Most content meets users where they are. Someone searches for “best MBA programs” and finds a collection of MBA programs. But sometimes high value content challenges the premise of the question. This introduces the idea of revealing other ways users didn’t know to ask.
Deliberately increasing user awareness beyond their imagination is not always central to SEO and content marketing strategies. However, if done right, it can help your services and products get noticed for more keywords while educating your audience about more solutions to their problems.
For example, when someone searches for a specific degree, medicine, certification, or product, they often get stuck on a solution before fully exploring the problem. Content that respectfully presents alternatives (“apprenticeships vs. four-year degrees,” “pharmaceuticals vs. prescription options,” or “business bootcamps vs. MBA programs”) can capture high-target traffic while delivering more value than direct target matches.
Here’s a roadmap for making this strategy a part of your ongoing editorial productivity.
LLMs are already doing this
LLMs and AI Overviews do a version of this. After answering your question, they often ask a follow-up question, such as whether you would like to learn other methods or explore the topic in more depth. Pursuing an LLM down this path can lead users to other paths they weren’t aware of.
For example, in the supplement question below, I was looking for supplements to help with mood and stress. (Note: LLMs and AIs are not a substitute for medical advice. (Always talk to your medical professional before making changes to your diet, medications, supplements, or other health-related practices.)
I gave ChatGPT a bunch of supplements I was already taking and asked if I should remove them. Unprompted, it also asked the following question:
After going back and forth with suggestions and questions, he gave me additional changes I hadn’t asked for, including timing recommendations and suggestions tied to other details I mentioned earlier, such as using caffeine.
In this case, ChatGPT went beyond telling me what supplements can help with depression, which is often in the SERPs for the question “supplements for mood.” It helped me create a better supplement protocol.
This is what you can do for an audience looking for solutions.
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How to identify questions where users can benefit
Let’s say you prepare “emotional and stress supplements” of products designed for that purpose.
To expand your keyword research beyond the obvious questions, consider why someone might search for mood and stress supplements in the first place. They probably feel overwhelmed by work or personal life. They may be going through a stressful time and looking for ways to feel better.
With that line of thinking, you can expand your keyword research into related areas, find keywords about stress relief, and create articles and content that present other ways a person can relieve stress.
Usually, this works the other way around as well. A user may begin their journey thinking they just need meditation, a sound bath, or a walk in the woods to relieve stress and improve mood. While those things can help, they may not even realize the emotional attachments are there.
So while it’s a good idea for a supplement company to create content about emotions and stress products, it’s also in their best interest to expand their content on other solutions to problems users are facing. Then, in those articles, the company can introduce its products as an alternative solution that users may not have considered.
For example, in this article about sleep and stress, after including non-supplementary solutions to help with stress, a product suggestion is included:
Creating content around other solutions
When creating this type of content, focus on quality and relevant information above all else. If you provide high-value information, users stay on the page longer, click more internal links, and see your content as a resource they can trust.
The content should be organized in such a way that it fits the original purpose while responding to the solutions you offer. Besides written content, other ways to help users expand their horizons include:
- Free spreadsheet or PDF templates, even if you’re offering database or document software (like Smartsheet).
- User stories and testimonials about your experience with the problem, even if the solution wasn’t just yours.
- Webinars, online courses, or in-person workshops related to your offerings. For example, a stationery store offering a junk journal night, or a handbag retailer hosting a charm-style class at a winery.
Your offer should not be front and center, or it will quickly be labeled as promotional content and will not be taken seriously. Include product mentions in an article, webinar, or video with screencasts, links within sections, or examples that show how something works.
These types of expressions may change the user’s one-track thinking and present solutions they have not considered before.
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Keyword and SERP signals that show exposure
When would a user be open to these types of travel disruption options? It is important to identify keywords and signals that indicate that the user is in the research and consideration phase, rather than fully committing to purchasing a particular solution.
Branded terms
For example, a user searches [“brand name” buy] They are more likely to buy that type of product than someone searching for words that indicate ongoing research, such as [“brand name” pricing], [“brand name” competitors]or [“brand name” reviews].
Field ‘insight’ questions
A “broad” query is a term I use to describe multiple queries that fall within the same user journey. For example, a user struggling to keep the lawn mowed might search for words like these at the same time, even though they represent different angles of the same problem:
- “The price of a lawnmower robot”
- “Lawn service near me”
- “How often do you cut the grass?”
- “Sprinkler Watering Schedule”
- “The price the youth will pay for cutting the grass”
- “The Lawn Mowing Program”
Instead of only targeting your landscaping company with terms like “lawn care in Kansas City,” disrupt the initial buyer’s journey by creating content that matches your users’ search terms.
When ethics are needed
After using supplements as an example, it is important to note that you are responsible for using this content strategy responsibly.
In industries that can negatively impact users, such as healthcare, jobs, finance, or other YMYL specifics, use discretion to make sure you’re not positioning your product as a solution to a major problem that could affect the well-being of users.
It is one thing to mention a supplement that may support the stress response. Another promise is a “cure for depression.” FDA and FTC guidelines exist for a reason: to protect consumers from misleading and potentially harmful claims.
Interrupting the buyer’s journey at the right time
In the lawn care example above, we see several consideration funnels that all point to the same goal: making lawn care easy for someone who can’t keep up with.
These questions represent the user’s attempts to find out how to keep the lawn mowed. Viewing each question as an independent journey fails to address the user as a whole customer.
Most customers don’t use different questions. They may only want to [“brand name” pricing] because they are frustrated, their boss suggested that type, or they don’t have time to explore other solutions.
By continuously optimizing your content, you can appear during basic comparative searches and where indirect searches lead users to your site.
Getting in front of customers when they least expect it can be a powerful way to capture more search traffic, leads, and loyalty from an audience that enjoys finding you.
Contributing writers are invited to create content for Search Engine Land and are selected for their expertise and contribution to the search community. Our contributors work under the supervision of editorial staff and contributions are assessed for quality and relevance to our students. Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush. The contributor has not been asked to speak directly or indirectly about Semrush. The opinions they express are their own.
