Idea Probe - Let's take a look at Coat racks
Market segment:
Coat racks range from a simple nail in the wall to more elaborate devices. They provide a handy place to hang our coats, hats, umbrellas and keys and are often found hiding throughout the house. Whether used in our home's entrance, our kitchen for hanging hand towels, the bathroom for storing our towels and housecoat, the workshop for storing our shop apron and dust mask - coat racks are everywhere.
One thing about coat racks is that they come in so many diverse forms. They can be wall mounted, stand-alone and combined with shelves and drawers for storage. The price range can be from a few dollars to thousands of dollars for the more elaborate and decorative models.
The fact that they are used in many places throughout a household also means that it is not unusual for a prospective buyer to already own a few. So, let's dive in and see what people are searching for on the internet.
Analysis:
- The idea here is that by knowing what people are searching for (keyword) on the internet, this gives us a glimpse into their potential purchase intention. By using various keyword analysis tools, not only do we get statistics about the specific keyword people have entered, but we also get a wealth of information with respect to other related search terms for that target keyword. This gives us an invaluable look into a market and the demand for a product and it's sought after features.
- Source: Google keyword database (English, Worldwide), Etsy, Amazon (USA)
- The analysis provided below is based on actual keywords that people have entered into a search.
Initial keyword used:
- The seed keyword used for this analysis was: coat rack.
- The analysis was performed on: March 5, 2017
- The Google keyword analysis accepts a keyword from which it provides a breakdown of similar searches as entered by Google search users
Let's start by looking at the actual top 30 Google keywords searched and their monthly search volumes:
Keyword | Search Volume |
coat rack | 73990 |
coat hooks | 33159 |
coat stand | 27100 |
coat hanger | 12140 |
wall mounted coat rack | 8067 |
coat tree | 6600 |
wall coat rack | 5400 |
standing coat rack | 4418 |
coat hanger stand | 4400 |
cloth hanger stand | 3483 |
coat hook rack | 2979 |
coat rack with shelf | 2979 |
wooden coat rack | 2945 |
clothes hanger stand | 2850 |
clothing racks for sale | 2322 |
modern coat rack | 2021 |
wooden coat stand | 1933 |
hat and coat stand | 1900 |
coat rack stand | 1846 |
coat rail | 1408 |
rustic coat rack | 1231 |
coat pegs | 1144 |
metal coat rack | 1144 |
coat hook shelf | 1144 |
coat rack with bench | 1144 |
wall coat hanger | 1095 |
wall mounted coat rack with shelf | 1083 |
white coat rack | 1064 |
coat and shoe rack | 1045 |
tree coat rack | 1000 |
Monthly searches for above keywords: | 213034 |
Top 200 keyword monthly searches | 261701 |
Here are the top 10 web sites for the top keyword searched:
According to "Search Engine Watch", the likely traffic to the Google top ranking site is about 33% of the total monthly searches for a specific keyword. This means that Google users will typically select the first Google search result 33% of the time. This is therefore where a large number of potential customers will start during their initial product shopping.
Top 10 web sites:
1 | https://www.wayfair.com/Coat-Racks-and-Umbrella-Stands-C415919.html |
2 | https://www.amazon.com/Coat-Racks/b?ie=UTF8&node=3744441 |
3 | http://www.homedepot.com/b/Decor-Furniture-Entryway-Furniture/Coat-Rack/N-5yc1vZc7ozZ1z0u5xi |
4 | http://www.target.com/c/coat-racks-entryway-furniture/-/N-5xtn2 |
5 | https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/category/furniture/entryway-furniture/coat-racks-umbrella-stands/13532/ |
6 | https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Accent-Pieces/Coat-Racks,/accent-type,/39/subcat.html |
7 | http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/hallway/ |
8 | https://www.lowes.com/pl/Coat-racks-stands-Hooks-racks-Storage-organization/4294865774 |
9 | https://www.walmart.com/browse/home/coat-racks-umbrella-stands/4044_133012_1043785 |
10 | https://www.containerstore.com/s/entryway/espresso-natural-branch-coat-racks/1d?productId=10028244 |
Sample page of the highest ranking web site for our seed keyword:
Since this is the highest ranking web site for our seed keyword, looking at the products they offer will give you a good idea about what is currently offered commercially.
* click the image to visit the page:
Micro-niche opportunities:
What you should keep in mind
- Realistically, it will not be easy to compete against the top ranking web sites if you plan to open your own internet store to sell this particular product. These top sites are recognized by the major search engines as being leaders in their field and a climb to the top of the ranks can be quite difficult and expensive.
- A visit to these top sites can provide you with a wealth of information regarding product price ranges, product features and customer ratings and feedback. Having access to this information is critical in understanding the market and determining if there is a niche that is right for you. Read our article on "Product Planning - Gathering Product Intelligence" for additional information on collecting competitor information.
- If, on the other hand, you want to sell your products in other venues such as at craft shows or craft websites (such as Etsy), you have an incredible opportunity to dominate these spaces if your product focuses on features that people are seeking in and outside of those particular venues. Here, not only can you tap into the product knowledge you've acquired online and in our article, but you can also carve out a micro-niche of products for people searching for unique features.
- Make sure that if you ever decide to build and sell a particular product with some of the features shown below, that your marketing and sales descriptions include the target words. This will ensure that prospective online buyers in those venues will find your products more easily.
Let's dig in!
Analyzing the individual words used in popular keyword searches:
Of the top 200 most popular Google keyword search phrases found for our seed keyword, we then performed a word analysis of these to determine the frequency and therefore the potential importance of the various words used in each keyword phrase. This is what we found:
- Rank: Popularity of a word or "search term" used with our seed keyword
- Word: Word used (Search term)
- Entries: Number of keyword phrases that included that word
- % Use: Percent of the top 200 keyword phrases that included that word
Rank | Word | Entries | % Use | Rank | Word | Entries | % Use | |
1 | coat | 181 | 90.50% | 40 | heavy | 2 | 1.00% | |
2 | rack | 100 | 50.00% | 41 | metal | 2 | 1.00% | |
3 | stand | 58 | 29.00% | 42 | shoe | 2 | 1.00% | |
4 | hanger | 26 | 13.00% | 43 | duty | 2 | 1.00% | |
5 | wall | 20 | 10.00% | 44 | pole | 2 | 1.00% | |
6 | wooden | 18 | 9.00% | 45 | pegs | 2 | 1.00% | |
7 | tree | 14 | 7.00% | 46 | rail | 2 | 1.00% | |
8 | umbrella | 11 | 5.50% | 47 | oak | 2 | 1.00% | |
9 | shelf | 11 | 5.50% | 48 | freestanding | 1 | 0.50% | |
10 | hat | 11 | 5.50% | 49 | collapsible | 1 | 0.50% | |
11 | hangers | 10 | 5.00% | 50 | children's | 1 | 0.50% | |
12 | mounted | 9 | 4.50% | 51 | industrial | 1 | 0.50% | |
13 | racks | 8 | 4.00% | 52 | expandable | 1 | 0.50% | |
14 | standing | 7 | 3.50% | 53 | commercial | 1 | 0.50% | |
15 | buy | 7 | 3.50% | 54 | furniture | 1 | 0.50% | |
16 | holder | 6 | 3.00% | 55 | portable | 1 | 0.50% | |
17 | sale | 6 | 3.00% | 56 | vertical | 1 | 0.50% | |
18 | clothes | 5 | 2.50% | 57 | clothing | 1 | 0.50% | |
19 | hooks | 5 | 2.50% | 58 | rolling | 1 | 0.50% | |
20 | cloth | 5 | 2.50% | 59 | folding | 1 | 0.50% | |
21 | white | 5 | 2.50% | 60 | holders | 1 | 0.50% | |
22 | hook | 5 | 2.50% | 61 | hallway | 1 | 0.50% | |
23 | hanging | 4 | 2.00% | 62 | unique | 1 | 0.50% | |
24 | jacket | 4 | 2.00% | 63 | wheels | 1 | 0.50% | |
25 | black | 4 | 2.00% | 64 | rustic | 1 | 0.50% | |
26 | storage | 3 | 1.50% | 65 | sturdy | 1 | 0.50% | |
27 | modern | 3 | 1.50% | 66 | coats | 1 | 0.50% | |
28 | online | 3 | 1.50% | 67 | goods | 1 | 0.50% | |
29 | small | 3 | 1.50% | 68 | short | 1 | 0.50% | |
30 | hall | 3 | 1.50% | 69 | bench | 1 | 0.50% | |
31 | contemporary | 2 | 1.00% | 70 | mount | 1 | 0.50% | |
32 | entryway | 2 | 1.00% | 71 | entry | 1 | 0.50% | |
33 | designer | 2 | 1.00% | 72 | large | 1 | 0.50% | |
34 | stands | 2 | 1.00% | 73 | twig | 1 | 0.50% | |
35 | office | 2 | 1.00% | 74 | cool | 1 | 0.50% | |
36 | corner | 2 | 1.00% | 75 | tall | 1 | 0.50% | |
37 | mirror | 2 | 1.00% | 76 | wood | 1 | 0.50% | |
38 | narrow | 2 | 1.00% | 77 | door | 1 | 0.50% | |
39 | floor | 2 | 1.00% | 78 | peg | 1 | 0.50% |
What's next?
Well, based on the total number of monthly searches for "coat racks", we see that there is significant interest in that product. The micro-niche opportunities abound for products with some of the features identified above.
Here are a couple of examples of how you can use this information to generate ideas for your next project:
- umbrella - coat racks that would include a handy place to store an umbrella (or cane) were sought after at least 5.5% of the time. This would make this particular feature something interesting and desirable to add to your existing designs
- storage - is also a feature that you can expand on in your design that can be either a shelf, small cubbies or even drawers for storing miscellaneous items.
- children - this is possibly an under-served market that could benefit from kid-sized free standing coat racks to keep kid's rooms a bit more tidy
- mirror - this feature can be quite useful for that last minute glance on your way out
Do not ignore features that might have a low number of entries from the table above. These could possibly be gold nuggets to make your products unique and desirable. We are also not suggesting that your product design includes all the features. Not everybody wants a Swiss army knife. It is best that you consider designing variations of the product and sit back to see what sells the best. Market testing can go a long way in identifying your particular and successful niche.
So, take your time and review the word analysis above and determine if you can include or focus on some of the ideas presented.
Now, let's take a look at some online craft venues to see what popular product searches are:
If we take a look at the most popular unfiltered "coat rack" search phrases on Etsy, we get the folling results:
Keyword | Rank |
coat rack bench | 1 |
coat rack mission | 1 |
coat rack shelf | 1 |
coat rack hooks | 1 |
coat rack tree | 1 |
coat rack wall | 1 |
coat rack modern | 2 |
coat rack with shelf | 2 |
coat rack stand | 2 |
coat rack standing | 3 |
coat rack wall mount | 3 |
coat rack with mirror | 4 |
coat rack ski | 4 |
coat rack with storage | 5 |
And lastly, the top ranking search phrases on Amazon (USA) for "coat rack" are:
Keyword | Rank |
coat rack stand | 1 |
coat rack 12 hooks | 1 |
coat rack z | 1 |
coat rack yellow | 1 |
coat rack in wood | 1 |
coat rack 24 inches | 1 |
coat rack long | 1 |
coat rack hooks | 1 |
coat rack 3 hooks | 1 |
coat rack modern | 1 |
coat rack wall mounted | 1 |
coat rack vintage | 1 |
coat rack numbers | 1 |
coat rack girls room | 1 |
coat rack 48 inch | 1 |
coat rack free standing | 1 |
coat rack 5 hook | 1 |
coat rack 6 | 1 |
coat rack over the door | 1 |
coat rack 7 hooks | 1 |
coat rack 8 hook | 1 |
coat rack espresso | 1 |
coat rack umbrella stand | 1 |
coat rack and umbrella stand | 1 |
coat rack prime | 1 |
coat rack quick | 1 |
coat rack black | 1 |
coat rack tree | 1 |
coat rack door | 1 |
coat rack chrome | 1 |
coat rack rolling | 1 |
coat rack kids | 1 |
Conclusion:
So, there you have it. Coat racks seem to offer a wide range of opportunities. By using our Google analysis and the popular searches on Etsy and Amazon, you now have a much better idea of the possibilities to design, build and sell items that are sure to please many customers. What you decide to do is entirely in your control.
Enjoy these opportunities!
Additional information:
In our article "Product Planning - Gathering Product Intelligence", find out how you can gain more competitive information about this niche and how you can potentially differentiate your craft from what is on the market today. Our accompanying article "Pricing - The Human Psyche", find out how you can position your product in the market and price it accordingly.