AnswerThePublic for Content Strategy: Finding Real Questions Your Customers Search For

Introduction

Most content strategies start with guessing. A founder thinks something might be useful, a marketer reads a blog post about trending topics, or a team gets together and brainstorms what people might want. Then they write content about it. Sometimes it resonates. Mostly it dies.

What if your content strategy started with data instead? What if you knew, with certainty, the exact questions thousands of people type into Google every month related to your business? What if you could see patterns in those questions and build a content roadmap around actual demand?

That's what AnswerThePublic does. It takes real search data from Google, YouTube, Bing, and other search engines and presents it in a visual map showing every question people ask about a topic, organized by question type, prepositions, comparisons, and related searches.

This is one of the most underutilized tools in digital marketing. Most people see it, think it's cool, then go back to guessing. The people using it correctly are outranking everyone else because their content is actually addressing the questions their market is searching for.

In this guide, you'll learn exactly how to use AnswerThePublic to build a content strategy that ranks, converts, and actually answers what your audience wants.

How AnswerThePublic Works and What It Actually Shows You

Understanding what AnswerThePublic displays is the foundation for using it effectively.

The Data Sources

AnswerThePublic pulls data from multiple search engines and platforms:

• Google autocomplete (what shows up as you type)
• YouTube autocomplete (questions people search on YouTube)
• Bing autocomplete
• Amazon autocomplete (what people search for products)
• ChatGPT queries (growing data source)

This gives you a 360 degree view of what people are searching for across all platforms, not just Google.

The Visual Map Breakdown

When you search AnswerThePublic for a keyword, you get a visual wheel showing all related searches organized by category:

• Questions (how, what, why, where, when, which, can, will, is, are, does, do)
• Prepositions (for, with, without, near, in, by, to, about, vs., between)
• Comparisons (vs., similar to, alternative to)
• Alphabetical (A to Z every searched term)
• Related searches (autocomplete suggestions)

Each result has a size indicator. Darker or larger dots mean more search volume. This is a directional signal, not exact volume, but it helps you prioritize.

The 4 Step Process to Build Your Content Strategy With AnswerThePublic

This is the exact framework top content strategists use to build content roadmaps that perform.

Step 1: Define Your Core Topics

Before searching AnswerThePublic, identify 5 to 10 core topics that represent your business or niche. These are the main areas your content will cover.

For a SaaS product marketing platform, core topics might be:

• Product marketing
• Go-to-market strategy
• Product launches
• Customer research
• Competitive positioning

For a personal finance site:

• Investing
• Retirement planning
• Credit cards
• Saving money
• Financial independence

These are your seed keywords. You'll search each one in AnswerThePublic.

Step 2: Search AnswerThePublic for Each Core Topic

Go to answerthepublic.com (both free and paid plans available). Search for your first core topic. Let's say "product marketing."

Don't just look at the summary. Dig into each category:

• Questions: click on the "Questions" wheel and expand each question type (how, what, why, etc.)
• Prepositions: explore the "For" category to see specific use cases
• Comparisons: see what competitors people are asking about

For each search, you'll uncover 100 to 500+ unique questions. This is your content goldmine.

Step 3: Organize and Prioritize Questions by Intent and Opportunity

You now have thousands of questions. Not all are worth content. You need to filter by opportunity.

Create a spreadsheet with these columns:

• Question (the actual search query)
• Question Type (how-to, what is, why, comparison, etc.)
• Search Intent (informational, commercial, transactional)
• Estimated Volume (small, medium, large dot size)
• Content Type (blog post, tutorial, comparison, etc.)
• Priority (high, medium, low)

Now filter and prioritize:

• High Priority: large search volume, commercial or transactional intent, you have unique insight to share, lower competition likely
• Medium Priority: medium search volume, informational intent, important for topical authority
• Low Priority: very small volume, too competitive, outside your expertise

From 500 questions, you'll probably end up with 30 to 50 high and medium priority questions. This is your content roadmap for the next 6 to 12 months.

Step 4: Create Content Addressing Specific Questions, Then Map to Your Strategy

Now you have your prioritized list. Time to create content.

For each high priority question, create content specifically answering it. Don't write generic content about the topic. Write specific content answering the specific question.

Example:

Instead of: "A Guide to Product Marketing" (too generic)

Write: "How to Position Your Product Against Competitors" or "Why Most Product Launches Fail and How to Avoid It" (specific questions people searched for)

Structure your content around the exact question. Use the question as your H1 or H2. Answer it thoroughly in the opening. Use related questions as subheadings.

As you create content, your site naturally builds topical authority. You're not creating random content. You're systematically answering every question your market has about your core topics.

Real Example: From AnswerThePublic to Content Calendar

A marketing automation company used AnswerThePublic to build their content strategy.

First, they searched for "marketing automation." They found 200+ questions. They saw patterns:

• Implementation questions: how to implement, how to set up, how to choose, how to automate email
• Problem questions: why is it so expensive, why is it complicated, why is personalization hard
• Comparison questions: vs. email marketing, vs. sales automation, vs. HubSpot, vs. Marketo

They prioritized high-volume questions with commercial intent: "How to choose a marketing automation platform," "How to implement marketing automation," "Marketing automation best practices."

They then created content for each:

• A 4,000 word buying guide for "How to choose a marketing automation platform" including their evaluation framework
• A step-by-step implementation guide for "How to implement marketing automation without destroying your list"
• A best practices post listing the 10 most common implementation mistakes
• Comparison posts for "Marketing automation vs. email marketing" and "HubSpot vs. Marketo vs. Active Campaign"

Result: within six months, they ranked in the top 5 for 15 high-value keywords. Their organic traffic tripled. Leads from content doubled. Why? Because their content was designed to answer the exact questions their market was searching for.

Using AnswerThePublic for Different Content Types

The same tool works for creating all kinds of content. Here's how to use it for different formats:

Blog Posts

Search AnswerThePublic for how and what questions. These are your blog post topics. A "how do I" question becomes a blog post with a step-by-step framework.

YouTube Videos

Videos perform best for procedural content. Search for how-to questions and create videos answering them. Title the video exactly what people search for.

Product Comparisons

Look at the "Comparisons" section (the vs. category). Every comparison question is a potential comparison blog post or video.

Product Documentation

If you build a SaaS product, search for your product name in AnswerThePublic. The questions you see are questions your users have that your documentation should answer.

FAQ Pages

The questions you find are literally your FAQ. Build your FAQ based on actual search questions, not what you think people want to know.

Comparing AnswerThePublic vs. Other Keyword Research Tools

The bottom line: AnswerThePublic is exceptional at showing you the questions people ask. Pair it with Ahrefs or SEMrush to see search volume and competition. Use both for a complete picture.

Advanced AnswerThePublic Strategies

Strategy 1: Search Multiple Related Keywords to Build Topical Authority

Don't just search "marketing automation." Search related terms: "email marketing," "marketing workflows," "lead nurturing," "customer retention." Each search reveals new questions. Collectively, they show you the entire content opportunity in your niche.

Strategy 2: Monitor Seasonal Trends

Some questions spike seasonally. Tax-related questions spike before April. Holiday marketing questions spike in August. Use AnswerThePublic historical comparisons to see trends over time. Plan content seasonally.

Strategy 3: Identify Content Gaps in Your Competitors' Strategies

Search AnswerThePublic for high-volume questions. Google those questions. See what competitors rank. If there's a high-volume question no one is answering comprehensively, that's your opportunity. Create the best answer and own that ranking.

Strategy 4: Track Your Rankings for These Questions

As you create content answering AnswerThePublic questions, set Google Search Console or Rank Tracker alerts for those keywords. Watch your rankings climb. Modify underperforming content based on ranking data.

Combining AnswerThePublic With AI for Content Creation

Here's the power move: use AnswerThePublic to find questions, then use ChatGPT or Claude to help create the answers.

Process:

1. Find a high-priority question in AnswerThePublic
2. Create a ChatGPT prompt: "Write a comprehensive blog post answering this question: [question]. Include these elements: [your custom requirements]. Use this tone: [your brand voice]. Structure: [your preferred structure]."
3. Use ChatGPT's draft as your starting point
4. Add your unique perspective, examples, research, and expertise
5. Edit and publish

This combines the best of both worlds: you're using real market demand data (AnswerThePublic) and AI acceleration (ChatGPT) to create content faster and better than competitors.

Common Mistakes With AnswerThePublic

Mistake 1: Trying to Rank for Everything

AnswerThePublic shows you 100s to 1000s of questions. You can't create content for all of them. Be selective. Focus on high-volume, high-intent, reasonable competition questions where you have unique insight.

Mistake 2: Writing Generic Content About the Topic Instead of Answering the Specific Question

The question is "how do I implement marketing automation." You write a generic blog post about "what is marketing automation." Wrong. Write content specifically answering how to implement it. Use the question verbatim as your H1 or key H2.

Mistake 3: Not Combining With Other Data

AnswerThePublic tells you what people are asking but not necessarily how much search volume or how competitive it is. Combine it with Google Search Console data, Google Trends, or tools like Ahrefs to understand true opportunity.

Mistake 4: Ignoring Question Categories

Focus on the Questions section (how, what, why, where, when, which, can, will, is). These are gold for content. Prepositions and comparisons are also valuable but often less trafficked.

Conclusion

Most content strategies are built on assumptions. The best ones are built on data about real questions real people are asking. AnswerThePublic gives you access to that data for free or for under $100 per month. It's the single best investment for building a content strategy that actually ranks and converts because it's rooted in real market demand.

Start today. Search your core topics in AnswerThePublic. Review the questions. Prioritize by opportunity. Create content. Watch your organic visibility grow because you're answering questions your market is literally searching for.