Companies are placing more and more emphasis on content marketing and there is no end in sight to this trend. After all, there is hardly a better tool for attracting the attention of the target group. The topic identification must therefore be well thought out so that targeted interaction is triggered during the customer journey. The big challenge in content research and finding topics is not just creativity in order to strike a chord with the target group.
Digital content must also be prepared in such a way that it is relevant for Google's algorithm and your website is placed prominently in the rankings accordingly. The best content research is of no use to you if your topics are not even visible on the web.
Here are seven tips for content research that will give you and your company a competitive edge and prevent content marketing from becoming a time-consuming and nerve-wracking affair.
1. Taking stock of the target group
Successful content research is only possible if the target group is already known and the characteristic buyer personas are defined. When you set out to find a topic, you should definitely have an answer to these questions:
- What are the socio-demographic characteristics of the target group?
- What does the target group expect from your product and service
- How willing are they to make purchase decisions online?
- How internet-savvy is the target group and do they specifically search the internet for product information and background reports?
2. analysis of existing content in your own content marketing
If you're not completely new to the topic of content marketing and topic research and have a virgin website to fill, the first step before the actual content research is to take stock of the content you already have.
Critically ask yourself, also in comparison with the competition, how useful and up-to-date your content still is. Analyze which topics are particularly popular and how these can be implemented even better. Create a list of topics that are still missing for content research and delete outdated content.
3. content research in forums
In content marketing, you don't need to be afraid of creativity. The best way to conduct in-depth content research is with just a few clicks. The search is always worthwhile on certain portals and in groups. First stops can be:
- GuteFrage.net or Quora, in these forums specific questions are asked and answered
- Forums and groups at Facebook
- Groups at XING and LinkedIn, when it comes to finding topics in the B2B sector
- Customer reviews at Amazon
If the content search is more specific, you can enter search terms on Google such as "forum topic" or "guide topic". Then use internal portal searches.
4. Find the right keywords as part of the content research
Before you use the appropriate tools for content research, it helps to do some brainstorming around the defined topic area. Don't set yourself any limits here, but write down everything that comes to mind.
Popular points of reference in content marketing are the products and services offered on your website. Use synergy effects and work as a team for keyword research!
In the second step, compare the terms you have determined with the keywords with which your competitors rank at the top of Google. Now search for synonyms for all the terms you have collected.
5. Let tools do the content research for you
In the next step of your content research, you should rely on tools. Google in particular offers you lots of free and exciting options for finding topics in content marketing, but there are also other tools that are definitely worth using.
Keyword Planner
In content marketing, the Google Keyword Planner is one of the basic tools. With little effort, you can find out all relevant keywords and their search volume. You also have the option of searching for additional terms in your content research using word groups, categories and websites.
To use the Keyword Planner, you need an Adwords account. Important for the content research are the hardly contested expensive keywords, which have a particularly high search volume. You can use these key figures to determine the expected traffic using the cost-per-click (CPC) and traffic value parameters.
The higher the CPC, the more competition there is for the keyword. You should therefore check whether the content research for this keyword is worthwhile and whether there is actually a chance of ranking at the top.
The Sistrix tool also compares your website with those of the competition and shows which keywords that are missing from your website are being found by competitors. This also provides a good reference point for finding topics and content research.
Google Trends
When finding topics, it is often important to filter out what the target group is interested in. You either enter the topic or a search term at Google Trends and then receive a curve that shows the interest of the users and the corresponding search volume. It gets interesting when you filter by countries and regions or periods. This will also provide you with further suggestions for content research.
Research off the beaten track with TermLabs.io
If you are interested in niche topics when researching content, TermLabs is a good choice. The question finder is used to find sources that rank relatively low in the SERPs. You won't find any examples of perfect SEO, but you will certainly find interesting ideas for content research.
Asking the right questions
As soon as you type your term into the search bar, Google Suggest completes and shows you the most frequently searched terms and questions. If you enter two keywords in succession and then click in the gap, the suggestions become even more detailed and you receive long tail keywords for content research. You should use Hypersuggest specifically for W questions.
6. content research in social media
Likes on Facebook or hashtags on Twitter provide you with important clues about what your target group is currently thinking about. To get input for your content research, you can also ask questions such as "What do you think about...?" or "What is important to you?" on your website. The tool BuzzSumo also helps you to track down potential influencers and shows which content is shared most frequently. This tells you what type of content is particularly popular.
7. in-depth media monitoring
The observation of relevant media plays a major role in content research and is a popular method in content marketing. Engage in agenda surfing, pick up on current topics and provide your own content accordingly.
Agenda setting means recognizing trends and providing the target group with relevant content at an early stage - this is how you build up expert status at the same time. With Google Alerts and Netvibes, you have two free tools at your disposal.
You don't have to use all tools at the same time for content research. The important thing is that you know your target group, follow current trends in your industry and use the tips mentioned to provide targeted impetus. Good luck finding topics!
Share
