Too Niche Myth – 0:30
There’s a version of, quote, “We’re too niche for this to work,” end of quote, that I hear from smart people all the time. Whether it’s epigenetic research or a 1031 exchange specialist, even a dental lab doing highly specific implant work, each one convinced their industry is the exception, being too narrow, too technical, too boring for anyone to link to them.
Here’s the thing: They’re right that their industry is narrow. They’re wrong about what that means.
Hello, I’m Jeff Payne. You’re listening to The Jeff Payne Show, episode #22, You’re Not Too Niche to Get Links, You’re Too Literal.
Reddit Case Study – 1:14
I wanna credit where this is coming from. There’s a podcast I followed called The Edward Show, and a recent episode broke down a case study buried in a 2023 Reddit thread on r/seo. Three years old, still one of the more useful link-building breakdowns out there. It’s worth reading yourself if you’re into the mechanics. Here’s the short version.
An agency was building links for a chemical manufacturing startup, venture-backed, competing against giants, doing everything right, relevant content, real website, good traffic, and they ran into a wall. There simply aren’t that many chemical manufacturing blogs. You can do everything correctly in a niche this narrow and still run out of runway in a matter of weeks.
Widen the Aperture – 2:01
So here’s where it gets interesting. They didn’t lower their standards. They widened their aperture, moving from chemical manufacturing specifically to engineering, industrial, and manufacturing sites more broadly. Same rigor, same quality content, just one ring further out. Two months later, they outranked the major players in their space for a keyword everybody assumed was locked up.
Adjacent Relevance – 2:29
The instinct in SEO is that relevance means exact match. Your industry, their industry, identical. But relevance isn’t a category, it’s a distance. Engineering isn’t chemical manufacturing, but it’s one credible step away. Real estate investing isn’t 1031 exchanges, but it’s close enough that an expert quote doesn’t feel forced. The businesses that get stuck aren’t failing because they’re niche. They’re failing because they’re treating, quote, “perfect fit,” end of quote, as a requirement instead of a preference, and burning months looking for a website that may not exist.
1031 Exchange Example – 3:13
I’ve watched this play out with Daniel Goodwin, who runs Provident 1031, real estate investment and 1031 exchange strategy. If you’ve never heard of a 1031 exchange, that’s the point. It’s about as narrow a niche as you’ll find. There is no ecosystem of 1031 exchange blogs waiting to link to him. So the play wasn’t to find that ecosystem. It was to make Dan the source adjacent sites would wanna quote, a published book, a masterclass video series, extensive guides, the kind of visible expert positioning that makes a real estate investing site, a financial planning site, a broader property site. Think, this guy actually knows this.
What moved wasn’t raw link volume; it was keyword concentration. Fewer total keywords ranking, but as much higher share sitting at positions one through n– three. That’s what earned authority looks like when it compounds.
Dental Lab Links – 4:19
Here’s a second one, and it’s a cleaner illustration of the same math. Burbank Dental Lab is one of the top dental labs in the country. On paper, that’s a brutal niche for links. There’s a hard ceiling on how many dental lab websites exist to link back to you. But a dental lab doesn’t actually live in a dental lab niche. It lives inside implant technology or restoration because the dentist and clinician it serves are the same people who use digital scanners, guided surgery systems, and CAD/CAM workflows from companies like CAD-Ray.
Burbank Dental Lab has earned live backlinks from CAD-Ray right now. Not a directory listing, a real link from a company one ring out in the same clinical ecosystem because the relevant case writes itself. Same customer, same workflow, adjacent expertise. That’s the whole insight in one link. There’s a line from another SEO writer, named Charles Floate, that applies here, too. Worth remembering, whichever direction you’re building links, an unindexed backlink passes exactly zero page rank. It doesn’t matter how clever the placement is if it never gets seen.
One Step Removed Targets – 5:43
If you run a business in a genuinely narrow niche, stop auditioning every website in your exact category and getting frustrated when the list runs dry. Do this instead. List the industries one step removed from yours, the ones a reasonable person would believe you’d have something to say to. For Burbank Dental Lab, that list is obvious once you see it. Nobel Biocare, whose photogrammetry and digital workflow tools feed the exact restorations Burbank Dental Lab fabricates. iTero, whose scanners generate the files Burbank Dental Lab receives. Neither is a confirmed link yet. They’re the next targets. Not a victory lap, but the relevance case i- is already built. That’s the easy part done.
Be Quote Worthy – 6:35
Then ask, is there a founder or expert in your business credible enough to be quoted, not just linked? Adjacent sites don’t want another guest post from a stranger. They want 10 seconds of your expertise dropped into an article they’re already writing. Ask yourself honestly, are you still hunting for that one perfect website that covers your expert or exact niche? Or are you building the kind of expertise that gets you invited into rooms one step outside it? That’s the difference between staying stuck and staying found.
Wrap-Up – 7:13
Hey, if you’ve listened to this podcast on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcast, I want to thank you so much for listening, and I will talk to you again soon. Bye now.
There’s a version of “we’re too niche for this to work” that comes up constantly with smart business owners. epigenetics research. 1031 exchange specialists. A dental lab doing highly specific implant work. Each one convinced their industry is the exception — too narrow, too technical, too specialized for anyone to link to them.
They’re right that their industry is narrow. They’re wrong about what that means.
You’re not too niche for links.
You’re too literal about what counts as relevant.
THE CASE STUDY: Niche link building strategy
Credit where it’s due: this was sparked by an episode of The Edward Show, which broke down a case study from a 2023 Reddit thread on r/SEO — three years old and still one of the more useful link-building breakdowns out there.
The short version: an agency was building links for a chemical manufacturing startup — venture-backed, competing against giants, doing everything right. Relevant content, real websites, good traffic. And they hit a wall. There simply aren’t that many chemical manufacturing blogs out there. It’s possible to do everything correctly in a niche this narrow and still run out of runway in a matter of weeks.
So they didn’t lower their standards. They widened their aperture — moved from chemical manufacturing specifically to engineering, industrial, and manufacturing sites more broadly. Same rigor, same quality content, just one ring further out. Two months later, they outranked the major players in their space for a keyword everyone assumed was locked up.
The businesses that get stuck aren’t failing because they’re niche. They’re failing because they’re treating “perfect fit” as a requirement instead of a preference.
The instinct in SEO is that relevance means exact-match — your industry, their industry, identical. But engineering isn’t chemical manufacturing; it’s one credible step away. Real estate investing isn’t 1031 exchanges, but it’s close enough that an expert quote doesn’t feel forced.
Businesses that get stuck in ultra-niche industries usually aren’t failing because they’re niche. They’re failing because they’re treating “perfect fit” as a requirement instead of a preference — and burning months looking for a website that may not exist.
Owning proprietary data isn’t the asset. A benchmark that answers a comparison question is the asset. AI systems — and increasingly Google — are hunting for one thing: information that’s hard to get anywhere else, that directly resolves a comparison someone’s about to act on.
You’re not too niche for links.
An unindexed backlink passes exactly zero PageRank.
TWO PROOF POINTS of a niche link building strategy
Daniel Goodwin co-founder and Investment Strategist at Provident 1031 — real estate investment and 1031 exchange strategy. If you’ve never heard of a 1031 exchange, that’s the point. It’s about as narrow a niche as you’ll find, and there’s no ecosystem of “1031 exchange blogs” waiting to link to him.
So the play wasn’t to find that ecosystem. It was to make Daniel the source that adjacent sites wanted to quote — a published book that is an Amazon #1 Bestseller, a Masterclass video series, in-depth Guides and Sales Page, the kind of visible expert positioning that makes a real estate investing site or financial planning site think: this guy actually knows this. What moved wasn’t raw link volume. It was keyword concentration — fewer total keywords ranking, but a much higher share sitting at positions one through three.
Burbank Dental Lab is a cleaner illustration of the same math. It’s one of the top dental labs in the country — on paper, a brutal niche for links, since there’s a hard ceiling on how many “dental lab” websites exist to link back.
But a dental lab doesn’t actually live in a “dental lab” niche. It lives within implant technology, because the dentists and clinicians it serves are the same people who use digital scanners, guided-surgery systems, and CAD/CAM workflows from companies like CAD-Ray. Burbank Dental Lab has earned a live backlink from CAD-Ray right now — not a directory listing, but a real link from a company one ring out in the same clinical ecosystem. Same customer, same workflow, adjacent expertise. That’s the whole insight in one link.
This is worth noting alongside this: SEO writer Charles Floate’s observation that an unindexed backlink passes exactly zero PageRank. A link that’s never crawled doesn’t do anything, regardless of how relevant the placement is.
The Move
If you run a business in a genuinely narrow niche, stop auditioning every website in your exact category and getting frustrated when the list runs dry.
List the industries one step removed from yours — the ones a reasonable person would believe you’d have something to say to. For Burbank Dental Lab, that list is obvious once you see it: Nobel Biocare, whose photogrammetry and digital workflow tools feed the exact restorations Burbank Dental Lab fabricates. iTero, whose scanners generate the files Burbank’s dental lab receives. Neither is a confirmed link yet — they’re the next targets, not a victory lap. But the relevant case is already built. That’s the easy part done.
Then ask: Is there a founder or expert in your business credible enough to be quoted, not just linked? Adjacent sites don’t want another guest post from a stranger. They want ten seconds of your expertise dropped into an article they’re already writing.
Are you still hunting for the one perfect website that covers your exact niche? Or are you building the kind of expertise that gets you invited into rooms one step outside it? That’s the difference between staying stuck and staying found.
Adjacent sites don’t want another guest post from a stranger. They want 10 seconds of your expertise dropped into an article they’re already writing.
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