The "Series" Method Of Blogging
Throw your keyword tool away!
Just kidding. You're going to need that.
But seriously, you could spend the next year blogging without a keyword tool if you just spend a couple hours researching the "series" method that I use for my websites now.
The Main Idea Is Pretty Obvious
The name says it all. I do a series of blog posts all related to the same topic, or in the same format. Just change up one or two words, and focus on a different topic. Let's look at some examples using a Top 10 list format.
- Top 10 Racing Games For PS4
- Top 10 MMORPG Games For PS4
- Top 10 Sandbox Games For PS4
- Top 10 Zombie Games For PS4
- Top 10 Christian-Friendly Games For PS4
- Top 10 Kid-Friendly Games For PS4
- Top 10 PS4 Games For Kids Under 10
- Top 10 PS4 Games For Christmas 2021
- Top 10 Sci-Fi Games For PS4
- Top 10 RPG Games For PS4
- Top 10 Violent Games For PS4
- Top 10 First Person Shooter Games For PS4
- 10 Hardest Games For PS4
- 10 Worst Games For PS4
- 10 Games For PS4 Worth Playing Again
- 10 Best Easter Eggs In PS4 Games
- Top 10 Games For PS4 With Women Leads
- Top 10 Battle Royale Games For PS4
I'm not a gamer. I just wrote these titles off the dome as I'm writing this blog post. At one blog post per week, that's months of content right there. At 5 posts per week, that's more than a month of full time publishing.
If you look up those keywords in Jaaxy, they probably won't show much in terms of traffic. But you know what? I'm pretty dang sure they will get traffic. PLUS, they will do well on Pinterest and social media (everyone loves lists). PLUS, you can update these lists each year to include new games.
Structure your URL like this: MYWEBSITE.com/top-racing-games-ps4 or MYWEBSITE.com/racing-games-ps4
Then, make your title like: Top 10 Racing Games For PS4 In 2020. Next year, just switch out the 2020 for 2021, update the games to fit the new year, and done! By then you'll probably be making money, so you can outsource the updates.
Take It To The Next Level
Some niches are able to go a level even deeper, and switch out two words, for an even more precise article publishign strategy. When you do this, it's a little more obvious why I always tell people you might not understand the potential of your niche until you become an expert in it.
The best example to use is hair care.
- best shampoo for oily hair
- best shampoo for frizzy hair
- best shampoo for thin hair
- best shampoo for ginger hair
- best shampoo for dry hair
- best shampoo for kids hair
- best shampoo for seniors hair
- best conditioner for oily hair
- best conditioner for frizzy hair
- best conditioner for thin hair
- best conditioner for ginger hair
- best conditioner for dry hair
- best conditioner for kids hair
- best conditioner for seniors hair
- best hair gel for men's oily hair
- best hair gel for men's frizzy hair
- best hair gel for men's thin hair
- best hair gel for men's ginger hair
- best hair gel for men's dry hair
- best hair gel for seniors men's hair
Some of these titles probably are not worth your time, but it depends on how much time you have. "best hair gel for seniors men's hair" will probably get no traction, and be outranked by general posts about senior hair care. It might produce 0 traffic and 0 clicks.
It's hard to say though. Do senior men have special hair care needs? These days, some people are dating into their 70's, and I'll bet that senior men have a different hair routine than senior women!
You're the expert, so you'll have to decide.
The Best Performing Posts Are A Secret
I'm sure people check out my site all the time using tools like SEMRush and Ahrefs to see which keywords perform the best for traffic. The funny thing is, my best keywords for traffic and sales don't show up in those competition research tools. They don't show up in keyword research tools either.
Why? I have no idea.
The point is though that keyword tools are good for giving you a direction, but there's a LOT going on which is not measured by any tools. You need a bit of intuition and expertise. It defiintely pays (literally, in this case), to be an expert in your niche and just write about things you think are interesting or useful.
Final Thoughts
I'm not telling you to ditch your keyword tool. I used (10 years), and continue to use keyword tools to discover new things. They are good for finding phrases people are searching for online, and great for prioritizing your publishing timline/work schedule. I spend a lot more time researching and writing for high traffic keywords!
But there's a whole world out there of potential traffic and sales for folks who spend time learning about their niche and writing for the gaps. So many websites out there leaving money on the table for YOU to grab when you venture outside of what your keyword tool tells you.
The series method of blogging I use isn't perfect. A lot of posts end up with zero traction. A lot end up getting traffic though, and that becomes the next stepping stone on the path to moving my business forward.
- Related Training: Generate Hundreds Of Blog Post Ideas pt. 1
- Related Training: Generate Hundreds of Blog Post Ideas Pt. 2
Recent Comments
89
Great post. :)
My thoughts:
'Some of these titles probably are not worth your time, but it depends on how much time you have'.
If a keyword is low competition and lowish traffic I'll often use them as LSI keywords in my headings to beef up the primary keyword.
For example, if my primary keyword is '10 best hair gel products for men' i might use 'best hair gel for men's frizzy hair' as an LSI keyword in the list and pair it with the chosen product name.
The syntax for my post would be:
H1/post title: [primary keyword] + [curiosity/summary/knowledge gap heading]
H2: [variation on primary keyword for list heading]
> H3: [product name] + [LSI keyword 1]
> H3: [product name] + [LSI keyword 2]
> H3: [product name] + [LSI keyword 3]
> ...
I'm having results with this on my new site where I'm picking up low hanging LSI searches whilst I'm waiting to rank for my primary keyword.
But if the competition is high and the SERPs are full of individual posts/reviews I'll often turn the LSI keywords into primary keywords for separate articles.
Do you structure your posts like this?
Cheers,
Dan
Great points Dan. You could definitely do that. If a title is not worth your time, then you can include it as a subtopic in a related post.
I haven't done this in the past, but I'm starting to do it a bit more nowadays. I like exploring search console for subtopics to turn into headings/subsections for posts which are already ranking.
I had suspected the same thing - but it is very good to hear it confirmed. Thanks for sharing your post and giving us some great ideas on how to generate ideas. It seems half the challenge is deciding what to write about. Once that is decided, the words seem to flow. If you look at Google, basically we all seem to think the same way. When you start typing words in the search engine, most times it is filled in within a few letters to focus in on what you were researching. So - basically, we do all kind of think alike. so, if we are thinking it, must be tons others out there thinking about it too. Great post!!!!
Great minds think alike Janice LOL :)
I like your spin on it, that by "thinking out loud" you can predict what people will search for, even if it's not showing in a keyword tool. Intuition, in this case, really works IMO
Hi Nathaniell,
That's true, keyword tools are there to point you in the right direction. But it doesn't mean you will hit a bullseye all the time. I enjoy writing different versions of one keyword. For example;
keyword: cartoon bird
flying cartoon bird
orange cartoon bird
cartoon bird on a tree
singing cartoon bird
These are all different keywords with the same main keywords.
Excellent post! ;0)
Great examples! You are right that some are not bullseyes, but you really only need a couple good keywords to start traffic moving in the right direction. Pop in some internal links, and you're on your way!
Hi Nathaniell,
You made my day! I wondered to what extent we need to be slaves to worrying about the perfect keyword. Because I have checked posts that rank high when I do random searches that do not do very well in Jaaxy.
The reason you just gave explains why. You are correct about how to come up with keywords in your niche because you are an expert in it. And will have a pretty good idea what people are searching for.
It pays to just go for it. If 4 out of 5 don't do well but that one turns out to be a winner, it makes this approach well worth the effort.
Thanks for opening my eyes to what seems like an efficient approach to write blog posts. I'm going to bookmark this post of yours.
Cheers.
Edwin
Yup. You just need 1/5 to be a winner to get some good results. Very often, those other four will climb and rank for something later on. You never know!
Many people dedicate hours and hours to perfect their keyword research, but personally, I don't have an exact formula to rank. So why waste a ton of time worry about the perfect keyword when you can guarantee your rank for some super low competition stuff?
As always, thanks for reading and adding do the discussion Edwin. You're a great writer!
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Hi Nathan. I'm trying to get my head around this. Last year I wrote a review on the 5 best hedgers for 2019. Are you saying that I should write a new blog with updated reviews(if needed) and a new date. Do I leave the old blog in the system? Or do I simply go to the old blog, make the changes and publish. Thanks Jim