A Quick Hack For Becoming a Niche Authority

Do you ever feel like the content on your website is a little disjointed?

Like you’re finding keywords and publishing blog posts on them, but not really building out clusters of helpful content on a specific topic?

If you’re struggling to find related topics to write about, then today’s tip is for you.

I’m sharing a quick (100% free) tip for finding additional blog post ideas…

… no paid tools required.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Log into ​Google Search Console​.

If you don’t have an account set up yet, get on that today! (It’s free)

Then go to “Search Results” and then the “Pages” tab in the table below.

Note: Make sure you also click the “Average CTR” and “Average Position” boxes in the the graph above so that they turn green and orange, respectively. That’s how you get the CTR and ranking data to appear in the table below.

Step 2: Look at data for just one blog post.

Click on the link for the top blog post, then click back to the “queries tab” to see which keywords that specific blog post is ranking for:

For example, one of the current top posts on The Unconventional RD is “How to Make Extra Money as a Dietitian: 27 Best Ways”

Here’s a screenshot of the keywords it’s currently ranking for:

You can see that the main keywords I’m ranking for match the intent of my article (ways to make money as a dietitian/nutritionist).

But even better….

…. for just this ONE blog post….

…. Google Search Console shows me 1,000 keywords that I’m tangentially ranking for.

Talk about a treasure trove of additional ideas!

Step 3: Look for tangential topics

Just from a few scrolls through these pages of keywords, I quickly found 10 additional topics I could create blog posts on:

• I don’t want to be a dietitian anymore
• What can you do with a nutrition degree
• Why do dietitians make so little
• How to become a freelance dietitian
• How to become a dietitian
• How much do dietitians make
• Would I make a good nutritionist
• Work from home tips for newly remote dietitians
• How to work in media as a nutrition entrepreneur
• Group practice dietitian client engagement

These are ALL topics that Google thinks are at least somewhat related to the original blog post I created.

If I don’t already have blog posts on these topics, I could add them to my list of potential ideas for my site.

By publishing on many related topics and interlinking between them…

….you’re building out a clear content cluster…

… that helps Google (and your users) see you as an authority on a particular topic.

Quick Tip: Avoid cannibalization

Just note: You don’t want to create additional posts on keywords that you’re already ranking in the top 10 for, since that will just lead to keyword cannibalization.

If you’re already ranking in the top 10 for a keyword, Google thinks you have an adequate blog post on that topic, so you don’t want to create another one.

You’d just be competing with yourself.

To make sure you’re only looking at new ideas…

Add a quick filter on the data to only display keywords in positions greater than 10:

Step 4: Do additional keyword research to find the best options

Once you have a list of ideas, plug them into the keyword research tool of your choice to find the ones with the best potential. (Highest volume and lowest competition.)

If you’re on a budget, ​Keysearch​ is my favorite keyword research tool. (Note: I will earn a commission if you sign up for an account through this link.)

If you have absolutely no budget at all, you can also create a ​free account with Semrush ​and perform 10 specific keyword searches per day at no cost. (Note: I may also earn a commission if you sign up for an account through this link.)

Rinse and repeat this process for as many blog posts as you want! (Some posts will give you more ideas than others.)

With just a few minutes of work, you’ll have more ideas than you know what to do with and will be well on your way to establishing your authority on a specific topic.

Best,

Erica