How to Research for Content Writing Effectively in 4 Simple Steps (A Complete Guide)

Writing without researching is like going on a journey without knowing your destination.

You will cover some distance, of course.

But you’re more likely to get lost or off track.

That’s exactly what happens when you write without researching.

Look:

Even if the writing is coherent or articulate, it can be shallow and misleading.

I’ve put together a step-by-step guide on how to research for content writing effectively, with examples.

How to conduct research for content writing in 4 easy steps

Before you start writing your content, here are 4 actionable steps to take:

1. Understand the topic.
2. Know the audience.
3. Find relevant keywords.
4. Look at what competitors have written.

Following these steps ensures you write accurate, engaging, and helpful content.

I’ve broken down the steps below.

1. Understand the topic.

Start by reading relevant materials about your topic to learn more about it.

As you do that, you also:

• Gather information from reliable sources.
• And look for credible statistics and data.

I. Gathering information from reliable sources

Reliable information sources include:

• Industry magazines
• Blogs and websites
• Books
• Social media.

For instance, if your topic is “10 Must-Have Accessories for a Chic Look,” then use:

• Fashion magazines: Examples include Vogue, Elle, Glazia.

• Fashion blogs and websites: Examples include Who What Wear and Sincerely Jules.

• Social media: Instagram and Pinterest probably have the best information on what’s trending in accessories.

II. Looking for credible statistics and data

Examples of sources include:

• Industry reports
• Surveys
• Articles from credible websites.

So, for your fashion article, visit the above sources to find credible statistics and data on the popularity of certain accessories.

This will help you thoroughly understand the origin, styling, and benefits of each accessory.

Remember: The same steps apply to other topics besides fashion.

Once you’ve thoroughly understood the topic, the next step is to find out who might be interested in it.

2. Know the audience.

Who exactly is going to read your article?

Someone has to read what you write.

So, research and determine the demographic and psychographic traits of the audience interested in the topic.

I. Demographic traits

“Demographic traits tell you who your audience is in basic terms.”

These are basic characteristics or facts about your audience you can observe.

Demographic traits tell you who your audience is in basic terms.

They include:

• Age or generation
• Gender
• Geographic location
• Income level
• Education level
• Occupation
• Marital status
• Ethnicity
• Religion
• Household size
• Language.

Knowing these traits helps you tailor the content to who you’re addressing.

Here’s how it works

I’ll use AGE as an example.

If you’re writing content for a tech website targeting young adults (ages 18-25),

• Use a casual tone.
• Include slang.
• Focus on the latest gadgets and apps.

For a retirement planning website targeting old people (ages 60+),

• Use a formal tone.
• Avoid slang.
• Focus on healthcare, pension, and travel tips for retirees.

Just imagine addressing Gen-Zers, and you use a formal tone and write about old, ancient gadgets.

Or you’re addressing old people, and you use slang to talk to them about the latest technology in town.

The communication won’t be effective. In fact, it will be a disaster.

So, you can now see how AGE as a demographic trait plays a part in choosing your content tone and the areas of the topic to focus on.

The same thing applies to the other demographic features.

When you tailor your content to the right audience demographics, you’ll deliver your messages to them effectively.

Some sources of demographic data include:

• Government census data
• Surveys and polls
• Market research firms
• Social media data
• Academic research.

Learn more about defining your audience’s demographics.

II. Psychographic traits

“If your content feels personal to your audience, they will engage with it.”

These are the psychological and emotional attributes of your audience.

Psychographic traits tell you how your audience thinks, what they like, and why they choose one thing over another.

They include:

• Values and beliefs
• Lifestyle and hobbies
• Personality
• Attitudes
• Interests
• Social status
• Motivations
• Pain points
• Needs and wants.

If your content feels personal to your audience, they will engage with it.

Knowing these traits helps you tailor the content to the needs and preferences of your audience and connect with them emotionally.

Here’s how it works

I’ll use INTEREST as an example.

If you’re writing an article about Ronaldo’s career targeting his fans, you should:

• Start with a personal story of his early days.

• Analyse his greatest achievements: records, awards, and contributions to various clubs and national teams.

• Share behind-the-scenes details that give the fans a glimpse into his life outside football.

• Close with a motivational message about what others can learn from his journey.

This way, the content will feel personal to your audience, and they will engage with it.

Why?

The audience is interested in Ronaldo and sees him as a role model or an idol.

The sources of psychographic data include:

• Surveys
• Interviews
• Focus groups
• Social media data
• Purchase history data
• Loyalty programme data.

Learn more about defining your audience’s psychographics.

Having fully understood the audience interested in your topic, the next step is to find out how they’re searching for the topic online.

3. Find relevant keywords.

What relevant keywords does your audience search for when looking for the topic?

Let me explain.

Keywords or search queries are words or terms people type into search engines like Google when looking for information online.

Relevant keywords are the keywords related to your topic.

So, find the relevant keywords your audience is searching for.

For example:

If you’re writing about “healthy eating tips,” use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner to find relevant keywords.

Meanwhile, what’s the use of the keywords?

Here’s the catch:

Using relevant keywords in your article ranks it higher in Google search results when people search for the exact or related terms.

And when your article ranks higher, people will click on it and read it.

So, it attracts the right audience to your content.

“Using relevant keywords in your article ranks it higher in Google search results when people search for the exact or related terms.”

Note:

Based on how Google ranks search results, your article may still NOT rank higher in Google search results — even if you use all the right keywords.

I’ve written about several reasons why some articles rank higher than others and how to boost your ranking.

But first, let me show you how to find relevant keywords for your article.

How to find relevant keywords

Below are the steps to take, with screenshots:

I. Visit the Keyword Planner.

Visit Google Keyword Planner by clicking on Visit Keyword Planner.

It will take you to the page shown in the screenshot below.

II. Click on “Discover new keywords.”

You’ll see the page below.

III. Check the geographic location.

The geographic location affects the results you’ll find.

So, ensure you’re targeting the right geographic location.

If you’re targeting audiences in Nigeria, choose Nigeria as the location as in the screenshot below.

If you want to change the location, click on the current location and change it.

IV. Enter your topic.

Remember your topic is “healthy eating tips.”

Enter it into the search box as in the screenshot below.

Note:

If your topic is long, the keyword research tool will let you know, so you can refine or break down the topic.

V. Click on “Get results.”

You’ll discover relevant keyword ideas like:

• “Healthy lifestyle tips”
• “Healthy way to lose weight”
• “Diet tips.”

Remember this:

You’ll discover many relevant keywords.

(And the number can be overwhelming.)

As you can see in the screenshot below, there are 589 keyword ideas related to “healthy eating tips.”

But you’re not going to use all of them in your article.

So, how do you choose the right keywords for your article?

How to pick the right keywords

There are various factors to consider when selecting the most relevant keywords for your article.

But the 2 most important factors are:

• The average monthly searches
• And the competition.

You can see them in the screenshot below.

Let me explain these factors and why you should consider them.

I. Keyword average monthly searches

This is the average number of times in a month people search for a keyword in a search engine, like Google, within a location (e.g., Nigeria).

Knowing the average monthly searches tells you how many people are interested in your topic.

The numbers are usually:

• 0 – 10
• 10 – 100
• 100 – 1K
• 1K – 10K
• 10K – 100K.

If a keyword has a high average monthly search volume, it means a lot of people are searching for it.

This can bring more traffic to your content.

So, choose the keywords with the highest volume of searches.

But before you do, consider the competition.

II. Keyword competition

“Understanding the keyword competition or difficulty helps you choose the right keywords to target.”

This is how easy or hard it is to compete and rank for specific keywords.

Understanding the keyword competition or difficulty helps you choose the right keywords to target.

For instance:

You’re not the only one writing about “healthy eating tips” and trying to rank for it.

So, understand the competition before picking your keywords.

The competition can be:

• Low
• Medium
• High.

If you go for keywords with high competition, it will be tough for your content to rank higher in Google search results.

But if you pick keywords with lower competition, it will be easier for your content to appear at the top of search results.

Anyway, whatever keywords you choose, ensure they’re relevant to your audience.

If you see a dash (-) under the competition, it means Google doesn’t have the data for that keyword.

Pro tip: If you’re just starting out, choose keywords with high monthly searches and low competition.

But wait.

What if the keywords with high searches also have high competition?

If that’s the case, pick the keywords with lower searches and low competition.

This will help you focus on more specific, less competitive keywords and make it easier for your content to stand out.

Finally, remember you can use the above steps to find keyword ideas for any topic, using the Google Keyword Planner.

Other free keyword research tools include:

• Wordstream
• Ahrefs
• SEMrush.

Read this comprehensive guide on how to do keyword research for SEO to learn more.

But when you have selected the relevant keywords, the next step is to look at what your competitors have written about your topic.

4. Look at what competitors have written.

As I stated earlier:

Other articles can still outrank yours even if you use all the right keywords.

This is why you should check out what your competitors have said about the topic in their articles.

This helps you:

• Understand what they covered.

• See the gaps and opportunities they missed.

• Offer unique content 5 to 10 times better than theirs.

How to study your competition

Imagine you’re writing an article for a website that sells poultry-farming tools.

And your topic is “the best poultry-farming tools for your farm.”

Here’s a step-by-step guide to studying your competition:

I. Identify your main competitors.

Use search engines like Google to find articles on similar topics.

Search for relevant keywords like “best poultry-farming tools.”

The screenshot above shows the first 6-ranking articles for the keyword, “best poultry-farming tools.”

They’re your main competitors for that keyword.

II. Analyse the content.

Examine the following:

• Title and headings: Note how your competitors structured their titles and subheadings.

• Content depth: Examine the comprehensiveness of the articles — the necessary areas of the topic they covered.

• Visual elements: Check how they used visual content — images, videos, infographics, etc.

• Keywords: Identify the keywords included in the articles. Tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Ubersuggest help you analyse the keywords they’re ranking for.

• Tone and style: Check out the tone (e.g., formal, casual) and writing style used in the articles. Then identify what resonates with your target audience.

III. Evaluate their audience engagement.

Here are the engagement metrics to track:

• Comments: What feedback is the audience leaving in the comments section? This can give you insights into what readers liked or found lacking in the articles.

• Social sharing: Are the articles shared on social media? High shares show the content is valuable or well-received.

• Call-to-Actions (CTAs): Study how your competitors encourage their audiences to take action (e.g., buying their tools, or subscribing to their newsletters). Effective CTAs can drive engagement.

IV. Identify gaps and opportunities.

Here’s how to know the gaps and opportunities:

• Missing information: Look for areas where the competitors’ articles fall short. Are there tools or tips they overlooked? Is the content outdated?

• Unique value proposition: What unique insights or expertise can you bring to the topic? This could be through expert interviews, case studies, or personal experiences.

• Audience pain points: Find common challenges or concerns readers express in the comments or reviews. Addressing these can make your article more useful.

V. Examine SEO and user experience.

Here are SEO and technical areas to look out for:

• Meta descriptions and tags: Study how competitors optimise their articles for search engines. Check their meta descriptions, alt text for images, and internal and external linking strategies.

• Loading speed and mobile friendliness: Check if the articles perform well technically. Fast loading times and mobile optimisation can improve user experience and SEO rankings.

VI. Gather data and create a competitive analysis.

Here are the things to consider:

• Benchmarking: Create a spreadsheet to compare the competitors’ articles side by side. Include columns for title, content structure, depth, keyword usage, engagement metrics, and more.

• Insights and strategy: Use the result of your analysis to create a strategy for your article. Choose what areas to follow, improve upon, or avoid.

Finally, studying and analysing your competitors’ articles helps you create a better, more engaging, and SEO-optimised article.

BTW, read more about how to conduct an SEO competitor analysis.

Tips for researching for content writing

Researching for content writing comes with many challenges.

So, when these challenges meet you, here are 2 important tips for tackling them:

1. Start with clear research questions about your topic.

The internet is full of information, and it’s easy to get lost there.

This makes it hard to filter out truly relevant information.

So, start with clear research questions about your topic.

2. Stick with reputable sources.

Not every source is reliable, and misinformation is common.

So, stick with reputable sources such as:

• Academic journals
• Official reports
• Established news outlets
• Expert opinions.

And verify facts by checking multiple sources.

Wrapping up

You don’t have to rely on personal opinion or general knowledge about your topic.

Follow the guidelines in this article and create well-informed, engaging, and SEO-optimised content that resonates with your readers.

I would love to hear from you

Did you learn something new? What did you learn?

Have any questions for me?

Let me know in the comments now.

Take the next step to start content writing NOW!

If you want personal mentorship, talk with me or send me your questions and concerns here:

• simplymoses25[at]gmail[dot]com (simplymoses25@gmail.com).

Be assured I’ll respond to you within 12 hours.