Any business that is regularly blogging will occasionally need help with content generation. You might feel like you’ve covered all bases, but it is essential to keep your online presence fresh. If you’re stuck for inspiration, here are a few tried-and-tested content generation ideas.
Repurposing content
Updating older blog posts that have performed well is a good way to reinforce a message and help your search engine optimisation (SEO). Google values content that provides relevant, up-to-date information and links that work properly.
You may have a blog post on your website that is now outdated and probably features some broken links, but the topic is still just as important today and vital to your website’s SEO. We call this “cornerstone content”.
For example, as a marketing agency we might publish a blog post about increasing your conversions through social media. Two years later, the topic is still relevant, but the social media channels and their algorithms have changed. So this kind of blog would be ideal for an update.
Using content idea tools
Websites such as answerthepublic.com are brilliant sources of inspiration for blog content.
There are other tools, such as Semrush, that you can pay for. However, Answer the Public is easy to use and completely free, although you do get a limited number of searches per day.
Type relevant keywords into Answer the Public’s search bar and it will gather any Google searches related to that topic. For example, if you type ‘content marketing’, it tells you how many people have asked, “How does content marketing help SEO?” and “How to measure content marketing”. Based on the above, you might use these as a basis for two new blog posts, or even a series.
ChatGPT has become a go-to idea generation tool too. Simply ask it to suggest blog ideas around your topic, create a list of trending keywords, or draft outlines for a series of posts.
Check Google search bar
To use the Google search bar for generating new content ideas, type in a relevant key phrase like “social media marketing how…” and autofill will complete it with some of the most frequently asked questions. For example, “social media marketing, how often to post” or “social media marketing how can it help your business?”.
Via Google you can also view who and what appears at the top when you search for a particular key term related to your industry. For example, if a blog ranks in position one and it includes a video as well as written content you should think about doing the same, as well as trying to improve on what currently ranks well.
Check what your competitors are doing
While it’s not advised to directly copy what your competitors are doing, they can provide a great source of inspiration. Take a look at their social media and website activities, make a note of which posts are getting the most engagement or views, and learn from that.
Your customers are your best idea source
These are just a few easy ways to generate content ideas. However, the most important source of inspiration is always going to be your customers. Listen to what they have to say and consider their frequently asked questions.
Do you need help with your website content? Get in touch with us to find out how we can help you put together a strategy and craft copy to reach and engage your audience!