You started your blog or Youtube channel and have been posting random things you love. You’re unclear about what you should post next, get sporadic views, and no one really seems to care about your content. How would life be different if you found a way to create great content that drives more traffic and gets all the love?
This post will give you an easy-to-follow strategy, using FREE keyword research tools that will help you work smarter (not harder!) and create content people love and share. Not only will you increase your traffic, but you’ll actually enjoy the process of creation as you make amazing content each month!
2 Keys to creating content that drives traffic
- Create quality content.
- Create what people are already searching for online.
How to create quality content
Creating great content for your audience starts with asking yourself better questions, some of them could be:
- What emotion do you want your audience to feel?
- How would you have liked to learn the subject you are going to share if you had to relearn it?
- Is there something you wish you knew sooner?
- What transformation/outcome do you want to occur for them?
- What eye-catching visuals can help you explain the topic even better?
Think about how a subject changed your life for the better when you discovered it and how you can help your audience by sharing it with them through your content.
Provide as much help as possible within your article.
Make a list of all the types of questions people may have around the topic like:
- What is it?
- Why is it Important?
- How to do it / apply it.
Then pour your heart out bringing tons of value and solutions to the table.
When you focus on genuinely serving others, it won’t go unnoticed. People will love the generosity in your content and will share it joyfully with others.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you purchase something through them, I can receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more info, please read the full disclosure here.
How to create what people are looking for
This is the most important thing if you want to create content that not only helps people but that gets found…and therefore drives traffic to your site!
To know how to create what people crave, you have to know the basics:
- Where do they look for what they want?
The most common place is Google but, not the only one! Youtube and Pinterest are the other 2 big places (aka search engines) where your future audience hangs out looking for answers.
- How are they looking for it?
The answer to this question is commonly known as KEYWORDS.
“Keywords: what people literally type-in when they search on Google, Youtube, or Pinterest.”
Hint: Keyword research is your BFF when it comes to successful content creation! and today you are going to learn how to start finding them easily using free tools... but before you turn into a keyword research machine let’s address some important stuff!
How search engines like Google, YouTube, and Pinterest work
Plain and simple: Search engines are not looking for new people to watch your videos or read your blog posts. Search engines are looking for videos or blog posts for what people are searching for.
Youtube & Google are not going to promote your new video or article just because it is the most beautiful piece of art mankind has ever seen. They do not receive your new upload or publication and go like “Oh LOOK what we just got, let’s find some viewers for this new piece of content!”
So, I’m gonna say it again:
“Search engines are not looking for people for your videos or blog posts, Search engines are looking for videos and articles for people’s searches”
If no one is looking for what you have to offer, even if it is great, getting traffic and growing your impact (and income!) is much harder…
What if I want to create unique content and don’t do what everyone else is doing?
I’m all about making what you love with originality and uniqueness.
By adding your own perspective and experiences you can create one-of-a-kind content that brings solutions to people’s questions or desires.
If you want to create content to build a successful and meaningful business you have to focus on how the things you enjoy and love creating can help someone else.
Identifying people’s needs, and then creating content that exceeds their expectations using your unique combination of skills and experiences is what creates true innovation.
Evergreen content vs. Trending content, what’s best?
Evergreen content is the type of content that gets searched for timelessly and can answer common questions generation after generation.
Trending Content is super popular right now but has a shelf-life.
Both of them will drive traffic to your site because both of them are being searched for. The difference is, evergreen content will bring you slow but steady growth while trending topics can show you faster results because more people are looking for them at the same time.
The ideal approach is to plan your content using both.
Make a list of all the evergreen topics you can talk about and whenever you see a topic trending in your niche, let that baby take you for a ride and create content around it ASAP.
In any case, remember it’s not about you, it is about making work that’s of high service to the world.
Now let’s get into the fun part and dive into creation.
3 Easy tools to keyword research for free
✧ TOOL # 1 GOOGLE
HOW TO DO KEYWORD RESEARCH for free ON GOOGLE USING THE SEARCH BAR
Maybe you have noticed before how when you start searching on Google, even before you finish typing it suggests 10 options to finish your phrase.
These 10 suggestions are not thrown at you randomly, those are the most searched phrases at the moment.
HACK 1: [Word related to your Niche ] + [Letter of the alphabet]
So, if for example, you create content around cooking and Keto recipes.
Type: Keto + [A]
And you will have 10 content ideas people are looking for… Want more? Change the Letter “A” for “B” …or “C” or “D” and voila! More ideas to create content related to your niche that people are looking for!
HACK 2: [Word related to your Niche ] + Go back to the beginning of your word and hit the [Space bar]
For example, if you create content related to Freelance jobs:
Type “Freelancing” and then by clicking at the beginning of the word you are gonna get 10 suggestions like these:
HOW TO GET TRENDING TOPICS UPDATES FROM GOOGLE
Subscribe to the “Think with Google” newsletter and get insights into what’s trending in a variety of niches directly to your email.
Back in 2015, I got one of their emails mentioning how the search for tulle skirts was on the rise. I was like “I know how to make tulle skirts!” so decided to create a video tutorial around it. That baby got popular faster than any other! currently has over 1.3 MILLION views and still to this day is one of the most powerful traffic drivers to my Spanish channel.
Thank you google! 😉 💕
✧ TOOL # 2 PINTEREST
HOW TO DO KEYWORD RESEARCH for free ON PINTEREST USING THE SEARCH BAR
- When you click on the search bar, you will get your “recent searches”, “ideas for you” and “Popular on Pinterest”. Check if any of the popular topics trending on Pinterest inspire you to create content related to your niche.
- After searching for a topic, Pinterest will throw you a couple of extra words with color taps to “complement” your search. These are the most popular keywords in the Pinterest world related to your search.
For example, if you talk about traveling, and want ideas to create content around traveling essentials, you may want to focus on road trips and traveling with your baby, or your dogs!
UPDATE: Pinterest is no longer showing this feature in some countries, so if you can’t see it and you still have a personal account you can switch the country on that account to “Canada” or “Mexico” which are still showing them, and try it that way! 😉
PRO TIP: When instead of 1 single word like “Traveling” you use a complete phrase like “Traveling essentials for road trips” you are creating what is called a “Long-tail Keyword”, these are easier to rank for because by being more specific there’s less competition. Pinterest search bar results are great to create long-tail keywords.
HOW TO GET TRENDING TOPICS UPDATES FROM PINTEREST
Explore Pinterest ideas page and get ready to get INSPIRED! There you can explore each of the top categories Pinterest is used for, from arts and food to animals, fashion, and more!
On each of those, you will be able to see the hottest topics and trending searches along with the “pins” that have made it to the top of the list.
Also, check out The Pinterest newsroom and Pinterest 100 article.
At the end of 2019, Pinterest crafted this super complete article that describes the top 100 trends around the world, creators should consider when planning their content agenda. It’s so interesting to see all the data they provide and how much the search for each topic has increased.
NEW: For 2021 Pinterest created: PinterestPredicts.com to share the most likely upcoming trends before they become trendy 🙂 #PlanAhead!
✧ TOOL # 3 ALSOASKED.COM
This site is Ah-mazing and will help you to come up with a TON of content ideas people are actually asking for.
HOW TO USE ALSOASKED.COM FOR GREAT CONTENT IDEAS and long tail keyword research for free.
After checking Google and Pinterest, select one trending keyword and type it into the search box of alsoasked.com.
Once you hit the search button you will get some of the most asked questions related to your topic. If you see questions you know the answer to, GREAT! Because each of those can be turned into a great piece of content that will drive traffic to your site.
You may also see questions that you don’t know the answer to, but intrigue you! In those cases, you can do some research about them and share with the world your new learnings enriched with your own perspective about the subject.
Learning and sharing is the name of the game 🙂
How to select the best ideas to create content around
After using these 3 free keyword research tools you are going to have a whole bunch of new ideas for content creation, and that also means you will need to filter your results. One way to do it is by asking yourself these 2 questions:
- Is this something I am passionate about or truly interested in trying?
Genuine curiosity will make the creative process way more fun and interesting for you, and the final result is going to be something that’s filled with passion and authenticity that people will appreciate!
- Can I make a better or easier version of a trending topic?
Most content has been talked about before, whether trending or evergreen. But if you can create a better and more complete version of what’s already out there or you can provide an easier way to get something done, then the world needs to see it!
Get inspired by what people are already offering, then add value and build your own unique piece of amazing content.
A topic trending on searches that you are genuinely interested in and feel confident to create is a topic worth going after.
Want to take your keyword research to the next level?
These 3 free keyword research tools I just shared will help you discover trending topics and top-notch evergreen content ideas so damn easily like no other.
But wait! There’s more…
If you want to take the filtering process to the next level, there’re premium tools like keysearch.co that’ll give you in-depth analytics for each keyword to check your content idea’s potential and go ONLY with the best players.
I took the challenge: “One year of content in one month” where I learned a TON about how to use Keysearch and how to take all the amazing data from it to optimize my content from beginning to end.
The results? from the 8 posts I’ve created using this system so far 5 of them made it to page 1 of Google ranking for different keywords within 1.5 months!
So, I LOVED it and highly recommend it! If you want to know how to create the best content for your niche fast, check it out here!
There you have it! Now you know where to look for and how to come up with ideas to create great content that brings traffic your way!
What to do next?
All those new content ideas and keywords will need a place to be written down and be ready to help you start creating your magic.
GRAB YOUR FREEBIE:
✧ THE ULTIMATE CONTENT BANK SHEET & MONTHLY PLANNER
A printable PDF where you can write down the results of your research and add your notes of how you can take a trending topic or evergreen keyword idea and make it yours!
Get inspired, take notes, and start creating! ✨ I can’t wait to see what you do with these tools! 💖
With all my love and happy creative vibes,
This article was all about how to create great content that drives traffic your way using free keyword research tools! For more tips and tutorials check out the “Content Marketing” section.
was this post helpful?
SAVE THIS PIN TO YOUR “CONTENT CREATION TIPS” BOARD ON PINTEREST 📌
Thank you!!! I came across your article in the One Year of Blog Content Challenge and totally appreciate all the straightforward info & tips. I had to make a new Board on my Pinterest to Save the pin to “RV Blogging” 😉 (I’m very new to Pinterest. Super helpful info!)
Thank you so much Sherri! 💖😄 Im glad it was helpful and hope you now have more ways to find blogging topics for the challenge 😍