AnswerThePublic is a search insight tool helping content creators, marketers, and businesses gain a better understanding of the questions and topics their audience is searching for online. In this AnswerThePublic guide, we will answer some important questions and explain how the properly use the tool.
- How AnswerThePublic Works
- Can I See a Demo of AnswerThePublic?
- How to Read the Color-Coded Reports
- Where is The Data Collected? When Does it Update?
- Getting Results With AnswerThePublic
In essence, AnswerThePublic extracts and gathers Google’s autosuggestion data for any keyword searched. These autosuggestions are the pre-populated sentences you see when you start typing into Google’s search bar, as seen in the image below:
Data from Google search users can be assessed by identifying audience interests and real-time trends. Analyzing these data insights enables us to quickly progress with the content initiatives, all the while remaining aligned with the ever-evolving consumer mindset.
How AnswerThePublic Works
The first step is to select which platform AnswerThePublic will gather the data from to provide you with the best insights based on your search and the consumer’s thoughts. Currently, there are 3 options available, Google, YouTube, and Bing, as seen in the image below:
Please note that AnswerThePublic will gather the data specifically from the platform/search engine selected and the results might differ depending on the option selected.
The second step is to go to AnswerThePublic's Dashboard > Searches and type in a keyword or topic that you want to generate ideas for. For instance, if you run a cooking blog, it would be a good idea to use "recipes" as your keyword.
It is important to remember to search for short topics and avoid using long-tail keywords, which are longer and more specific keyword phrases.
The last step is to select the preferred language and location in the drop-down menu and hit Search.
At the very top, you can select the results in the tabs QUESTIONS, PREPOSITIONS, COMPARISONS, ALPHABETICALS, and RELATED.
Below the tabs, you will see metrics of the Search Volume, and Cost-Per-Click (CPC) for the keyword searched.
You will also see a bar on the right of each metric indicating the ranges of each interval.
The report offers data in two different ways: Visualization, and Data.
The Visualization option will provide a color-coded wheel of auto suggestions that derive from that search and the wheel is divided into modifiers, according to the tab selected.
For instance, in the tab QUESTIONS, the wheel is divided into interrogative words such as ARE, WHO, WHY, WHICH, WHERE, and so on. You may read more about this here: How to understand the AnswerThePublic branches
You may also download the wheel by clicking DOWNLOAD IMAGE.
The Data option will display the same information as the wheel, however now the information is organized in tables for your convenience.
By clicking IMAGE, you will be directed to a visual representation of the most common searches for that modifier:
If you click on HIDE, you will remove that full section. You can also remove specific phrases, by hovering over the phrase and clicking the minus sign.
On both VISUALIZATION and DATA formats, you can edit the modifiers to leave only the results relevant to you.
In both sections you can export the results to a CSV file by clicking the download icon, as seen below:
Can I See a Demo of AnswerThePublic?
You can test the tool to discover all the features and functions by accessing the 7-day free trial. To activate it, it is necessary to subscribe to a monthly plan.
If you'd like to know more about PRO features and plans, please visit our pricing page.
We've also got a YouTube channel with more information about the tool features.
How to Read the Color-Coded Report
AnswerThePublic will capture and provide a wide range of data related to the keyword searched. So, if you type “recipes”, it will bring all searches related to that term, including question words such as WHY, WHICH, HOW, prepositions like CAN, WITHOUT, TO, comparison words like AND, VERSUS, OR, and list of related keywords divided in alphabetical order.
Let’s check the option “Can recipes be copyrighted” in the PREPOSITION tab:
By clicking the phrase, you will be directed to that specific search on Google.
AnswerThePublic takes into consideration the volume and popularity of keywords.
The most popular searches will display a dark orange dot.
The lighter the dot, the less popular the term currently is.
For the search volume, terms that display a green number will indicate a high search volume, whereas a yellow, or red number would indicate a medium or insignificant volume, respectively.
The same goes for CPC (Cost Per Click), terms that display a green number indicate a high commercial value for the term; while a yellow or red number indicates a moderate or insignificant value, commercially speaking.
Please note that high search volume refers to the number of times a specific keyword or search term is entered into a search engine (like Google) over a given period, it quantifies the demand for that particular keyword. For example, if the keyword "healthy recipes" has a high search volume, it means many people are searching for this term each month. High search volume keywords usually indicate a potentially significant audience reach.
On the other hand, the popularity of a keyword is a broader concept. It covers not only search volume but also factors like engagement, trends, and social media mentions. A keyword may be popular because it is widely discussed on social media platforms, frequently shared, or has become a trending topic, even if it does not have a particularly high search volume. Popularity considers the buzz or attention a keyword generates across various online channels.
We can conclude that a keyword may have a high search volume, but it does not mean it is good or has commercial intent or value. In other words, popularity does not always equal a high search volume or CPC.
Now it is time to check the questions and phrases to see if any of them give inspiration for content ideas. You can click any of the questions or phrases to see related searches or switch to the "Prepositions" or "Comparisons" tabs for additional ideas.
You may use these ideas to create blog posts, videos, podcasts, or any other content that provides value to your audience.
Where is The Data Collected? When Does it Update?
AnswerThePublic collects data from Google’s autosuggestions when you search. It takes a snapshot of the current searches and any major events happening at the time of your search will be picked up by Google, and the results will be reflected on the tool.
For example, if you search for Christmas in December, you will naturally see a spike in the search volume due to the season.
The colored dots indicate the current popularity of a term, in Google, YouTube, or Bing.
On the other hand, it is important to note that both the CPC and the search volume data are estimated monthly data collected directly from Google every month, thus the numbers you will see are from the previous month.
Getting Results With AnswerThePublic
AnswerThePublic presents the data in a color-code and easy-to-understand format, which you can use to listen to what people are talking about online.
While manually searching across platforms like Google, YouTube, or Bing could consume several hours and might still miss some valuable suggestions, AnswerThePublic efficiently compiles this data for you in a matter of seconds, saving you valuable time and ensuring comprehensive results.
To get the best results with the tool, use the following best practices:
1. Avoid bridge words in your search.
The results will collect data on all bridge words as if they were interrogative or comparison words, or prepositions, there is no need to include them. It is not necessary to type sentences or questions for the same reason.
2. Try similar keywords.
Search for all main keywords related to your niche and explore everything around it. Verbs, nouns, and adjectives related to your business or service. If you own a pet store, search for “pet supplies”, “grooming”, “etc. Remember to avoid corporate jargon at all costs and consider how real people search for your service or brand.
3. Search as real people would.
It is common for many people to search using “my” instead of “a”, for example, “my pets” instead of “a pet”. Test this by typing “my” instead of “a” on Google to see how the results change.
Also consider follow-up searches, that could naturally derive from the first one. For example, if you think about searching “vet clinic near me”, you may consider something similar like “pet store near me” and “pet medical supplies”.
For more insights on how to use AnswerThePublic, check out the Webinars, and MasterClass located at the bottom of the page.