Depending on the niche it could be easier for some to be an authority - still, I wouldn't take that as google finding a "Dog Nail Clipping" blog to be credible because there aren't many blogs like it as it would be a micro niche. Unfortunately, you need to stick to mainstream tricks here - the advantages in being a niche though are that you should rank higher on keywords relevant to your niche than a site with similar traffic and backlinks with a less specific focus. The advantages in a micro niche are that often, there is less competition.