Google’s Question Hub: Need Great Topic Ideas? Check This Out

Imagine having an at-your-fingertips tool allowing you to dig inside Google’s brain and discover queries that Google couldn’t answer.

It’s here! And it’s cool!

Here’s how it works…

Have you ever conducted a Google search and received a “It looks like there aren’t any great matches for your search, please refine your query” message? 

It doesn’t mean you were a bad searcher and you did something wrong. It just means that Google didn’t have a good answer for your query.

It’s like Google threw its algorithmic hands up and said, “Help me help you. I don’t know what you want.” Here’s more information about how that works.

So, here’s the thing…

Google didn’t delete those searches from their database. They kept every one, and those tasty long-tail queries lived on…

In Google’s Question Hub. 

Question Hub has been live in Nigeria, India, and Indonesia since 2018 — and now, U.S.-based publishers can play with it too. The program is specifically designed as a way for publishers to discover those funky search queries and to create content that answers the question.

Yes, Google is giving us data (at least, for now) so we can find even more content opportunities.

Here’s how it works:

• You’ll need a verified Google account to sign up (and yes, if you have a blog, you’re a publisher.) Here’s how to do it.
• Once you’ve signed up, you can choose topics and view the questions. Some questions are pretty funky. For instance, in the Google Search category [why does the phrase contentious marshmallow not appear in a Google search] would be a bit…tricky…to work with. Others, like [what percentage of hip hop listeners are female] in the hip hop category are awesome topic ideas.
• Publishers can answer the question by hitting the “answer” link and submitting a relevant URL. This can be new content you’ve created specifically to answer that question — or older content that answers the query.
• You can even track performance data of your submitted content. According to Google, you can, “Watch your content help your audience, and use our tools to track its reach.” 

Here’s an example of the questions people have about Google:

A couple caveats…

Just because you submit an answer doesn’t mean that Google will position it for the query. Google’s not giving you an automatic top position (darn it.) Just the data.

Plus, not every question you see in Question Hub will be worth your time (some are…out there.) The key is creating content around the questions your readers want to know more about.

And who knows? One of those super-quirky, long tail searches that YOU answer could drive lots of traffic (or increase conversion rates.) 

Why not try it and see?

What do you think?

Are you going to give Question Hub’s geeky content goodness a try? Leave a comment and let me know what you think!