Research, research, research. Sorry about that, the fact is there really is no other way but, having said that, if there is a need then there is always or usually always a bit of software that will do it for you.

The process of Finding a niche market is no exception. As is also always the case some software is good and some software is bad so here are some of the essentials that need to be included in effective niche finder software.

Always remember though, in the process of finding a really good niche, research is still the key and software can only shorten the process but cannot and will never eliminate the need for research.

#1:Search Results. Where are the results coming from? Any results you're going to get will be based on "keywords" and In order for the software to work it has to connect up to the various places online that keep track of how many times at keyword is used. The question to ask then is how many places is the software connecting up to and how accurate it is. As always, test your software first and make sure that you do not have to pay to test it. Most niche finder software that you will find has a guarantee period but some doesn't so make sure.

#2:The Basics. There are certain basic settings that the niche finder software needs to have. These are; "broad match" which means the software will tell you how many times a keyword phrase is searched in the major search engines.

By broad match I mean that the keywords that you are researching our anywhere in a sentence or phrase which is as compared to "exact phrase match". The exact phrase match shows how many times your exact keyword phrase is searched and you can find it by knocking in your keyword phrase into the various search engines in "quotation marks".

This is the money match because the exact phrase match returns are dramatically smaller. Knock out your competition because in focusing on these keywords it is much, much easier to place on the first page of the search engines and that is after all the place you really need to be. I can't imagine any niche finder software that didn't include this but, make sure it is there nonetheless.

#3:PPC.You will probably want to, if not now then eventually, advertise with Google adwords or Yahoo etc. so your software should include a facility to find out how much your keyword is going to cost you to promote it.This is a tricky one because there are a lot of factors involved but a rough idea is nonetheless a good thing to have and should be included in the software.

#4:KEI.If you're not familiar with "KEI" go to Wordtracker but simply put its a designation used to give you some idea on how your keyword will perform. Different applications call it different things but broadly speaking it is the figure you get when you balance search result against competition. Again, this designation is probably trickier than PPC as mentioned above.

In my experience the Wordtracker KEI is just about less than useless, I have tried it on a number of times and found it to be a complete waste of time. However, although probably inaccurate it is a good thing to have because it can give you a rough idea and should be included in your software if only as a point of reference.

These are the basics but if you are going to buy niche finder software then be aware that online there are any number of applications that include many more options. As always the more options you have the better results you'll get.

It is also essential to remember that whatever results your software gives you must check these results against the search engines. Always go to the search engine and knock in your keyword or keyword phrase and see what you come up with.

Look at the competition; what are they saying? What are they offering? Are the returns in the search engines for the keywords that you find with the niche finder software relevant to you and your website?

Will those keywords create interest or sales? At the end of the day software can only point you in a usable direction, the rest is always up to you.