| Tools: BuzzSumo | Category: Research | Time: 3 to 4 hours |
Goal of this guide:
To successfully perform and learn about content research using buzzsumo
eg: Find topics to write on your blog – which can rank high on SERP and can be more engaging for your Audience, etc.
Goal of this guide:
To successfully perform and learn about content research using buzzsumo
eg: Find topics to write on your blog – which can rank high on SERP and can be more engaging for your Audience, etc.
| Attribute | |
|
|---|---|---|
| Outcome |  |
You have Successfully found the topics which are ranking better, having good engagement, with keywords, etc. |
| Why this is important |
|
It Helps your posts rank better and can make your blog posts engaging among readers means better conversion. |
| Where it is done |
|
On BuzzSumo website, and any note making tool. |
| When this is done |
|
Content research is generally done Before writing content on your blog. |
| Who does this |
|
Person responsible for content research. |
Checklist: Tick 
status with every goal completion
Checklist: Tick status with every goal completion
| Goals | Started | Ongoing | Completed | Stuck |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Goal 1: | ||||
| Goal 2: Now Get Ideas From The Most Evergreen Content | ||||
| Goal 3: Now get ideas from the popular Keywords | ||||
| Goal 4: Find most asked questions – related to your topic | ||||
| Goal 5: Most Relevant Topics | ||||
| Goal 6: Explore now top ranking topic – related to your topic – searched on google | ||||
Theory: Learn theory about BuzzSumo, what it is and how it can help you in your blogging. |
| Sno. | Table of Contents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Get a free trial of BuzzSumo or Buy it. | |
| 2 | Now Get Ideas From The Most Evergreen Content | |
| 3 | Now get ideas from the popular Keywords | |
| 4 | Find most asked questions – related to your topic | |
| 5 | Most Relevant Topics | |
| 6 | Explore now top ranking topic – related to your topic – searched on google | |
| 1 | Create a New Account for Google Tag Manager (GTM) | |
| 2 | Create a New Account inside GTM | |
| 3 | Fill your website’s details | |
| 4 | Install Plugin “GTM4WP” | |
| 5 | Connect your website with GTM through Plugin | |
| 6 | Publish the changes you have made up to this step | |
Practical Approach
Do you want to learn some theory? Skip this practical approach and Click here to Go-to Theory section down below
Step 1: Get Free Trial For BuzzSumo
To Sign up for a free trial – Go to website buzzsumo.com.
After visiting buzzsumo.com, click on the “Start Your Free Trial” button.
Choose the plan you want. We are selecting the “Suite” plan, click on the “Start Trial” button to select the plan of your own choice. Refer to the image below for reference.
Use your email or facebook to login, we recommend to signing in with facebook because buzzsumo will eventually require it,
you will not be able to use buzzsumo until you connect buzzsumo with facebook or sign in via facebook.
So, let’s sign in with Facebook.
Click on the Continue button.
Select your options for “What are your main goals with BuzzSumo?” and “Which country/region are you based on?”.
Select yes or No for “Are you an agency?” Question.
We selected “Content Research, Strategy & Ideation” as our main goal, and chose No in agency option.
Then select your country.
After selecting your answers, click on the “Get Started” button.
Once you complete these steps, you will be successfully allocated a 7-day free trial of BuzzSumo. Refer to the image below for reference.
After activating your free trial, let’s start researching content.
Now, click on the “Discover” tab as shown in the image below, then select “Content Ideas Generator” from the drop-down.
Now enter your topic or keywords, and select the timeframe for which you want the data.
We are going to use the topic “How To Blog”, but remember even if your topic is different it doesn’t matter because the process will remain the same.
Next we will select “Past 5 Years” from the drop down, you can choose any timeframe – if you want more relevant content select Past 1 year or if you want broad range data select Past 5 years.
After this hit enter or click the search icon.
- Content Ideas: Get ideas from the most evergreen contents.
- Popular Keywords: Get ideas from popular keywords.
- Questions Asked: Most relevant questions asked related to your topic.
- Topic: Most relevant topics.
- Top Ranking Content: Explore here top ranking content for your topic on google.
Step 2: Section 1 - Content Ideas
Scroll down to section Content Ideas – “Get ideas from the most evergreen contents”, then click on “More Content Ideas” Button.
See at the image below for the reference.
Now After clicking the “More Content Ideas” button, multiple content ideas will appear for the searched topic (in our case, “How To Blog”).
Here you will find several drop-down options like “Past Year”, “All Countries”, etc. For now, we recommend keeping them at their default settings.
Look at two options just below drop down: “View Content”, and “View Analysis Report”, make sure the “View Content” option is selected.
Now, look at the available data. For example, in the image,
The topic “Social Media’s Impact On Blogging Success” received 2,800 Facebook engagements and 80 Twitter shares, with a total engagement of 2,900.
You can note down this data so that you can interpret later.
From this data, we can infer that “How To Blog” related topics perform better on Facebook than on Twitter.
We can also conclude that “Social Media’s Impact On Blogging Success” is a popular topic, making it a good choice for a blog post or a related topic, we can definitely make a blog post on this topic.
Sorting and Selecting Relevant Content
- Click on the year drop-down and select Past Year if it is not already selected.
- Click on the “Total Engagement” option (as shown in the image below) to sort data based on engagement. This way, content with the most engagement will appear at the top.
Now, focus on these three key points:
- Look for high engagement topics.
- Check for topics relevant to your niche.
- Identify which social platforms generate the most engagement(e.g., in the image below, “How to use social media to connect with your customers – Latest Digital…” gets most of its engagement from Facebook).
Once you have checked these points, either note them down or take a screenshot, as they will be helpful when deciding on blog topics.
Now click on the “View Analysis” button as shown in the image below.
In analysis section, you will find more details about the content:
- You will see the Website and Author name with a link(Pro tip:you can contact the author to write for your blog),
- Published date,
- Content type: (e.g., “How-To Article,” which helps determine what type of content works best for your niche),
- Engagement across various social media tools,
- Total engagement, and
- Dominant Social Media Reaction(this helps analyze whether people liked the content or absolutely loved it😍)
You can save this content using the Save icon on the right hand side for future use.
Now, go back to the previous page where all content was listed.
Follow the same process for other content in the list: check total engagement, social platforms, date, and relevancy. Then, save the project by clicking on the “Save to Project” button.
You can also click on the “view analysis” button for further insights.
To save content:
- Select relevant topics and click on “Save to Project.”
- You can either create a New Project (give it a name and save) or, if you already have an existing project, select it and press the Save button. Refer to the image below for guidance.
Viewing the Full Analysis Report
For more in-depth information, scroll to the top and click on the “View Analysis Report” button. Refer to the image below for reference.
You will then see important metrics and graphs, as shown below. You can also filter by Top-Level Domains (TLDs), such as selecting only .com websites. This will ensure that only content and analysis from .com domains are displayed.
Key Metrics in the Analysis Report
- Number of Articles Analyzed
- Total Engagement
- Total Linking Domains
- Average Linking Domains
- Engagement and Content Over Time Graph
Step 3: Section 2 - Popular Keywords
Now, go back to the main section where you saw the five main sections. Click on “More Keywords” to research keywords related to your searched topic (in our case, “How To Blog”), and then review the keywords.
You will get information about the search volume (e.g., 1,600) and the number of articles published related to your search (in our case, “How To Blog”).
By analyzing these numbers, you can determine if your topic or niche is good. If many articles are published and the search volume is high (e.g., in the thousands per month), then you have selected a strong topic because many people are searching for it.
Now, scroll down, and you will find a list of keywords. Focus on these three aspects:
- Keywords: Select those that are highly relevant to your topic.
- Trends: Check if the trend is increasing, stable, or at least not declining steeply. A stable or growing trend indicates a good keyword.
- Volume: Ensure the search volume is at least 500; this is a good starting point for beginners.
CPC: This is mainly for advertisements, you may not need this in the beginning, but, If you plan to run ads, consider selecting keywords with a low CPC to keep advertising costs economical.
Now click on the “View Full Insight” button to find more details.
You will see how many articles have been published using these keywords. Scroll down to view a graph of search volume and content over time.
Here, you will find details about the number of articles published each month and the search volume for that month. You can click on these graphs to get more insights.
For now, scroll down to the next section.
In this part, you will find “Content Ideas” and “Questions” related to the selected keyword, such as “How to blog and make money”. You can click on any topic or the “More Content Ideas” or “See All Questions” buttons. For now, continue scrolling for further insights.
Now When you scroll down, you will find out Related SEO Keywords, which are associated with the selected keyword (in our case “How to blog and make money)”.
If you want to explore any keyword, you can click on it and then follow the same steps as you did above for the keyword “How to blog and make money”.
Now, go back to the main area where you saw, 5 main sections.
Step 4: Section 3 - Question Asked
Go to section 3 “Answer the question being asked” and click on the “More Questions” button.
There are many drop-down filters available. You can choose a specific source for questions, such as Quora, but we recommend keeping it on the default setting for now. Look at the small switch named “Visualization” and ensure it is turned on to see the questions in visual form.
Now click on the question type(eg: are, can, how, etc.) to see what questions people are asking related to your searched keyword.
Currently “are” question type is selected, so you will see all questions starting from “Are” or make similar sense to are type questions.
Now, you can note down the questions you find useful, or you can also save questions by simply clicking on the save icon on the right side of the question, look at the image below for the reference.
After that click on the next question type (eg:“Can”).
Again, look for relevant questions and either save them or make notes.
Repeat this process for all question types. It may take some time, but it is easy and will significantly help in your blogging, because these questions are asked by real people who are actively seeking answers.
Now When you scroll down you will find more questions you can save them.
Now, when you scroll back up, you will find another option called “View Related Themes”—click on it.
Here, you will find blog posts closed related to your searched keyword (Check related keywords), written in a question format. You can take inspiration from these blog posts.
Click on them to explore further, or simply note them down or save them using the save icon on the right side of the blog.
Step 5: Section 4: Topics
Now let’s go to the Related Topics Or Topic Explorer section, scroll down and when you find “Discover related topics to include” click on the “More Topics” button.
In this section you can generate endless content ideas for your topic.
Click on any topic you see in the cluster, or scroll down to see more elaborate card format, see at image below.
Here content ideas are written down with related keywords and question related.
You should note down the:
- category(written on top eg “blog writing”),
- Topic(eg: How to use ChatGPT for blog writing..,) and its
- Related Keywords(eg: blog writing format, etc),
You should do this for at least 10 topics.
After that you have to click on the “Insight & Content Ideas” button.
Now Here you will find out details like “Number of articles written”, chart showing is the number of articles written increasing or decreasing, “Number of engagement” increasing or decreasing.
Click on the “All Networks” drop down to see which social network could be best for publishing or click on compare networks to compare them all at once.
You should spend more time here to research about your topic, just explore all the drop down and buttons.
Now let’s click on “View Content” option.
Here, you will find all the content with their URLs, along with engagement numbers on the right. Identify which topics are relevant to your blog, and also look for highly engaging content (check engagement numbers on the right).
After that click on the “View Questions” option.
Note down the questions that people are asking. Do not skip this step, as these questions will be useful when creating supporting pages.
Additionally, you can include them in your FAQs, which may help your blog rank on Google.
Next, click on the “View Keywords” option.
In this section, you will find keywords related to the category (e.g., “Blog Writing”).
These keywords are not directly related to your search term (in this case, “How to Blog”), but rather to the category you selected from the topic cards above.
Step 6: Section 5 - Top Ranking Content.
Here in this section you get to know about “top ranking content for your keyword in google”, this means when you search on google for your keyword(eg “How To Blog”), you can see which content appears at the top of the search results.
Along with the top-ranking content, you can also view its section headings, current position on Google, and URL.
If you want to visit the page on Google, click the Google button in the top right corner.
Task completion checklist
Checklist | Status |
Found at least 10 topics to write on your blog | |
Found at least 50 keywords to target | |
Found at least 100 question topics to make supporting pages/FAQs. | |
Found which social media channel working best for your topic. |
Next Steps
What Could be your Next Step after This Project.
Suggestion: Next Project to work on | Guide number | Time est. | Use |
GSC Configure to collect data. | Guide 0018 | 2 hours | Tracking |
Connect GA4 with Website. | Tracking | ||
Connect Facebook With Website | Tracking |
Theory
Want Practical approach? Skip this theory, and Click here to Goto practical section above.
What is BuzzSumo?
Think of BuzzSumo as a super-smart helper for bloggers.
It searches the web to find out what articles people are reading, sharing, and loving.
Whether you’re new to blogging or already experienced, BuzzSumo helps you figure out what topics your audience is interested in.
In simple words, BuzzSumo is a tool that helps you:
- Find out what’s popular in your niche.
- Discover topics people enjoy.
- Write blog posts that your readers will love. BuzzSumo can also tell you the best time to post for maximum engagement.
- And more, look below “How Buzzsumo can help your blog”.
Let’s see how BuzzSumo can help if your blog is about “How to Create a Blog.”
How BuzzSumo Can Help Your Blog:
These are theories only, for practical go to practical section. But if you want to learn what Buzzsumo can do, and how it can help in your blogging, then see below pointers.
1. Find Trending Topics
BuzzSumo shows you what’s popular right now. For example, if your blog teaches people how to start a blog, you can search for ideas like:
- “How to start a blog for beginners.”
- “Best blogging platforms to use.”
You’ll see articles that are getting shared a lot, so you know what people are interested in.
Sample Example Table of Trending Topics:
Example Trending Topic | Engagement (Shares) | Best Platform |
How to Create a Blog on WordPress | 5,000+ Shares | Facebook, Pinterest |
Top 10 Blogging Platforms for Beginners | 3,200+ Shares | Twitter, LinkedIn |
Why Every Business Needs a Blog | 2,800+ Shares | Facebook, Instagram |
2. Find Popular Content Types
BuzzSumo can also show which kinds of posts do well. For example:
- Lists: “Top 10 Tips to Start a Blog.”
- Step-by-step Guides: “How to Create a Blog from Scratch.”
- Comparisons: “WordPress vs Blogger: Which is Better?”
Knowing what type of post works best can help you plan your content.
Example Table of Popular Content Types:
Content Type | Example Title | Engagement (Shares) |
List | Top 10 Tools for New Bloggers | 4,000+ Shares |
How-To Guide or Articles | How to Set Up a Blog in 30 Minutes | 3,500+ Shares |
Comparison or Tools Review | WordPress vs Squarespace | 2,800+ Shares |
3. Learn About Your Audience
BuzzSumo tells you where your audience hangs out online and what content length they prefer on different platforms. For a blog about “How to Create a Blog,” you might learn:
- Pinterest: Works great for visual content like infographics but low content length under 1000.
- Facebook: Good for detailed guides having content length 1000 – 2000.
- LinkedIn: Perfect for blogs about business tips having content length 0 – 1000.
This helps you make content for the platforms your readers use most.
Example Table of Platforms:
Platform | Engagement Type | Best Content |
Sharing visuals | Infographic guides under 1000 content length | |
Sharing how-to posts | Step-by-step tutorials from 1000 – 2000 content length | |
Sharing business advice | Professional blog posts at, 0 – 1000 content length |
4. Best Time to Post
BuzzSumo can help you figure out the best time to share your blog posts. By analyzing engagement trends, it tells you when your audience is most active online. This way, you can schedule your posts for maximum visibility and shares.
5. See What Competitors Are Doing
Curious about what other blogs are writing? BuzzSumo can show you their top posts. For example:
- A competitor’s post: “Social media impact on blogging success”
- BuzzSumo says it has 2.9K engagement. That means this is a hot topic.
You can take that idea and make it better, like:
- “The Ultimate Guide to “Blog Growth” Using Social Media.”
6. Get New Blog Ideas
If you’re out of ideas, BuzzSumo can inspire you. For example, if your blog is about “How to Create a Blog,” you can search for topics like:
- Keyword: “blogging tips”
- Ideas:
- “How To Earn Money From A Travel Blog: Tips And Strategies.”
- “How To Start A Blog: Essential Tools And Tips”, etc.
Find content on buzzsumo
You’ll always know what readers want to see.
7. Track Your Blog’s Performance
Look at image below, you can see engagement if your published blog posts. Image showing two articles one published 5 hours ago by us marketingcourseguide.com and another by spdontstopliving.net 8 hours ago.
You can compare your blog posts’ performance with other blog posts in the same trends.
BuzzSumo also helps you see how well your posts are doing. For example, if you write a blog called “How to Create a Blog in 10 Steps,” BuzzSumo can track:
- How many shares your post gets.
- Which platforms it does best on.
- How it compares to similar posts.
Example Table of Blog Performance:
Blog Post Title | Shares | Top Platform | Why It Worked |
How to Create a Blog on WordPress | 5,000+ | Visual guides are popular | |
Top 10 Blogging Tips for Beginners | 4,200+ | Step-by-step posts trend | |
Best Blogging Platforms for 2024 | 3,800+ | Business topics do well |
How to Use BuzzSumo Step-by-Step
Let’s say you want to write a blog on “How to Create a Blog.” Here’s how BuzzSumo can help:
- Search for Keywords: Type “How to create a blog” into BuzzSumo.
- Check Results: BuzzSumo shows you that “How to Create a Blog on WordPress” is super popular.
- Pick a Format: Since lists and guides are doing well, write a listicle like:
- “10 Steps to Create a Successful Blog in 2024.”
- Choose a Platform: If Pinterest works best, make an infographic with your blog steps.
- Check Best Day and Time to Post: BuzzSumo can analyze data to show when your audience is most active online.
- Track Performance: After publishing, use BuzzSumo to see how many shares your post gets.
Why BuzzSumo is a Must-Have for Bloggers
BuzzSumo makes blogging easier and smarter. Instead of guessing, you can:
- Write about what’s trending.
- Use content types that readers love.
- Share your posts on the best platforms.
Eg
For a blog about “How to Create a Blog,” BuzzSumo makes sure your posts are interesting, shareable, and helpful. With this tool, you’ll get more readers and become a go-to expert in your niche. Start using BuzzSumo today and see the difference!
