As challenging and enjoyable as keyword research is, it’s just as complicated and mind-boggling for a beginner who is about to get it.
Sure, you’ve checked out Google’s Keyword Research Tool and tried to use autocomplete. But, honestly, keyword research can be daunting when you’re just starting out.
Today I know that keyword research is not that difficult. But, thanks to RankBrain, AI, digital assistants, and more, it can be confusing to know where to start when you’re a beginner.
We do not get into the bath of keyword research overnight. You need to know how people are searching and what they are looking for before you even start thinking about mapping your keywords.
And with over 6 billion searches per day worldwide, how do you know where to start?
It’s about finding the deepest, darkest, most secret places of user search intent to truly find what people are looking for.
That’s where this article comes in. I offer you my best tools if you are looking to improve your SEO research.
So if you’re starting from scratch and don’t want to look like you’re out of 1997 with thousands of keywords, keep reading this article.
What People Are Looking For
Where do you look for news or trending topics?
There are many great tools out there that help SEO marketers understand what people are looking for and why. They can help answer questions such as:
- When should I write an article?
- Would this article work?
- Who might read this article?
How can I find these answers?
With awesome tools.
Here are 10 of my favorite tools that can help you find out what people are looking for and why.
1. Buzzsumo
Buzzsumo is one of my favorite tools because of its content discovery solution. It allows you to search by trending topics at the moment. And you can filter by hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, and 24 hours. You can also filter by subject.
Buzzsumo offers a free version, but you can upgrade for $99 per month if you want to receive alerts on specific topics.
2. SEMRush
To help you find what people are looking for around a particular topic, just type in your keyword or phrase and watch the magic happen. SEMrush will show you phrase match keywords, related keywords, and organic search results.
Paid users have more features and the pro version starts at $99 per month. But you can still use the tool for free when looking for ideas.
3. Answer The Audience
Answer the Public is another one of my favorite tools and is relatively new to the scene compared to other tools. It uses Google and Bing searches and has a huge database that can predict what searchers are going to ask.
It’s the interface that makes this tool one of my favorites. Although it is a keyword research tool, it displays a nice data visualization.
Answer the Public is free and you can export the data to a CVS or Excel file.
4. Bloomberry
Bloomberry is like Answer The Public. The main difference is that Bloomberry displays real questions and topics that people are already talking about on blogs and forums. And, it was created by the Buzzsumo team and integrated into Buzzsumo now, so bonus points!
Bloomberry is useful if you are creating content for Featured Snippets.
5. Google Trends
With Google Trends, you can quickly view feature articles or charts. And you can search and compare specific keywords in three quick steps:
- Type your keyword in the search box at the top.
- Click compare, then type your second keyword.
- Adjust dates if necessary.
Google Trends also helps you find country data and related queries that will help guide your keyword strategy.
6. Facebook
Facebook is one of the easiest free tools to use to discover relevant topics. Also, many people watch their news on Facebook. The Facebook team created trending topics to provide a list of what’s popular on Facebook right now.
If you’re on your laptop, Trending is at the top right of your News Feed. If you’re on your phone, just tap the search bar to see a drop-down list of trends.
Just pick a topic and watch the new trends roll by.
7. Twitter
Twitter is another free tool that I like to use before creating content.
Much like Facebook Trends, Twitter Trends uses an algorithm to push trends that are determined based on your location and the people you follow. You can disable this feature by choosing a trending location in two steps:
- Click Change in your trend box.
- Select Change to add another location.
Changing locations is very useful if you are focusing on local SEO.
You can also use Twitter Moments to find trending topics.
8. YouTube
YouTube is best known for its cooking videos and workout videos, but it also has a trending videos section so you can see what’s popular on YouTube right now.
You can also check out the YouTube Trends blog. It examines trends on YouTube and what’s happening in the world around us.
After identifying trends on YouTube, you can compare topics to your YouTube analytics. If you can relate the trending videos to your niche, it gives you an opportunity to add a video with high-ranking potential on YouTube.
9. Pinterest
In November 2016, Pinterest launched Explore, a feature for Pinners to find out what’s popular on Pinterest. It uses an algorithm to create personalized pins of that day based on search trends. You can also browse up to 30 different topics.
Although Pinterest created this feature to give advertisers more organic options, it’s a great tool for brainstorming content ideas.
10. Google Autocomplete and Google Also Ask
Now I would like to tell you about some tools related to Google. Google gives you lots of little clues about what people are looking for.
Google Autocomplete is a great tool for finding the best variations of your main keyword phrase.
Just type in the Google search box, and related terms appear in a drop-down list.
You can then manually select the phrase you want to use or choose a combination of phrases.
Another great free tool to use when you start your keyword research is the “Google Also Ask” section.
After typing your keyword into the Google search box, scroll down to see the different variations of your keyword.
You can select the scroll function to expand the content. I often use these phrases as headings in my body text, which is useful if you want to achieve Featured Snippet status.
There are of course other tools but I think that already with these you will be able to improve the title of your articles and write about topics that people are looking for. And which one do you use?
