AnswerThePublic is a search insight tool that helps content creators, marketers, and businesses gain a better understanding of the questions and topics their audience is searching for online.
In this guide, you will learn how AnswerThePublic works, and how to properly use it.
AnswerThePublic scrapes and collects Google’s autosuggestion data for any keyword you search. Google’s autosuggestions are the pre-populated sentences you see when you start typing into Google:
You can leverage data from Google search users by identifying consumer interests and real-time trends. Layering on top of these data insights allows us to quickly move content initiatives forward while staying on the pulse of the consumer mindset.
HOW DO I USE ANSWERTHEPUBLIC?
To get started, go to AnswerThepPublic's Dashboard > Searches and enter a keyword or topic that you want to generate ideas for. For example, if you run a cooking blog, you might enter "recipes" as your keyword.
Keep it short, avoid using long-tail keywords.
Select the preferred language and location in the drop-down menu and hit Search.
At the very top, you can select results in the tabs QUESTIONS, PREPOSITIONS, COMPARISONS, ALPHABETICALS, and RELATED.
Below the tabs, you will see the metrics Search Volume, and Cost-Per-Click (CPC) for the keyword.
You will see a bar at the right of each metric indicating the ranges for each interval.
The report offers data in two ways: Visualization, and Data.
The Visualization will provide a color-coded wheel of auto suggestions that are derived from that search. The wheel is divided into modifiers, according to the tab selected.
E.g. In the tab QUESTIONS, the wheel is divided into interrogative words such as ARE, WHO, WHY, WHICH, WHERE, and so on.
More on that here: How to understand the AnswerThePublic branches
You can download the wheel by selecting DOWNLOAD IMAGE.
The Data format will display the same information as the wheels - this time organized in tables, for your convenience.
By Clicking IMAGE, you’ll get a visual of the most common searches for that modifier:
If you click HIDE, you will remove that full section. You can also remove specific phrases, by hovering over the phrase and selecting minus.
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 arrow icon.
ANALYZING THE RESULTS
AnswerThePublic is set to capture the entire alphabet related to your keyword. So if you type “recipes”, it will bring all searches related to that term, including question words such as WHY, or WHICH, and prepositions such as ARE, WHAT, and so on.
Let’s see the example “Can recipes be copyrighted”. Clicking on the phrase will direct you to that Google search.
AnswerThePublic takes into consideration volume and popularity.
The most popular searches will display a dark orange dot. The lighter the dot, the least popular the term currently is.
For 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. 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.
A keyword may have a high search volume, but it doesn't mean it is good or has commercial intent or value. Popularity, in that sense, does not always equals a high search volume or CPC.
New trending relevant terms can appear more popular than high-volume keywords.
For example, you might see popular keywords with no CPC data as they don't have a high volume.
Review the questions and phrases to see if any of them inspire content ideas. You can click on any of the questions or phrases to see related searches or switch to the "Prepositions" or "Comparisons" tabs for additional ideas.
Use the ideas to create blog posts, videos, podcasts, or other content that answers the questions and provides value to your audience.
HOW RECENT IS THE DATA?
As you know by now, AnswerThePublic collects data from Google’s Autosuggestions. It takes a snapshot of the current searches. Any major events happening at the time of your search will be picked up by Google, and the results will be reflected in the tool.
E.g. If you search for Christmas in December, you will naturally see a spike in search volume due to seasonality.
Regarding Search Volume, it´s an estimated monthly data, you will see the numbers from the previous month.
HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF ANSWERTHEPUBLIC
1. Avoid bridge words in your search.
The results will pull data on all bridge words as interrogative words, comparison words, or prepositions, no need to include them. Don’t bother typing 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. Consider how real people search for your service or brand.
What leads to 3. Search as real people would.
It is common to search using “my” as opposed to “a”. E.g. “my pets” instead of “a pet”, for many searchers. Test this by typing “my” instead of “a” in 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 questions 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.
For any questions, please feel free to reach out to support@answerthepublic.com.