, Method 2: the Ahrefs/SEMrush filter method"
description: Finding a low-competition niche directly inside a keyword-research tool, using volume, DR, and word-count filters.
status: stable
order: 5
added: 2026-09-14T15:05:41Z
generated: { by: human:ahmedraza, at: 2026-10-16T11:32:00Z }
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  owner: human:ahmedraza
  approval: { by: human:ahmedraza, at: 2026-10-16T11:32:00Z }
verified: [{ by: human:ahmedraza, at: 2026-10-16T11:32:00Z }]
trust_tier: human-reviewed
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*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

![Infographic: Class 4, niche research with AI and Ahrefs](finding-niches-ahrefs-filters-infographic.webp)

![Infographic: Niche finding revision class, three methods (Sir Naveed Kalro)](finding-niches-ahrefs-filters-revision-class-infographic.webp)