How To Find Blog Topics To Boost SEO Ranking

Getting your keywords right is essential to a successful search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. However, without the right blog topics around these keywords, your website might not rank as high as it should.

In this article, we will discuss the best practices an SEO agency uses to find the perfect topics to write about. These include the following:

• Keyword research
• Google Analytics review
• Social listening
• Content optimization
• Repurposed content
• Subject matter experts
• Company initiatives
• Industry news

Ready to look into the details of these best practice? Let’s go!

Want to learn how Digital Authority Partners approaches SEO? Watch the video below!

Start With Keyword Research

Keyword research is at the heart of any SEO strategy. So it should come as no surprise that you should start your strategies with it. Good keywords let you create web content relevant to your target audience’s interests. Knowing the right keywords allows you to add more pages to your website, driving traffic and helping boost your search engine results page (SERPs) ranking.

Keyword research also gives you a feel for what type of content ranks well for a particular keyword. Furthermore, you get a better understanding of what content fulfills Google’s E-A-T standard.

Make your research more fruitful by optimizing how you use your keywords. If you’re creating content that answers specific questions, using medium- and long-tail keywords is the way to go. These keywords are unlikely to drive more website traffic, but they have higher click-through rates and conversions because they are tailored for audiences interested in your products and services.

Look at Your Analytics

Almost every action you take regarding SEO is measurable using Google Analytics. If you have not been taking a closer look at your analytics, at least not with the purpose of finding new blog topics, now is the time.

Data provided by Google Analytics, specifically engagement, user behavior, and conversion, gives you a sense of what type of content your audience values.

Review your analytics to gain insight into what kind of solutions your audience is looking for. Doing so can also reveal which products or pages on your site receive the most clicks. All of these data points will help you determine which blog topics are worth creating content for and the type of content to use.

Get Into Social Listening

Social media is a treasure trove of information that can help you decide what to write about next on your blog. Most consumers use social media to talk about their preferences, pain points, and opinions regarding products and services. The best blog topics that will boost your SEO and rank you better in the SERPs are those that address consumer preferences and concerns.

However, social media platforms are massive. You need to know how to narrow down what you are hearing. Follow hashtags, join groups and pages, or monitor posts that are relevant to your products and services. From these conversations, you get a closer look at what your target market is talking about — information that can inspire your website’s next blog topic.

Optimize Old Content

Sometimes the best blog topics are the ones you have already published content on. Remember that publishing evergreen content, or content that remains relevant across time, is important. However, some articles become less trustworthy the older they get. These articles might be the top performers on your site.

Topics that fall under YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) or articles that can affect the reader’s health, finances, or some other important life aspect are your priority in content optimization. The rest of your old content comes after.

Here are three easy ways to find which published articles need updating and optimization.

1. Determine which pages rank at the very top in terms of traffic.
2. Identify how these pages rank on the first page of the SERP. See if there are pages ranking on the second page and if they have the potential to rank higher.
3. Determine which pages are performing horribly, are irrelevant, or are poorly written.

After grouping old content, decide what to do with each of them. Does an article need rewriting? Do you only need to expand it? What will you do with duplicates or extremely similar posts? Should you keep one or merge the two into a more comprehensive article?

However you want to handle old pieces of content, keep the E-A-T standard in mind when optimizing them.

Consult Subject Matter Experts

More often than not, the SEO, marketing, and content creation teams are not experts on the subject matter they are producing articles for. They merely rely on keyword and market research, which can limit the blog topics they develop. If you have people on your payroll who are experts on a topic you want to cover, consult them.

Invite these subject matter experts to create content for your site as guests. Even if they are not skilled in writing, they can still suggest fresh blog topics. Also, sit down with customer service representatives if possible to get a more personal look at customers’ pain points.

Publish Company Initiatives and Industry News

YMYL, or educational articles, will be the backbone of your content marketing strategy, but these are not the only types of content you can publish. Articles or videos on company initiatives and announcements, while not effective at driving traffic, help your audience know more about your company.

Aside from company-focused content, leverage your knowledge of the industry. Noteworthy developments in your industry result in headlines that easily get your audience’s attention. Instead of racking your brains for new blog topics, come up with content just by staying updated on industry news.

Summing Up

Determining the best keywords to use and coming up with blog topics are two different things. You can get your keywords right, but if you are not writing about topics that are relevant, useful, or interesting, your efforts to boost your SERPs ranking will likely fall short. So keep in mind the best practices we covered here.

If your business needs expert help in SEO or digital marketing, contact Digital Authority Partners.