{"id":14865,"date":"2015-05-01T09:00:11","date_gmt":"2015-05-01T09:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brickmarketing.com\/?p=14865"},"modified":"2020-07-23T23:00:44","modified_gmt":"2020-07-23T23:00:44","slug":"performing-content-research-for-blog-posts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brickmarketing.com\/blog\/content-research-blog","title":{"rendered":"Performing Content Research for Blog Posts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Research is an essential part of the writing process, especially in the beginning stages. In order to write effective content for your blog, you\u2019ll definitely need to put some research into it. This will help with things like content structure, to generate ideas, and to even give an existing article some meat. For example, if you wrote a blog post about effective marketing strategies, adding in some statistics that you\u2019ve gathered from your research will make the content more credible in the eyes of your reader. By not researching anything, you run the risk of writing thin content, which is something that the search engines frown on.<\/p>\n

Simply put, there\u2019s no getting around the fact that the research phase is an essential part of the writing process. Here are some tips that will make the process much easier.<\/p>\n

Using the Search Engines for Research<\/h3>\n

\"PerformingThe goal of your blog post is to deliver useful information to your reader. Chances are, the content will answer at least one very important question, even if it isn\u2019t written in a question and answer style. For example, this post answers the question, \u201cHow can you research while writing content for your blog?\u201d Knowing what this question is will help you gather initial information while in the search engines. Type the question directly into the search box and assess the results. If nothing looks good to you, consider reframing your question and changing the direction of the article.<\/p>\n

Another way to use the search engines to help gather information is to use keywords to search for information. There\u2019s no need to perform complicated keyword research in order to do this, either. Just use your common sense. For example, if you wanted to find information for your article on creating effective blog post titles, you\u2019d type, \u201ccreate blog post titles\u201d in the search box and see what comes up. In this way, you\u2019re using keywords to help drive your research.<\/p>\n

Assessing Search Results<\/h3>\n

How do you know if the search results returned anything that will be useful for your article? When it comes to gathering information online, it\u2019s all too easy to find sources that are less than credible. Just because they\u2019re returned in the first page of search results doesn\u2019t mean that the information is as accurate as it could be. Here are some guidelines on how to figure out if the article is high quality or not:<\/p>\n