Using Google News for Blog Post Ideas

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Coming up with new and interesting blog ideas is like getting blood out of a turnip sometimes. We understand your pain. What do you do when you’ve covered every FAQ you can think of and come up with so many “Top 10 Lists” you’ll scream if you have to do another? Luckily, inspiration is out here. The answer is in the news. Here’s what we mean.

Using Google News for Blog Post Ideas

News stories provide relevant, trending topics your readers will be interested in. After all, there’s a reason they got picked up in the news. They’re interesting. We don’t mean you should just recycle a news story. Your readers probably already subscribe to industry news feeds. Instead, find a news story, talk about how it applies to your readers and give your opinion. Use the news story to position yourself as someone who has his or her finger on the pulse of the industry, a trustworthy source of advice with a unique angle. We know. You are thinking, “Who has time to monitor industry news?” You do. Google News turns every business owner into a research genius. It’s easy.

Here’s how.

What’s Google News?

Save yourself lots of time researching or scanning numerous industry news sites by creating more blog ideas with Google News. Google uses its famous algorithms to select the best of the best news items. You’ll find tons of different blogs and news items out there. Now, it’s just organizing into a stream relevant to your industry. Not only does Google glean the best news stories, but it allows you to customize what you see in many different ways by simply selecting the “personalize” button.

Here’s what we mean.

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  • Organize broad topics. When you open the “personalize” section, you’ll see 10 default broad topics, including sports, health, business and technology. Use the sliders to indicate the importance of these topics to you.Google_News-Personalize-2.png
  • Add specific topics. Next, get specific about what you want to read. You can type in the exact words or select the “advanced” link for a list of topics. This is what we did to select “computer security” and find the above example. 
  • Choose your sources. If you like CNN, but are not thrilled with Fox News, use the sliders to indicate how often you want to see stories from these sources. If you want to see stories from a local source, chances are you can find them among Google’s thousands of sources. Simply type the name in the box and select that source.

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  • Choose your country. Is your business international? Change your default from U.S. edition to one of Google’s many other international editions.

How Google News Helps with Blog Ideas; an Example

Think of Google News as a way to compress hours of online research into one convenient, easy location.

Instead of combing numerous industry blogs and news sites, take just a few minutes to scan relevant topics and find a story that will grab your readers’ interests. Here’s an example.

Let’s say you are a cyber security company. Your target audience is business owners that aren’t that tech savvy. That’s why they need your services, right? So, you really don’t want to bore them with techy posts about your services. However, they are interested in keeping their networks safe.

Find Articles Relevant to Your Audience

How about this article posted recently by wearable.com? “Your Smartwatch Might Let Hackers Track Your Typing.

It contains new, interesting research by the University of Illinois about the potential for security breaches through wearable technology. The topic is very relevant since one in five Americans wear these devices now. You might think, “My business has nothing to do with wearable devices.” However, covering this topic shows your clients and potential customers that you are keeping up with the latest trends and security threats. You are bringing it to their attention before they even know of the threat.

Add Your Angle

Give your opinion about where wearables will fit into security strategies. Bring Your Own Device (BOYD) programs are already bringing attention to security and privacy challenges that come up when employees use their own devices. Build on that, showcase your knowledge, be their trusted source and show you are thinking ahead.

Get Relevant News and Content Fast – And Google News Gets Smarter the More You Use It

Once you get your preferences set, you can easily select your customized topics on the left bar to see only a page of news for that topic. So, whether you are a family law attorney in Georgia, a locksmith in Colorado or a national cyber security firm, in just a few minutes Google News can help you find a topic relevant to your industry. As with all Google products, its algorithms learn more about your preferences over time. The more you use Google News, the more specific the news will be to you.

Access Archives in an Instant

You’re never locked in to your preferences, though. Afterall, Google is a search engine at heart. Simply type in a keyword in the search field like you would any search engine. Get even more specific by performing an “advanced news search” by selecting the black down arrow that is right next to the regular search field. Search by publication, date range, geographic location of the source, keyword or URL. You can look for articles that contain exact phrases or exclude certain words or phrases. Tell Google to find the words in the article, headline, body only or URL. Google News even offers you the chance to search over 100 years of archived news stories from around the world.

Stay Informed with a Trusted Source

A survey of more than 27,000 people released early this year found that Google is now a more trusted source of news than the outlets from which it gathers news. Jump on the bandwagon and use this resource to your own advantage. The best part is you don’t even have to come up with the interesting angle. Just find the story you want and link to it in your keyword description. Our writers will take it from there.

Verblio

This post was written, as well as any other posts with the author "Verblio," by one of our 3,000+ U.S.-based writers who write for thousands of clients monthly, across 38 different industries. Only the top 4% of writers who apply with Verblio get accepted, so our standards for writers (and content) are high.

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