📝 How to Research a Blog Post
Learning how to conduct research for the best possible blog post
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Several elements make up a great blog post – a catchy title, readability, headers - the list goes on. But, arguably, one of the most critical elements is your research.
It may not sound glamorous, but your research is the backbone of your blog post. Without it, it won’t stand up or stand out. Despite sounding relatively straightforward, many people, bloggers included, don’t know how to research a blog post.
To write a phenomenal post rich in relevant and accurate content that will both entertain and inform, you need to put in the time. If you want to write a blog that WOW’s readers, follow these tips for researching a blog post.
Tip #1 Research your topic and find out what readers are looking for
Hopefully, you already know who your readers are. After all, you are writing for them and therefore need to know what they want to read.
To start, do a quick search online, or look at social media pages related to your niche. Skim conversations and trending videos to see what topics are trending and relevant to your readers.
Find out what questions they are asking. For example, let’s say you have a blog on classic cars and want to write a blog post to drive traffic and provide valuable info to your subscribers. You can find out what questions people are asking that relate to classic cars.
There are two ways you can do this.
1. Type your keyword into Google. Using the same example, you could type in “classic cars.” Under the featured snippet, you will see a section called “People also ask.”
Here, Google displays four common questions. Using this example, we see the following: (i) “What is the most popular old car?”, (ii) “What is the best classic car to buy?”, (iii) “What cars are considered classic”, and (iv) “What are cheap classic cars”. Pick one of the questions, and answer it in your blog post.
2. Visit answerthepublic.com. Similar to Google, you will enter your keyword. You can also enter a brand, topic or specific products. For example, if I type in “classic Ford trucks,” I am presented with 242 questions people have asked, such as “What year Ford trucks to avoid” or “old ford truck parts and accessories.”
Now that you’ve got a great topic, it’s time to research your content!
Tip #2 Use reliable resources and find the source of stats and studies
Once upon a time, using sources from the internet was frowned upon. Thankfully those days are long gone, and we have an abundance of credible sources at our fingertips. That said, you need to do your due diligence and evaluate each source.
Anyone can publish an article on the internet, and people may fabricate stories and facts to push their agenda. Avoid these click-bait articles and stick to those who are credible. To evaluate a source, ask yourself the following questions:
Is the author qualified to write on this topic? For example, if this is an article on depression treatments, you should look at both the author and the website. A doctor with credentials, a University, a treatment center, or an association like the National Alliance on Mental Illness are great examples of credible authors. If you aren’t sure, check out the rest of the website. Look at the About page and their other articles.
What is the purpose of the article? Is there any bias? When you come across an article, ask yourself what the motive is. For example, if this article is on a brand’s website, they may be trying to sell their product and contain bias. Of course, you can still include this information in a blog post but make sure it is clear to your reader where it came from.
How accurate is this information? Be critical. Start by skimming the article, looking for references and spelling errors. Not all articles will have references or sources linked. For example, if I was researching lifestyle blogs about morning routines, there likely won’t be facts that must be checked. However, if I were reading a blog on the prevalence of sleep disorders and found several statistics and studies, I would need to ensure the article has the references to back them up. Sources may appear at the bottom of the blog post or be linked within.
The easiest way to highlight the difference between a reliable and an unreliable source is to show you an example. In this hypothetical scenario, you are writing a blog post on sleep disorders and you search “cures for insomnia.” You come across the following two sources:
Example A - 29 of the Best Natural Remedies For Deep Sleep
You will see there is no author listed, so we check the About page. Again, we don’t find any qualifications or indication that the site is a reliable source. We don't know where this information is coming from and who is writing it.
With a glance, it initially looks as though it is sharing 27 natural cures, and although it does do this, you can see that each of the “natural cures” is recommending a specific brand. You also see in the conclusion, this brand and its products are almost all affiliate products. The real purpose of this blog post may be to advertise that affiliate marketing.
There are no glaring spelling errors; however, there are also no credible sources listed. Considering Insomnia is a medical condition, we should expect to see it at least once.
If you were researching a blog post, I would not advise getting your information from this article.
Example B - Treatment for Insomnia
The author is visible, and we can see that it was medically reviewed by a doctor.
You can click on the doctor's name to read more about his qualifications. We can also see that this website, Sleep Foundation, has a medical advisory board and a medical review panel.
The purpose is to educate. Several studies and statistics are cited throughout, there are references at the bottom, and no products are being advertised or sold.
Just because there are statistics, it doesn’t make it accurate. However, when we review the corresponding references, we can see they are from published academic journals and magazines like Psychology Today.
If you were researching for a blog on sleep disorders, you could rely on the information found in this post. A fantastic hack to finding more credible resources on a related topic is to use the sources found in this article. If you scroll to the end of the post, you will see eight excellent, trustworthy references for further research.
Tip #3 Think outside the box (and use the “News” option in Google)
Regardless of your topic, you want to make your blog post engaging. When you think outside the box, and research different perspectives, case studies, quotes, and anecdotal stories, you can add a more personalized element to your blog.
Let’s say you have a beauty blog and you are writing an article on shampoo ingredients. But, instead of simply listing ingredients, you want to find stories to highlight the importance of looking at shampoo ingredients! So, you search “examples of hair loss caused by shampoo” in Google. Voila! You are presented with tens of thousands of articles.
Now, instead of looking at “All,” click on “News,” which is next to “Images.” This will bring up recent stories that are making headlines. Using this example, an article from Healthline comes up. As always, we evaluate the source and see that it is medically reviewed, a reliable website and references are included.
In this article, we will find more references to class-action lawsuits. The post does not contain bias and shares reports from both sides. As the writer, you would read this or look into the other sources listed to find more information.
Google News articles are a fantastic way to get relevant information, local stories, and quotes. However, if you are looking for more academic and scientific journals, you would have better luck using Google Scholar. Here, you also have the option to search for case law. These can provide attractive (and credible!) information, depending on your topic.
Tip #4 Recent is best so look for current articles
Lastly, look at the date the article was written. More often than not, a recent article or post will be preferred. How current it should be will depend on your topic. If you are citing a study or research in the post you are writing, by including the year, you will provide your reader with more context.
As a blogger, you need to “keep your ear to the ground.” Staying up to date on trending topics, language being used, and popular publications will make researching a blog post so much easier. If new to blogging, you may want to bookmark this post and come back to it, but with time these tips will become second nature, and every blog you craft will have great content your readers can trust.
Until next time!
Using the “people also ask” section is a very smart idea, I’ll definitely be using that in the future. Thanks again for an awesome article, Casey!
Very informative!