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How to Use ChatGPT to Get 10X Better Answers

2025-03-31 19:43:41

This guide will show you how to use ChatGPT the right way.

Brand new to using it?

I’ll help you skip the rookie mistakes that leave most beginners frustrated.

Tried it before and had an average experience?

No problem. You’ll learn how to refine your approach to get useful, high-quality responses (finally).

Because here’s the thing:

ChatGPT IS a powerful tool. But only if you know how to use it effectively.

Let’s make that happen.

What is ChatGPT (And What Can It Do)?

ChatGPT is an AI assistant that answers your questions like a human would.

It can also generate ideas and assist with writing, problem-solving, and research tasks.

How does it do this?

It analyzes lots of books, web pages, and conversations — this is its training data.

Then, it predicts the most relevant response.

Think of it as a brilliant researcher who’s read millions of books and the entire internet.

It can recall any facts and instantly connect ideas to generate the most relevant answer.

(We talk more about how generative AI works in this article.)

So, what can ChatGPT do?

A surprising number of things.

It can help you:

• Brainstorm blog post topics
• Plan your content strategy
• Debug code snippets
• Translate marketing copy into multiple languages
• Explain blood test results in simple terms

Plus, depending on the model you’re using (more on that below), it can also:

Generate images using DALL·E:

And handle voice interactions.

ChatGPT Models

OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT) regularly updates ChatGPT with new training data.

That’s why there are different ChatGPT models.

Each one is optimized for different tasks.

ChatGPT Limitations

It’s no secret.

ChatGPT makes things up sometimes (aka a “hallucination).

It’s not really thinking for itself.

Instead, it predicts words based on patterns in its training data.

And sometimes, those predictions are completely wrong.

For example, Łukasz Białozor, an AI consultant, asked:

Instead of correcting the prompt, ChatGPT named one person—even though 706 people survived.

Bias is another issue.

AI models like ChatGPT reflect societal biases that exist in their training data. Here’s a simple way to see this in action:

Ask it to draw a nurse. You’ll likely get a woman.

Now, ask it to draw a CEO. You’ll probably see a man.

Here’s what I got:

This gender bias isn’t just limited to images. ChatGPT can perpetuate stereotypes and biases around:

• Gender roles and professions
• Cultural perspectives
• Socioeconomic assumptions
• Historical narratives
• Geographic representation

For example, when asked about “traditional family values” or “successful business practices,” ChatGPT might default to Western, male-dominated perspectives without acknowledging other viewpoints.

What does this mean for you?

• Always cross-reference important facts from multiple sources
• Be aware that ChatGPT’s responses may reflect societal biases
• Ask follow-up questions to get different perspectives
• Use ChatGPT as a starting point, not the final authority
• Consider whose viewpoints might be missing from its responses

How to Use ChatGPT: Step-by-Step Beginners Guide

If you’re new to ChatGPT, getting started is easy.

You’ll be using it like a pro in just a few steps.

Step 1: Choose the Right ChatGPT Account Type

There are three ways to access ChatGPT, depending on what you need.

Guest Access

You can try ChatGPT right away with “Guest Access.” No need to sign up.

Just go to chatgpt.com, and start chatting.

It lets you ask questions and even search the web.

But your conversations won’t be saved.

Once you close the page, everything disappears.

If you’re testing it out, “Guest Access” is fine.

But if you want ChatGPT to act like a real assistant, you’ll need an account.

Free Account

A free account gives you more features and better answers.

For example, the “Reason” feature helps it think before answering, so you get sharper, more accurate responses.

You can also upload files like PDFs and spreadsheets, making it easy to work with large documents.

Another benefit?

Your chat history saves.

You can return to past conversations and pick up where you left off.

Another big benefit is that you can customize ChatGPT responses.

(More on that below.)

So, every time it responds to your questions, it answers in a way that matches your style.

How to Sign Up for Free

Go to chatgpt.com. Click “Sign up.”

Enter a valid email address or sign in using Google, Microsoft, or Apple.

Create a password.

Then, add your name and birthday (both are required).

And finally, choose if you want ChatGPT to remember your conversations (you can change this later).

That’s it. You’re set.

Paid Subscription

If you use ChatGPT a lot, consider upgrading to ChatGPT Plus for $20/month.

This gives you access to all ChatGPT models, including the latest and most advanced versions.

You even get 10 “Deep Research” searches per month.

This allows ChatGPT to search multiple web sources in one query.

You give it one prompt, and it’ll independently search websites, read research papers, compare products, and more.

It’s great when you need to research and visit many websites, such as when you’re comparing products before you buy.

Or when you need to go through scientific journals for research.

Oh, and another benefit?

Faster responses, even during peak hours (7 AM to 5 PM ET).

While free users wait, you keep chatting without interruptions.

Step 2: Tweak the Default Settings

ChatGPT works great out of the box, but a few tweaks can make it even better.

ChatGPT Memory: On or Off?

When you first sign up, you’ll be asked if you want to turn memory on.

But you’re not locked into that choice.

You can change this anytime at:

“Profile” (top right) > “Settings” > “Personalization.”

Turn memory on, and ChatGPT will learn from your past conversations.

You won’t have to repeat yourself every time you start a new chat.

Over time, it’ll remember details and give you more relevant responses.

Turn memory off and every session starts fresh.

This is great if you prefer more privacy.

Or don’t want past conversations influencing future replies.

You can also erase stored memories.

Click “Manage memories” in the “Personalization” window.

And you’ll see a new window where you can erase all memories or delete specific ones.

Personalizing ChatGPT: Make It Work Your Way

ChatGPT doesn’t have to sound the same for everyone.

You can easily customize it.

Just go to “Profile” (at the top right) > “Customize ChatGPT.”

Then, enter basic details like your name and profession.

Next, customize ChatGPT’s personality.

You can specify:

• Tone: Friendly, casual, professional?
• Response length: Brief and direct or in-depth?
• Persona: Strategist, a teacher, or something else?

For example, if you want it to write in Backlinko style, you could type:

If you’re not sure what to write, you can ask ChatGPT.

Here’s one way you can do that using your brand’s messaging document.

Upload the brand guide to ChatGPT and write:

The final section in customization is “What should ChatGPT know about you?”

Here, you personalize ChatGPT to your life and work.

What should you add?

Think about how you’ll be using it, then add relevant instructions.

For example, if you’re vegetarian with some dietary restrictions and you often use it for meal planning, you can write:

Here’s another example if you use ChatGPT for work.

Say you have an ecommerce store.

You could add:

Control Your Privacy

By default, OpenAI may use your conversations to improve the model.

If you’d rather keep chats private, you can turn this off.

Go to “Profile” > “Settings” > “Data Controls” and toggle “Improve the model for everyone.”

Once you do this, it won’t use your conversations for training.

And that’s it.

Your AI is now customized for you.

Go test ChatGPT with a few questions.

And see how well it adjusts based on your customizations.

Still not customized the way you want it?

Go back to settings and keep refining.

Step 3: Learn to Write Better Prompts

If you want high-quality answers from ChatGPT, you need to write better prompts.

Bland or generic answers usually mean a prompting problem.

Why?

Because when you give ChatGPT a vague question, it has to fill in the gaps.

And from what I’ve seen, it plays it safe by giving you the most generic explanations.

You don’t want that.

So how do you fix it?

Let’s get Google to help.

In its prompting guide, Google states that a good, detailed prompt includes four elements:

• Task: What you want ChatGPT to do (explain, analyze, compare)
• Context: Relevant background info (who, what, where, why)
• Persona: The role ChatGPT should take (expert, teacher, consultant)
• Format: How the response should be structured (step-by-step, bullet points, examples)

Adding just task + context makes a big difference.

Use all four, and you get much better answers.

Let me show you the difference in answer quality between a basic and an optimized prompt.

A basic prompt:

What do you get?

A generic list that can work for any tour guide anywhere in the world:

Now, add task + specific context:

Since ChatGPT has specific details to work with, the answer is more relevant.

We’re not done yet.

How about using all four elements using this prompt?

That level of detail gives you a more hyper-specific answer:

Step 4: Get Better Results With Frameworks

Frameworks help ChatGPT focus its thinking so its response becomes clearer and more organized.

So, instead of saying, “Give me an SEO strategy,” or “Give me content ideas,” specify a framework.

For example, in the Málaga tour guide prompt above, try using the STP framework (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning).

You might say:

Much. Better. Answer.

But what if you don’t know any frameworks?

No problem.

Just ask ChatGPT.

All you have to do is choose the best one.

Step 5: Refine ChatGPT’s Responses with Follow-Ups

ChatGPT’s first answer isn’t always the best, especially for complex topics.

How do you improve it?

Keep asking questions.

Here’s what I mean.

Imagine you’re a social media manager launching a smart water bottle that reminds users to drink.

Your first prompt might be:

ChatGPT gives you a list:

It’s a good start.

But it’s not enough to have a clear launch strategy.

So, you dig deeper.

• If the reply is too generic, ask for more details.
• If the answer is too theoretical, ask for clear, actionable steps.

Or you can focus on one thing in the list.

Keep refining your questions until you have everything you need.

By doing this, ChatGPT becomes more of a collaborative partner.

And you get a final output that’s a blend of AI and your knowledge and topical expertise.

Why not add everything in one big prompt?

You could.

But it’s not always the best approach.

Yes, some prompts are simple enough that they don’t need iterative refining.

But for complex ideas, refining step by step gives you more control over the output.

Fun Ways to Use ChatGPT for Life and Work

One of the most powerful things about ChatGPT?

It can take on different roles.

It can be your personal assistant, researcher, strategist, problem-solver, and more.

ChatGPT as 24-7 Personal Assistant

ChatGPT can be your assistant for work and daily life.

Need help with life planning, SEO, or optimizing your habits?

Done.

For example, you can use it to review legal documents.

Upload a PDF, like a client agreement, and ask it to explain the legal jargon. Or point out unfair clauses.

It’s great for mundane tasks, too. Like cleaning up video transcripts.

Paste (or upload) the transcript.

And ask ChatGPT to organize it better.

Saves you so much time.

So, off to ChatGPT I went and wrote this prompt:

This response gave me a solid starting point to structure my folders.

It also saved me time by giving me a clear framework to customize instead of figuring it all out from scratch.

ChatGPT as Your Analyst

ChatGPT is also great for processing and analyzing data.

A few things it can do:

• Clean up raw data
• Identify patterns
• Extract insights

Here’s a great example of how you can use its data analysis capabilities for digital marketing.

Let’s say you run an online store.

You want to analyze your competitor’s Google Shopping Ads using the Product Listing Ads (PLAs) data you got from Semrush.

Do this:

Upload the data to ChatGPT and use this prompt:

Just like that, ChatGPT will identify patterns and trends from the Semrush data:

ChatGPT as a Thought Partner

ChatGPT is great for learning and skill development.

For example, you can use it as a conversation partner when learning a new language.

You can also use ChatGPT to stress-test your thinking.

It can challenge your assumptions and poke holes in your reasoning.

I even use it to analyze my content outlines for writing projects.

Don’t Stop at ChatGPT. Build Your AI Toolkit.

You’re speaking ChatGPT like a native now.

You’ve gone from curious to confident.

Keep using it, the better you’ll get.

But here’s the thing:

ChatGPT isn’t the only AI tool you should master.

Other generative AI platforms excel at different tasks.

Some crush internet research and exploration. And others are great for chatting with real-life characters.

The post How to Use ChatGPT to Get 10X Better Answers appeared first on Backlinko.

What Are Pageviews? (How to Track and Improve Them)

2025-03-27 22:45:07

Pageviews are a web analytics metric that counts each time a visitor loads or reloads a page on your website.

Each instance of a user viewing a page is one pageview, regardless of whether the same user views the same page multiple times.

Tracking pageviews helps you measure traffic volume and understand which content attracts the most attention.

But:

Pageviews are not the most important metric you should track. I’ll explain why below, but first let’s clarify what they are in the context of a few other metrics.

Pageviews vs. Users vs. Sessions

Pageviews represent the total number of times people view your pages. If someone visits your homepage, clicks to your blog, then returns to your homepage, that counts as three pageviews.

Unique pageviews, on the other hand, combine multiple views of the same page during a single session. If that same visitor views your homepage twice in one session, it would count as just one unique pageview.

In the context of analytics tracking tools, unique pageviews were a Universal Analytics metric. Google Analytics 4 (GA4) doesn’t track unique pageviews.

A user is an individual person visiting your site. A session is a group of interactions one user takes on your site within a given time frame.

Here’s an example of how these all tie together:

Imagine someone discovers your site through Google. They land on your homepage, check out your about page, read a blog post, go back to the homepage, then get distracted by a phone call.

Two hours later, they return to your homepage, browse your product page, and then make a purchase through your checkout page.

Here’s how your analytics would count this activity:

• Users: 1
• Sessions: 2 (the initial visit and the return visit)
• Pageviews: 7 (homepage, about page, blog post, homepage, homepage, product page, checkout)
• Unique pageviews: 6 (the double homepage visit in the first session would count as one unique pageview)

Understanding these distinctions helps you interpret your data accurately and make better marketing decisions.

For example, a high pageview-to-user ratio means visitors are exploring multiple pages on your site. This is generally a good sign of engagement.

This is just one reason it’s important to track pageviews alongside other metrics.

Why Pageviews Aren’t the Most Important Metric to Track

Pageviews tell you how many times your pages are being viewed by your audience.

But they don’t tell you:

• If those visitors had a good experience
• If they want more of your content
• If they want to buy from you

That’s why pageviews are sometimes described as a vanity metric.

Sure, it feels great to see that graph trending upward. But more pageviews doesn’t automatically mean more business.

Put it this way:

Would you rather have 100K monthly pageviews with a 0.1% conversion rate, or 10K pageviews with a 3% conversion rate?

The big number is attractive, but the math is clear: the latter gives you 3x as many conversions (300 vs. 100).

But what about 100,000 pageviews and a 0.3% conversion rate? You’re still getting the same number of conversions, and you’re reaching a much bigger audience.

I’d still take the 10K visitors with the 3% conversion rate.

Why?

Two reasons:

1. Higher conversion rate means I’m better catering to what my audience actually wants
2. There’s room to scale that 10K with a high conversion rate for even more conversions

If my realistic target market is 200K people per month, I can only double my audience size with the first example. With a 0.3% conversion rate, that would be a total of 600 conversions each month.

But with the 10K example and a 3% conversion rate, there’s room to potentially scale my audience size by 20x. While obviously a big feat, this could eventually lead to 6,000 new customers each month.

Obviously this is a major simplification. There are factors like marketing fatigue, limits on the number of potential customers that would ever become paying customers, and limits on my own abilities to scale.

But I’d always take a smaller, more engaged audience that converts more often over a larger, less engaged one.

In organic search, this means meeting the search intent. For paid ads, it could be a matter of producing great creatives and landing pages.

Conversion rates aren’t the only metrics to track either. Other important ones include:

• Average order value (AOV)
• Customer acquisition cost
• Customer lifetime value
• Return on ad spend (for paid advertising campaigns)

These metrics tell you how well you’re positioning your products, how targeted your audience is, and how effective your ad campaigns are. Insights you can’t get from pageviews alone.

Pageviews, Cookies, and Bots

There’s another reason you shouldn’t just pay attention to pageviews: you can’t always trust the numbers.

With a focus on privacy, the digital world is trying to move away from tracking measures like third-party cookies.

Tools like Google Analytics rely on cookies and tracking codes to track pageviews, so user consent levels can affect the numbers.

You might have 500 people visit your page in a month. But if 250 of them decline your tracking cookies, your analytics will be off by 50%.

Not only that, but we also can’t ignore the potential for bot traffic. Google Analytics does a reasonable job of filtering these out, but it’s not perfect.

So you can’t always take your pageviews metric at face value.

But which numbers don’t lie?

Your conversions.

Bots don’t tend to buy things, and even if a user denies cookies, they can still sign up to your email list, download a template, or buy your products.

This is why your bottom line metrics are far more important to track than just watching your pageviews number.

With that said, pageviews do matter a lot in certain contexts.

When Pageviews Are Actually Important

Pageviews are an important measure of your overall reach. This in itself is helpful as a site owner.

But pageviews are particularly important in a few other cases.

Display Ads

If you run display ads on your site, pageviews directly impact your bottom line. More eyeballs on your pages typically means more ad impressions and more revenue.

That’s because display ad networks tend to pay on an RPM basis, or revenue per thousand impressions.

This is why news sites and entertainment blogs in particular obsess over pageviews. Their business models depend on it.

Brand Awareness

When you’re trying to grow your brand awareness, getting more pageviews indicates you’re reaching a wider audience.

If your goal is simply to get your brand in front of as many people as possible, it makes sense to focus on pageviews.

How to See Pageviews in Google Analytics

Google Analytics is the interface most people will likely be familiar with when it comes to tracking pageviews. They’re no longer actually called pageviews, and are simply referred to as “views” now.

But for all intents and purposes, they’re the same thing.

How to Find Pageviews in GA4

Google Analytics 4 works differently from Universal Analytics, which it fully replaced in 2024. Instead of focusing on pageviews by default, it’s built around “events,” and pageviews are just one type of event (labeled “page_view”).

You can see your site’s total pageviews on the overview page in your GA4 property. If it doesn’t display by default, just click the drop-down and set it to “Views.”

But to see pageviews by page, first click “Reports” > “Life cycle” > “Engagement” > “Pages and screens.”

You’ll end up on the “Pages and screens” report.

This shows a graph and table of your pages with the most pageviews (again, just called “views” in GA4).

If you scroll down, you’ll see a table with page views, along with other metrics like users and information about engagement.

You can sort by pageviews to quickly see which of your pages are underperforming.

You can also search for specific pages to track their performance:

How to See How Many Pageviews Other Websites Get

Understanding how many pageviews your site gets is clearly useful. But it’s even more useful when you can compare that number to your competitors.

You can get an estimate of how many pageviews a site gets using a traffic checker, like our free traffic checker tool:

However:

There’s no fully accurate way to see how many pageviews another site gets without seeing its analytics dashboard.

Measuring pageviews accurately requires you to have a pixel or code snippet on your site. If it’s not your site, you can’t see how many times that snippet fires.

Other tools simply measure estimates based on various data sources. These could be their own user panels or publicly available data sources.

Their accuracy varies widely depending on the site’s size and industry. They tend to be more accurate for larger sites with more traffic (as they’ll naturally just have more data to use).

So they’re best used for understanding trends, rather than absolute numbers.

Here’s an example:

Imagine you’re the owner of Mountain Bean Coffee, a brand that offers specialty coffee. And let’s imagine you know from GA4 that you get 22K pageviews per month.

You identify a few of your competitors, and you want to compare their pageviews to yours. You know you can’t get 100% accurate numbers. So instead, you look for a trend by entering them all into a traffic checker tool.

You stick your site in, and it tells you that you get 16.4K visits per month.

Even though this is lower than your actual pageview count, this is your baseline that you’ll use to compare to your competitors.

You pop three competitors into the same tool, and it suggests you’re somewhere in the middle when it comes to traffic levels:

• MakersCoffee.com: 4.6K
• PressCoffee.com: 8.2K
• DrinkTrade.com: 303.9K

You can see you’re driving more traffic than some competitors (like Maker’s Coffee). But you’re not at the level of Trade Coffee yet.

You know these aren’t the exact numbers of pageviews they get. But you can use this as a guide going forward.

For example, imagine Press Coffee’s number of visits increased to 20K while yours only rose to 18K.

Their estimated count is still lower than your actual count. But you can probably be quite confident they are now getting more pageviews than you.

Monitor More Than Just Pageviews

While pageviews can be a useful indicator of site traffic and content popularity, they’re just one way to track website performance.

For most businesses, the metrics that matter most are those that directly impact revenue and growth. Like conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, and lifetime value.

The post What Are Pageviews? (How to Track and Improve Them) appeared first on Backlinko.

Top 5 Online Reputation Tools (Tried & Tested)

2025-03-27 01:15:53

What people say about your brand online shapes your reputation. This could be reviews, social mentions, or business listings.

Keeping up with all of them takes A LOT of time and effort.

Online reputation management (ORM) tools help you monitor brand mentions, manage reviews, and keep business details consistent across directories.

But each tool has its specialties.

I researched and tested the best ORM tools available. And found the top five that’ll make your life easier.

Here’s what you’ll find in this guide:

• The best tool for tracking social mentions
• The easiest way to manage and respond to reviews
• A solution that automatically updates your business listings

5 Best Online Reputation Tools Compared

1. Brand24

Best for spotting sudden spikes in mentions and identifying key influencers

Pricing: Starts at $199 per month; 14-day free trial available

Brand24 is an AI-powered media monitoring tool. It lets you track online mentions, analyze sentiment, and spot early signs of PR crises.

This tool stands out by tracking more than social media and news platforms. It also monitors podcasts and influencers, giving you a complete view of your brand.

Here’s what I love about Brand24:

Spot Sudden Spikes in Mentions to Immediately Act on Them

Brand24 uses AI to detect unexpected spikes or drops in brand mentions. It’s marked with an exclamation mark in your dashboard so you don’t miss it:

This is important because online conversations can change fast.

A spike in mentions may mean a PR crisis. A negative review might be going viral, or a complaint is spreading fast.

On the flip side, it could signal an opportunity to capitalize on. Like a post about your brand going viral in a positive way, or an influencer giving you a shoutout.

But how do you know whether the spike is positive or negative?

Brand24 uses AI to analyze the sentiment behind each mention. It checks if the spike is caused by positive buzz, negative feedback, or neutral chatter. This way, you can take the right action fast.

For example, Barbie had a significant spike in mentions in 2024 due to the Golden Globes event:

Brand24 tells you why the spike happened and shows you where it’s coming from. In the screenshot above, you can see it flagged Barbie’s spike due to the Golden Globes event.

It highlights key details like:

• Why the spike occurred (Golden Globes event)
• Which platforms drove the mentions (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube)
• What type of sentiment was detected (positive admiration and awards)

The summary may not explicitly say “positive” or “negative.”

However, you can infer sentiment from the language used (“high admiration,” “winning awards”) and cross-referencing with the Sentiment tab at the top.

Track Podcast Mentions of Your Brand

Brand24 scans thousands of podcasts and alerts you whenever someone mentions your brand in a podcast title or description.

This way, you don’t miss critical conversations happening in the audio space.

You can view podcast mentions in the general Mentions tab. Or filter them by source:

People talk about brands on podcasts all the time. Whether it’s a CEO interview, product review, or deep-dive industry discussion.

But since podcasts aren’t text-based, these mentions are easy to miss.

Podcast tracking helps you:

• See when influencers talk about your brand
• Respond to negative mentions fast
• Use positive mentions in your marketing

Identify Key Brand Influencers

Brand24 helps you find the most influential people talking about your brand. You can rank them based on number of mentions, reach, audience size, and impact:

Here’s why each filter matters and how you can use them:

• Mentions: See how often someone talks about your brand. High mentions mean they’re actively discussing you, whether positive or negative. Use this to engage or address concerns quickly.
• Reach: Shows how many people might see their posts. Use this to prioritize working with influencers with high reach to spread your message.
• Influence score (impact): Shows how persuasive or credible the person is. This helps you spot trustworthy advocates or negative influencers before misinformation spreads.

Make Reports in One Click

Create reports to share insights with your team or clients.

Brand24 supports various formats like email, PDF, and Excel.

You can also create infographics:

Pros & Cons

2. Reviewflowz

Best for collecting reviews on autopilot

Pricing: Starts at $15 per month; 14-day free trial available

Reviewflowz is a powerful review management platform. It helps you collect, keep an eye on, and show customer reviews.

Here’s what I liked about Reviewflowz the most:

Launch Targeted Review Request Campaigns

Reviewflows automates review collection in two ways:

• Email campaigns: Send automated review requests after purchase, with customizable templates and follow-up scheduling
• Magic links: Generate unique URLs that take customers directly to your review form—perfect for adding to receipts or sharing via SMS

Best part?

When you set up an email campaign within Reviewflowz, you can choose when to request reviews:

• Always request reviews from your email list to get as much feedback as possible
• Only request reviews when a star rating drops under a certain threshold (lets you improve your reputation when your review score starts to drop)

Quickly Reply to Your Customer Reviews

Link your channels (like Slack, email, and Microsoft Teams) to get instant alerts for new reviews:

These notifications let you be in the loop and address critical reviews in time.

Once connected:

• Slack: New reviews are sent directly to a public Slack channel in your workspace
• Email: Reviews land in your inbox
• Microsoft Teams: Reviews show up in a designated Teams channel
• Zapier and Webhooks: You can set up automations to trigger custom workflows

You’ll see all reviews in real time. From there, you can decide which ones need immediate attention—whether it’s a low rating, critical feedback, or a chance to thank a happy customer.

Plus, you can use AI to create and send automated replies to happy reviewers that are always within your brand’s tone.

Show Best Reviews on Your Website

Display your best reviews automatically with Reviewflowz’s customizable, mobile-friendly widgets.

Each widget automatically updates with new reviews and lets you filter by rating to showcase your strongest feedback.

Choose from:

• Masonry: A stack of reviews, which turns into a list on mobile
• Slider: An interactive slider that shows up to three reviews horizontally and one on mobile

Then select the review sources, the number of reviews to display, and which reviews to show based on star ratings:

Pros & Cons

3. myPresences

Best for managing brand presence on different platforms and engaging with reviews

Pricing: Starts at $15 per month; 14-day free trial available

myPresences is an all-in-one online presence and reputation management platform.

It helps you appear in business directories, track customer reviews and engage with them.

Plus, you can display feedback on your website.

Here’s what I like about myPresences:

List Your Business Where It Matters Most

Listing your business on every platform takes a lot of time. It’s also prone to mistakes.

And when you update a phone number, move, or change a website URL, fixing it everywhere can take weeks.

myPresences makes it easy to list your business details on more than 2,000 directories.

You enter your business details once. Then, this tool pushes your business info on your chosen platforms.

But why does this matter? Is getting listed on Google not enough?

Not really.

Customers may use many different platforms to find your business, such as local directories and industry platforms.

Or they may check your website on a review site before they buy from you.

If you rely only on Google, you might miss out on potential customers who search elsewhere.

For example:

• If your business is local, you’ll need to be on Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google Business Profile (GBP)
• If you manage a SaaS brand, being on review sites like G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot is crucial since some consumers go here before making a purchase
• If you provide medical, legal, or real estate services, niche directories matter (Healthgrades, Avvo, or Zillow)

Check and Respond to Reviews Across Platforms

myPresences centralizes reviews from all major review sites. This helps you check and respond efficiently.

You can see a quick overview of your star rating distribution across all platforms in a pie chart:

Additionally, you can automate your responses with AI:

This lets you quickly respond to common reviews while keeping a consistent tone.

Showcase Customer Reviews on Your Website

myPresences allows you to show your best reviews on your website.

You can use customizable widgets for this:

• Popup: Individual reviews appear as a small floating box on each page. They don’t take up much space and can appear sitewide.
• List: A simple, single-column format. It’s ideal if you want them stacked clearly in one spot.
• Grid: A three-column layout for showcasing many reviews at once. It’s great when you want to highlight volume and variety.
• Carousel: A dynamic slider that rotates the reviews for an interactive experience. Perfect if you want to save space and make the page engaging.

You can avoid the task of copying and pasting reviews on your site. myPresences pulls in reviews automatically and updates them in real time.

This gives you fresh and authentic social proof.

Pros & Cons

4. Semrush Local

Best for managing local business reviews in one place and keeping listings accurate

Pricing: $50 per month + the plan you choose ($139.95/mo for Pro)

Semrush Local is a local SEO and reputation management tool.

It keeps your online listings correct across many platforms. It also manages customer reviews and boosts local search visibility.

Here’s how you can manage your brand’s online reputation with Semrush Local:

Track and Respond to Reviews Across Platforms

Semrush’s Review Management tool helps you track reviews from different platforms. All in one spot.

This may include Google reviews, Facebook, Yelp, and more.

You can also respond to all reviews directly from one page:

Here’s what you can do with this tool:

• Respond to all reviews in one place, without logging into each review platform separately
• Use AI to suggest responses and choose to auto-reply to happy customers
• Keep an eye on review trends over time to track customer sentiment

Compare Your Business Reviews to Your Competitors

Customers don’t just check your reviews. They compare you to competitors, too.

Semrush shows how your ratings and sentiment compare to other businesses:

This lets you see your average rating and review trends next to your competitors.

You’ll see how your average rating compares to others. Find what’s working, spot weaknesses, and take action to improve your reputation.

Keep Your Business Info Consistent

Consistent business details make it easier for customers to find and contact you.

And that builds trust.

The Listing Management tool updates your business info to over 150 directories with no extra cost. Like Google, Yelp, and Bing:

This improves reputation and also signals to Google that your business is legitimate and worth showing to searchers.

Pros & Cons

5. Mention

Best for tracking your brand mentions across social media and news platforms

Pricing: Starts at $49 per month; 14-day free trial available

Mention is a social media listening tool that monitors your online presence and analyzes brand mentions.

Let’s take a look at Mention’s key features:

Track Your Brand Mentions Across Channels

Mention tracks more than one billion sources. It checks for real-time brand mentions on social media, news sites, blogs, and forums.

All these are in one dashboard. You can expand each mention and see the preview of the post that includes your business name. And even know the sentiment behind the mention:

Mention also provides a link to each source. This takes you straight to the original post so you can join the conversation directly on the source site.

Create Real-Time, Visual Reports

Mention lets you make reports based on what matters most to you. This helps you analyze your brand’s online presence better.

You can either choose from predefined templates for quick insights:

Or customize reports by selecting the exact data you want to track:

In both cases, reports are real-time and visual.

Mention also creates automatic highlights. Like sudden mention spikes:

This lets you see key trends at a glance, so you don’t have to sift through long reports.

Pros & Cons

FAQs

How Do I Manage My Online Reputation?

Managing your online reputation involves:

• Monitoring brand mentions across social media, news, and review sites
• Responding to customer feedback
• Encouraging happy customers to leave reviews
• Addressing negative content with strategic responses
• Keeping business listings accurate across all platforms

How Long Does It Take to See Results from Reputation Management Tools?

Reputation management tools provide insights immediately. However, improving your reputation by collecting more positive reviews, content, and SEO can take weeks or months, depending on your strategy.

Can Reputation Management Tools Remove Negative Reviews?

No, reputation management tools can’t remove negative reviews. They help you improve sentiment over time, and report false reviews if necessary.

What Metrics Should I Track to Measure Reputation Improvement?

Track the following metrics to improve your reputation:

• Review ratings: Changes in star ratings across platforms
• Brand sentiment: Positive vs. negative mentions over time
• Mentions and reach: How often people discuss your brand online
• Crisis alerts: Any sudden spikes in negative mentions

Ready to Choose Your Online Reputation Management Tool?

The best ORM tool for you depends on what you need most:

• Want to track brand mentions? Brand24 and Mention help you stay on top of conversations.
• Need help collecting reviews? Reviewflowz lets you automate review campaigns.
• Need to manage your business details on business directories? For a local business, use Semrush Local. For a SaaS brand or professional services business, go with myPresences.

After choosing the best tool for your needs, expect the following:

• First month: Set alerts, connect accounts, and test automation
• Second month: Track trends and respond to reviews
• Third month: Improve your strategy and let automation handle more tasks

Want to discover more tools to help with your marketing processes? Check out our article on 33 digital marketing tools that suit various business needs and budgets.

The post Top 5 Online Reputation Tools (Tried & Tested) appeared first on Backlinko.

How to Use AI for Writing Exceptional Content (7 Best Practices)

2025-03-27 01:11:16

If you publish writing, you’d be crazy not to use artificial intelligence.

It’s like telling a carpenter not to use a drill. You can build a deck without one. But why would you?

Writers have always embraced new tools to improve their craft.

The challenge with AI, or any technology, is that we want the easy way out.

We hope the tech will magically automate everything. And for mediocre content, AI is the perfect solution.

But creating exceptional content is HARD. No matter what tool you use.

For example, I used AI extensively to write this article.

Yet, it still took me 40+ hours to produce.

Why?

AI has made me realize how much I can improve my content. And you can, too.

Below are seven timeless writing practices supported by AI.

Let’s start with planning your writing project.

1. Use AI to Define Your Audience

Without a deep understanding of your audience, even brilliant insights can fall flat.

AI makes reader research way easier.

You can analyze thousands of real conversations in minutes. No need to spend weeks on interviews or surveys.

A Faster Way to Do Audience Research

Using this article as an example, I wanted to understand how people felt about using AI for writing.

The best place for unfiltered thoughts? Reddit.

So, I Googled “reddit using ai to write good content” and found dozens of threads.

I gathered a handful of community discussions and exported them as PDFs.

Then I gave Claude the following prompt:

The result was eye-opening.

The analysis revealed patterns I hadn’t considered.

It also included quotes that captured the audience’s raw emotions and language.

This helped me ground my writing in real experiences.

You don’t have to follow my exact process. For instance, Kate Starr, our senior writer, uses various sources for audience research:

The key is to use AI to:

1. Process large amounts of audience data quickly
2. Identify patterns you might miss manually
3. Connect insights to real human experiences through quotes

2. Use AI to Find Your Unique Angle

It’s easy to get inspired by popular content in your field and remix those ideas.

That’s exactly what AI does by default, too.

A better approach?

Find perspectives that other content and most LLMs overlook. This makes your writing fresh and engaging.

Here’s how to do it in three simple steps.

Step 1: Gather Your Source Material

Find the top 3-5 posts for your topic.

You can do this for social media posts, articles, and emails (if you have access).

For instance, I found three posts on AI writing and copied them to a Google Doc before exporting the text file.

Step 2: Get AI to Summarize the Data and Suggest Ideas

Take your source materials from Step 1 and ask AI to create a comprehensive analysis.

Here’s a prompt:

Here’s the output for using AI in writing:

After analyzing, ask the AI for new ideas based on the opportunities it found.

Here’s what Claude came back with for this article:

Step 3 – Analyze and Refine Your Angle

Sometimes, the angles are usable with the first output.

But often, it’s a dance between you and the robot to find something compelling.

Here’s how this process shaped this article:

While plenty of tool comparisons and basic workflows existed, few posts offered strategic frameworks for using AI effectively.

As I dug deeper, I noticed something more fundamental.

Everyone was focused on making writing easier. Tools, prompts, shortcuts.

But they were missing the tough reality:

Creating top-notch content is difficult. With AI or not.

That became my angle: How to use AI thoughtfully while embracing the necessary work of writing great content.

3. Use AI to Create An Outline

Nearly every exceptional piece of content starts with a detailed plan. But many writers skip this step.

You risk wasting hours writing in circles or missing the brief entirely.

That’s why our team never writes a draft without a thorough outline.

With AI, creating that outline just got a lot easier.

Strengthen Your Draft Outline Through Collaboration

It’s tempting to ask AI to create your entire outline (losing your unique perspective). Or ignore AI completely (missing valuable insights).

A better approach?

Treat AI as a thoughtful discussion partner.

Our senior editor, Chris Shirlow, emphasizes using AI strategically during outlining:

The key is to start with your own research. This ensures the foundation reflects real expertise. Then, use AI to refine and expand your thinking.

With this article, for example, I started with some loose structural notes:

1. Demand
2. Audience
3. Angle
4. Structure
5. Research
6. Writing
7. Visuals
8. Enhancements
9. Editing

Then, I prompted Claude with some attached reference material.

Claude’s analysis (I’ve summarized the output):

From the AI’s first output, we started our collaboration.

Claude helped me name each element “practices” instead of “tips.

We challenged each other on the substructure of each practice.

Then it suggested H2s—many of which I didn’t like.

Through a LONG chat and many pauses of me returning to my document, we landed on an outline.

Here’s how the structure evolved through discussion:

This iterative process helped me:

1. Make headings more action-oriented
2. Create a consistent pattern (“Use AI to…”), which also helps for search engine optimization

Let’s look at how AI can help you turn this outline into content through research.

4. Use AI to Research Your Topic

Research has always been the foundation of excellent writing.

Pre-internet, research meant hours in libraries digging through catalogs, journals, and textbooks.

Then, digital changed everything. But it created a new problem:

Information overload.

Now you have instant access to millions of sources.

Blog posts. Academic papers. Community discussions. Expert interviews. Analytics data.

But do you have time to process it all?

That’s where AI shines.

It can scan thousands of sources in seconds, helping you catch insights you might miss.

Let’s explore how to use it effectively.

Using AI for Primary Research

When you do interviews, gather raw data, or run surveys, you create unique content that’s hard to copy.

The trick is to use AI throughout the research process—not just for analysis.

Planning Better Research Questions

The quality of your research depends on asking the right questions.

For example, when writing this article, I initially planned to use only my own AI experiences as examples. But something felt missing.

So, I started a discussion with Claude:

With Claude’s validation, I developed survey questions through an iterative process.

If you want to try this approach, here’s a template to get started:

Then, the research questions:

Finally, test your questions:

Example:

After several rounds with AI, my original idea of “let’s survey the team” changed to:

• A focused survey using conditional logic
• Clear examples of what I needed
• A friendly, collaborative introduction
• Specific prompts for AI usage

The result? Rich insights from the team that enhanced this article.

Getting More from Expert Interviews

Want to fully engage with your interview subjects while capturing all the details? AI can help.

Start by recording your conversations (with permission, of course). Have a real dialogue. Follow interesting threads. Then, let AI help you extract every valuable insight.

Here are some simple prompts:

Prepare your interview.

Process the recording.

Validate insights.

Making Sense of Raw Data

The challenge of research isn’t gathering data—it’s finding the story in it.

When our editorial team finished the AI usage survey, I faced this exact situation.

I wanted to process the responses quickly, but also to capture every valuable insight.

Here’s how AI helped me analyze the responses:

Get a high-level overview.

Drill down to the specifics.

Extract supporting material.

This analysis revealed that our team uses AI differently for each practice. Some excel at research, others at editing.

For instance, everyone stressed the need to use AI carefully. And not fully depend on it.

Using AI for Secondary Research

Secondary research meant spending hours reading papers, reports, and discussions.

Not anymore.

AI reshapes how we process existing content.

Let’s look at some use cases.

Extracting Audio and Video Content for Gems

Some of the best insights are buried in hour-long podcasts and conference talks.

Founders share behind-the-scenes stories. Experts reveal their frameworks. And industry veterans discuss trends they haven’t written about yet.

But watching hours of video isn’t always practical.

AI can save time here.

Here’s how I used AI to extract powerful insights from founder interviews for my ecommerce growth strategies article:

First, I found a podcast where Who Is Elijah’s founders shared their journey to $20M in revenue.

Then, I used Rev AI to transcribe the full interview.

Instead of reading through 19,000 words of transcript, I had Claude analyze the conversation with this prompt:

The analysis revealed a fascinating story about operational efficiency:

• They cut their team from 44 to 21 people
• Shifted from full-time specialists to agency partnerships
• Rebuilt their systems from scratch
• Turned unprofitable (-60%) campaigns into winners

This single podcast gave me both a compelling case study and practical lessons readers could apply.

Synthesizing Complex Documents

Academic papers and industry reports contain valuable data. But they’re often dense, jargony, and hard to apply practically.

Shreelekha Singh, our senior writer, uses detailed context to get better research results from AI.

Another example:

When writing an article about information gain, I needed to wrap my head around Google’s patent application.

But it’s written in technical language that would make your eyes glaze over.

Instead of getting overwhelmed, I used AI to help me interpret this complex material.

I uploaded the patent application to Claude and asked about information gain signals.

Claude helped identify and explain relevant metrics like “UserActionSignals” and “ClickSatisfaction” in plain language.

I quickly learned Google’s process for evaluating and testing new information.

The same approach works for:

• Academic papers and studies
• Technical documentation
• Industry reports
• Legal documents
• Research data

The takeaway?

Think of AI as your study partner. One that can read a 100-page document in seconds and explain the key points in plain English.

5. Use AI to Write Engaging Content

LLMs generate pretty good output with minimal prompting.

But producing engaging writing in your authentic voice? That’s where AI can be rather underwhelming.

I’ve been trying to write with AI since 2021, and I’m convinced the models have a default writing style.

AI LOVES writing in contrasting pairs: “Not this. But that.”

It also enjoys phrases like “transform,” “game-changing,” “leverage,” and “optimize.” (Not that there’s anything wrong with these words.)

And if AI could write your entire project in a list, it would.

If you’re often dissatisfied with the output, let me show you how to get better results.

Create Excellent Reference Materials

The more specific context you can give AI, the better the output matches your style.

This means defining your writing style clearly.

How?

Create detailed guidelines, including:

• Reader personas
• Target grade level
• Headline formulas
• Tonality
• Examples
• Opening hooks

In addition to your guidelines, make it your mission to create the perfect article or chapter to use as a writing sample.

Once you have your guidelines and examples, you’ll be more satisfied with the AI output.

For example, I’ve created a dedicated project in Claude for Backlinko. It has over 20k words of reference materials.

Every time I start a new conversation, Claude has this context readily available.

There’s no need to explain our style requirements over and over.

Build Progressive Context

Your conversation with AI should evolve as your content develops.

Take this article section as an example. I started a dedicated chat on “Using AI for Writing.” I shared:

• The outline
• The article draft so far
• Team survey responses
• My goals for this section

When I write the next section about supporting elements, I’ll start a new chat. But I’ll include this completed section as reference material.

This progressive approach helps AI maintain consistency while adapting to each section’s unique needs.

Shreelekha uses a similar method.

Depending on your LLM, this sectional approach will help manage your daily credits as long chats burn through your usage.

Embrace Messy Collaboration with AI

The best AI writing output happens through conversation.

Share your half-formed ideas. Question its suggestions. Challenge it to think deeper.

For instance, when writing this section, I asked AI to expand on my outline. But I didn’t just accept the first response.

Instead of settling for general advice about “prompting for a specific tone,” I asked for concrete examples of how AI’s default writing differs from Backlinko’s style.

This led to identifying specific phrases and patterns.

For instance, here’s how my opening hook evolved through AI collaboration:

You might go sentence for sentence, idea for idea, until you strike gold.

It can be tedious, but it’s better than doing it alone.

Find Perfect Examples (When You Need Them)

LLMs excel at suggesting relevant examples and case studies to strengthen your writing.

Shreelekha uses AI to brainstorm examples when she’s stuck:

Chris Shirlow emphasizes this balanced approach:

6. Use AI to Create Content Assets

Content assets like checklists, calculators, and infographics turn your writing into practical tools for readers.

The right asset can clarify complex concepts, aid learning, or guide important decisions.

Creating these resources once required designers and developers.

AI makes it possible to create without these skills.

Create Visual Assets

Many readers don’t consume every word you write.

They scan. They skim. They look for visual anchors to guide them through your ideas.

A study by MIT found that the human brain can process images in as little as 13 milliseconds. That’s up to 600 times faster than text.

But creating professional graphics used to mean:

• Learning design software
• Understanding design principles
• Spending hours on each visual
• Hiring expensive designers

Not anymore.

AI can help you create compelling visuals in seconds.

For example, in our 4 P’s of Marketing article, our senior writer, Yongi Barnard, used a graphic to explain why personalization matters.

The visual tells a compelling story at a glance.

To recreate this, gather your data.

Then, give AI parameters:

Then, you just need to refine the finishing touches (colors, spacing, etc.).

Our senior editor, Chris Hanna, puts it well:

Create Smart Checklists

Converting processes into checklists makes your content more actionable.

But creating an effective checklist isn’t as simple as writing bullet points. You need to:

• Break down complex processes
• Put steps in the optimal order
• Include validation checks
• Add resource links
• Consider different user scenarios

This is where AI can help.

The key is to prompt AI after you’ve written your draft.

This way, the LLM will have full context for your content and can create more detailed, relevant checklists.

For example, our senior editor, Shannon Willoby, made a 12-month checklist to help with her article on starting a blog.

She prompted AI to create the checklist based on her article content. Pretty simple but effective.

Here’s a template to get started:

Build Interactive Tools

Interactive tools like calculators, analyzers, and decision trees turn your knowledge into useful solutions. Readers can use these tools right away.

There are many opportunities, regardless of your industry:

Say you write about productivity. You could create a workload capacity analyzer that helps readers balance their projects.

If you’re a wellness writer, you might develop a habit-stacking planner to help people create healthy routines.

Or, if you’re a gardening expert, you could create a seasonal planting calculator.

For my ecommerce growth strategies article, I used AI to build an interactive profitability calculator.

Instead of explaining formulas, readers can explore different scenarios to understand how variables like cost of goods sold (COGS), shipping, and marketing expenses impact their bottom line.

The best part?

You can bring these AI-designed tools to life using no-code platforms like Calculator Studio. Here’s how:

1. Identify calculation needs in your content
2. Ask AI to help structure the logic and formulas
3. Design the user interface (AI can mock this up)
4. Build it in your no-code tool of choice

For instance, when building the profitability calculator, I prompted AI with:

Start simple.

A basic calculator that solves one specific problem well is better than a complex tool that confuses users.

7. Use AI to Edit Your Draft

Editing is the difference between good content and exceptional content.

But getting quality edits can be expensive and slow. You either:

• Pay editors by the hour
• Lose billable time as a freelancer
• Wait through lengthy review cycles
• Miss issues when editing your own work

AI changes this dynamic.

You can get quick, unbiased feedback and try different versions before your editor reviews a draft.

Let me show you how to do this effectively.

Get Strategic Input First

It’s tempting to jump right into line editing—fixing grammar and polishing sentences.

But start with the big picture.

Here’s how Chris Hanna uses AI for strategic editing:

AI can help by:

• Comparing your piece against successful examples
• Identifying patterns and gaps
• Suggesting structural improvements

This approach saves revision time. Why polish paragraphs you might cut or rewrite anyway?

Create Quick Quality Checks

Once you have your structure solid, create systematic quality checks.

You want to verify your content hits key engagement metrics.

At Backlinko, we track three readability metrics:

1. Single-Sentence Paragraph Percentage: The ratio of paragraphs with just one sentence.
2. Visual Break Density: Number of visual elements per 1,000 words. Higher density means better scannability.
3. Grade Level: We target Grade 7 or below for accessibility.

AI can calculate these instantly and suggest specific fixes. Here’s how:

1. Share your metrics targets with AI
2. Paste in a section of your content
3. Ask for both analysis and specific fixes

Beyond metrics, use AI to check for:

• Redundant ideas and phrases
• Passive voice overuse
• Transition effectiveness
• Brand voice consistency
• Technical accuracy

Test Critical Elements

Some parts of your content matter more than others.

Your headline determines whether people click.

Your introduction decides if they stay.

Your calls-to-action influence if they convert.

These elements deserve extra attention.

Using headlines as an example, I note 3-5 potential titles.

I Google the topic I’m writing about and screenshot the search results.

I upload the screenshot to Claude. Then, I ask how my title ideas compare to the top articles.

Claude will make suggestions based on our title guidance, best practices, and differentiators.

Yongi uses a similar process for introductions:

You can also test:

• Section transitions
• Examples
• Proof point placement
• Technical explanations
• Closing arguments

Balance AI and Human Editing

AI accelerates the editing process, but human judgment remains essential.

Here’s how to make this work:

1. Start with AI for broad analysis and quick fixes
2. Apply your judgment to AI’s suggestions
3. Test variations of important elements
4. Verify technical accuracy independently
5. Maintain your unique voice and perspective

Chris Shirlow supports this balance:

Start Writing Smarter, Not Harder

Pick one project you need to write this week.

Apply just one of these practices—maybe getting AI’s help with audience research or outlining.

That’s all you need to do to start seeing results.

Ready to put these practices to work? Check out our guide on how to write a blog post.

You’ll see how to combine these AI techniques with proven writing principles to create content that ranks and converts.

The post How to Use AI for Writing Exceptional Content (7 Best Practices) appeared first on Backlinko.

How to Find Keyword Cost and Optimize Your PPC Campaigns

2025-03-26 23:19:00

If you’ve ever run an ad campaign, you know that keyword costs can quickly eat up your budget.

This is especially true if you’re not strategic about your selections.

Of course, you can’t control all the factors that determine pricing.

But you can reduce costs by choosing the right keywords and creating experiences that convert.

Take digital marketing agency Turn Key Lead, for example.

They reduced a mortgage bank client’s cost per conversion in Google Ads by 30% in seven days.

How’d they do it?

Through keyword and landing page optimization—tactics you’ll master today.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• How to find keyword costs using proven tools
• Optimization tactics to reduce spend and choose high-performing keywords
• Expert insights from Andrew Peluso of Bananas Marketing Agency

Let’s start by learning how keyword cost is determined.

What Is Keyword Cost?

Keyword cost is the amount you pay to advertising platforms (like Google Ads) when someone clicks on your ad.

It’s commonly referred to as cost per click (CPC).

Some keywords cost a few cents, while others cost $50+ per click.

For example, insurance, healthcare, finance, and legal terms have some of the highest CPCs.

Like “mesothelioma attorney,” which has an eye-watering $159.60 CPC.

Other keywords cost under a dollar per click.

Including “bird watching supplies,” which has a $0.74 CPC.

Understanding keyword costs helps you:

• Make smarter bidding decisions
• Choose high-value keywords
• Maximize your ROI
• Optimize your campaigns for lower costs

But before you can lower costs, it’s helpful to understand what goes into keyword pricing.

How Google Determines Keyword Price

What drives keyword costs up or down?

There’s a lot going on behind the scenes that affects pricing.

Here’s how Google calculates CPC:

Quality Score

Quality Score is Google’s 1-10 rating of how relevant and useful your ads are.

Higher Quality Scores mean lower costs.

And better ad positions.

Your Quality Score is based on three factors:

• Ad relevance: How closely your keyword matches your ad text and landing page
• Landing page experience: How useful your landing page is to visitors
• Expected click-through rate (CTR): How likely users are to click your ad

According to WordStream data, an advertiser with a perfect Quality Score of 10 pays 50% less than someone with an average score of 5.

Even improving to a 7 saves you 28.6% on every click.

Search Volume

Keywords with thousands of monthly searches typically cost more than niche terms.

Higher search volume = greater demand = higher prices.

Industry

The more advertisers who bid on a keyword, the higher the cost.

For example, check out how the average CPC varies by industry:

Semrush’s Keyword Overview and Keyword Magic Tool provide a “Competitive Density” score.

Rated on a scale of zero (easiest) to 1.00 (hardest), it tells you how competitive a keyword will be in your PPC campaign.

A high Competitive Density score (.80 and up) means tougher competition in search results.

But don’t ignore these keywords.

High competition often signals strong conversion potential.

Never base decisions on low CPC alone.

The math is simple: If a $5 keyword converts much better than a $1 keyword, it’s worth the cost.

Ad Network Selection

Where you choose to run your ads can impact your costs:

• Google Search Network: Your ads appear on Google search results pages and properties like Google Maps and Shopping. Search Network typically delivers higher-intent traffic but at higher costs since users are actively searching for specific terms.
• Google Display Network: Your ads show on Google sites like YouTube, Blogger, and Gmail, as well as partner websites. Display Network usually offers lower costs per click but may bring less immediate purchase intent since users aren’t actively searching.

Seasonality

Keyword costs fluctuate throughout the year.

For example, “Christmas gifts” will cost more in December.

“Tax preparation” will spike in March and April. And “Swimwear” peaks during summer months.

It helps to adjust your budget for these seasonal shifts.

Bidding Strategy

Your bidding strategy can affect your Google keyword costs:

• Manual bidding: You set the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for each click. This gives you complete control but requires more hands-on management.
• Automated bidding: Google’s AI adjusts your bids in real time to help you meet specific goals (like maximizing clicks or conversions). This can be more efficient but may initially result in higher costs while the system learns your patterns.

How to Find Keyword Cost

With the right tools, you can learn keyword costs before launching a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign.

So, you can prioritize terms that deliver maximum ROI for minimum spend.

Google Keyword Planner

Why not go right to the source to learn CPC costs?

Google Keyword Planner shows estimated bid ranges that give you an idea of the high and low you’ll pay.

Plus, these estimates come straight from Google’s own data — making them a reliable starting point for budget planning.

Here’s how to use Google Keyword Planner to research keyword prices:

After signing into your account, click “Tools” in the navigation.

Then, select “Keyword Planner” from the dropdown.

You’ll see two options.

If you already have specific keywords in mind, choose “Get search volume and forecasts.”

Starting from scratch? Select “Discover new keywords.”

For this example, let’s go with “Get search volume and forecasts.”

Enter your keywords manually or click “Upload a file.”

Then, click “Get started.”

Review the “Top of page bid (low range)” and “Top of page bid (high range)” columns.

These show the estimated historical CPC ranges for your keywords.

For example, “garden decor” has a low of $0.33 and a high of $1.49.

So, advertisers with a great Quality Score might pay $0.33 per click.

But those with average or below-average Quality Scores could pay up to $1.49.

Keep in mind that these ranges are influenced by:

• Your geographic location
• Your Search Network settings
• Seasonal competition fluctuations
• Industry trends

The actual cost you’ll pay can fall anywhere within this range — or occasionally outside it during periods of intense competition.

Now, let’s look at another method to find keyword pricing.

Keyword Magic Tool

Want a deeper dive into keyword costs?

Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool gives you the full picture.

It provides CPC estimates along with other crucial metrics.

Like search volume, keyword difficulty, and user intent so you can spot high-converting, affordable keywords your competitors might miss.

Here’s how to use it:

Enter a broad keyword, such as “CRM software.”

Click “Search.”

The tool will return a list of keyword suggestions.

View the “CPC” column to learn the estimated cost for each term.

On a limited budget?

Add a filter to find keywords within your price range:

• Click the “CPC” filter
• Enter your desired range
• Click “Apply“

Now, you’ll only see keywords that fit your budget.

7 Steps to Selecting High-Converting PPC Keywords

Knowing what keywords cost is just the starting point.

The real magic happens when you identify terms that fit your budget and drive sales.

1. See What’s Working for Your Competition

Before choosing keywords, analyze your competitors’ ad performance.

For this example, I’ll be using Semrush’s Advertising Research tool.

Enter a competitor’s domain into the tool.

Click “Search.”

Now, you’ll see an overview of your competitor’s paid search performance.

Including the total number of keywords and traffic from paid campaigns.

Even better?

You’ll also learn how much it costs them to rank for these terms in Google Ads.

Scroll to the “Paid Search Positions” report for a peek at their top-performing keywords.

Including CPC, search volume, and position data for each one.

Note which keywords have high traffic but reasonable costs.

Then, add the promising keywords to your list.

Next, click the “Competitors” tab to learn who your competitor’s top paid rivals are.

(Hint: They may be your rivals, too.)

Click on any competitor’s URL and follow the same steps as above to assess their highest-performing keywords.

Finally, click the “Ads Copies” tab.

This reveals your competitor’s actual ad copy—giving you an inside look at exactly what messaging is attracting clicks and conversions in your industry.

Study the language, offers, and unique selling points they use.

Then, create your own ads that address the same pain points but with stronger, more compelling copy.

2. Identify Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are highly specific phrases that match exactly what your customer is searching for.

Think “women’s long sleeve vintage graphic tshirts” instead of just “shirts.”

The benefits are too good to ignore:

• Lower competition (and lower costs)
• Higher conversion rates
• More qualified traffic

Let’s see this in action.

“Shirts” has the highest Competitive Density score possible (1.00) and a CPC of $2.38.

But “fall shirts for women” has a much lower CPC ($0.49).

And a Competitive Density (.80) that is reduced enough to help you on the SERPs.

But high enough to signal transactional interest.

Sure, this keyword gets significantly fewer searches.

But those searches come from people who know exactly what they want.

And those are the clicks that convert into customers.

Ready to find long-tail keywords?

Here’s how:

Head back to the Keyword Magic Tool and enter a term like “women’s shirts.”

Select the “KD %” filter on the menu. In the “Custom Range” field, enter “0” to “29.”

This will limit your results to keywords with “Very easy” or “Easy” difficulty—prime territory for conversion-friendly, long-tail terms.

Scroll through the results to find long-tail keywords for your ad campaign.

Like “women’s button down tshirt” and “usa women’s soccer shirt.”

3. Confirm Your Keywords Are Relevant to What You Sell

Don’t get so caught up in metrics that you forget the basics.

Every keyword in your campaign should directly connect to your products or services.

For example, if you sell premium handmade leather wallets, targeting “cheap wallets” might bring traffic but not conversions.

Your ideal customers are searching for quality, not bargains.

This is why you’ll want to pay special attention to keyword match types in Google Ads:

• Broad match: Triggers your ad for related searches, variations, and synonyms (lowest relevance, highest reach)
• Phrase match: Triggers your ad when the search includes your keyword phrase (medium relevance)
• Exact match: Triggers your ad only for searches very close to your exact keyword (highest relevance, lowest reach)

Start with exact and phrase match to ensure relevance and prevent wasted spend.

As you gather data on what works for your industry and budget, you can carefully expand to broader terms.

4. Target Purchase Intent Keywords

Every keyword reveals something about what the searcher wants.

Some people are researching. Others are ready to buy.

Purchase intent keywords signal that someone is in buying mode — not just browsing or learning.

As PPC expert Andrew Peluso says:

When it comes to paid advertising, focus on:

• Commercial intent: Users are comparing options before buying (“best CRM software”)
• Transactional intent: Users are ready to make a purchase (“buy Salesforce subscription”)

5. Focus on Cost per Conversion, Not Just Cost per Click

Keywords with low CPCs might seem attractive, but they’re worthless if they don’t convert.

Set up proper tracking to identify which keywords actually deliver customers, not just traffic.

Andrew explains:

What does this mean for your campaigns?

• Set up proper conversion tracking in Google Ads
• Monitor which keywords drive sales, not just clicks
• Be willing to pay more for keywords with higher conversion rates

6. Build a Negative Keyword List to Reduce Ad Waste

Negative keywords prevent your ads from appearing for search terms that might seem relevant but attract the wrong audience.

Here’s how to implement this strategy:

• Pull your Google Ads search terms report for the last 90 days
• Look for terms that drive costs but few conversions — these are your negative keywords
• Build a comprehensive negative keyword list. This way, your ads no longer show for underperforming keywords to prevent ad waste.

7. Test Different Keywords to See What Performs Best

Keyword selection isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it task.

It’s an ongoing experiment that gets better with time.

Follow these best practices for testing keywords in your ad campaigns:

• Review performance weekly, looking beyond clicks to focus on conversions
• Gradually shift budget from underperformers to high-converting terms
• Add new keyword variations based on what’s already working
• Look for seasonal patterns that affect performance

As you gather data, your campaigns will become more efficient, driving down costs while improving results.

How to Optimize Your Quality Score and Lower Keyword Costs

Even the best keyword strategy falls flat without a strong Quality Score.

Instead of just bidding higher, focus on these three critical components that Google rewards with lower costs and better positions.

Ad Relevance: Match User Intent

We touched on this above, but it’s worth repeating:

Your ads must align with search intent.

For example, if someone searches “best running shoes for flat feet,” they’re in research mode.

Your ad should highlight expert reviews or comparison features.

But for “buy nike running shoes,” they’re ready to purchase.

Your ad should emphasize pricing, fast shipping, or size availability.

Expected CTR: Create Compelling Ads

Expected CTR measures how likely users are to click your ad when it appears.

To improve expected CTR:

• Include the keyword in your headline
• Use action-oriented language (“Get,” “Try,” “Start”)
• Highlight unique selling points
• Test different ad variations
• Include a clear call to action

Landing Page Experience: Deliver on Promises

Your landing page must fulfill what your ad promised.

To create a high-scoring landing page:

• Match headline language from your ad to your landing page headline
• Place your primary keyword in the H1, first paragraph, and at least one subheading
• Keep loading time under three seconds (compress images and minimize redirects)
• Add testimonials or reviews to build credibility
• Include a single CTA that matches your ad’s offer

For instance, if your ad promotes “home garden design ideas,” your landing page should feature garden inspiration prominently—not a general plant catalog or seed shop.

The key takeaway? Everything must work together:

Ready to Find Keywords That Get Clicks and Conversions?

Optimizing your ad keyword strategy can help you pay less for better results.

(And outperform the competition while you’re at it.)

Remember these principles:

• Quality is key: Improve your Quality Score to reduce costs
• Get specific: Long-tail keywords often deliver better ROI than broad terms
• Follow the data: Let performance metrics guide your strategy
• Test continuously: What works today might not work tomorrow

Finding high-performing keywords starts with having the right tools.

The post How to Find Keyword Cost and Optimize Your PPC Campaigns appeared first on Backlinko.

25 Best Blog Niche Ideas (Data Study)

2025-03-26 00:04:35

The internet is full of recycled lists claiming to reveal the “most profitable blog niche ideas.”

But most lack any actual data to back up their recommendations.

That’s why we decided to do something different.

We analyzed 100 blog niches using a comprehensive methodology to identify the top 25 opportunities based on cold, hard numbers.

This included:

• Search volume data
• Keyword difficulty scores
• Average cost per click (CPC)
• Search intent
• Short- and long-term growth trends

For each winning niche, we created a detailed scorecard that ranks its performance across three critical dimensions:

Growth, monetization, and ranking potential.

These metrics are presented on a five-point scale to help you quickly assess each niche’s strengths and challenges.

Whether you’re launching your first blog or your fifth, these insights will help you make smarter decisions about where to invest your time and energy.

Check out our methodology below, or skip right to the top blog niches of 2025.

Methodology: How We Rated the Blog Niche Ideas

To identify the most promising blog niches of 2025, we developed a scoring system that evaluated 100 niches across three key performance metrics:

Growth Trend (35% of Total Score)

We analyzed historical growth patterns in the U.S. by combining:

• Year-over-year growth (40% weight)
• 5-year growth trend (30% weight)
• 10-year growth trajectory (30% weight)

This weighted average was then converted to a 1-5 scale, with five circles indicating exceptional growth potential.

All growth trend data was sourced from Exploding Topics.

Monetization Potential (35% of Total Score)

We evaluated earning potential by combining:

• Search volume relative to top niches (40% weight)
• Average cost-per-click rates (40% weight)
• User intent (20% weight)—with commercial intent receiving higher scores

Higher scores (more filled circles) indicate stronger monetization opportunities.

U.S. search volume, intent, and CPC data were all gathered from Semrush data.

Ranking Potential (30% of Total Score)

We assessed competition levels based on keyword difficulty:

• 0-20% difficulty = 5 circles (easiest to rank)
• 21-40% difficulty = 4 circles
• 41-60% difficulty = 3 circles
• 61-80% difficulty = 2 circles
• 81-100% difficulty = 1 circle (most competitive)

Keyword difficulty data was sourced from Semrush.

Each niche received a total score based on these weighted metrics, allowing us to identify the top 25 blog niche ideas.

Now that you see how we evaluated these niches, let’s find the right one for YOU with our Three Ps framework.

How to Choose and Validate Your Blog Niche

Want to know the secret to long-term blogging success?

It all comes down to the three Ps: Passion, Potential, and Profitability.

The most successful blogs hit this trifecta.

They’re built around topics you genuinely care about, have substantial audience interest, and offer clear paths to revenue.

Here’s how to find your perfect match.

Step 1: Consider Your Passions

Passion for your blog niche isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a competitive advantage.

Why does this first “P” matter so much?

When you genuinely care about your topic, you’ll:

• Stick with it when growth is slow (and trust me, every blogger faces plateaus)
• Develop deeper insights that casual researchers miss
• Create high-quality content that naturally displays E-E-A-T (expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) signals that Google rewards
• Create authentic content that resonates with fellow enthusiasts

Think about what topics you find yourself researching for fun, discussing with friends, or already have experience with.

These are your passion indicators.

Step 2: Research the Niche’s Long-Term Potential

Found a topic you love? Great.

Now let’s evaluate the second “P”—Potential—to make sure this niche has staying power.

First, verify there’s an actual audience for your niche.

Here’s how:

Visit online communities where your potential readers hang out:

• Facebook Groups: Check member count and weekly post volume
• Quora: Analyze question frequency and follower counts
• Reddit: Look for subreddits with at least 10,000 members

For example, when I searched “gardening” on Reddit, I found this active subreddit with 7.8 million members.

Pay attention to:

• Common questions people ask
• Problems they’re trying to solve
• Language they use to describe their challenges
• Products or solutions they’re already using

Now, let’s look at whether your niche is growing or declining.

Open Google Trends and enter your blog niche idea.

Change the time frame dropdown to “Past 5 years” (or a custom timeframe).

For example, “gardening” has stayed fairly steady—and even seen frequent spikes in interest—over the past five years.

This is an encouraging sign that this niche will remain popular over time.

As you review niches, look for the following:

• Upward trend (or fairly steady interest) over time
• Seasonal patterns you can plan content around
• Related topics showing rapid growth

Step 3: Analyze Profitability

Moderate to strong interest in your blog niche is a fantastic start.

But the third “P”—profitability—determines if your blog can actually make money.

Here’s where you validate if people are actively searching for content in your niche.

And what the average CPC for your niche is.

You’ll need a keyword research tool for this step.

I’ll be using Semrush’s Keyword Overview tool for this example.

Enter your main niche topic, such as “garden design.”

The “Overview” report tells you everything you need to know to assess this niche’s monetization potential:

• Monthly search volume
• Search intent
• CPC
• Keyword difficulty

For example, “garden design” gets 6.6K searches per month in the United States.

While not as high as some, niching down from the broad category of “gardening” has clear benefits.

This includes much lower difficulty (65% vs. 90%).

Next, look at the “CPC” report.

(The higher the CPC, the more advertisers are willing to pay for clicks, signaling stronger monetization opportunities.)

“Garden design” has a CPC of $1.78, which shows monetization potential.

With the three Ps as your guide, you can confidently identify a blog niche that’s personally fulfilling and financially rewarding.

Now, let’s explore the top 25 blog niche ideas for 2025.

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

In a surprise to no one, “AI” is the #1 blog niche for 2025.

Despite the relatively modest $1.24 CPC, the off-the-charts search volume (1M) makes this an incredibly lucrative opportunity.

But you’ll need to bring your A-game.

This means expert content that demonstrates a deep understanding of the topic.

This is true whether you focus on breaking artificial intelligence news and trends before others do.

Or providing in-depth tutorials and tool reviews to help the everyday person understand and use AI.

Or you could niche down further.

Like the successful AI blog Machine Learning Mastery.

This blog teaches developers “how to get better results, faster” with practical AI tutorials.

Machine Learning Mastery is a great example of how to monetize in this space.

They use display advertising and sell multiple machine learning ebooks and tutorials.

2. Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is a high-potential niche.

With 426% growth over the past decade and a substantial 165,000 monthly searches, this space offers clear potential to turn your blog into a reliable revenue stream.

But the competition is no joke.

Even the subniches like SEO and content marketing have 100% keyword difficulty.

To stand out in this highly competitive space, you’ll need to create content competitors can’t easily replicate.

Think case studies, original research, firsthand insights, and expert interviews.

For example, Search Engine Journal (SEJ) has found success in the SEO and search marketing subniches with data-backed content written by industry experts.

While there are many ways to monetize a digital marketing blog, SEJ’s strategy includes syndicated content opportunities and banner ads.

3. Cybersecurity

This high-profit niche commands an impressive $11.51 CPC—the second highest on our list.

This makes cybersecurity one of the most profitable blog categories if you can crack the code to ranking.

The 809% growth over the past decade tells you there is serious long-term potential here.

But the 100% keyword difficulty?

It means breaking into this space requires genuine expertise that can’t be faked.

Consider specializing in subniches where competition is slightly less intense.

Like network security, privacy protection, or ethical hacking,

Take the blog Krebs on Security, for example.

The creator of this blog, Brian Krebs, is a former Washington Post journalist.

Krebs has built authority by breaking major security news stories through investigative journalism.

Krebs on Security also has a strong monetization strategy that involves both on- and offline tactics.

This includes display ads, affiliate marketing, and speaking engagements.

4. Meal Prep

Meal prep has seen remarkable growth (457%) over the past decade.

And it has no signs of slowing down.

It’s also slightly more accessible than some top niches, with 75% keyword difficulty.

(Plus, check out that healthy $5.24 CPC).

But what makes this niche particularly attractive is its evergreen appeal.

People will always need convenient, healthy eating solutions that save time and money.

Success here hinges on authenticity.

Thoroughly test your recipes, document each step visually, and provide specific troubleshooting tips from your own kitchen experiences.

Combine high-quality photography with practical, real-world advice that readers can’t find in generic recipe collections.

For example, Sweet Peas and Saffron, a popular meal prep blog, features step-by-step directions and storage and reheating instructions for each recipe.

They also monetize their blog in a few tasty ways:

• Display ads
• Amazon’s affiliate marketing program
• Downloadable meal plans

5. Wellness

Wellness has doubled in popularity over the last decade, showing steady 100% growth.

With 77% keyword difficulty, this niche offers a somewhat more accessible entry point.

Another bonus? Strong audience interest (49,500 monthly searches).

Rather than covering the entire field, consider focusing on subniches where you can establish deep expertise.

Like sleep, stress management, or mindfulness practices

Balance science-backed information with relatable personal experiences.

Readers want evidence that wellness practices actually work, preferably from someone who’s implemented them in real life.

For example, Wellness Mama has built a devoted blog following.

The family-focused natural living content is tested and reviewed by researchers and medical advisors, which builds trust and credibility.

As for monetization?

Wellness Mama has a podcast and multiple cookbooks.

They’re also in various affiliate marketing programs.

6. Home Remodeling

Love to DIY home projects?

The home remodeling blog niche offers enticing numbers:

• 60% keyword difficulty (lower than many of our top niches)
• $5.22 CPC
• Consistent growth: 41% YoY; 65% 5Y; 39% 10Y

To shine in this niche, demonstrate real expertise, whether you focus on home decor or kitchen redesigns.

Readers want detailed cost breakdowns, material recommendations, and step-by-step instructions that result in successful outcomes.

High-quality before/after photos and video tutorials will separate your blog from competitors.

Young House Love is a prime example of home remodeling niche mastery.

They document real renovation projects with detailed cost breakdowns and process photos that show every step.

They’ve also monetized through multiple book deals.

And have their own lighting line at a major retailer, showing the diverse money-making potential of this niche.

7. Debt Management

Talk about the sleeper hit of blog niches.

Debt management has an eye-popping $15.50 CPC—the highest on our list.

Despite a relatively modest search volume (2,900 monthly searches), this niche presents a golden opportunity for monetization.

Plus, the 63% keyword difficulty makes it more accessible than many top niches.

But here’s the catch:

As a Your Money, Your Life (YMYL) topic, Google holds financial content to much higher standards.

You’ll need to demonstrate legitimate expertise to rank.

Success requires establishing E-E-A-T signals through author credentials (financial certifications help), expert contributions, and comprehensive, accurate advice backed by authoritative sources.

Trust is everything here.

Focus on transparency, avoid get-rich-quick promises, and show readers a clear path to financial improvement.

Personal stories (with receipts) will be a differentiator in this niche.

While there are plenty of smaller blogs in this niche (with low traffic) many of the major players are blogs run by financial institutions.

Like this one:

But with a solid SEO strategy and high-quality content, you’ll have a good shot at breaking through on the SERPs.

8. Pet Health

Pet parents take the health of their fur babies seriously, which is evident by the 72% growth of this niche over the past decade.

It also has moderate keyword difficulty (64%).

And an impressive $5.15 CPC.

Of course, the lower search volume (1,300) isn’t ideal.

But it’s offset by this niche’s commercial intent.

To succeed in this space, create detailed guides on specific health conditions, prevention strategies, and nutrition advice.

Remember, this is another YMYL niche where Google demands expertise.

Veterinary credentials or partnerships with pet health professionals will boost your credibility and ranking potential.

A pet health blog that exemplifies all of this is Preventive Vet.

The blog’s content is written and reviewed by veterinarians, pet behavioral consultants, and pet trainers.

They’ve also monetized in multiple ways, with products and services tailored to their ideal customer:

Pet parents (and pets, of course).

This includes books, dog toys, and virtual and in-person dog training courses.

9. B2B Sales

Interest in B2B sales has exploded with 191% growth over the past decade.

Yet it remains surprisingly accessible with just 50% keyword difficulty.

This rising star niche sits in a sweet spot.

There’s enough search volume (14,800 monthly searches) to drive traffic.

But it doesn’t have the cutthroat competition of broader business categories.

What works here? Real results.

Share actual sales frameworks you’ve used, document real client acquisition processes, and provide email and cold-calling templates.

Focus on specific industries, sales challenges, or buyer journey stages to carve out your unique positioning.

The Close Blog is a great example of this.

The content is tailored to startups and small business owners.

And it’s written by industry experts.

While Close uses its blog to generate leads for its CRM, it’s not the only way they monetize.

They also run an affiliate program, offering 30% commission on each referred paying customer.

10. Weight Loss

“Weight loss” is a powerhouse blog niche with awesome monthly search volume (165,000).

And undeniably strong monetization potential ($5.99 CPC).

Despite minimal year-over-year growth, the five-year trend is positive, with an increase of 78%.

(This isn’t surprising, considering the weight loss medicine “Ozempic” gets 1.5 million searches alone.)

The issue?

100% keyword difficulty means you’re competing against established health authorities and major publications.

This YMYL niche requires genuine expertise and trustworthiness.

Consider specializing in targeted subniches to find less competitive angles.

Like weight management for specific health conditions or demographic groups.

Personal stories of success—with real before and after photos—will be especially impactful.

For example, the weight loss blog Runs for Cookies features the creator’s personal story of losing 125 pounds.

This establishes trust and credibility with readers (and search engines).

Runs for Cookies’ monetization strategy includes Amazon’s affiliate program and display ads.

As an avid runner, Runs for Cookies recommends their favorite clothes and accessories based on personal experience.

This gives their suggestions authenticity and trustworthiness, helping to encourage sales.

11. Skincare

Skincare has seen long-term growth of 400% over the last decade.

(Though the recent 13% year-over-year dip suggests potential market saturation.)

With 90,500 monthly searches and a keyword difficulty of 91%, this is a challenging but potentially rewarding space.

But if you’re going the affiliate or sponsored content route, be warned:

Readers want genuine product recommendations and advice.

They can see through endless glowing reviews just to push affiliate links.

Take the popular blog Lab Muffin Beauty Science, for example.

Its creator holds a PhD in chemistry.

And uses their expertise to break down the science behind beauty products.

This helps readers separate fact from marketing hype.

To monetize, Lab Muffin Beauty Science uses multiple income streams:

• Display ads
• Affiliate links
• Ebooks
• Sponsored content

This mix allows the blog to generate revenue while staying true to its mission of providing science-backed beauty insights.

12. Productivity

Productivity has a surprisingly high CPC of $9.80—the third highest on our list.

Even better?

This blog niche has shown consistent growth across multiple timeframes:

• 17% YoY
• 58% over five years
• 44% over the last decade

Clearly, our collective obsession with doing more in less time isn’t fading.

But at 93% keyword difficulty, you’ll face stiff competition from established productivity giants.

Success here demands more than rehashing the same time management tips everyone’s already heard.

Develop and test original productivity systems, create custom tools your audience can’t find elsewhere, and share firsthand stories of how you maintain productivity.

The Zen Habits blog is a stellar example of this.

Its creator focuses on habit formation from their firsthand experiences.

Like writing a novel, tripling their income, running marathons, and much more.

While the blog’s design is minimal and doesn’t feature display ads, Zen Habits has multiple monetization paths.

This includes books and a paid membership with workshops and video courses.

13. Real Estate Investment

Real estate investment may have plateaued in growth this year (0% YoY).

But its 10-year growth trend reveals the bigger picture:

This niche has staying power.

But this YMYL topic is heavily gated by Google’s quality standards.

(Plus, it has a hefty 99% keyword difficulty score.)

You’ll need more than theoretical knowledge to break through.

Actual investing experience or genuine expertise is non-negotiable.

Readers in this space are often willing to invest in premium content, tools, and services that deliver real value.

Focus on creating content backed by data analysis, market research, and documented case studies of your own investments.

Transparency about both successes and failures will help establish the authenticity this space demands.

A great example in the real estate investing niche is BiggerPockets.

This blog blends real estate news and educational content with personal success stories.

BiggerPockets monetizes through multiple paid membership plans that provide added value to its target audience.

This includes investing tools for property and rent analysis, forum access, and active deal listings.

14. Financial Management

Financial management strikes the perfect balance as an evergreen niche:

• Healthy long-term growth: 16% YoY, 94% 5Y, 56% 10Y
• Lower keyword difficulty: 79% (while not technically “low,” it’s not insurmountable for a financial topic)
• Great revenue potential: $6.27

But it’s a YMYL topic, and you know what that means.

While not as impenetrable as some finance niches, you’ll still need to demonstrate clear knowledge and authority to rank well.

Niche down to specific audience segments rather than trying to cover all aspects of personal finance.

Like young professionals, small business owners, or retirees,

This will help you establish deeper expertise in a less competitive subset.

Original case studies, data analysis, and practical tools like calculators or spreadsheets provide the value that readers and search engines reward.

Mr. Money Mustache is a great example of a blog that makes financial advice accessible—and entertaining.

Their slogan is “financial freedom through badassity,” after all.

Its creator shares firsthand tips on living frugally and retiring young.

Aside from a display ad or two, Mr. Money Mustache monetizes through affiliate marketing.

On “MMM Recommends,” you’ll find various product recommendations from the blog’s creator.

Including credit cards, financial trackers, and investment firms.

15. Self-Care

Self-care has quietly transformed from buzzword to established niche, with impressive 250% growth over the past decade.

Plus, at 73% keyword difficulty, it offers a more approachable entry point than many top niches on our list.

The challenge?

A lower $0.98 CPC means you’ll need volume or creative monetization strategies to maximize revenue.

Success in this space comes from authentic, practical content that goes beyond generic advice.

Consider focusing on specific aspects of self-care where you can carve out your niche.

Like morning routines, digital detox strategies, or stress management techniques.

Take The Blissful Mind, a self-care blog designed for busy professionals seeking balance and mindfulness, for example.

It offers practical self-care tips and routines tailored to hectic schedules.

As for revenue streams?

They monetize with products that naturally complement this niche: a planner, journal, and guide.

These offerings provide readers with tangible tools to put self-care into practice, reinforcing the blog’s mission while generating income.

16. Career Development

Career development has emerged as a standout niche, with 107% growth over the past five years.

The strong growth and relatively approachable competition (61% keyword difficulty) make it an attractive option, whether you’re a new or seasoned blogger.

Specificity and actionable advice are the keys to success in this niche.

Focus on particular industries, career stages, or workplace challenges where you have firsthand experience.

Document real career transitions, share authentic workplace stories, and create practical resources.

Like resume templates and interview scripts.

For example, The Muse, a well-known career blog, shares advice on everything from skill development to team building.

They also feature company profiles and job listings.

When it comes to monetization, The Muse offers a variety of revenue streams designed to help readers land their dream jobs.

This includes personalized resume reviews and career coaching services.

17. Green Technology

Green technology offers a rare combination: moderate competition (58% keyword difficulty) and solid monetization potential ($5.01 CPC).

But the relatively low search volume (1,900 monthly searches) means success hinges on attracting highly targeted, high-intent website traffic.

To make the most of this niche, focus on content that aligns with user intent.

Readers want the science behind green technology and actionable ways to reduce their carbon footprint in their own homes.

This is why product reviews will be big in this niche.

Stay ahead of emerging trends and policy changes to position your blog as a forward-thinking resource.

For example, CleanTechnica covers energy efficiency, geothermal energy, Tesla products, and more.

They also provide in-depth electric vehicle reviews.

To monetize, CleanTechnica leverages multiple revenue streams, including display ads and an ecommerce store.

So, they can generate income while continuing to champion sustainable tech.

18. B2C Sales

Business-to-consumer (B2C) sales shows promising growth (+300% over the last 10 years).

But it also has surprisingly low competition at just 32%.

This provides an accessible entry point for bloggers with B2C sales experience.

While the search volume is low (720 monthly searches), the ease of ranking makes this an attractive option.

Share specific sales scripts, customer journey maps, and proven conversion optimization techniques backed by real-world experience.

Consider specializing in particular sales channels (ecommerce, retail, subscription services) or customer segments where you have hands-on experience.

With such minimal competition, you have a genuine opportunity to establish authority relatively quickly compared to more crowded niches.

Now, let’s look at a successful blog in this niche.

Sales Gravy helps sales professionals sharpen their skills, close more deals, and navigate sales slumps with confidence.

To monetize, Sales Gravy offers virtual sales workshops and online courses.

This lets them turn their expertise into valuable training resources for their audience.

19. Consumer Tech

Surprised to find a tech niche with just 34% keyword difficulty?

Consumer tech has an unusually accessible entry point.

But don’t let the recent dip in YoY growth (-6%) fool you.

The 233% growth over the last 10 years demonstrates this niche’s staying power.

What sets successful tech blogs apart?

Thorough, hands-on testing that goes beyond surface-level reviews.

Anyone can summarize a spec sheet, but readers value authentic insights and detailed performance reviews.

Focus on specific product categories or user needs where you have genuine expertise rather than trying to cover the entire consumer tech landscape.

A standout example in this niche is RTINGS.

The blog features objective product testing using standardized methodologies and scoring systems.

Run by a team of engineers, testers, technical writers, and developers, their content is high quality and trustworthy.

This credibility is essential, especially if you want to monetize product reviews through affiliate programs, as RTINGS does.

20. Health

The health niche pulls in a whopping 368,000 monthly searches.

Not to mention that juicy $4.67 CPC.

But don’t start drafting “10 tips for better health” articles just yet.

As a YMYL topic, health content faces Google’s toughest quality filters.

Without medical credentials or expert partnerships, you’ll struggle to gain traction.

Your best bet?

Niche down to specific health conditions where you have firsthand experience or certified knowledge.

And back everything with scientific research and insights from medical professionals.

This is what Healthline, a popular blog in the health niche, does.

Their articles are written by health writers and reviewed by medical professionals, which helps establish trust and credibility.

To monetize, Healthline uses multiple revenue streams that align with its audience’s interests.

This includes advertising, sponsored content, and affiliate links.

21. Books

What this evergreen category lacks in CPC ($0.68), it makes up for in passionate audience engagement.

(Check out that 368,000 monthly search volume).

But you’ll need a distinctive angle that sets you apart from established literary blogs to break into this competitive space.

Consider niching down to underrepresented genres, specialized reading guides for particular audiences, or unique book curation approaches.

Authentic book reviews and recommendations are crucial here. Insightful commentary and humor also work well.

For example, Book Riot stands out in this niche with diverse book coverage, literary-themed product reviews, and multiple themed newsletters.

They’ve also taken a creative approach to monetization with their own book subscription box.

Curated by Book Riot editors, each box delivers hand-selected books tailored to the customer’s preferences.

22. Cryptocurrency

Thinking about riding the crypto wave?

This niche has skyrocketed with a mind-blowing 700% growth over the past decade.

With 135,000 monthly searches, there’s no shortage of people hungry for crypto content.

Here’s the catch

You’re facing 100% keyword difficulty.

Google won’t let just anyone rank here—this is serious YMYL territory.

Focus on educational content that helps readers understand blockchain fundamentals or risk management strategies.

Share your personal experiences (both wins and losses) to build authenticity.

Success requires genuine expertise through technical accuracy, responsible advice, and transparent disclosure of your own involvement with digital assets.

The CoinDesk blog is a powerhouse in crypto news.

Backed by financial journalists and technical experts, they cover the latest trends, regulations, and market moves.

CoinDesk monetizes its blog with a solid mix of methods:

• Display ads
• Sponsored content
• Industry events

23. Remote Work

Interest in remote work has grown steadily (460%) over the past decade.

In fact, 60,500 people search for “remote work” each month.

But the low $0.83 CPC isn’t ideal.

This means you’ll need more than display ads to make money in this niche.

Addresses specific challenges in your content to stand out.

Like maintaining work-life boundaries, building virtual team culture, or optimizing home office setups for different living situations.

Consider focusing on particular remote work scenarios to excel in areas with less content saturation.

Like digital nomads, hybrid teams, or specific industries.

Remote.co is a strong example of a successful blog in the remote work space.

Their blog covers content for job seekers and remote employees/leadership.

Like spotting job scams, high-paying WFH jobs, onboarding employees, and virtual collaboration tips.

Remote.co monetizes through multiple channels.

Including paid memberships for job seekers looking for their next remote opportunity.

24. Web Design

Looking to capitalize on a niche with serious earning potential?

Web design has an impressive $8.84 CPC—the fourth highest on our list.

Recent trends show encouraging growth: 31% over two years.

And the 49,500 monthly searches indicate plenty of audience interest.

But breaking into this high-competition space (96% keyword difficulty) requires demonstrating legitimate design expertise.

You can’t fake it here.

To stand out, share your actual processes and projects.

And create tutorials that show your personal approach to design problems.

Stay current with emerging design trends and technologies to maintain credibility in this field.

A standout in the web design space, the blog CSS-Tricks delivers practical advice and in-depth design problem-solving articles.

Owned by cloud service provider DigitalOcean, CSS-Tricks helps funnel leads to its parent company’s products.

Including Cloudways, a web hosting provider.

It also generates revenue through sponsorship opportunities.

25. Passive Income

Dreaming of making money while you sleep?

You’re not alone—passive income has seen 115% growth over the past decade with 49,500 monthly searches.

But just regurgitating what’s already out there won’t cut it.

Readers (and search engines) want to see that you know what you’re talking about.

Document your actual passive income streams with real numbers and transparent insights.

In a niche filled with get-rich-quick schemes, your authentic experiences and realistic expectations will build trust that keeps readers coming back.

The Smart Passive Income blog is a long-time favorite in this space.

Its content helps readers become entrepreneurs and build passive income streams for sustainable success.

But Smart Passive Income isn’t just about advice—it’s a business itself.

They monetize through multiple channels:

• Paid community with workshops and masterminds
• SaaS tools
• Live events
• Affiliate marketing

Your Next Move: Bring Your Blog Idea to Life

The best blog niche ideas aren’t the ones with the biggest numbers—it’s where your expertise meets market opportunity.

Before you commit, ask yourself:

• Do you have real knowledge in this area?
• Can you consistently create content here?
• Does the monetization align with your goals?

Ready to bring your blog idea to life?

Learn how to start a blog with our step-by-step guide, including a 12-month action plan and downloadable checklist.

The post 25 Best Blog Niche Ideas <br>(Data Study) appeared first on Backlinko.