When your prospective clients are searching for solutions, they don't always know the solution to their problem. If they do, then their search would be direct and possibly localised, for example, if they wanted to find a Physiotherapist in Melbourne, they would simply search 'physio melbourne' and the nearest and most relevant businesses would appear on the 'SERP' (Search Engine Results Page). However, if your clients don't know what the solution is, then their search behaviour will be different. In that case, they might search either for the problem they are having, for example, 'back pain after a fall', or by the solution they are seeking, for example, 'how to ease back pain'.
What they search for provides the answer to 'what should I write about on my blog?' and solves the problem 'I don't know what to post on social media'.
Here are 3 ways to uncover what they might be searching for.
1. Google Auto-search
If I ask you to tell me the keywords your prospective clients are searching, you could probably have a good guess. If you take those keywords and put them into Google, watch what happens. Google will deliver absolute gold via auto-generated search predictions.
Here's an example:
The 'how to' search terms are very popular.
2. Forums
Forums are often the place online that people go to find answers and do their research. So, do a search for forums that might be specific to your industry, then join them. In many cases, you can show yourself to be a subject matter expert by spending some time each week to answer people's questions. This is a great way to showcase your business, but it also keeps you on the pulse of what your target clients are thinking about, talking about, and seeking solutions for. Then, when you identify a topic, you can write about it. Depending on the rules of the forum, you may also be able to post a link to your blog post, which helps drive traffic to your website from people who are seeking a solution right now.
Absolute gold, Google Trends helps you compare search terms and assess the popularity of the phrase historically, in different countries and determine any potential seasonality by looking at the use of the term over the course of a year. This is a great way to determine how much people are searching for one term versus another, and can help you narrow down the keywords and phrases that you need to include in your website copy, as well as what you can write blog posts and social media posts about.
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