Using Google Search Results for Content Generation

Patrick Coyne
Patrick Coyne Director of Organic & Local Search

There’s obviously a number of different ways to start generating content ideas, from discovery keyword research to internal brainstorms and more. But are you certain you’re covering all of your bases? Research and brainstorms can only get you so far; it’s important to make sure you’re not taking too narrow of a focus when looking for appropriate search terms, and that you are considering the entire keyword universe.

But the question is, how do you find those unexplored areas when you think you have already exhausted every possible option? While keyword tools and competitor content research can be very helpful, there’s actually a simple way to see related terms that your audience is actually using – all you have to do is conduct a Google search:

As you can see from the image above, there are a number of different Google Search features, including the “People Also Ask” section, Google Shopping listings, and below that, local search results, and a “Searches related to…” section. Gone are the days of Google simply serving up 10 bare bone webpage links.

While all these added bells and whistles are nice for the searcher, they’re even better for the marketer, because it clearly outlines to us what kind of long-tail search queries our audience is using, what sort of questions they are asking, and even what sort of keyword ambiguity exists within the search universe.

Let’s review some of the ways you can use all of this information to generate content ideas:

The “People Also Ask” question is exactly that – a list of questions that Google users who are looking for a juicer ask. If you are in the business of selling juicers, this sort of information is invaluable. These questions demonstrate exactly what your audience’s concerns and questions are, and give you plenty of great content ideas. You might consider copying all these questions and creating a robust frequently asked questions page. Or even brand new content pages dedicated to answering each question above.

Next up is the “Related Searches” section. This usually appears towards the bottom of the page. This is somewhat similar to the “People Also Ask” section, but it still might give you additional insights. Of course, with all these ideas, we still recommend you do some keyword Research. In fact, grabbing a few of these questions and related terms and running them through a KWR tool can help give you a more concrete idea of which terms are most popular. That way you can know which content would give you the most bang for your buck.

The “See Results About” feature doesn’t appear for every search, but it can be very helpful with identifying possible keyword ambiguity. For instance, the image above shows a link to the culinary tool, as well as a link related to juice, and then finally a definition of the word “juicer.” It’s also worth noting that there are a few slang definitions for the term “juicer.” And since you’re primarily interested in selling juicers, this information can help you in understanding what sort of language your audience uses, as well as what sort of language to avoid while writing your content.

Finally, let’s take a look at the tabs below the search bar on Google. These tabs offer a variety of options to refine your search. Think about the different ways in which the “Images,” “Videos,” and “News” tabs could be used to your advantage. News will tell you what people are talking about right now regarding your product or service. And the videos can show great information that you can then turn into a blog post or content page. You could even take it a step further and search YouTube or explore online communities on sites like Reddit to see what your audience is talking about.

While these ideas may not single-handedly solve all of your content woes, the point is that there are always plenty of new ideas and tactics to explore when it comes to content generation. Perhaps the most important thing to remember when exploring these tactics is that they must support your strategy, and ultimately, your client’s marketing goals.