It can be difficult to consistently generate fresh, engaging blog ideas that are both creative and tie in with an SEO strategy.
Believe me, I get it. At SEOHive we have to create hundreds of blog ideas every month – and a lot of them will never go into production 🤦♂️. Here’s our process for efficiently creating blog ideas that will deliver results, without having to spend hours on it…
The process starts with the client’s topical map (i.e. the map of keyword priorities and focus that align with their business goals), but if you don’t have that, you can use this core topic framework:
[Service] + [Location (if applicable)] + [Audience]
Example: “Accountancy Services in Denver for Restaurant Owners”
With this information, we use a mix of these (mostly free!) tools:
1️⃣ Google’s “People Also Asked” – this is literally taking inspiration from the horse’s mouth. If Google thinks people are asking for it, then it must be a good idea.
2️⃣ SEMRush Questions – if you’re paying for the software, you may as well use it, right? As most of our keyword research is held in SEMRush, it is very easy for us to dive into their “Questions” feature to find out the questions people are asking, including our keyword research terms. It also allows us to perform competitor gap analysis, which can often throw up a few things too!
3️⃣ Answer The Public / AlsoAsked.com – both of these offer comprehensive question mapping and can provide angles to topics that you may not have thought of before. (Pro tip: if an angle doesn’t work for your client try flipping it and see if that works better. i.e. “Top X” vs “Worst X”).
4️⃣ AI Tools – such as ChatGPT and Claude can be great for generating ideas (caveat – this process probably produces the most amount of unsuitable ideas, but when you can ask for hundreds, you still get plenty of gold). Use queries like:
- What key topics and titles do websites that rank in the top 10 for [ INSERT TOPIC FRAMEWORK / TOPICAL MAP TERM ] in [ INSERT LOCATION ] contain in their blog that supports their ranking?
- Or flip it: What key topics are websites that rank in the top 10 for [ INSERT TOPIC FRAMEWORK / TOPICAL MAP TERM ] in [ INSERT LOCATION ] missing in their blog that could help [ INSERT CLIENT URL] outperform them?
☝️ Not all of these techniques will suit everyone, but try them and when you find a mix that works, create some templates/swipe files to make the process even quicker for you in the future! Which do you think you’ll try first?
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Pete Everitt
Pete is a digital agency owner, SEO expert, and Co-Founder of SEOHive – a white-label SEO service helping agencies scale their recurring revenue. Through fractional consultancy, Pete works directly with agencies to develop recurring services and helps businesses enhance their digital presence. He has also created courses like Demystifying SEO and WordPress SEO Fundamentals, and hosts The WP SEO Show, all aimed at equipping agencies with the tools they need to better serve their clients.
