By We’ve got a whole slew of new features coming to SparkToro V2, the first of which launches today.
What is it: Search Modifiers is a new tab in the Keywords section that aggregates all of the terms and phrases found in Google’s search “chips” (also called “topic filters” for a given query. The data is provided alongside a measure of frequency (how often the modifier was seen) and affinity (which combines both frequency and the prominence of the chip each time it was seen).
How can it help you do better marketing? The value here is both in keyword analysis for search marketing purposes (SEO and PPC) and in broader, strategic understanding of the audiences you target or those of your competition.
For search marketers, seeing these aggregated modifiers can give guidance on content to create, search keywords to target, and broader thematic thinking about your content. For example, if many queries your audience performs brings back search modifiers around video, you might consider creating YouTube (or self-hosted) videos in addition to traditional website-centric content. Similarly, if many searches include modifiers about a related subtopic (“on sale” or “outdoor” or “with storage”), content that addresses those variables may be a wise inclusion for pages that already exist or those you plan to create.
For content and marketing strategists, the aggregation of this information can be just as useful. For example, imagine you’re helping the folks at Bitdefender upgrade their content and positioning strategy.
The data above might suggest that there’s significant value to including descriptions of exactly the kinds of operating systems (e.g. Windows 10 rather than just “PC” or “Windows PC”) included in the pricing and packaging. Obviously, this might have some SEO benefits, too, but the real goal is to gain a deep understanding of what customers want, how they think, and what they’re doing so you can better reach them with your messages.
Other applications include:
- Finding content opportunities that may not be obvious from search keywords (or the Reddit-sourced key phrases) alone
- Assisting product strategy decisions on what to make with searcher intent data
- Informing product or advertising creative to help make it more relevant to your audience’s interest
- Combining and contrasting search modifiers across different audiences to identify unique messaging, targeting, or advertising opportunities
As with all SparkToro features, this tab’s results can be exported, added to lists, and sorted in the UI.
5-Minute Video Walkthrough
The video above can give you more detail on what’s included with Search Modifiers and ways to apply the data. Plus, I wore a nice sweater for you 😉
Search Modifiers can be found in the Keywords section of SparkToro’s Audience Research tool, and is available to all subscribers (with varying levels of data depending on your subscription tier):
Play around and let us know (via [email protected] or in the comments) what else you’d like to see from Search Modifiers (and other data) in SparkToro V2.
p.s. A HUGE shoutout to Jeff Coyle and the team at MarketMuse. I came to them with this idea not 3 months ago and they already managed to put it into their dataset, which powers much of SparkToro V2’s keyword section. If you need SERP/keyword data at scale, go talk to ’em!
p.p.s. And a second shoutout to International SEO Gianluca Fiorelli, who pointed out that Google also calls this feature “Topic Filters,” and who’s long been clamoring for marketing software to include aggregation like this. Honored we could deliver for you, my friend!