Ok, so I am starting to make some niche websites to monetize with adsense and I just want to make sure I am doing my research correctly. Currently I first visit a google keyword tool like the one on adwords and plug in keywords that I find interesting. If i find some related keywords that have an estimated cpc over .75 I will usually make a spreadsheet with these. I will then go to google and type my keyword like so, "keyword" to research my competition, if the competing sites are trash I believe I have found a good niche, is this so?
That's the way,type the keyword in quotes to see how many websites are optimized for that keyword and then just type it normally,without quotes,to see which websites are ranking for that keyword,if they are trash you are easily on the first page with some proper SEO.
Yep that is how you find a under competitive niche to dominate. Not that easy any more though since the web has a trillion unique domains and since the recession I have felt an explosion in my niche.
That's a good approach. Find high traffic keywords with low competition and you have hit a gold mine.