Content – 4eBusiness Media Group

How to Build a Customer-Focused Content Strategy (6 Steps)

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 18:50:34 +0000

Random content creation is the top reason you won’t see ROI from your content marketing.

One week, you write blog posts. The next week, you film some YouTube videos. Then, you stop publishing for three months.

With a strong content strategy, you’ll make consistent content based on real customer preferences, pain points, and historical data.

Creating a content strategy has many benefits, including:

Focuses your efforts on content your audience actually wants
Saves you time by eliminating guesswork and random content creation
Drives consistent traffic through strategic topic selection
Builds authority in your industry with purposeful, high-quality content
Increases conversions by aligning content with your audience’s needs

Ready to learn how to create a content strategy?

Let’s start with the most important element: your customers.

Step 1: Align Your Content Strategy with Customer Awareness Levels

Every content decision you make should map back to the customer awareness levels:

Unaware
Problem Aware
Solution Aware
Product Aware
Most Aware

This includes the topics you cover, formats you use, and where you publish.

Why?

Because people at different awareness stages need completely different content.

Someone who has never heard of your solution needs education, while someone comparing options needs proof that your product is best.

But forget what you’ve been taught in the past.

Start with people ready to buy (most aware) and work backward.

This sets you up for faster wins, better conversion rates, and less competition.

Here’s what this looks like in practice.

Most Aware

People in the “Most Aware” stage are VERY close to buying your product or service.

They’ve likely already inquired about your offering, requested pricing info, and used your free trial.

Now, they just need that final push.

Design your Most Aware content to remove hesitation and make the next step feel obvious.

Content that works best for this stage includes:

Customer success videos
Live demos and Q&As
Pricing guides and ROI calculators
Email campaigns with time-sensitive offers

For example, Semrush has a dedicated “Success Stories” page.

Each story highlights how companies use the platform to improve their online visibility, rankings, and content.

Even better? They all end with a free trial offer.

That’s textbook Most Aware content: high trust, low friction, and a clear next step.

Product Aware

People in the Product Aware stage know they need a solution and are shopping around.

They’re comparing features, reading reviews, and weighing pros and cons.

They may have even started free trials with your competitors.

Your job? Make your solution the obvious choice.

Product Aware content includes:

Product walkthrough videos
Comparison posts and tools
Influencer or customer reviews
Webinars with customer case studies

Solution Aware

At this stage, prospects know they have a problem — and that solutions exist.

But they’re still figuring out what kind of solution they need.

They’re asking questions like “What is SEO software?” or “How do others solve my same problem?”

Your job is to guide them through the decision.

This is where you earn trust and shape buying criteria.

Solution Aware content includes:

Case studies
How-to guides and educational content
Podcast episodes or blog interviews
Interactive tools or quizzes to assess needs or priorities
Video testimonials from customers

Problem Aware

In this stage, prospects know they have a problem. They just don’t know what to do about it yet.

They’re asking questions like:

What’s causing this issue?
How serious is it?
Am I the only one dealing with this?
Is there a fix?

At this point, they’re digging into Google and large language model (LLM) results, Reddit threads, YouTube videos, and niche forums.

They’re looking for answers and insights — not product hard sells. That’s where your content comes in.

Your job here is to validate their problem and help them understand it more clearly.

Content that works best in this stage:

Blog posts that explore the root causes of common problems
Social content that highlights signs, symptoms, or overlooked issues
YouTube videos breaking down key pain points
Forum posts or comments that share useful perspectives

Use tools like Google’s Autocomplete, People Also Ask, and Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool to find real questions your audience is asking.

Then, plan content that empathizes with your audience’s problem and hints at the types of solutions that exist.

Build trust in this stage, and you’ll stay top of mind when they’re ready to buy.

Unaware

Unaware prospects don’t know they have a problem — yet.

They’re not searching for solutions. They’re not asking questions. They’re not even looking.

That makes this audience the biggest and the coldest.

Your goal here isn’t to sell. It’s to spark that light bulb moment where they realize there’s a problem worth solving.

And you’ll want to do it in a way that feels helpful, not pushy.

The best content for this stage is light, relatable, and built for discovery.

Think:

Short videos or animations on social platforms
Blog posts tied to lifestyle or work challenges
Paid ads that highlight common frustrations in a simple way

For example, Semrush uses TikTok to create short, relatable videos aimed at digital marketers.

This is all about brand awareness and building trust.

But when these prospects eventually realize they have a problem, guess whose brand they’ll remember?

That’s right — yours!

Step 2: Find and Prioritize High-Impact Content Ideas

Strategic topic selection is more important than ever.

Content demands have skyrocketed. Channels are crowded. And your audience is drowning in options.

AI and LLMs have also fundamentally changed how people discover content.

Using a process called query fan-out, they break one search into multiple related questions and topics to anticipate the user’s needs.

That’s why it’s important to think in content clusters, not just individual topics.

Here’s how to find (and prioritize) topics in a smart, scalable way.

Start with Customer and Client Research

Before you open a keyword tool, review your inquiries, support tickets, and sales calls to see what questions come up again and again.

This reveals high-intent problems your audience is actively trying to solve, which makes it perfect for your content strategy.

If you have existing customers, send short surveys to them by email.

Ask questions like:

What’s your biggest challenge with [topic]?
What would you search for when looking for [solution type]?

You can also run polls on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and more.

And consider offering a small incentive to encourage responses.

As you get responses, group them by themes to plan for content clusters.

This lets you capture the full search journey around each topic. And will help increase your visibility in traditional and AI search engines.

Audit Your Existing Content for Hidden Winners

Look at your existing content to assess what’s already working. And find content gaps worth filling.

Here’s how:

First, log in to Google Analytics to see which topics and formats drive the most valuable traffic to your site.

Then, go to “Reports” → “Engagement” → “Landing Pages”:

This report shows you which pages users land on first when they visit your site.

So, you know which topics and pages attract them the most.

Look at performance metrics like sessions, average engagement time, and key events to identify top performers.

Next, identify what those pages have in common in terms of:

Format: Are they how-to guides, listicles, case studies, or something else?
Topics: What themes or subject areas dominate?
Length: Are they comprehensive deep-dives or quick reads?
Content angle: Do they focus on beginner tips, advanced strategies, or industry news?

Once you spot the patterns, you can plan to create more content that fits these winning formulas.

For example:

A while back, we noticed that definitive guides brought in a ton of traffic.

So, we decided to publish more definitive guides as content pillars.

And those new guides helped increase my blog’s traffic by 87.91% compared to the year before:

The biggest takeaway? Your existing data already shows you what your audience wants.

You just need to give them more of it.

Run a Cross-Platform Competitive Analysis

Want a goldmine of validated topics and format inspiration?

Spy on your competitors, platform by platform.

This can be anything from social media accounts and blogs to podcasts and videos.

For example, if your competitors are on YouTube, filter their content by “Popular” to see which topics get the most views and engagement.

Over on LinkedIn, you can scan your competitors’ profiles for posts with high comment or repost counts.

Find their company page, click “Posts,” and start scrolling.

Competitor blogs are also a great source of topic inspiration.

For example, a while back, we looked at what content performed best on the Moz blog:

And we noticed that content about “site audits” tended to do REALLY well:

So, we created a blog post called: “The 18-Step SEO Audit Checklist.”

Because this post was based on a proven topic, it was a huge hit on day 1.

And quickly cracked the first page for my target keyword:

Podcasts are another amazing (and somewhat untapped) source of topic inspiration.

Check out your competitors’ episode lists on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

This can reveal some killer topics you’d be hard-pressed to find any other way.

Once you’ve done a manual review, use competitive research tools for deeper analysis.

For this task, I’ll use Semrush.

Here’s how you can follow along:

First, sign up for a free 14-day Semrush trial.

Then, start with the Organic Research tool.

Enter one of your top competitors’ domains and click “Search.”

You’ll see an overview of their top-ranking keywords.

And which pages attract the most traffic.

Switch to the “Position Changes” tab on the menu for a deeper look at the keywords your competitor has won and lost.

One strategy?

Start by reviewing your rivals’ keyword losses and add any relevant topics to your strategy.

Why?

So, you can swoop in with better content and take those rankings for yourself.

Click “+ Add filter” and “Position changes.”

Check “Declined” and “Lost.”

Click “Apply.”

(You can also check “New” and “Improved” to see their ranking keywords instead.)

Next, switch to “Topics” on the menu to view your competitor’s highest-performing topics.

Including estimated traffic, keywords, volume, and average keyword difficulty.

Prioritize topics with at least decent search volume but lower difficulty scores.

These give you the best chance of ranking quickly.

Another helpful tool for identifying high-value topics?

Semrush’s Keyword Gap.

Enter your domain and up to four competitors’ domains. Click “Compare.”

Scroll to the “All keyword details for [your site] report.”

Pay attention to the following:

Missing: Keywords that all the other domains rank for, except you
Untapped: Keywords that at least one of the other domains ranks for, except you

This reveals content gaps where your competitors are already succeeding.

Instead of guessing what topics might work, you’re targeting proven winners with a strategy to outrank them.

Mine Online Communities

Online communities are GREAT for finding your customers’ burning questions.

For example, say you have a recipe blog and want to create content for specific diets.

Head over to the Paleo subreddit, and you’ll notice lots of questions about dessert:

Why is this important?

Most people ask questions on Reddit because they couldn’t find their answer on Google.

Or because the answers on Google don’t feel authentic enough.

This means there’s a HUGE opportunity for you to swoop in and answer that question with your content.

These community questions should become the backbone of your content strategy in two key ways:

Pain point mapping: Track which questions appear repeatedly to identify the biggest challenges your audience faces. Then, prioritize these topics in your content calendar.
Content format planning: Pay attention to HOW people ask. A “how do I” question might work best as a tutorial, while “what’s the best” questions are perfect for comparison posts or roundups.

You can even create a dedicated FAQ hub on your site that directly answers these community questions.

This approach builds trust fast because you’re solving real problems your audience is actively searching for.

You can follow this same process using Quora:

You can also use Answer the Public to scale this task.

It’s a free tool that hands you popular questions that people have around your topic:

Prioritize Your Content Ideas

By now, you likely have a lot of potential topics.

Here’s how to separate the winners from the noise:

Ask yourself if the topic ties back to your product or service. Content that can’t connect to your business goals is just busy work.

Next, check for proven demand using a keyword research tool.

Prioritize topics with solid search volume, clear search intent, and manageable difficulty.

Then, consider if your team can realistically create quality content on this topic.

Do you have the expertise, resources, and time to do it justice?

Finally, think about your differentiation opportunity.

Can you add a fresh angle, better examples, or unique insights that competitors haven’t covered?

If a topic checks all four boxes, green light it.

Once you’ve validated your topics, assign each one to its corresponding awareness stage:

Most aware topics: What questions do prospects ask right before buying? What final objections need addressing? Turn these topics into pricing guides, comparison pages, and tutorials.
Product aware topics: Are competitors ranking for “best [solution category]” terms? Create your own version with honest comparisons and clear differentiators.
Solution aware topics: Are people asking “how to choose” or “what type of [X]”? Build educational content that explains the options and subtly positions your solution as the best fit.
Problem and unaware topics: What recurring pain points did you identify in your topic research? Turn those insights into content that validates the problem and builds awareness.

Step 3: Create Comprehensive Content Briefs

Coming up with high-impact topics is only half the battle.

The other half?

Turning those ideas into content that actually performs. That’s where a content brief comes in.

Content briefs eliminate guesswork and align your entire team on what you’re creating and why.

They prevent scope creep, reduce revisions, and ensure every piece of content serves a clear business purpose.

And they can be as short or detailed as you like.

My vote? Make them comprehensive.

The more direction you provide upfront, the less time you’ll spend on revisions.

And the more likely your content will resonate with your audience.

Every brief should include the basics. Like the topic, primary keyword, and article format.

But creating truly helpful content requires doing more than the minimum.

That’s why we include audience insights like the following in our briefs at Backlinko.

Target audience level: Beginner, intermediate, or advanced
Awareness stage: Where are they at in their journey?
Primary goal: Traffic, leads, conversions, brand awareness
Reader pain points: The challenges your audience faces

This context helps writers match their tone, examples, and approach to your specific audience.

Another essential brief component? SERP analysis.

Include the most notable competitors’ URLs in the brief for writers to use as inspiration. And leave notes on any gaps you can fill to outrank your competition.

Speaking of outranking your competitors…

Every brief should include your plans for information gain.

(Aka the unique value your content will provide that readers can’t find elsewhere.)

This includes:

Expert quotes or SME insights from industry leaders
Original data, research, or case studies from your own experience
Interactive tools like calculators, templates, or checklists
Fresh angles or perspectives that competitors haven’t covered

Finally, I highly recommend baking your content repurposing plans into your brief.

Getting the most from your content efforts shouldn’t be an afterthought.

Plan to turn every article or blog post into multiple formats: social content, videos, email series, podcasts, and more.

This lets you build full-funnel coverage from day one. And ensures you maximize your investment.

Step 4: Focus on Creating Amazing Content

Here’s the reality:

It’s getting harder to make your content stand out.

The audience decides within seconds whether your content is worth their time. If you don’t grab them immediately, they’re gone.

That’s why we developed the Hook & Hold Method at Backlinko.

It helps us create content that captures (and keeps) attention.

The first part of this method is the hook.

Your hook has one job: get people to start reading.

Here’s how:

Craft a compelling headline: Use specific numbers, strong emotions, or unique angles that make people stop scrolling and click
Start with their biggest pain point: Address what’s keeping your audience up at night in the first paragraph to create an instant connection
Promise clear value upfront: Tell readers exactly what they’ll learn or achieve to signal immediate value and relevance

Then, you hold their attention with five key elements: Authority, Research, Visuals, Examples, and Statistics.

Let’s walk through each element.

Authority

You don’t have to be the only voice in your content.

In fact, bringing in expert perspectives builds authority and improves user experience.

Or as I like to say:

If you want an article about how to unclog a toilet, don’t hire a freelance writer.

Hire a plumber.

For example, Nerd Fitness quickly grew to be one of the most popular blogs in the fitness space.

How?

Steve wrote about his personal experience of trying different diets and workout routines:

And he filled in any gaps in his knowledge with research from nutrition experts:

This demonstrated experience and expertise to their target audience and search engines.

Which then inspired trust.

And helped Nerd Fitness establish authority.

That’s E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) in action.

You can also source expert insights through:

Journalist outreach platforms like HARO or Featured
Industry interviews, podcasts, or videos
Social media posts from credible people in your niche
Direct outreach to experts

Expert quotes break up visual flow while adding credibility and fresh perspectives to your content.

Research

Great content is built on great sources.

While trustworthy sources vary by industry, prioritize these sources as a general rule:

Academic research and peer-reviewed studies
Government data (.gov sites)
Industry surveys from recognized research firms
Industry-leading websites and blogs
Company earnings calls and official statements

Fill in knowledge gaps with expert insights and quotes.

At Backlinko, we often feature expert input from industry veterans to add unique insights and authority to our content.

Visuals

There’s no way around this:

If you want people to read and share your content, it needs to look GREAT.

This is why we go the extra mile to use high-res screenshots.

These crisp, annotated screenshots prove you’ve actually done what you’re teaching.

And make complex processes instantly understandable.

Charts and data visualizations transform boring numbers into compelling stories that support your key points and make them stick.

We also use custom-designed guides to differentiate my content from competitors.

And boost perceived value.

Examples

When it comes to content, there’s one thing I’ve found to be true almost 100% of the time:

People LOVE examples.

When you hear the words “for example,” your brain breathes a sigh of relief.

It makes learning easier and more relatable.

That’s why we include TONS of examples in every post:

Including examples makes your content easier to understand.

But it also signals E-E-A-T to readers and Google.

Even better? AI can’t replicate it.

When you share specific examples, you demonstrate real-world experience that generic content simply can’t match.

Does adding examples take more work than simply saying, “do this”?

Sure.

Is it worth it?

Definitely.

Statistics

Nothing builds credibility faster than strong statistics.

When you back up claims with data from reputable sources, it sends trust signals to both readers and Google.

But not all statistics are created equal. The key is finding data that’s both credible and compelling.

Original data works even better than citing existing studies.

Whether it’s a full-scale study or a LinkedIn post, it attracts readers and backlinks.

And gives you a serious competitive edge.

Here are the best ways to source original data:

Conduct surveys of your audience or industry
Analyze your customer data for trends and insights
Compile industry benchmarks from multiple sources
Track performance metrics over time
Interview experts and quantify their insights

Step 5: Promote Your Content

Without strategic promotion, even your best content might never reach your target audience.

The question is: How do you promote your content the right way?

Here are a few simple strategies that actually work.

Create Email Newsletters

This is HUGE.

An email list is the #1 content promotion tool on the planet. Period.

In fact, there isn’t even a close second.

Remember:

Your subscribers are made up of people who LOVE your stuff.

In other words:

They’re people who are very likely to spread the word about your content.

That’s why we share most of our posts with our email subscribers:

As you can see, our email doesn’t look like a stuffy corporate newsletter.

In fact, the email looks like it could be from a friend.

This is EXACTLY how you want your emails to look.

So, how did it do?

That single email generated 14,067 total visitors:

Nice!

Curate Content Roundups

In case you’re not familiar with them, roundups are posts that curate (or “round up”) awesome content from the week.

The best part?

There are roundups in almost every niche, shared everywhere from social media to email marketing.

For example, this is a LinkedIn roundup from the digital marketing niche:

Here’s why promoting your content to link roundups works so well:

Your pitch actually makes their life easier (yes, really).

I’ll explain…

Roundup curators struggle to find content to include in their roundup.

And when you suggest your new post, you deliver awesome content on a silver platter.

This means there’s no arm-twisting required to get a link.

For example, here’s a LinkedIn roundup that featured one of Backlinko’s articles:

Step 6: Track and Measure Performance

Now it’s time to see how well your content strategy is working.

The question is: How do you know if your content “worked”?

The key is organizing your metrics into two categories that actually matter: business impact and engagement.

Business Impact Metrics

These metrics directly connect to revenue and business growth.

Conversions and Revenue

ROI. Business goals. KPIs.

Whatever you want to call it.

Basically, you’re answering the question:

Is content helping us get more sales?

Measure conversions in Google Analytics.

And consider creating goals for each awareness level.

For example:

Most Aware content: Demo requests, pricing page visits, free trials
Product Aware content: Comparison page visits, feature page engagement
Solution Aware content: Guide downloads, newsletter signups
Problem/Unaware content: Blog subscriptions, social follows

If you see conversions moving up, it’s probably a sign that your content marketing is working.

So, you want to add more of that content type to your editorial calendar.

That said:

It’s sometimes hard to track content’s indirect sales impact.

For example:

Brian Dean’s (Backlinko’s founder) conversions that come directly from YouTube were super low:

And if he ONLY looked at Google Analytics, he’d probably say: “YouTube is a waste of time.”

But when he dug a little bit deeper, he could see that his YouTube channel was a HUGE driver of subscribers and sales.

Customers cite his YouTube channel as the main reason that they decide to make a purchase:

This shows that YouTube content is paying off.

Leads Generated

Not all leads are created equal.

Track qualified leads your content generates — people who fit your customer personas and have buying potential.

For example, use UTM parameters on content links to see which pieces drive the most leads.

If you have a CRM, tag leads by source, so you know which content influenced them.

And score leads based on engagement. Did they read one post or download three guides?

Connect this back to the awareness stages from Step 1:

Most Aware content should generate high-intent leads ready for sales conversations
Product Aware content should generate leads actively evaluating solutions
Solution Aware content should generate leads seeking education and guidance
Problem/Unaware content should focus on list building and brand awareness

If your content isn’t generating the right leads for its stage, reassess the intent and quality.

Traffic Quality

Raw traffic numbers mean nothing if visitors bounce immediately.

Focus on engaged traffic — people who actually consume your content and take the next steps.

Key metrics to track:

Pages per session: 2+ indicates genuine interest
Average session duration: Benchmark against your industry average
Bounce rate by content type: Identify which formats keep people engaged
Return visitor rate: Shows you’re building an audience, not just attracting one-time visitors

That said:

Content marketing and SEO can take time to kick in.

For example, look at the traffic numbers from the early days of Backlinko:

As you can see, it took about six months for things to really take off.

And if we gave up early on because content “wasn’t working,” we wouldn’t have seen the huge traffic spike that got us going:

Backlinko has only continued to grow since.

Persistence pays off when you combine strategic content with consistent execution.

Engagement Metrics

These metrics show how well your content resonates with your audience and predicts future business impact.

Views and Reach

Track how many people your content reaches across different platforms and channels.

What to track:

Platform-specific reach: YouTube views, LinkedIn post impressions, blog sessions
Audience quality: Use analytics to see if viewers match your ideal customer profile
Cross-platform performance: Which channels drive the most engaged traffic to your site

Search Visibility and Rankings

Search visibility is more volatile than ever.

But position tracking remains crucial for monitoring your content’s performance.

Here’s what to monitor:

Keyword clusters: Are you ranking for related terms beyond your primary keyword?
Featured snippets: Track snippet wins and losses and identify opportunities using a tool like Semrush’s Position Tracking
SERP features: Monitor video carousels, image packs, and People Also Ask boxes
Click-through rates: Use Google Search Console to see if higher rankings actually drive more clicks
LLM appearances: Are LLMs driving people to your site? Check Google Analytics’ traffic acquisition report to see referral traffic from ChatGPT and other AI platforms.

Time Spent and Watch Time

Monitor how long people stay engaged with your content.

High engagement time signals that your content provides real value.

For example, check your average engagement time per blog post.

Compare your top performers to identify patterns in the topics that resonate most with your readers.

If you’re on YouTube or another video platform, monitor watch time and audience retention. This will tell you where viewers drop off to improve future videos.

Use this data to find your stickiest topics. Pay attention to the subjects that make people read multiple pages or watch entire videos.

If engagement drops at specific points, you know where to strengthen your content.

Audience Interaction

The best content gets people talking, sharing, and coming back for more.

Start by looking at the comments on your blog, videos, and social media posts.

Comments that ask follow-up questions or share personal experiences signal real engagement, not just passive scrolling.

Then, check the native analytics data for any social platforms you’re on.

For example, Pinterest tells you how many times your pins are saved to boards.

And Facebook tells you how many times users interacted with your content.

Along with providing details on views and follows/unfollows.

Don’t forget to monitor brand mentions across social platforms.

Tools like Semrush’s Brand Monitoring, Mention, or even Google Alerts can catch when people are talking about your content without tagging you directly.

These organic mentions often indicate the highest quality engagement.

Build Authority into Your Content Strategy

Creating a content strategy takes work, but the ROI is worth it.

When you align content with customer awareness levels, prioritize high-impact topics, and measure what matters, you stop guessing and start growing.

Your next step?

Build topical authority.

The more comprehensively you cover a topic, the more likely you are to show up everywhere that matters.

Including AI search, traditional search, social media, videos, and much more.

Read our Topic Clusters 101 guide to learn how to create clusters that boost visibility and conversions.

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Meta Follows YouTube In Crackdown On Unoriginal Content

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 03:44:55 +0000

Meta announced that it will implement stronger measures against accounts sharing “unoriginal” content on Facebook.

This marks the second major platform policy update in days following YouTube’s similar announcement about mass-produced and repetitive content.

Meta revealed it has removed approximately 10 million profiles impersonating large content creators, and taken action against 500,000 accounts involved in “spammy behavior or fake engagement”.

A Platform-Wide Movement Against Content Farms

Meta’s announcement closely follows YouTube’s monetization update, which clarified its stance on “inauthentic” content.

Both platforms are addressing the growing problem of accounts profiting from reposting others’ work without permission or meaningful additions.

According to Meta, accounts that repeatedly reuse someone else’s videos, photos, or text posts will lose access to Facebook’s monetization programs and face reduced visibility across all content.

Facebook is also testing a system that adds links on duplicate videos to direct viewers to the original creator.

Here’s an example of what that will look like on a reposted video:

Screenshot from: creators.facebook.com/blog/combating-unoriginal-content, July 2025.

Meta stated in its official blog post:

“We believe that creators should be celebrated for their unique voices and perspectives, not drowned out by copycats and impersonators.”

What Counts As Unoriginal Content?

Both Meta and YouTube distinguish between unoriginal content and transformative content, like reaction videos or commentary.

Meta emphasizes that content becomes problematic when creators repost others’ material without permission or meaningful enhancements, such as editing or voiceover.

YouTube creator liaison Renee Richie offered a similar clarification ahead of its own update, stating:

“This is a minor update to YouTube’s long-standing YPP policies to help better identify when content is mass-produced or repetitive”.

How AI & Automation Factor In

Neither platform bans AI-generated content outright. However, their recent updates appear designed to address a wave of low-quality, automated material that offers little value to viewers.

YouTube affirms that creators may use AI tools as long as the final product includes original commentary or educational value, with proper disclosure for synthetic content.

Meta’s guidelines similarly caution against simply “stitching together clips” or relying on recycled content, and encourage “authentic storytelling.”

These concerns implicitly target AI-assisted compilations that lack originality.

Potential Impact

For content creators, the updates from Meta and YouTube reinforce the importance of originality and creative input.

Those who produce reaction videos, commentary, or curated media with meaningful additions are unlikely to be affected. They may even benefit as spammy accounts lose visibility.

On the other hand, accounts that rely on reposting others’ content with minimal editing or variation could see reduced reach and loss of monetization.

To support creators, Meta introduced new post-level insights in its Professional Dashboard and a tool to check if a page is at risk of distribution or monetization penalties. YouTube is similarly offering guidance through its Creator Liaison and support channels.

Best Practices For Staying Compliant

To maintain monetization eligibility, Meta recommends:

Posting primarily original content filmed or created by the user.
Making meaningful enhancements such as editing, narration, or commentary when using third-party content.
Prioritizing storytelling over short, low-effort posts.
Avoiding recycled content with watermarks or low production value.
Writing high-quality captions with minimal hashtags and capitalization.

Looking Ahead

Meta and YouTube’s updates indicate a wider industry move against unoriginal content, especially AI-generated “slop” and content farms.

While the enforcement rollout may not affect every creator equally, these moves indicate a shift in priorities. Originality and value-added content are becoming the new standard.

The era of effortless monetization through reposting is being phased out. Moving forward, success on platforms like Facebook and YouTube will depend on creative input, storytelling, and a commitment to original expression.

Featured Image: Novikov Aleksey/Shutterstock

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Google Explains How To Approach Content For SEO

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 09:38:20 +0000

Google’s John Mueller and Martin Splitt discussed the problem of how to approach content for achieving business goals, the wisdom of setting expectations, and observed that it may not matter whether a site is optimized if the content is already achieving its intended results.

Getting The Content Right

Anyone can write, but it’s hard to communicate in a way that meets the audience’s needs. One thing SEOs often get wrong is content, which remains the most important ranking factor in modern search engines.

A common mistake is publishing entire sentences that waste time. I think that happens when writers are trying to meet an arbitrary word count and providing context for the high volume keywords they want to rank for.

Martin Splitt started the discussion by asking how to go about writing content and shared his own experience writing content and getting it wrong because he was writing for himself and not for what the audience needs to read.

Splitt shared:

“…how would I know how to go about content? Because now I know who I want to address and probably also roughly what I want to do. But, I mean, that’s a whole different skillset, right? That’s like copywriting and probably some researching and maybe some lettering and editing, and wow. That’s a lot. I love to write. I love to write.

…But I love having a technical writer on the team. Lizzi is a tremendous help with anything that is writing. I honestly thought I’m a good, reasonably good writer. And then Lizzi came and asked three questions on a piece of documentation that I thought was almost perfect.

I basically started questioning the foundations of the universe because I was like, “Okay, no, this document doesn’t even make sense. I haven’t answered the fundamental questions that I need to answer before I can even start writing. I’ve written like three pages.

Holy moly, that is a skill that is an amazingly tricky skill to acquire, I think. How do I start writing? Just write what I think I should be writing, I guess.”

Writing is easy to do, but difficult to do well. I’ve seen many sites that have the SEO fundamentals in place, but are undermined by the content. Splitt’s experience highlights the value in getting a second opinion on content.

Site Visitors Are Your Inspiration

Mueller and Splitt next move on to the topic of what publishers and SEOs should write about it and their answer is to focus on what users want, encouraging to do something as simple as asking their readers or customers.

Mueller observed:

“I think, if you have absolutely no inspiration, one approach could be to ask your existing customers and just ask them like:

How did you find me?
What were you looking for?
Where were you looking?
Were you just looking on a map? What is it that brought you here?

This is something that you can ask anyone, especially if you have a physical business.

..It’s pretty easy to just ask this randomly without scaring people away. That’s kind of one aspect I would do and try to build up this collection of ‘these are different searches that people have done in different places, maybe on different systems, and I want to make sure I’m kind of visible there.’”

Set Reasonable Expectations

John Mueller and Martin Splitt next provide a reality check on the keyword phrases that publishers and SEOs choose to optimize for. It’s not always about the difficulty of the phrases; it’s also about how relevant they are to the website.

Mueller commented about what to do with the keyword phrases that are chosen for targeting:

“And then I would take those and just try them out and see what comes up, and think about how reasonable it would be for one of your pages, perhaps to show up there and how reasonable it can be, I think is something where you have to be brutally honest with yourself, because it’s sometimes tempting to say, “Well, I would like to appear first for the search bookstore on the internet.” Probably that’s not going to happen. I mean, who knows? But there’s a lot of competition for some of these terms.

But, if you’re talking about someone searching for bookstores or bookstores in Zurich or bookstores on Maps or something like that, then that’s a lot more well defined and a lot easier for you to look at and see, what are other people doing there? Maybe my pages are already there. And, based on that, you can try to build out, what is it that I need to at least mention on my pages.”

Mueller followed up by downplaying whether a site is search optimized or not, saying that what’s important is if the site is performing as well as intended. Whether or not it’s properly optimized doesn’t matter if it’s already doing well as it is. Some may argue that the site could be doing better, but that’s outside of the context of what Mueller was commenting on. Mueller’s context was a business owner who was satisfied with the performance of the site.

Mueller observed:

“I mean, it all depends on how serious you take your goal, right? If you’re like a small local business you’re saying, ‘Well, I have a website and I hear I should make it SEO, but I don’t really care.’ Then it’s like do whatever you want kind of thing. If you have enough business and you’re happy. There’s no one to judge you to say, “Your website is not SEO optimized.”

Listen to Episode 95 of the Search Off The Record at about the ten minute mark:

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Krakenimages.com

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Google Helpful Content Recoveries With Core Update, AI Mode Expands, Hidden Ad Terms & Fewer Ad Clicks

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 12:13:32 +0000

For the original iTunes version, click here.

This week we covered the ongoing Google June 2025 core update and how we are finally seeing some recoveries with the past helpful content updates, and some core updates. Google Search Console’s performance report might have a bug with the average position. Google Search Console added a discussion forums search appearance filter. A new study shows AI-generated content ranks fine in Google Search but please be careful with it. Cloudflare said they will get Google to give us a way to block our content from AI Overviews. Google Search expanded AI Mode fully in India. Google AI Mode should also work with Workspace accounts. Google AI Mode shows very different searches on each query. Google AI Mode is giving you suggestions for follow-up questions. Google Ads defends the hidden search terms. PPCers are noticing a decline in ads clicks from search. Google Ads Editor rolled out version 2.10, kind of. Google keyword planner tool has a new update for more regional reporting. Was there a Google local update or is it bad data from Google Business Profiles. Google Business Profiles dropped the utility bill for evidence for an appeal. Google business Profiles revivification increases after suspension. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

Sponsored by Similarweb, the all-in-one- strategic SEO software. They’ve just launched a new AI Visibility tool together with their AI Traffic insights, it gives a full picture of how AI is reshaping the landscape and who’s winning.

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast player to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed:

Search Topics of Discussion:

Please do subscribe on YouTube or subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don’t forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

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Careful With Google When Publishing AI Content

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 03:00:24 +0000

A recent study from Ahrefs said that AI-generated content does not hurt your Google rankings. And while the study really shows this to be true, there are plenty of sites that overdid it with AI-generated content and saw their Google rankings massively decline in the long run.

The study looked at 600,000 pages, 100,000 random keywords and the top 20 ranking URLs and came up with the conclusion that “86.5% of top-ranking pages contain some amount of AI-generated content.”

The key here is “some” and of course, you don’t know how good the AI-detection is (not saying it isn’t good but still, I don’t know).

Here is the data from the study:

4.6% of pages were categorized as “pure AI.”
13.5% were categorized as “pure human.”
81.9% were categorized as a mix of two.

They even broke down the level of mixed AI:

13.8% showed minimal AI use (1-10% of the page content was categorized as AI)
40% showed moderate AI use (11-40%)
20.3% showed substantial AI use (41%-70%)
7.8% showed dominant AI use (71%-99%)

Here is a pie chart showing how it all ranked:

As a reminder, Google softened its stance on AI content and translated content using AI.

Glenn Gabe then shared some examples of a site that got destroyed for overdoing it with AI-generated content:

Please do not read this post and run to publish AI-generated content at scale. There is nuance with this topic that I believe the post misses… There are many examples of sites that got destroyed via broad core updates or spam updates that went down the path of heavily using AI… pic.twitter.com/uf2Wic2XiR

— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) July 7, 2025

Personally, I almost never use AI to write my content here. If I do, I would document that, which I’ve done I think twice before. I also think if I used AI to write the content on this site, you would all pick up on it in a second. Not that it is a bad thing, assuming I review and validate what AI wrote. But it wouldn’t have my personality and brevity that I use for my content. Oh, plus, I know you all love the typos.

If you are going to use AI, use it in a responsible way and don’t just use it 100% for all your content and never look at the content before it is published.

Forum discussion at X.

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YouTube Targets Mass-Produced Content in Monetization Update

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 07:59:29 +0000

YouTube is updating its monetization policies to target mass-produced and repetitious content. Here’s you need to know.

YouTube is updating monetization policies to target inauthentic content.
This change will impact channels publishing mass-produced and repetitious videos.
Violations could result in removal from the YouTube Partner Program.

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Balancing Content That Converts With Content That Builds Brand Authority

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Sun, 29 Jun 2025 07:27:19 +0000

This week’s Ask an SEO question comes from Rachel P., who wants to find the middle ground between conversion-focused pages and authority-building content:

“How do I balance content that converts with content that builds brand authority? It feels like my CRO pages don’t rank well, and my blog posts don’t convert.”

It’s hard not to think of your marketing in parts. There’s the part of the strategy that focuses on brand awareness, while another aspect focuses on conversions or whatever key performance indicator.

That might be how you’ve been taught to do marketing, but that’s not how marketing actually works, in my opinion. I know that’s a contentious statement. I’ll do my best to back it up.

Marketing Is One Song

All of your marketing should work together to present a unified process that supports itself at each step of the way. Everything should work together harmoniously.

The question here almost assumes they don’t. We have efforts, or in this case, content meant to build authority and content that’s meant to convert, etc. What if we just had content?

Instead of siloing all of our efforts, what if we looked at it all as being about “generating momentum”? Producing a certain level of brand inertia and energy that could be captured or bottled up.

What if we looked at it as a process across multiple touchpoints, pages, and platforms (many of which are offline) of deepening the connection between our brands and our audience or consumer?

In that framework, it’s more about ensuring you give your audience the opportunity to move further down the rabbit hole than it is about “ranking your conversion” pages.

To me, the notion of “getting our conversion pages to rank” is more aligned with how you work and far less aligned with how your audience works.

You want to give your audience “access” to convert or reinforcement to convert as they feel connected and engaged with you.

The connection and sense of engagement are what drive conversion. To paraphrase baseball legend Yogi Berra, conversions are 90% about connection; the other half is product or service awareness.

In simple terms, I would focus more on how to build yourself up and engage an audience than on worrying about how to balance conversion rate-optimized content and informational content.

If your audience is engaged with your informational content and no one cares about your landing pages, who cares if the latter ranks well?

Use the blog to reinforce your offering. If that’s where people want to engage you, then engage them there.

Throw a banner up on the side of the blog. Include a call to action here or there. Add screenshots and tie the content into your product (naturally), etc.

Meet your audience where they are engaged and connected to you, and guide them to details on your offering from there.

This means I wouldn’t worry about balancing content and ranking. I’d worry about, “How do I engage my audience and remind them at the right time of my offering? How do I ensure that if they are engaged and want to move things forward, they have the access they need to be able to do that?”

What Does This Mean Practically?

Instead of building out two separate sets of pages in this case, think of them as one thing.

Authority and trust create a connection. Connection is the straw that mixes the drink. It’s what takes what might be a sterile statement about your brand’s offering and makes it intriguing.

Often, I find marketers think of this in reverse order: “My landing pages will rank or whatever, and then the consumer will see my informational content and be reassured. This reassurance will enable them to convert.”

It’s the opposite. In whatever way, whether it be via social, informational content, or company advocates, people form a connection with you.

This connection emotionally enables them to even consider opening their wallets or recommending your offering, etc. (i.e., conversions).

In my opinion, what you want to do is simply remind and reinforce. In those moments of connection, you want to remind the consumer of your offering, reinforce its value, and ensure they have easy access to it.

YouTubers sometimes do a great job of this. They offer informational value that creates a connection with their audience. Then, they ask you to subscribe (which in and of itself is a conversion).

They will reinforce that connection with additional content, and then, at some point, will mention their product, service, or whatever it is they offer.

They’ll tell you to check out the link in the description (because as I mentioned, you need to offer easy entry points), and take it from there.

I feel it’s more important to engage your audience and ensure that the access to the material you want them to convert with is accessible than worrying about various sets of content with various intents and how they perform.

If your audience is really engaged with your social media content, make sure links are included in your profile and post about your offering. (I like the 80/20 rule here: 80% value-driven content, 20% promotional. I often go 90/10.)

My point is, it’s not about page types. It’s about engaging and connecting with your audience and properly utilizing that connection to make your audience aware of your offering and to make it as frictionless as possible thereafter.

New Ways For A New Web

This sort of dichotomy between areas of marketing and aspects of your marketing strategy works for what I call the “old web.” To be honest, it didn’t work as well as we all bragged about on the “old web” either.

Regardless, I see the “new web” as being about success by refinement. In this era of the web, having a consistent message and presence that creates a strong and demarcated identity matters most.

We’re in a web environment where there has to be a strong connection to the audience if you expect them to notice you and purchase from you.

That means taking better advantage of opportunities to create pathways to products within those moments of audience engagement – not separate and siloed conversion paths.

It also means pushing product pathways in a far less aggressive and inorganic way as well, but that’s a conversation for another day.

More Resources:

Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal

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7 Ways to Find Related Content (+ Free Topic Planner)

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 00:43:21 +0000

Continually coming up with fresh, relevant content ideas isn’t easy.

But you might be overlooking something important: related content.

Related content includes topics that connect to your primary content themes. And it’s more powerful than you might realize.

It helps you:

Spot content gaps before competitors do
Build topical authority
Create smart internal linking opportunities

For example, search Google for “site:backlinko.com ‘backlinks’” and you’ll see we have this topic covered from every angle.

Including a beginner’s guide, link-building strategies, and even a free backlink checker tool.

In this guide, I’ll teach you how to do the same.

You’ll learn seven proven ways to find related content that attracts your audience and boosts your authority.

Plus, you’ll get a free content planner to organize your topics and plan your publishing schedule.

How to Use the Related Content Planner

Turn your related content research into an actionable strategy.

Download our free Related Content Planner now to follow along with the steps below.

By the end of this article, you’ll have a full list of high-impact related topics. And all the data you need to create high-quality content.

Here’s how to make the most of the planner:

Add topics as you discover them: Jot down every promising idea so nothing gets lost
Record keyword data: Use a keyword research tool to record search volume, difficulty, and intent to make smart prioritization decisions
Set priority levels: Rank topics based on search potential, competition, and audience relevance
Plan your content approach: Use the dropdown to mark each idea as “new,” “existing,” or “update,” so you know exactly what action to take
Map linking opportunities: Note which pages should connect to build topical authority and content clusters
Track your progress: Check off completed topics to monitor your progress

Ready to get started?

Let’s begin with one of the fastest and easiest ways to find new topics — autocomplete.

1. Autocomplete and Related Searches

The easiest way to find related content?

Use the platforms where your audience already hangs out.

Search engines and social platforms show you exactly what people want to know about your topic.

And all you have to do is start typing.

Enter a search term, and you’ll see suggested completions based on what that platform’s users search for.

These “autocomplete suggestions” are a goldmine of content ideas because they represent genuine demand.

But where you search depends on your business.

For example:

Amazon: Product-related content
YouTube: Video content ideas
Reddit: Discussion topics
TikTok: Related (and trending) content angles

The best part? It’s completely free.

I’ll show you how it works using Google and Pinterest.

Google

Google offers two ways to find related content:

Start with autocomplete. Type in your seed topic (say, “gaming”) and let Google finish the sentence.

For example, if I type “gaming,” Google suggests a variety of related queries:

Gaming news
Gaming monitor
Gaming keyboard

Next, scroll until you see the “Related searches” section.

This might also be called “People also search for” or “People also Ask.”

Here, you’ll find even more related topics to turn into content for your audience.

Such as “what is the definition of gaming” and “what does it mean when someone is gaming.”

Now, let’s see how this works on a social media search engine.

Pinterest autocomplete works great for almost any niche.

Plus, it often surfaces different ideas than Google or other platforms.

Type a topic in the search bar, and Pinterest will show you related searches.

For example, a search for “gaming” brings up ideas like:

Gaming setup
Gaming wallpapers
Gaming room ideas

Pinterest might even suggest some popular related accounts in its autocomplete feature.

File this information away for later. It can be helpful for identifying guest blogging opportunities, expert quote contributions, and influencer collaborations.

2. Keyword Research Tools

Keyword research tools can be a great source of related content.

But don’t confuse related content with related keywords.

They’re connected but different:

Related keywords are terms that are closely related to your main keyword (like “gaming headset” and “best gaming headset”)
Related content covers adjacent topics your audience cares about (like “ergonomic chairs” or “gaming glasses”) that expand your site’s topical and overall authority

For this example, I’ll be using Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.

Here’s how it works:

Enter your main topic (like “gaming”) into the search bar and click “Search.”

The tool will likely return thousands of keyword suggestions.

Skip the close matches (aka avoid duplicate content issues).

Look for topics you haven’t covered in the past instead.

For example, if you have a gaming site, you might expand into platform-specific topics like “amazon prime gaming.”

Or you might review “gaming earbuds” or “gaming microphones.”

View each term’s keyword metrics to help you prioritize which related topics to target first.

Search volume: How many people search for this topic each month.
Search intent: What people actually want when they search (information, products, comparisons, etc.)
Keyword difficulty: How hard it will be to rank for this topic based on competition

Pick topics you can actually rank for, not just popular ones.

Aim to strike a balance between decent search volume and low-to-moderate difficulty.

Next, select “Questions” on the menu.m

This reveals your audience’s pain points, motivations, and knowledge gaps.

These topics are perfect for tutorial content, how-to guides, and comprehensive resource articles.

For gaming, you might find questions like:

How to fix internet lag while gaming
How to customize gaming controller
How to build a gaming PC on a budget
How to reduce eye strain from gaming

Notice how the questions above span different aspects of gaming? Like technical troubleshooting and health concerns?

This is one of the major benefits of related content — it lets you create content for your audience’s entire journey.

Which will bring in more website traffic and conversions. And help establish you as an authoritative voice in your industry.

3. Artificial Intelligence

Don’t have time for hours of brainstorming or research?

AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini have gotten pretty good at finding related content ideas.

They’re especially helpful for surfacing niche topics and unexpected content angles in seconds.

Here’s a simple prompt to try:

Get specific for the best results.

For example:

When I tested this prompt with Claude, it returned some interesting related topics.

Including ones that were much more niche than what some of the other tools found.

Like “game soundtrack analysis” and “the evolution of open-world games.”

Use follow-up prompts to dig deeper.

For example:

What are 10 controversial topics in [your niche] that generate strong opinions?
What seasonal or trending topics should I cover in [your industry] this year?
What beginner mistakes do people make in [your niche] that I could address?

Experiment with different prompts until you find the ones that work best for your niche.

4. Specialized Content Tools

There are many content tools designed to help you cover all aspects of a niche.

Including Answer the Public, a search listening tool.

Enter your topic and select the desired platform: Google, Amazon, TikTok, Bing, YouTube, or Instagram.

Now, you’ll see a map of related questions organized by question type.

(Why, who, where, can, are, how, etc.)

The visual format makes it easy to spot question patterns and content themes you haven’t covered.

For example, these gaming questions would be easy to turn into helpful content.

Will gaming be in the Olympics?
Which gaming app pays the most?
Can gaming cause carpal tunnel?
Are gaming chairs good for office work?

Each of these represents a potential blog post, video, or social media series that could attract your target audience.

Semrush’s Topic Research is another helpful tool for comprehensively covering any niche.

Here’s how to use it:

Enter your topic and click “Get content ideas.”

The tool will return tons of related subtopics displayed as cards.

Click any card to see questions people ask about that specific topic. Along with popular headlines for inspiration.

For example, I clicked on “gaming mouse” and found some interesting related ideas.

Including “how do you choose a gaming mouse” and “what is the best budget gaming mouse under $10?”

Next, select “Trending subtopics first” on the menu.

This will show you what’s currently popular in your niche.

You can also sort the topic cards by Volume, Difficulty, and Topic Efficiency.

This helps you prioritize which topics to tackle first.

Now, select “Mind Map” on the menu to visualize and plan content clusters.

It’s an easy way to spot internal linking opportunities, too.

5. Google Search Console Data

Sometimes, the best related content ideas are already hiding in your own data.

Google Search Console reveals the queries people use to find your site.

(Including ones you’re not actively targeting with content.)

Here’s how to find these queries:

Open Google Search Console and follow this path:

“Performance” > “Search Results.”

Ensure “Queries” is selected on the menu and look through the results.

Focus on these specific types of queries:

Terms that get impressions and clicks, but you haven’t targeted before. These reveal related audience interests.
Searches with low monthly impressions. These often represent emerging topics or highly specific needs that can grow over time.
Question-based queries. Look for any new questions showing up in your data that you could answer with dedicated content.

This is a smart approach for a couple of reasons.

For one, you might discover related topics your audience is already searching for.

Like “game releases” and “indie games.”

But it can also reveal valuable business opportunities.

For example, if people search “gamertag generator,” you could create a free tool to capture that traffic. (And then convert them with a lead magnet.)

This turns a simple related query into a revenue stream.

6. Competitor Analysis

Your competitors have already done the hard work of testing what related content performs in your niche.

Why not learn from their successes?

While you can look through your competitors’ sites manually, Semrush’s Organic Research tool automates the process.

Here’s how to use it.

Add the URL of one of your competitors and click “Search.”

Toggle to “Topics” on the menu. This will show you your competitors’ highest-performing topics.

Take a look at the list and see what related topics you can target on your own site.

For example, you might discover that “gaming news” and “game release calendars” are major traffic drivers for competing gaming sites.

If they’re a direct competitor, it’s likely these topics would work well for you, too.

The goal isn’t to copy what competitors are doing.

It’s to understand what topics resonate with your shared audience. And find related content gaps you can fill with your unique perspective and expertise.

7. Forums and Niche Communities

Want to know what your audience really cares about? Go right to the source.

They’re already discussing their biggest challenges, interests, and questions in online communities.

You just need to know where to look.

Start by identifying where your audience gathers online:

Reddit: Subreddits for your niche and related topics
Facebook groups: Industry-specific groups and interest communities
Discord servers: Real-time conversations in niche communities
Industry forums: Established forums in your space
Public Slack communities: Professional groups and interest-based channels

Look for active communities where people have legit discussions about problems and interests.

Avoid forums that are overly promotional or full of link spam.

Once you’ve found the right communities, don’t just pop in once. Become a regular observer.

Spend time understanding the community dynamics and recurring themes.

As you go through posts, pay attention to:

Topics that generate the most engagement
Questions that appear repeatedly
Pain points mentioned in multiple threads
Controversies that spark discussion

For a gaming site, you might monitor communities like:

Reddit’s r/gaming for general gaming discussions
Reddit’s r/buildapc for hardware-related conversations
Discord servers for real-time discussions about trending games and player preferences

For example, if you notice multiple threads about the same topic, you’ve found a perfect related content opportunity.

Find Related Content That Maximizes Your Visibility

Covering a topic thoroughly is now more important than ever.

It’s always helped with SEO and topical authority. But AI search engines prioritize sources that demonstrate deep expertise across related topics.

Potentially giving you a huge bump in visibility on traditional and LLM search engines.

If you haven’t already, download our free Related Content Planner to keep track of your ideas.

Then, turn the related topics you found into comprehensive content clusters that work together to dominate your niche.

For step-by-step guidance, read our guide to creating topic clusters that improve your website’s authority and deliver a better reader experience.

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Google Adds Troubleshooting Guidance To Block Content From AI Mode & AI Overviews

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 12:21:05 +0000

Google has quietly updated its AI features and your website help document, which it initially launched just under a month ago, with a new section on troubleshooting preview controls. In short, if you are trying to block your content from showing in AI Overviews, AI Mode or other AI features in Google Search, then this section may help you.

This section reads:

If you implemented preview controls and you’re still seeing your content appear in AI features on Search, try the following steps:

(1) Make sure that the preview control is correct and visible to Googlebot. To test if your implementation is correct, use the URL Inspection tool to see the HTML that Googlebot received while crawling the page.

(2) Allow time for Google to recrawl and process the change in preview controls. Remember that crawling can take anywhere from several days to several months, depending on how often our systems determine a page needs to be refreshed. If you’ve made changes, you can request that Google recrawl your pages.

If you tried the troubleshooting steps and still find issues, post in the Google Search Central Help Community.

Google also previously updated this page when they began counting AI Mode in Search Console.

Forum discussion at X.

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How To Plan Your Content (With Template)

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 05:14:02 +0000

Marketers and business owners are spoiled for choice when it comes to the many social media platforms available for growing an online audience.

From BlueSky to TikTok, LinkedIn to Patreon, social media marketing has never been more robust, or, arguably, time-consuming.

But it doesn’t have to be. Fortunately, you don’t have to be everywhere at once.

Where you choose to show up online should be based on where your target customers spend most of their time. Choose these platforms purposefully.

Also, streamlining your social media marketing is made easier with the right planning tool in your arsenal – and no, it doesn’t require fancy software solutions.

In this guide, I’m sharing a free, easy-to-use social media planning template, plus helpful steps on how to make it work for you.

It’s as simple or as customizable as you need it to be. No unnecessary bells or whistles.

Free Social Media Planner Template For Google Sheets

Planning your social media content doesn’t have to be complicated – or require the use of expensive tools.

With the free Planner Template, you’ll find an easier way to plan, organize, and schedule your social media content.

Whether you are an individual, business owner, or marketer, this template is designed to help you publish content consistently, stay organized, and make better decisions about your social media strategy.

With this Google Sheets template, you can:

Plan your content calendar in advance, see what you’ve published, and know what’s coming up next.
Schedule posts for multiple social media accounts from one calendar.
Track the progress of your content and use the information to inform your future strategy.
Collaborate with others by sharing access with your team.

Note: Click on File > Make a Copy to edit your template. You do not need to request edit access.

Make a copy: Social Media Planner Template for Google Sheets

How To Plan Your Social Media Content

The Google Sheet template makes it easy to see your schedule well in advance and save all of your social media assets in one place.

Here’s how to plan your social media content this year.

Step 1: Create A Copy Of The “Social Media Planner Template”

Once you have access to the template, click “File” and then “Make a Copy.” This will create a new copy of the template that you can edit.

Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, May 2025

Next, give your copy a descriptive name, such as “[Business name] – Social Media Plan Q1-Q4 2025,” and save it to Google Drive.

Step 2: Identify Your Current Quarter/Month

Depending on when you’re reading this article, you will want to identify the quarter and/or month in which you plan to start your social media planning.

The bottom of the template includes tabs spanning from “Q1: January” to “Q4: December” of 2025.

Open the tab for the month in which you want to start planning your content:

Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, May 2025

For simplicity, we started with “Q1: January” and began filling out the first few topics as an example:

Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, May 2025

You will also see in the left-hand columns that there is a calendar for each month. This is simply a reference to the correct days of the week/month for 2025 so you can plan accordingly.

You can, of course, update this for 2026, 2027, and so on.

Step 3: Choose Your Social Media Platforms (“Platform”)

Column K includes a dropdown of various social media platforms to which you may be publishing your content.

You can select from this list of options (Blog, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter/X, TikTok, YouTube, or Other), or you can add your own by clicking the pencil icon:

Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, May 2025

This dropdown allows you to easily identify which platform you plan on publishing to. Whether it be Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), or any other platform, this will help you keep your content organized.

Step 4: Plan Your Topics

Now, it’s time to fill in your topic ideas.

There are quite a few ways to think of engaging social media topics, which we covered in our guide on how to create authentic social media content.

However, the research process doesn’t have to stop there. Here are a few ways to come up with social media posts:

Conduct competitor research: Look at what your competitors are doing on social media and use that as inspiration for your future social media posts.
Look at industry trends: Stay up-to-date on industry trends and news, and use this information to create relevant and timely posts for your audience.
Utilize user-generated content: Encourage your followers to share their own experiences and use that content as inspiration for your posts.
Look at hashtags: Research and use relevant hashtags to increase the visibility of your posts and reach a wider audience. This can also be a way to find content ideas.
Schedule regular promotions: Share your promotions and discounts to drive engagement and increase sales.

Once you think up some ideas, you can start filling out your social media planner.

Just fill out Columns J through R with your “Title/Topic,” “Description,” and the like.

Step 5: Add Content And Publishing Notes

Start editing the template by adding relevant information, such as your descriptions, content document links, hashtags, publish dates, and tracking links (if needed).

Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, May 2025

Feel free to add rows, columns, or fields to suit your needs.

In the “Images” and “Video/Media” columns, you can add links to the visual assets you plan to use in your social media post. You can do this by adding a link to a Google Drive folder with images or your chosen Digital Asset Manager (DAM).

Step 6: Add Publish Dates

Next, use the template to schedule your posts in advance by adding the date and platform for each post.

Don’t forget to update the “Status” column (I) as you work through your social media plan.

You can also use the template to track the success of your content by adding metrics such as likes, comments, and shares.

Step 7: Share With Your Team

If you are working with a team, share the template with your colleagues and give them access to edit the template.

This will allow you to collaborate and work together to maintain a consistent social media presence.

The “Notes” column is for any miscellaneous notes about your upcoming content, including details about your upcoming content, drafts, due dates, etc. and you can use this to work with your team async.

Step 8: Plan Ahead And Repeat

Planning your social media content in advance offers numerous benefits that can greatly enhance your social media presence.

By taking the time to plan your content, you can ensure that you are consistently publishing relevant posts that engage your audience and drive results.

With a clear content plan in place, you can focus on creating high-quality content that is aligned with your overall marketing strategy and avoid the pitfalls of impulsive, unplanned posting.

I recommend using the social media planner to plan at least one quarter’s worth of content, so you’re not scrambling to write the copy, collect the assets, schedule the posts, etc.

Plan And Publish Social Media Content Like A Pro

Social media marketing doesn’t have to be a headache. With the right process, you can streamline your social media content planning and publishing schedule.

In as little as a few hours per quarter, you can plan your content well in advance, taking the guesswork out of your social media posting.

Using a planning template allows you to be proactive in your topic planning, get organized, and stay on schedule. Over time, planning your content will feel like second nature rather than a chore.

With social media planning, marketers gain:

A no-nonsense system for tracking content topics and scheduling.
Time efficiency and a streamlined publishing cadence.
Consistency in publishing timely, relevant posts.
Improved visibility into performance and results.

Also, when you plan your social media posts in advance, you can better allocate budget and resources to your efforts, ensuring you’re using your time in the most effective way possible.

So, take advantage of the free social media planning template, make it yours, and save time in your social media marketing efforts.

More Resources:

Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal

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We all want to be satisfied, even though we know some people who will never be that way, and others who see satisfaction as a foreign emotion that they can’t hope to ever feel.