Here's how to use a * (asterisk) to find hot niches in seconds - step-by-step

[Muhammad Hassan]

Google has a search feature where you can use a * (asterisk). This is known as a wild card. It represents one or more words.

For example, a search for dog training * tells Google to search for any phrase that begins with dog training and has one or more words in it.


We are going to find a niche that has people looking for a solution.

First step is to go to Google and search for "how to" *

Near the top is a page for how to apply for a patent - one niche already - but let's get more.

The next step is to notice that the phrase begins with how to apply for so go to Google and search for "how to apply for" *

You will now be presented by 674,000 results detailing possible niches to exploit such as:

how to apply for a scholarship
how to apply for funding
how to apply for grants
how to apply for homeland security positions
how to apply for beamtime
how to apply for IEC
how to apply for NHS REC approval
how to apply for EMDG
how to apply for mortgage
how to apply for import licence
and many more ...

The final step is to go back to the "how to" * search and find other phrases to search for, such as:

how to cure
how to create
how to stop
how to avoid
how to mend
and many more ...

Now, Search for each of these phrases in quotes with a * at the end, e.g. "how to clean" *

And Google helps us even more by bolding the phrases for us making them easy to spot.

Who would have thought that * would be useful for finding hot niches?

[Muhammad Hassan]

Originally Posted by MadeiraCaram

Thank you for that!

Thanks you.

Please remember that information only becomes useful when put into practice so actually have a go at using it to see what you find.

I have only described the basic principles. You can extend it much further. Fir example, "how do i" * and "where can I find a" *.

[Marc Jager]

Brilliant!
By the way, noob here, how does the Thank you function work?
(Search, FAQs and Help sections don't say....)

[charlesburke]

Good post Muhammad. Thanks for a very useful tip - AND for the reminder that actually using knowledge is the key to results.

Cheers from warm and smiling Thailand,
Charles

[JohnMcCabe]

Muhammad, very nice tip. Thanks for posting it...

Originally Posted by Marc Jager

Brilliant!
By the way, noob here, how does the Thank you function work?
(Search, FAQs and Help sections don't say....)

Marc, if you look just under the original post, you'll see a section titled "The Following User Says Thank You to Muhammad Hassan For This Useful Post: " with one or more names to the right of it.

When you find a useful post, and you wish to thank the poster without adding to the thread, you click the "thanks" button. The thank-you function will add your name (linked to your profile page) to the list. If you are the first to thank the poster, it will add the section and place your name.

It's intended to help with the problem of someone making a good post, then having 48 people clog up the database by adding posts that simply say thank you.

Edit: For example, if I were not answering your question here, I would have just hit the thank you button and moved on...

[Muhammad Hassan]

Originally Posted by Marc Jager

Brilliant!
By the way, noob here, how does the Thank you function work?
(Search, FAQs and Help sections don't say....)

Thanks Marc - glad you appreciate me trying to help.

If you are logged on and go to the end of the post that you want to thank. There are some gray / black buttons on the right. The button on the far right should say Thanks on it. Click that button to give thanks for a post.

Like you I am a noob and just to let you know that the people here will be helpful. All you have to do is ask. (p.s. don't ask how to make money see warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/31934-new-read.html)

[Marc Jager]

o.O I swear that THANKS button was not there before!!!! I see it now though

[JayXtreme]

Yup...

There is more info here, directly from Google:

Google search basics : More search help - Web Search Help

Good stuff, you can also used operators (advanced) to refine your searches further, find some here:

Google Search Operators - Google Guide

In my product bonuses, I added some nifty tricks about using advanced operators to find stuff in real time on sites like Twitter and facebook...

Fantastic for catching trends and buzz in the early stages and hitting it quickly for a cash boost... I use a similar method for product launches, as an affiliate.

Peace

Jay

[YaniB]

This is really useful information, thanks. How did you manage to stumble upon it?

YaniB

[Andyhenry]

Here's what I wrote about this - you can stumble across it in my free ebook.

“~” Synonym search

To search not only for your search term but also for its synonyms, place the tilde sign ("~") immediately in front of your search term.

For example, here's how to search for food facts, nutrition and cooking information:
~food ~facts

Fill in the blanks "*" search

Sometimes the best way to ask a question is to get Google to 'fill in the blank' for you. You can do this by adding an asterisk "*" in the part of the sentence or question that you want filled in.

For example, here's how you'd search for who invented skateboarding:

skateboarding was invented by *

[Muhammad Hassan]

Originally Posted by Andyhenry

Here's what I wrote about this - you can stumble across it in my free ebook.

“~” Synonym search

To search not only for your search term but also for its synonyms, place the tilde sign ("~") immediately in front of your search term.

For example, here's how to search for food facts, nutrition and cooking information:
~food ~facts

You can use the ~ (tilde) to get a list of words that are related to your main word. You can use these words for using more relevant words for article writing, get ideas for pages for website or to stimulate looking for ideas.

You will also use - which stops a word from being used in the search.

Here goes for words related to food.

Go to Google and search for ~food

Have a lookj at the results at what words are bolded. Put these bolded words after - in the search.

E.g. go to Google and search for ~food -food -cooking -cuisine

and repeat by adding bolded words in the search

search for ~food -food -cooking -cuisine -nutrition -restaurant -restaurants

Keep repeating until there are no words which will leave with:
~food -food -cooking -cuisine -nutrition -restaurant -restaurants -recipes -foods

The same for facts: ~facts -facts -data -information -trivia -statistics -info -tips

[Muhammad Hassan]

This is going off my original intent of finding questions using Google to find hot niches.

However, the content is good and useful. If the forum users want to go more general then perhaps we should give them what they want.

If you have anymore Google ideas for Internet marketing maybe you could contribute to help others.

Maybe I should change the title to something like 'Using Google for free for your Internet marketing needs'

[garyf]

I can't find any thanks button, only quote, multiquote, quick reply. Can't find the topic in the FAQ. Can someone tell me how to turn it on?

Thanks, a noob

[Muhammad Hassan]

Originally Posted by garyf

I can't find any thanks button, only quote, multiquote, quick reply. Can't find the topic in the FAQ. Can someone tell me how to turn it on?

Thanks, a noob

You are obviously looking in the correct place as you have seen the buttons. I am not sure if you are looking at the correct post. You need to go to the post that you want to thank. The thanks button should be at the end of actual post you want to thank.

[garyf]

Weird, now the thanks button is there, right next to quick reply. Thanks to whoever put it on ;-)

[MikeGriffith]

Excellent technique. Thanks very much.

[Terry Hatfield]

I think you can only give thanks when you are logged in, then you can see the thanks button.

Funny, with the OP post, even if I don't use the asterisks I get good results.

But, like the tilde tip.

Thanks

[howudoin]

Thanks for the Great Tip!....Downloaded your files Andy....Will get back after going through them.
Bhupinder

[MemberWing]

Great discussion.
Just want to add here something about finding moneymaking niches.

Number of search results or number of searches does not mean that niche is good to make any money on. Lots of people search for free information and are not willing to spend a dime on.

So if you are interested to find a niche where money could be made - use Google Keyword tool:
1. Goto https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
2. Enter captcha, type keywords to search for "how to" and push button [Get Keyword Ideas]. Get results.
3. In "Choose columns to display" select "Estimated Avg. CPC" - that's how much money people are willing to pay for advertising for given keywords
4. Sort by "Estimated Avg. CPC" descending.

Now you have the list of all niches related to "how to" essentially sorted by their moneymaking power. And the reuslts also include volume of searches and other information.

Gleb

[Ryce]

Not sure if those niches are of any value...

I would rather use google trends, Google zeitgeist

For those extra-geeky people there are even better or more complicated ways to search for niches Do A Google search on "11 Search Trends That May Disrupt Google"

[milkyway]

To everybody who wondered about the "Thanks Button": I think it only gets available after you have a certain amount of posts (5, if I remember correctly). That would explain why "it hasn't been there before"...

milkyway

[Muhammad Hassan]

Originally Posted by Terry Hatfield

I think you can only give thanks when you are logged in, then you can see the thanks button.

Funny, with the OP post, even if I don't use the asterisks I get good results.

But, like the tilde tip.

Thanks

You are correct. You can get good results without the asterix - so do that also.

2 things about using the asterisk approach:

1) it returns a different set of results to those without the asterix - use both approaches to gain more possible niches.

2) using an asterix bolds the word that follow how to making it easier to see the words of the possible niche.

[alexei_aus]

thanks for the tip

[Muhammad Hassan]

Originally Posted by Ryce

Not sure if those niches are of any value...

I would rather use google trends, Google zeitgeist

Thanks for your input.

Perhaps I didn't explain myself clearly enough. The post was about describing the method and to get people to use the method to find possible niches.

The possible niches I mentioned in the post was not saying that you should use them as niches. They were just a few examples that I found quickly using the method.

You should take the ideas that the method gives and then analyse them to see if they could be profitable.

DON'T just use the niche ideas the method gives - ANALYSE them first.

[curiousguy]

I tried it,very nice and fantastic tip.Thanks a lot

[prosperpreneur]

Excellent piece of advice here, however no matter who u r, what u do and where u live int his world you just came across me as a trusted friend and advisor.

Wish you all the best
-Gaj

[nvs74191]

Great tip, Muhammad.

I can use this one, thanks again.

[TimothyW]

I didn't see it mentioned in this thread (but maybe I missed it) -- there's also the 'opposite' method...

searching for things like "How to avoid..." "how to stop..." "how to cure..." "How to get rid of..." etc.

People who are trying to solve a PROBLEM (maybe even desperate to do so), are perhaps more motivated than someone who is just interested in doing/learning something less urgently or intensely.

-- TW

[Riz]

Thanks for the useful tip Muhammad - i would never have known about the power of the * (asterix) :-)

[Muhammad Hassan]

Originally Posted by -- TW

I didn't see it mentioned in this thread (but maybe I missed it) -- there's also the 'opposite' method...

searching for things like "How to avoid..." "how to stop..." "how to cure..." "How to get rid of..." etc.

People who are trying to solve a PROBLEM (maybe even desperate to do so), are perhaps more motivated than someone who is just interested in doing/learning something less urgently or intensely.

-- TW

You are correct - people searching for how to stop, avoid and cure things will be more motivated to buy as they want to solve their problem. A couple of others are how to alleviate * and how to prevent *.

The suggestions in my original post did not suggest solving a problem as much as the ones you have provided I have amended my original post using your suggestions, TW, so that people get more benefit from the thread.

[Muhammad Hassan]

You can also use the method but with the phrase "how can i" * to get more hot niches where people are looking to solve a problem.

For example,

How can I adopt a child
How can I boost my metabolism
How can I evict a tenant

[Ryce]

Originally Posted by Muhammad Hassan

Thanks for your input.

Perhaps I didn't explain myself clearly enough. The post was about describing the method and to get people to use the method to find possible niches.

The possible niches I mentioned in the post was not saying that you should use them as niches. They were just a few examples that I found quickly using the method.

You should take the ideas that the method gives and then analyse them to see if they could be profitable.

DON'T just use the niche ideas the method gives - ANALYSE them first.

How do you get the right answers? By asking the right questions, of course.

Thanks for the reply Muhammad. I like the " * " approach for brainstorming more than for finding niches though.

In the end it is about doing something you are passionate about. What is the meaning in looking for snowboarding niches if you are a martial arts die hard fan ????

The Wine TV niche (wine is kinda big niche IMO) worked great for Gary Vee but Smurfs might be the perfect one for you.

Do what you are about is the take home message IMHO


Regarding niches I like the offline / online approach Tim Ferriss mention's on his book the 4 hour work week very much too.

Finding $ for your dreams


Be a member of your target market and don’t speculate what others need or will be willing to buy. P147

To find a profitable niche ask these questions of yourself

• What social, industry, and professional groups do I belong to? Look at your resume, habits, work experience and people that you associate with, and ask what groups of people purchase the same?
• Which groups that you identified have their own magazine? Visit large bookstores and view the magazines to see the niches in action.

Pick 2 markets that you are the most familiar with that have magazines with full page advertising costs of less than $5000 and readership greater than 15,000. p149

Aim for a product markup of 8 to 10x and for a product that takes 3 to 4 weeks to manufacture so you can avoid inventory and stockpiling… If the price point is above a certain point (>$200), prospects need to speak to someone before they are comfortable making the purchase. Price your product between $50-$200. Price as high as you can and justify. P151

Become an expert in something… Create content yourself to be seen as an expert, often via paraphrasing and combining points from several books on a topic… License content to help create content for your site… Repurpose content from the public domain such as gov’t documents. Join 2 or 3 trade organizations. Read 3 top selling books on your new area of expertise and summarize each on 1 page. Give a 1 to 3 hour free presentation at the closest well know university. Then do the same at 2 well known companies. Tell the company that you have given seminars at University X and are a member of those 2 to 3 groups, and that you’re offering this free to get experience outside of academia and will not be selling products or services. Record the seminars from 2 angles for later potential as DVDs/CDs. Write 1 or 2 articles for trade magazines. Join ProfNet

[Muhammad Hassan]

Originally Posted by Ryce

How do you get the right answers? By asking the right questions, of course.

Thanks for the reply Muhammad. I like the " * " approach for brainstorming more than for finding niches though.

In the end it is about doing something you are passionate about. What is the meaning in looking for snowboarding niches if you are a martial arts die hard fan ????

The Wine TV niche (wine is kinda big niche IMO) worked great for Gary Vee but Smurfs might be the perfect one for you.

Do what you are about is the take home message IMHO

Thanks for contributing again and helping the readers.

Here's what I would do to use the technique for 'what you are about'.


I would search for "how to" * niche * where niche is any niche that you are interested in.


Whatever you find from this you can incorporate into your current product or create a new product for the sub niche. Remember that you need to analyze the profitability first.

Let's use snowboarding from Ryce's post.

Let's say that you a a person who knows about snowboarding then you would do a search on Google for "how to" * snowboarding *

Here's a few things that I found in a matter of seconds. Obviously there would be more if I researched longer.

how to buy snowboarding bindings
how to avoid common snowboarding injuries
how to sharpen snowboard edges
how to understand snowboarding specs and mount styles
how to dress for snowboarding
how to make a living of snowboarding
how to build a snowboarding rail

[Ryce]

Originally Posted by Muhammad Hassan

Thanks for contributing again and helping the readers.

Here's what I would do to use the technique for 'what you are about'.


I would search for "how to" * niche * where niche is any niche that you are interested in.


Whatever you find from this you can incorporate into your current product or create a new product for the sub niche. Remember that you need to analyze the profitability first.

Let's use snowboarding from Ryce's post.

Let's say that you a a person who knows about snowboarding then you would do a search on Google for "how to" * snowboarding *

Here's a few things that I found in a matter of seconds. Obviously there would be more if I researched longer.

how to buy snowboarding bindings
how to avoid common snowboarding injuries
how to sharpen snowboard edges
how to understand snowboarding specs and mount styles
how to dress for snowboarding
how to make a living of snowboarding
how to build a snowboarding rail

Muhammad,

Did you read Tim Ferriss's book? There is an example about a power yoga dvd for climbers that goes pretty much the way you developed your snowboarding idea

[Muhammad Hassan]

Originally Posted by Ryce

Muhammad,

Did you read Tim Ferriss's book? There is an example about a power yoga dvd for climbers that goes pretty much the way you developed your snowboarding idea

I have heard of the book, but I have never read it.

The example of the snowboarding was taken from a suggestion from one of your previous posts.

From the topics you mentioned in your post I chose the one that I knew the least about. I did this to show that the method of using * works. If I can find niches / subniches with no knowledge of the subject matter in a matter of second then is it fair to say that a person with knowledge of the subject and with more time can also find niches / subniches.

[KINGOS]

Awesome Thread Muhammad. thanks for the tip.

[Ghalt]

Wow. Props to the OP.

I couldn't believe there would be a difference, so I tested it, and it works.

I love this kind of 'brainstorming' thing.

Here is one more variation on this theme: leverage answers.yahoo.com

Do the asterisk search, but at the end, add the phrase site:answers.yahoo.com

So you end up with something like:

"how to apply" * site:answers.yahoo.com

This helps you find questions people are asking about a topic (which helps you find solutions, which helps you make money!!)

You can also use the SEOQuake plugin for FireFox to then sort the results of the searches to find out how many inbound links are pointing to those questions, to help give you an idea of the popularity of that particular sub-niche/question.

This is the kind of tactic included in the eBook mentioned in my sig.

Great job, OP, and I'm adding a 'Thanks' as well!

[Paid Surveys]

great search string very helpful for finding niches, although i prefer checking niches on the google keyword checking tool

[meta-blogger]

thanks for the great info.

i also suggest using the following...

i hate, don't you hate, i wish, how do i, how do you, where can i, etc

if you check out some forums and blog comments, you can find many questions
that are asked, just chop of the front or back and replace with *

you can also put in 'how to' or 'tutorial' etc into gtrends/wordtracker
(it's free, google it) to find out how many times those terms are
actually being searched for(the demand) then use the same searches in
google to find out the competition(the supply)

[dejoliet31]

Awesome info. Thanks!

[Muhammad Hassan]

Originally Posted by meta-blogger

thanks for the great info.

i also suggest using the following...

i hate, don't you hate, i wish, how do i, how do you, where can i, etc

if you check out some forums and blog comments, you can find many questions
that are asked, just chop of the front or back and replace with *

you can also put in 'how to' or 'tutorial' etc into gtrends/wordtracker
(it's free, google it) to find out how many times those terms are
actually being searched for(the demand) then use the same searches in
google to find out the competition(the supply)

Some more ideas for searching:

where can I buy a *

* on amazon

* comparison shop

how to fix *

how to remove *

[Harry Behrens]

Another little phrase you can add to the end of phrases like "how to cure *", "how to lose *", etc. is in a day, in a week, in a month, in a year, and so on. Good for finding time-limited issues with urgency to them.

"how to lose * in a month"
"how to get * in a year"
"how to cure * in a day"

all give me result pages with some nice ideas for need-based niches. The possibilities of combination with other phrases in this thread are pretty much endless.

[AtomicFlipper]

excellent post here fellas, some really good tips here

[claire101]

What a fantastic tip

[syncjam]

(sp) asterisk

[Muhammad Hassan]

Originally Posted by syncjam

(sp) asterisk

Thanks for that

I just assumed it's the same as the cartoon character.

Changed spelling in original post.

[embrown]

You guys are truly amazing! So I'm guessing I can use a Boolean search, too?

"how to" * dogs not cats

I know there's "not", "and", "or" and maybe a bit more. I'm not 100% on how to format that search though.

[masbudz]

Great Job Muhammad.. Thanks a lot

[Amenda Jessera]

HEy, it is a great method. Thxs for the share.. Let me bookmark this page...

[Ryan700]

This is so simple! and it works!
I was so frustrated trying to brainstorm ideas for niches. There was a thread here on the WF about doing a search at EzineArticles. The person said to do a search with the words how to in the search field. It never gave me any results and other people complained about it too.
I tried it this way and I got results! Awesome!

P.S. - Update - I dug a little further with EZA and some of the results didn't have the keyphrase in them but they showed up in the first paragraph. Still works good enough for me.