Imagine this scenario:

You’ve spent hours researching your topic, creating and editing your content, and publishing an Oscar-worthy video for your YouTube channel — and no one watches it.

There’s almost nothing more frustrating than painstakingly putting together the perfect YouTube video or writing the perfect blog for your website, only to get zero eyes on it.

It’s like that old thought experiment that says, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” The same is true for content marketing.

If you create the perfect content for your blog or YouTube channel and no one sees it, does it matter?

You create content to educate and inform your customers and prospective customers, to entertain and build trust, to increase recognition and make sales. But, reaching all of these goals relies on how visible — or highly ranked — your content is.

That starts with finding the right topic. Sometimes, figuring out what you want to write about or create a video about is the hardest part. Here are a few tips for finding great content ideas.

How to find content ideas that rank fast

#1. Use Google’s “People also ask” section to find blog ideas

Think about the general topic you want to write a blog about, and search for it on Google. Then, scroll down to the “People also ask” section of the SERP (search engine results page).

For example, let’s say you’re a roofer, and you want to write a blog in order to educate your customers about metal roofs.

The “People also ask” section gives you popular questions users are looking for related to metal roofs. Initially, Google gives you four questions, but the more questions you open, the more results you’ll get.

These questions are the perfect topic ideas for creating content on your blog because they’re questions real users are asking.

Rank highly for these questions by using them as your title or, at the very least, in a headline.

#2. Use the YouTube search bar to find YouTube video ideas

YouTube is a great place to look for content ideas for your videos, which is no surprise, considering it’s the second-largest search engine. Think about the topics you want to create a video about, and search for them on YouTube.

For example, let’s say you’re a lawn care provider, and you want to create a video for your YouTube channel to educate people about lawn care in the fall.

Plus, find more topic ideas by adding an underscore before or after the search phrase. This will show you results that contain the keyword in some capacity.

Pick the topics you’re interested in creating content about, and try to use the exact search phrases in the title of your video.

#3. Create content worth viewing

Getting your blogs and YouTube videos to rank is just half the battle, and your efforts will fall short quickly if your content is not worthy of people’s time.

Search algorithms on YouTube and Google take value and originality into account. Not only is it important to create content for your blog and YouTube channel that provides value to your viewers, but it’s also important to increase your rankings even more and boost visibility.

Need help creating great content for your website and/or YouTube channel? Marketing 360® has a team of content writers, video pros and designers who can help. Learn more and see our plans and pricing.