The entire website (competitors' domain).
Blog section only (competitors subdomain).
Now, gather the most relevant keywords that your competitors are ranking for organically.
To do this, filter them by a specific word, for example “SEO”.
I usually focus on those with the highest volume, but I also add those that have a low volume but are strategically important for my business.
Content plan - Organic search positions
Some keywords I found include “plagiarism checker,” “readability,” and sample cell phone number in philippines “copy editing.”
Export your keywords and copy and paste them into your original file.
Don't forget to indicate the source of the data.
Content plan: Keyword data source table
My recommended tools:
Organic research to check my competitors' keywords. Learn how to find low competition keywords with SEMrush.
Keyword Gap to find the keywords my competitors rank for but I don't. Learn how to find gaps in your keywords.
Finding trending topics
Now, look for topics relevant to your industry.
For this step, you'll need reliable tools to help you find interesting trends for your audience.
Detect trends in Google
The most common data source is Google Trends .
One by one, introduce your central themes and those from the brainstorming sessions in the previous steps.
Then, check the trend status (you can compare up to 5 keywords at a time) and find related queries.
Content plan - Google trends topics
Content plan - Related searches
Check which queries have seen the most growth in search frequency.
Pay special attention to the results marked as “Spot Increase.”
Google describes these as queries that have seen a significant increase in search frequency because they are new and have had few searches.
If you see a spike in a particular month, the keyword may be seasonal.
Flag it in your file, so you can schedule an article on the topic in advance.
Some keywords I found are “SEO copywriting course”, “SEO copywriting service” and “SEO copywriting agency”.
Analyze trends in social networks
Depending on where your audience tends to spend their time, the exact steps to find trends on each social platform may vary.
The general workflow is the same, though, as social trends are mostly personalized and tied to your profile interests.
Subscribe to media outlets in your industry and follow influencers.
Monitor what people are talking about and what trends ar