13 Tools to Generate Killer Content Ideas

 

But if you do not have any idea of what content to create, how will you leverage content marketing?

If you have no idea about how to get killer content ideas, this post is for you. I am going to explain in detail about the different tools using which you can generate content ideas for your blog. Some of the tools are common but the way to use these tools and get the maximum from each can be your golden nuggets.

Tools to Generate Killer Content Ideas

There are 10+ tools I have mentioned in this post and using each of these, you can generate ideas and create killer content for your blog.

So let’s get started:

1. Buzzsumo

First and foremost is Buzzsumo. This is the most common and the best tool available using which you can generate tons of great content ideas.

And here’s how you can do it:

1. Head Over to Buzzsumo.

2. Enter your Keyword. I used “Content Creation”.

3. What Buzzsumo does is that it not only shows the most popular blog titles. It also gives you the number of shares on different social media sites.

You can also sort the content depending upon the shares of different social media sites. The best part of this tool is that you can see who shared a particular content. But at this moment, we are just focusing on getting content ideas using a fast and easy way.

Another cool feature is that you can also filter the content by date and you can also filter by the type of content. This includes:

• Infographics
• Articles
• Guest Posts
• Interviews
• Videos

There are many other filters that you can use to narrow down your search. But how to generate amazing content ideas?

Hang on…

Now as you have searched for your keyword, you will see the most popular content. The way to generate content idea from those post titles is to see what keywords these popular posts are using with the keyword you entered.

For example: I searched for “content creation” and what you need to do next is to make a list of keywords which you can use with your keyword.

To make it simpler, look at the below screenshot:

You might be thinking that you just need to make a list of keywords that were used along with the keyword you entered.

Yes, you are right. And that’s what you need to do.

So now if I want to create anything about “content creation”, I have tons of ideas from just one tool. And here are the ideas:

• X Content Creation Tools that you Must Use
• Content Creation Strategy to Increase your Website Traffic
• How Visual Content Creation can boost your Content Marketing Strategy

This list can become endless if you check all the remaining posts on Buzzsumo.

So Buzzsumo can be used in a very simple way to generate content ideas. And it’s something you can do within minutes. There is nothing complicated in generating ideas using Buzzsumo. To get more deeper, read this guide by Moz on getting content ideas using Buzzsumo.

2. Ahrefs Content Explorer

Ahrefs Content Explorer is similar to Buzzsumo and it will also help you find topics you can write about. Let me show you how to find ideas using this tool.

1. Head over to Ahrefs Content Explorer and enter your keyword. I am using “content creation” here.

2. Here are the results for the keyword “content creation”. As you can see at the top, there are options to filter your results. You can sort results by publish date, # of shares, domain rating and URL rating. The best part is that if you want to create content on something that will get you organic traffic, you can also sort your results by organic traffic.

Click on the organic traffic button and enter the range. I’ve selected 100 and above.

Let’s see the results.

Here are the results. Now you have a list of ideas that will bring traffic from Google and have also the potential to get a lot of shares.

From the above image, you can create the following articles:

1. 7 super easy steps to create powerful content
2. The 7-step content creation process to generate thousands of shares
3. How this content creation kit will help you create quality content

and the list goes on. So, you can use Ahrefs content explorer to find topics that generated a lot of shares. And with those topics, you can create something better and get your piece of traffic and shares.

3. Quora

Quora is one of my favorite tool to get amazing content ideas. The content ideas which you get from Quora are very helpful.

You don’t believe it, don’t you? Check this out 

1. Do the same as you did above. Enter your keyword. I am using the keyword “Content Marketing” again.

As you can see in the above screenshot, there are many questions on the topic. If your keyword is a broad topic then you will also find a separate topic on the keyword like I found in the keyword “Content Marketing”. And there are almost 20k followers of the topic.

2. If there is a topic on Quora for your keyword then click on the topic. If not then simply browse through the questions asked on the results page.

Now you will see different questions related to your keyword. These are the only content ideas which you need.

The best part here is that you know people are asking for a particular content which is on the web but either not too good or out of their reach. So you can create a piece of content that people want and ping them. This is very effective as you already know whether people want a particular piece of content or not.

4. Keyword Planner

Using keyword planner, you can get the rough traffic estimates of your keyword and generate content ideas. Let me show you how to do that:

1. Sign in to your Keyword Planner.

2. Enter your keyword. I am using “content creation”.

3. After the results appear, switch to the keyword ideas tab.

4. Now you have a list of keywords which you can use to create amazing posts. Not only this, you also have a rough traffic estimate of each keyword. This will make your decision of choosing the right keywords easy.

5. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is a keyword suggestion tool that lets you input your keyword and then it gives the most common phrases related to the keyword.

1. Enter your keyword. I am using “Content Marketing”.

2. Then the tool will show you the most common matching phrases related to the keyword.

What you need to do now is to just turn these phrases into stunning post titles. I assume this is something easy and you will not face any problems in doing it.

6. AllTop

I think you have never thought of using Alltop.com as a tool for generating content ideas. Most of you may not realize but this is amongst the best tools to generate content ideas.

But if you are unfamiliar with the website, let me explain it to you fast:

Alltop.com is a website which displays stories from different sources. There are many different topics on Alltop.com.

And this is how you can generate content ideas from this content curation website:

1. Head Over to Alltop.com.

2. Enter your keyword. I am using “Blogging”.

Now you will see a list of the top websites writing about Blogging.

Just read through the blog titles of the best websites and see what common content are these websites creating. For example, look at the below screenshot. I have highlighted two blog titles.

Do they look similar? Somewhat.

Are they similar? Yes they are!

Both the posts focus on the different types of content. And you can find hundreds of such examples if you check all the websites.

So now you must think that this content is something that many websites have created. And you should also create one. Even if you do not follow this method there is one other method to get content ideas from Alltop, Just read 2-3 post titles of almost all the blogs. And you will get an idea of what these blogs are creating and you should also create something similar.

This is how you can use Alltop.com to get content ideas. It’s easy because there is nothing you need to do.

7. Competitors

Your competitors can become your asset if you learn how to get what you need from them. It is good to have competitors in your niche. Because when you have competitors, you can track and analyze whether you are doing things right or wrong.

And these competitors can help you get great content ideas also.

Just as we discussed about Alltop.com, you have to apply the same thing here also. Check what your competitors are writing and write similar content and outrank them.

You can also use the tools mentioned above to see what your competitors readers’ love. You can use Buzzsumo to see their most shared content and then you can create a piece of content better than theirs.

Moreover you can check the comments on your competitors content and see what their readers’ are asking for. This way you can turn your competitors’ readers into your customers.

These are small but effective ways to get content ideas from your competitors.

8. Slideshare

You may have underestimated Slideshare. In Slideshare, you can see various presentations and infographics on a particular topic. This means that you can turn Slideshare into tool to generate content ideas.

1. Search your keyword on Slideshare. Here I am using “Content Marketing”.

2. On the results page you will see different presentations related to your keyword.

3. Now you can turn these presentations into content.

But there is a problem:

You article may not seem unique. To overcome this problem, you just need to create an insanely in-depth content with lots of data and pictures. Do not just copy and paste the same presentation in your article.

Make it unique and provide unique value to your readers.

9. Amazon Industry Books

This is one is very simple:

1. Search your keyword on Amazon.

2. See the best and the most selling books.

3. Amazon lets you preview the book. This will allow you to see through the starting pages of the book. This includes the table of contents page also.

So you can get ideas of keywords from just one single book. And you can find many books for your keyword. This way you can get an idea of what things are important for a niche and what content you can create.

10. Udemy

Udemy can help you generate hundreds of blog post ideas within 10 minutes. You can explore topics and find content ideas. Let’s find some cool ideas using Udemy.

1. Go to Udemy.com and enter your keyword. I am using “SEO” here.

As you can see there are many courses about SEO. Pick any course you find interesting. From this list, I’ve picked the third course as it has more ratings.

Let’s see what’s inside this course. Once you open the course page, scroll down to the description of the course because that’s where you’ll find truly amazing ideas. From the course I picked, I got these wonderful ideas:

From just one course description, you can get 10-20 ideas. If you browse through other courses, you will be able to find more ideas that people would love to read.

11. Google Suggest and Related Searches

This shows you what people are searching along with your keyword. You can use Google related searches and Google auto-suggest to get amazing content ideas.

12. Social Media Groups/Communities

Join Facebook and LinkedIn groups related to your niche and find out what people are sharing and asking in the group. This is another great way to generate content ideas.

Some websites where you can find such communities/groups are:

1. Facebook – Groups
2. LinkedIn – Groups
3. Pinterest – Boards
4. Reddit – Subreddits
5. Flipboard – Magazines
6. StumbleUpon

12. Competitor Newsletters

Subscribe to your competitors newsletters and see what they are sharing in their newsletters. You can use this method as an extra effort to get more content ideas.

13. Magazines

Search for various magazine in your industry. Analyze the first page and see the headings they used.

Also see the content inside the magazine. This will not only give you content ideas but the ideas you get will be new and you will be able to follow the trends in your industry.