How to Research Content for a Blog: 4 + 2 Tips (What) I Didn't Know.

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There is a long story behind how I began my writing journey. As interesting as it can be, I doubt you clicked on this post to read all that.

During my undergraduate studies, I detested every letter in the word R-E-S-E-A-R-C-H. I’d like to believe that I’m not alone in this boat. It was unknown to me that research would become part of my life–as a lawyer and as a freelance writer.

Writing has never been my problem; researching sources for the content was my nightmare. I use the past tense “was” because I now enjoy it. That’s simply because I identified this weakness, sought for expert advice, and applied their instructions. All thanks to Elna Cain and Articulate Marketing.

Much of this content is tips I picked from Elna Cain and the editorial team at Articulate Marketing. I applied them for 7 days while researching for my articles on cybersecurity, and I’ve had no regrets.

I have no doubt that, at the end of this piece, you’ll take home one or two tips that will help you improve the way you research for that next piece of content on your docket or add to your existing knowledge.

Without further chit-chats, let’s jump right in. Shall we?

Overview of Content Research

Authoritative research boosts the credibility and relevance of your content, especially for SEO purposes. The facts or claims in your content have no basis if they are not linked to a credible, provable, and relevant source.

Now, you’re probably asking the same question I asked: “How can I determine an authentic source?”

Your preferred source must pass these 6 tests of credibility agreed upon by Tom Wall, senior marketing copywriter at Articulate Marketing, and Elna Cain, a freelance writing coach.

P.S.: I applied and confirmed these tests.

a.??? What is the authority of the author?

b.??? How popular is the blog, site, or news channel?

c.???? Is the source widely recognized in the niche industry?

d.??? How recent is the publication?

e.??? Is it relevant to your content?

f.????? Will it bring value to your audience?

Tips to achieve credibility during content research.

Whether you’re new to freelance writing or an expert in writing for an online audience, there are times when clients will present unfamiliar briefs that might make you anxious.

Before you begin to doubt this competence that you’ve built over the years or the confidence that made you resolve to write for pay, remember Google.

In this section, we’ll discuss tips that will guide you in researching credible sources from the numerous results you’ll see on Google.

Let’s dig out those reliable sources together.

1.?????? Make a list of industry-leading websites.

You’ve just received a topic from your client to write about cybersecurity in the health sector.

The first step is to type the topic in your search box and analyze each source that appears on the first page (sometimes other pages too) using Similar Web.

Alternatively, you can simply use Similar Web to find the top websites for your topic.

Similar web will help you know how popular a site is and the sum of monthly visits to the site.

Among the results produced by Similar Web, you’ll see the total monthly visits to a site and the ranking of the site in the industry.

Additionally, you can compare two sites using the compare tool.

For instance, (thanks to this writing), I just discovered that duosecurity.com ranks No. 1 for computer security.

This method ensures that the materials you’re citing are from authoritative sites and authors.

2.?????? Filter for recent publications

Always ensure that you refer to a current publication.

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This is simply because industries evolve as the years go by. You don’t want to state facts that are not in vogue or claims that have been disproved by higher or more recent authorities.

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How do you browse to filter current publications?

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Easy–Google Search Tools.

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I’ve used Google for more than 10 years, yet I never saw the Google Search Tools. This type of ignorance isn’t bliss. Trust me.

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?It wasn’t until I read Elna’s How to Easily Find Credible Sources that I saw the Google Tools bar for the first time in my life.

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Quickly type in your chosen topic, select a timeframe from the drop-down menu, or use the custom range to select your preferred timeframe. (insert an image of the Google tool with the drop-down time frame and label)

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I often use the custom range to filter 3 years backwards from my current year.

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3.?????? Refer to Primary Sources

From my experience with searching for primary sources, sometimes you have to do a lot of digging to find these sources.

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Authenticity is always worth the wait.

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These primary sources are in the form of publications by the company, statistics, academic research publications, industry survey reports, press releases, comments from experts, live news channels like Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN, CNBC, or any popular news channel in your location, etc.

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4.?????? Endeavour to refer to a parent link

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The whole essence of this writing is to elevate your content from mid to top-class, and one of the ways to achieve that is through strong research.

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The truth is, there are many possibilities on Google. An unpopular publication can cite a link that will lead you to the original author. In such cases, use the original publication instead of the first or second link.

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As tough as it can be (sometimes you’ll have to leave your current page to search for leads). You can do it.

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Bonus 1: Read through

Your audience may do the scanning, but you have to give them quality scannable content.

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In that case, you may not read through the lines, but try to get to the core of the material you painstakingly discovered.

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Bonus 2: Always Link every source

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Once you’ve decided to refer to a particular credible source, link it to your article.

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Linking references generates backlinks that help boost your performance in search engine results–SEO building.

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In summary, linking your work to external sources enhances your credibility, trust, and relevance in the minds of readers.?

We are wrapping up.

These tips from Elna Cain and Articulate Marketing helped me easily research credible content on Google as I embarked on my 7-day writathon. Oh!! I didn’t know that’s a concept till now.

If you’re new to the word like me, written simply means marathon writing.

Always understand that part of what you do as a writer is research. I especially love how the team at Articulate Marketing summarized what a writer does:

“We often say here at Articulate that for a writing project, you should spend?half your time researching, a third editing and only a sixth writing. Despite what some people think, copywriting is a lot more than just 'wordsmithing'.”

Now that you know what you signed up for, tone down the anxiety and get started researching.

Good Luck.

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