Where do you get ideas for generating content?

[Forseti]

Recently I came across a service generating content on a given topic <snip> . Of course, I did not get the perfect text. But if you edit it, then it is quite possible to use. Have you had any experience using generated texts? If yourself, where do you get your ideas from?

[edited by: goodroi at 1:42 pm (utc) on May 21, 2020]
[edit reason] Welcome to WebmasterWorld, now please go read the forum rules :) [/edit]

[goodroi]

Auto generated text generally needs a sophisticated setup to deliver good results. More often it is low level garbage production that doesn't deliver results for new webmasters. If a website is trying to sell something to webmasters and it seems too good to be true, it usually is a bad choice. Think about it. If you had a perfect AI that could generate unlimited content that gain strong SEO results, why sell it to webmasters. It would be much more profitable to launch your own network of content sites generating constant ad revenue.

How can a new(er) webmaster create good content? Start with solid keyword research for fresh ideas. Look at Google's autocomplete, adwords data, & neighboring industries for ideas. Use a fresh approach. Everyone might have the same basic information, so take the next step and seek out niche topics. Be creative. Answer the questions that are not already addressed. Listen to social media to spot themes and problems that your website could address. Skip the shortcuts & focus on providing value.

[Wilburforce]

"Where do you get ideas for generating content?" is a wrong-end-of-the-telescope question. I don't know about other webmasters here, but I supply a service, so my question isn't about what my content (the service) is, but how I present it so that:

1. Prospective users select mine over other providers, and
2. Prospective users find mine before others.

Content for content's sake (content that isn't led by product, service, or demand) is exactly what SEs design their algorithms to weed out, and exactly what will drive your new viewers to the Back button. Ask what will attract users to your site and engage them, and create the best original content you possibly can for that purpose. Producing good content slowly will serve you much better in the long-run than churning out a lot of poor content fast.

[lucy24]

Honestly, this is like asking a writer “Where do you get your ideas?” (Bonus points if the writer replies glibly Oh, I buy mine from an idea service upstate.)

[tangor]

Put this in the search for the Magic Button ...

You don't "generate" content ... you write it!

[Forseti]

When I talked about generating, I pointed out the <snip> service, which I tried. I have run out of ideas about what I can write about. I tried text auto-generation, but that didn't save me. I decided to ask for advice from more experienced ones. Where do you get inspiration from. Perhaps my thoughts are naive, but I just recently started working with my site. Some sites publish several articles per day.

[edited by: goodroi at 10:38 am (utc) on May 22, 2020]
[edit reason] Please no specific urls [/edit]

[Mark_A]

I go through phases of getting good ideas and phases of struggling.

What would our visitors like to see on our site?

What knowledge can we share which will be of interest?

[engine]

Write about things you like: hobbies, sports, technology, etc. That way the ideas come naturally.
Don't write for the sake of driving traffic or you will be chasing your tail, and all those others will be chasing your tail, too.

[tangor]

When you run out of ideas, hire a copy writer and work them hard until THEY run out of ideas. :)

This has been around since written word has existed. Goes back 5,000 years.

ON THE OTHER HAND, if all that is required is pages to hang ads ... just about anything goes. Simply will not rank well (page 100 or so) and the effort has been misplaced.

1 page WELL WRITTEN and ON POINT/TOPIC will do a zillion times better than a zillion "generated" pages which are ... wait for it...

generated.

Pick and chose which method works best in the instant scenario.

[RedBar]

Firstly it has to be interesting to gain visitors.

Secondly it has to be unique otherwise why bother going there if it is simply plagiarised.

Thirdly, make sure it is accurate, truthful and honest.

Fourthly, if you can't do any of the above, write fiction.

[EditorialGuy]

I know my topics, the focus of my site, and my target audience. That makes it pretty easy to think of content that might be useful to my readers.

Occasionally an article is the result of an e-mail that I've received. A reader asks about X, I think "Hey, that's a good question," and an article is born.

And sometimes I just write about something that I feel like writing about (and which is relevant to our site's overarching topics). Over the years, a number of successful, profitable evergreen articles have been about oddball things that I never would have expected to be popular.

[Mark_A]

@engine

Write about things you like: hobbies, sports, technology, etc. ..

I write for a business, I can't do this. I have to write about subjects relevant to industry / business / technology / product etc. Browsing what others have done can stimulate ideas, but then they are not original.

[engine]

@Mark_A

I have to write about subjects relevant to industry / business / technology / product etc.

Fair enough.
I'd look at the widget and write about the benefits, not just the features. I'd also write about how it's being used, and, if you can do it, write about real-world applications, and how it's solved a problem for the customer. Look at it from a customer point-of-view: Why they would buy it, how it save them time, money, etc.

[tangor]

Browsing what others have done can stimulate ideas, but then they are not original.

The IDEA might not be original, but your way of writing about it certainly will be (unless you just cut and paste someone else's stuff).

New approaches, different takes, your prose of choice and "voice" will make the difference. If you can inject a touch of humor as well---an entertainment factor---you will exceed more than most. Business is a tough, dry topic. Finding a way to make it engaging, exciting, and funny, too, will put you head and shoulders above the rest. Note: won't work for EVERY topic/product, but will work for MOST.

[Mark_A]

@engine, thanks so much for your response, yes of course, "benefits", and I studied marketing how could I forget :-/ looking from the benefits pov is always interesting, features are one thing but people buy benefits even if sometimes they don't even realise.

@tangor yes my voice is unique, I never copy and paste, I actually often try to inject a little humour, but we have an approval process for web content which usually strips out the less than factual, copy can get a little dry as a result.

Don't get me wrong, I find many topics for content, especially from solo brainstorming sessions, some are easy to write while others require research. I see some presenting variations on their themes to keep new content for example almost daily basis for example on LinkedIn. I have never managed to produce those sorts of volumes of new content, even though they are cheating and posting just variants on a theme.

[ember]

I read a lot. Industry blogs, news websites, etc. I'm always getting ideas.

[browndog]

I've been doing this for 20 years and could do it for another 20 and still not run out of ideas.

I follow a lot of expert pages in my niche.
I follow a lot of fan based sites in my niche.
News and media.
During an article, I may mention something (for example a symptom) that I haven't covered.
Ideas sometimes pop into my head.
People ask me questions.
Suggestions from my family.
Watching live traffic and what people have searched for.
Google 'people also asked'.
Competitors, one, in particular, was so rude and out of line to me 2 years ago, I regularly check on her site just to write the same topics as she does (that's more a spite thing than anything, I just do it to annoy her).

[prachigupta]

I take ideas for generating content with the help of these suggestions.
Analysis of Competitor websites
Google search suggestions
Google Trends
Quora
Google Question Hub etc.

[alika]

I also look at what my competitors write. I look at their top pages, see which ones are ranking well even with few backlinks -- which tells me that I could have a chance grabbing some of that pie -- and then write a much better article than them. Of course, incorporating the keywords that their article ranks for.

[IgorKurochkin]

I think the generated content is bad.
It will still need to be finalized.
Better find an author who will write a good article.