Content marketing  and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) are typically planned and managed together to help a business grow organically. Putting together a strategy is important in order to attract more customers on a regular basis. So what is the best way to create content? That depends on the profiles, habits, and questions of your current customers.

Rachel Lindteigen for Search Engine Land:

What questions do you get asked all the time? Our own frequently asked questions can often lead us to content ideas that will help grow our business.

    • Start by brainstorming the questions you get asked constantly and write them down. At this stage, there’s no good or bad question. You can go through them later and determine which ones you want to pursue and which ones you want to ignore. What does your ideal customer need to know before buying?
    • Think about the questions your ideal customer doesn’t know to ask, but still needs to know before purchasing. Go through your sales notes, and think about the process you take with prospects in your sales funnel. What information do you find they need to consider before deciding to purchase? There may be content ideas here. What do they want to do that your product or service can help them with?
    • Now think about how your customers use your product or service. What might they do with your product that you can help teach them? What might they want to accomplish, where your product is the solution or a tool they need to complete the job?

For example, I worked with a makeup brand and we saw lots of people asking for makeup tutorials. They wanted to learn how to create specific looks, so we set out to create videos and blog posts teaching them how to create those specific looks.

Our products were showcased in the videos, so people who watched the video were more likely to buy products from this client than someone else because they saw it used to achieve the look they wanted.

Snoop on the competition

Look around and see what your competition is doing on their website, blog or social media.

Don’t simply copy your competition. Consider this as a content research audit. Take note of what they’re doing and what followers respond to.

    • Are they doing lots of Reels or tutorials on YouTube or Instagram?
    • Are they writing blog posts that highlight the features of specific products?
    • Are they addressing the benefits?
    • How is the audience reacting (if you can tell)?

Use keyword research tools

Go to Google and start searching with keywords related to your business and the content topic you’re thinking about.

What you see in the search results are terms people are searching for right now. Google will try to autofill your search bar with the information they think is relevant to your query. Pay attention to any relevant suggestions.

Take a look at everything that shows up in Autocomplete. This data can be useful when trying to find content ideas that will attract your customers.

Use online research tools

You can use a tool like AnswerThePublic to find out what questions people ask about topics related to your business.

Start a search with your primary keyword and see what questions the tool generates.

Use your own website

Does your website have site search?

See what questions or keywords your current customers are searching for on your website. You may find that people are looking for specific information that you don’t have on your website or that isn’t easy to find.

These results can help you write blog poss or FAQs

Social listening

Spend a little bit of time on social media simply listening to the conversation.

Join a few social media groups where your ideal customer spends time and listen to the conversation.

    • See what questions people are asking.
    • Is there misinformation being shared? If so, maybe you need to create a piece of content on myths or mistakes people make related to your field, product, or service.
    • Are they looking for solutions you offer? Take note of what they’re asking and the language they’re using because that’s how you’ll be able to connect with them.

Creating helpful content will naturally draw potential customers to your website over time, provided that the right keywords are used and that your content is optimized for search.

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