Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
When it comes to blog ideas, a lot of us can easily get stuck. However, you have a lot of tools available online that you can start using right now. And Answer the Public is one of those that can really help your blogging or freelance writing career.
In fact, I’ve been using the system for a very long time to create content for myself as well as clients.
NOTE: I quite using Keywords Everywhere recently because it was no longer free and I didn’t see the price worth the value to buy the program.
What is Answer the Public?
Answer the Public is a culmination of data points taken from search engines. It delivers a visual representation of what people are looking for on the Internet. However, it goes beyond just simply giving you a keyword.
One of the important key factors of ranking high in Google nowadays is knowing “search intent.” This is when your content specifically matches something of which someone is looking.
For instance, let’s say you have an article about where to find the best parts for a 1990 Dodge Daytona. That article is specifically geared for someone with the “intention” of looking for said parts.
Using Answer the Public provides questions you can answer to improve search intent connections.
What Happens When You’re Able to Deliver Answers to Searches?
When you improve search intent, there are several benefits to you as a blogger or freelance writer:
- Bounce Rates Improve
Because you’re able to provide a quality answer about a specific topic, visitors are more likely to explore your site to see what else you have available. - On-Page Time Increases
If you write engaging content about a specific topic, visitors are more likely to spend time reading the material. This is especially true if you add incredible detail about the topic. - Search Engine Rankings Go Up
As a result of the above, Google begins to rank your content higher in results pages. And the closer you get to the top page, the more you’ll benefit. - Focused Audiences Give You More Money
When you narrow down a topic, visitors are coming because of your information. Which means they’re already interested in the content. This makes it easier to sell products or services that center around that specific niche.
Of course, you’ll still have to create that content. No amount of “prime” keywords will help you rank well if you don’t deliver high-quality information.
Keyphrase Ideas
Answer the Public takes you beyond just getting keywords. It helps you connect with an audience looking for specifics. The platform will break down the context of each search.
For example, when you search for something like “fitness,” you’ll get things like “why fitness is important” or “fitness where to begin.”
The site will also deliver prepositions used in searches, comparisons, and deliver the most popular additional terms in alphabetical order. So, you can find something like “fitness assessment” under the “A” category.
Finding Popular Topics
Another way to use Answer the Public, and one I use quite often, is getting popular topics for blog ideas. Using Answer the Public keywords as a starting point, you can create a nearly endless amount of content.
Just search for a topic you wish to cover and browse the results.
For instance, what if I decide to use the sample above of, “fitness where to begin?” I could create a landing page for the topic and then create a series of fitness posts covering the basics such as exercise and types of food to eat.
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How Do You Use Answer the Public for Free?
There’s a couple of different ways you can use Answer the Public. You can pay for the pro version, which provides you with a lot of functionality. Or, you can use it for free.
And that’s what I am focusing on today. However, the free version only gives you a few searches per day, so you want to make them count.
Go to Answer the Public’s website.
Input your search term in the field provided. For this example, I’m going to use “wordpress blogging.”
Make sure you’ve chosen your correct language. If you have the pro version, you can select specific regions, which is good if you’re targetting a specific location for content.
Click the “Get Questions” button on the right.
Answer the Public will then analyze its database for the most common things people ask in search.
In the results bar, you’ll see things like questions, prepositions, comparisons and more. You can click any of these segments to jump to them or feel free to scroll down the screen.
Also notice how you can download the CSV file of the data. This is exceptionally useful if there are a lot of really good results you want to keep for later.
I often use a spreadsheet to keep track of the keyphrases I use for myself as well as clients.
From the results, you can click the “Data” option if you want to see a list of phrases instead of the visualization.
Now, all you need to do is find a question you want to answer. In this example, I might want something like “wordpress blogging for beginners.”
Using this question, I could easily create a blog post to answer those types of searches. I could even go so far as to make a long and detailed guide or eBook.
Usually, I would input the question or term into Yoast SEO of the blog post itself. But with a long-tail term like this, I would simply use “beginners” in Yoast and then make sure I include the full term within the piece.
Using Answer the Public for YouTube Videos
Answer the Public isn’t just for creating blog content. In fact, I’ve found it quite useful when setting up more detailed YouTube videos. Between YouTube and Google’s search capabilities, you can easily cover your bases so-to-speak.
And creating a YouTube video with this system is just as easy as setting up a blog post.
Create Videos Centering on Topics
Search for topics in your YouTube channel’s niche and see what people are searching. With a bit of imagination or expertise, you could answer searches and drive quite a bit of traffic.
One of my more popular videos was created centering on what I found in Answer the Public.
Include Keyphrases in Your Descriptions
One of the things I do to improve visibility in search engines is to include the phrases within the video’s description. Most of the time, I’ll write up a mini blog post about what the video covers and the information I share.
So far, this method has worked exceptionally well and I am anxious to improve it even further as time goes on.
Use Phrases as Tags
I use vidIQ when coming up with a lot of video content. It helps me analyze how videos are being searched in YouTube while giving me an idea of what to create.
I’ve found a lot of tags using Answer the Public that score well in vidIQ. I simply add the exact terms I find from searching in Answer the Public. Well, that is except for the much longer ones.
I usually prefer the prepositions and alphabetical lists when coming up with tags.
On a side note, though, there is a rumor that YouTube might be getting rid of tags in the near future. So, this information might be moot. But for now, it still works well.
Find Tools that Work Best for You
Answer the Public is just one of many tools on the Internet you can use to improve traffic to your blog…or YouTube videos. However, you need to find the tools that work best for you and your situation.
This is to say that not everyone will have the same experience. All I can do is tell you how well the system works for me. It’s up to you to determine if it’s something that will benefit you.
Anything that will give you a boost in search intent will undoubtedly affect your success.
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