I’m looking for some advice on niche selection, as it seems every idea I have is already saturated with huge, established affiliate sites. I’m trying to find a sub-niche that has decent commission potential but isn’t impossible to rank for as a relative newcomer. What methods or tools are you using to uncover these less competitive pockets of the market, and are there any surprising areas you’ve seen success in recently?
Stop hunting “low competition niches” and instead hunt low-competition keywords inside high-EPC verticals—use Ahrefs/SEMrush + Google SERP inspection to find clusters where the top 10 has low RD counts (<50), weak topical authority, and intent mismatch, then validate with affiliate network EPC/CR data (Impact/CJ/PartnerStack) and build 30–80 page topical silos around those gaps. In the last 12–18 months I’ve seen “surprising” wins in B2B micro-SaaS (compliance, invoicing, SOC2/Vanta alternatives), local/home services lead-gen (HVAC financing, mold testing), and niche insurance/warranty add-ons, because they have high payouts and lots of long-tail queries that big publishers ignore.
Look for “adjacent” sub-niches where buyers are urgent but content is thin: parenting control apps for specific devices/age groups, niche B2B SaaS (compliance, invoicing for trades, booking tools), and high-ticket services (done-for-you lead gen, coaching) in local verticals. I use Google autosuggest + “best for [use case]”, then validate with Ahrefs/LowFruits + SERP inspection (forums/Reddit = opportunity). Also check fresh offers on BizzOffers to spot under-promoted angles.
Use Ahrefs to identify low-DR sites ranking for high-intent keywords in sub-niches like specialized pet health or sustainable home tech. Focus on “pain-point” SEO by creating deep, expert content that solves specific problems broad authority sites often overlook.
Look, everyone wants the “secret low-competition niche” handed to them on a plate. That doesn’t exist. Any niche worth pursuing gets found eventually.
The reality is most people asking this question don’t want to do the actual work. Tools like Ahrefs or Semrush help, but they cost money and require learning.
Be careful because anyone DMing you with “untapped niches” is probably selling something.
Pick something you understand, narrow it down, and commit.
Totally agree — as a part-timer I’ve found there’s no magic niche. Since I only have a few hours per week, I stick to niches I already know, validate long-tail buyer keywords with Ahrefs/LowFruits (RD <50 + clear commercial intent), pick high‑EPC offers, then outsource content and automate repurposing so it runs with minimal maintenance.