Quit Competing and Start Dominating: The Top 10 Low Competition Blogging Niches

When starting a new blog, it’s tempting to enter popular, highly-trafficked niches like health, personal finance or travel.

But directly competing with established sites in crowded markets can make it tough to attract readers as an unknown newcomer.

A better strategy is to identify promising niches aligned to your interests where competition is lower and opportunity awaits to become a thought leader.

In this guide, we’ll explore:

• Why you should avoid cutthroat high competition niches as a beginner blogger
• How to spot promising niches with less established sites
• 10 specific low competition niche ideas perfect for new blogs
• Tips for dominating niches through targetted content

Let’s start by understanding why ultra-competitive niches can be treacherous for new blogs.

Why You Should Avoid Highly Competitive Niches as a New Blogger

When evaluating which blog niche to pursue as a new site owner, many make the mistake of fixating solely on high-level metrics like total search volume and traffic potential.

But diving deeper, many of these attractive massive niches are extremely challenging for new blogs due to:

• Established Authority Sites– Some niches have dozens of dominant blogs that already rank highly and absorb most of the search traffic, making it hard for new sites to breakthrough.
• Difficulty Ranking Key Terms– In competitive spaces, blogs often can’t rank newer content for head keyword terms due to extensive competition and authority needed. This leaves lower-value long-tail terms.
• Powerful Industry Players– Some niches have major corporations and funded startups dominating the top results. Very hard for solopreneurs to outrank.
• Gateway Pages Already Claimed– Leading blogs often create “pillar” posts around major subtopics and questions in the space. Little room left for new entries to rank.
• Hard to Build Links and Referrals– Getting other established sites to link to or recommend new unknown sites in competitive niches is extremely difficult due to lost potential referral value.

The bottom line is trying to compete head-on in well-developed categories stacked with sites that have years or even decades of authority under their belt is a risky long-shot for new blogs.

A smarter approach is targeting newer or underserved niches where you face less competition hurdles.

How to Identify Promising Niches With Less Established Competition

The most surefire way to identify promising blogging niche opportunities with lower competition comes down to research.

Here is a step-by-step process:

• Brainstorm Broad Niche Categories– List hobbies, interests, skills or industries you may want to cover to start generating ideas.
• Identify Specific Micro-verticals– Narrow down to specificity – think “Acoustic guitar lessons for over 50 beginners” rather than just general “music blog”. Go deep into a micro-niche.
• Keyword Research Using Tools– Plug candidate micro-niches into keyword research tools like SEMrush orKeyword Explorer to gauge search volume, trends and keyword difficulty scores.
• Competitive Analysis– Use SEMrush or Ahrefs to see how many established sites rank for your target key terms. Avoid spaces with dozens of top ranking incumbents.
• Check for Obvious Gaps– Look for promising niches lacking sites targeting important subtopics. You want to see potential to become a leading resource.
• Expand/Narrow Focus Accordingly– Widen or tighten your niche scope based on competitive assessment to identify the “blue ocean” spot with ideal demand and lower competition.

It takes time and thoughtful competitive analysis, but identifying the right micro-niche opportunity to dominate in a lower competition space sets you up for blogging success.

Now, let’s look at 10 specific niche ideas perfect for beginner blogs to target.

Pet Care and Training

The massive pets and animals category contains numerous lower competition sub-niches ripe for new blogs to target. Especially pet care and training.

Some notable factors:

• Pet ownership continues rising year after year indicating a large addressable enthusiast audience.
• Main keywords like “pets” and “animals” are insanely competitive, but micro-niches have much lower competition.
• Specific pet care, grooming, training, health etc sub-niches offer deep multi-post potential.
• Can mix evergreen informational content with product recommendations for affiliate income.

For example, a blog specializing in indoor cat care tips helps passionate cat owners while facing less competition than giant pet care sites going broader.

Homesteading and Off-Grid Living

Modern homesteading and off-grid living represents a promising trend to build an audience around through a blog targeting enthusiasts.

• Interest continues to grow around sustainable small-scale agriculture and self-sufficient living.
• Still an emerging blogging niche with many aspects yet to be comprehensively covered online.
• Opportunity for very targeted local content combined with evergreen informational articles.
• Can mix ads and affiliates for homesteading products along with paid retreats and workshops.

Catering to the dedicated enthusiast audience around modern homesteading can grow a loyal readership with less niche competition.

Genealogy and Family History

While genealogy and family history research have been around for ages, focused sites targeting this niche are still growing and emerging online.

Some key factors:

• Significant broad demographic appeal spanning different ages interested in ancestry.
• Ability to create very targeted content about specific family history questions and research tactics.
• Blend evergreen informational content with product recommendations and local research promotions.
• Opportunity for guest posts and promotion partnerships with historical societies and libraries.

By honing in on particular beginner research questions and tactics, new blogs can offer real value and build authority fast in this space.

Home Decor and Design

Interior design represents an expansive niche with opportunities for new blogs catering to specific decor styles, DIY projects, designer spotlights and more.

Consider these dynamics:

• Universal appeal – everyone wants a beautiful, functional living space.
• Covers a wide range of subtopics – furniture, textiles, architectural styles, minimalism, eco design, small spaces and countless more angles.
• Lends itself naturally to strong visual presentation and affiliate promotions.
• Trends constantly change, giving endless fresh content ideas.

Targeting a tight style like mid-century modern decor or budget DIY decor provides focused value.

Book Reviews and Recommendations

Sharing book reviews and curated reading recommendations represents a timeless evergreen niche that newcomers can enter providing unique perspectives.

Some advantages:

• Books never go out of style. Billions of passionate readers around the world.
• Less crowded than broader niches like publishing industry news or writing tips.
• Natural angles around holiday gift guides, top books in niche genres, reading challenges etc.
• Affiliate promotions through Amazon Associates and other booksellers.

Focusing on particular genres ensures a targeted audience will come to rely on your curation.

Crafts and DIY Projects

Crafting remains a beloved hands-on hobby attracting participants of all ages and backgrounds. The range of craft projects offers endless content possibilities.

Some key opportunities:

• Broad appeal as crafting fits into many lifestyles and interests.
• Ability to create very specific tutorials and project walkthroughs educationally.
• Tie in naturally with seasonal and holiday-themed craft content calendars.
• Affiliate income potential from recommended crafting tools/supplies.

A new blog focusing on a distinct segment of crafting like origami, candle-making or papercrafts can thrive with less niche competition.

Classical Music and Opera

Classical music and opera represent a passion area with an intense yet underserved enthusiast audience – perfect for niche blogs.

Consider these dynamics:

• Small but dedicated classical music fanbase always looking for content.
• Opportunity around composer/style specific music history Education.
• Local event promotion and reviews.
• Affiliate opportunities around sound setups, instruments, and training.
• Less dominated by major brands and sites than pop music.

Catering to passionate classical music and opera aficionados can build an audience relatively easily.

Minimalism and Sustainable Living

Minimalism and anti-consumerist lifestyles continue growth trends, allowing new blogs to carve out authority around niche topics.

Some factors in favor:

• Strong interest around reducing waste, saving money, and living more consciously.
• Movement still gaining popularity compared to more established categories.
• Chance to build premium audiences valued by advertisers.
• Numerous partnerships, guest posts and affiliates related to the minimalist lifestyle.

Catering to the minimalism community – especially around niche efforts like plastic-free living or digital minimalism – provides opportunities.

Toy Reviews and Gaming

From classic toys to video games, toys and games make for an expansive evergreen niche with opportunities to specialize.

Consider:

• Both kids and collectors maintain interest in the toy world over decades.
• Focus on particular types of toys like Lego, board games, or action figures makes competing easier.
• Align content calendar with seasonal shopping spikes around holidays and birthdays.
• Affiliate income from recommended toys and games.

By narrowing into a particular toy niche and aligning content to demand cycles, new blogs can gain traction faster.

Conclusion and Key Takeaways

Hopefully this gives newcomer bloggers plenty of promising low competition niche ideas to research further.

Here are some key tips to wrap up:

• Start in a Promising Niche With Less Established Sites– Avoid directly competing with authoritative sites in crowded niches as a new blog. Identify spaces with opportunity.
• Go Deep Into Specific Micro-Verticals-Find low competition opportunity within broader niches by creating tightly focused “niche within niche” sites around particular subtopics. Own them.
• Have Patience Setting Your Foundation– Dominating a niche takes time and consistency. But focusing on search visibility and traffic quality over quantity builds authority.

By launching strategically in a less competitive space aligned to your interests and expertise, your blog can rapidly become a leading voice readers rely on.

I wish you the best of luck with your new blogging journey! Let me know if you need any other guidance.