Get post ideas from your search data

The Ideas page is where post ideas wait for your yes or no. Blog AI suggests ideas from two things it knows about your site: the posts you've already published, and the searches that show your site in Google. You approve the ones worth writing, reject the rest, and turn an approved idea into a draft when you're ready.

Where ideas come from

• Generate new ideas. On the Ideas page, one click asks Blog AI for a fresh batch, for 1 credit. It reads your recent posts and the ideas already waiting (so it doesn't suggest what you've covered) and your strongest Search Console findings: searches where you're close to page one, searches you appear for but have no post about, posts losing traffic and pages competing with each other.
• Home and the Actions page. Cards such as "Search without a post" can create an idea for you when you act on them. See Home and Actions.
• Insights. On the older Insights page, Write this on an opportunity, or Accept & create draft brief on a suggestion, adds an idea too.

Each idea has a working title, the keywords it targets and a short reason it's worth writing. Ideas based on Search Console data say which search they're aimed at.

A balanced mix

Searches follow the posts you already have, so ideas based only on clicks keep pointing at the same few topics. To cover your whole business, each batch is a mix, and each idea carries a tag saying which part of the mix it fills:

• Search demand (about half): searches people already find you for, as before.
• Gap (about a third): a part of your business you haven't written about lately, such as "Gap · CIMA: nothing on CIMA since March". These come even when there's no search data for that area yet.
• Strengthen (the rest): a new post next to a topic that already brings visitors.

With little search data yet, more of the batch goes to gaps.

The Balance panel

Open Balance on the Ideas page to see your business areas and how each is doing: the date of the last post, posts in the last 90 days and clicks from Google in the last 28 days (and conversions, if Google Analytics is connected). It also shows the mix your next batch will get.

Areas come from Topics to focus on in About this site, your post categories and your topic clusters. Set a priority for each area:

Changing a priority affects the next batch you generate. It doesn't change ideas already waiting.

Review and write ideas

1. Open Ideas. Click Ideas in the sidebar. New ideas are under Pending review.
2. Generate a batch if you need one. Click Generate new ideas. The button shows the cost; you're only charged if the ideas arrive.
3. Approve or reject. For each idea, click Approve to keep it or Reject to drop it. Rejecting is free and helps you keep the list short.
4. Write the post. Approved ideas move to Approved and previous ideas. Click Generate post on one. The button shows the cost, 3 credits.
5. Wait about 5 minutes. A Writing now card shows progress. You can leave the page; the post keeps being written.
6. Open the draft. When it's ready, click View generated post (or Open it in the notification). Review, check the Fact check panel, then publish.

Kinds of idea

Most ideas are for a new post. Some are about posts you already have, and are labelled so:

• Refresh of an existing post: update an older post that's losing traffic
• Expansion of an existing post: add sections to answer searches it nearly ranks for
• Merge into an existing post: combine two posts that compete for the same search

These show which post they're about. Generating one writes a new draft you can compare with the original. For live posts, the better route is usually the refresh flow, which proposes changes section by section and updates the live post in place: see Refresh a post that is losing traffic.

Writing about your own topic

Ideas come from your data, but you know your business better than any search report. To write about a topic of your own:

• Your first post: the free post card on Home has Or write about your own topic. See Write your first post.
• Writing it yourself: on Posts, click New post to start a blank post you write by hand. It's labelled Written by hand, and you can still use the editor, images, scheduling and publishing.

What ideas cost

Credits are only charged when the work succeeds. If a batch or a post fails, nothing is charged, and a post's reserved credits go back to your balance. If you don't have enough credits, the button tells you and offers a top-up or a plan. See Understanding credits.

Tips for better ideas

• Connect Google first. Without Search Console, ideas are based only on your existing posts, and they can't be aimed at searches people actually use.
• Import your posts. Ideas avoid topics you've covered, but only if Blog AI can see your posts.
• Reject freely. A short list of ideas you'd really write is more useful than a long one.
• Look at the reason. An idea aimed at a search where you already rank on page two is usually a quicker win than a brand-new topic.

Common questions

How many ideas are in a batch?

A handful at a time, so you can review them properly. Generate another batch whenever you've worked through the list.

Do rejected ideas come back?

Rejected ideas stay in your history as Rejected. New batches avoid your existing posts and the ideas still waiting or approved, but a later batch can suggest a similar topic to one you rejected. Reject it again, or write the post if the data has changed your mind.

Can I edit an idea before writing it?

Not on the Ideas page. Generate the post, then change anything you like in the editor.

Add what you know (optional)

Before a post is written, you can tell Blog AI something only your business knows: what you charge, the mistake customers usually make, what you recommend and when. Open Add what you know (optional) on an idea, or on "Have a topic in mind?" after you check a topic. You'll see one to three short questions picked for that post. A cost guide asks about your prices; a step-by-step guide asks what customers get wrong.

Answer in a sentence or two, or skip any question. Your answers go into the post as your business's own experience ("In our experience…", "We charge…"). Blog AI uses only what you wrote. It won't add other stories or figures about your business, and it won't present your figures as research about the whole market.

In the post's Fact check panel, facts taken from your answers are listed as From you. If the post gives a figure that isn't in your answers, it's flagged as Not in your note and must be fixed before publishing. Figures about the market in general still need a source.

On an idea, your answers are saved when you leave the box, so they're used when the post is written later. If a post doesn't need first-hand knowledge (a news update, say), you won't be asked.