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Content calendar planning is a task I genuinely enjoy. It requires creativity to come up with topics and write hooks that will capture people’s attention, but also strategic thinking, organization, and—especially if you’re managing a team of writers—balancing workloads.
\nAs much as I like to wrangle topics into a perfectly ordered plan, content calendar management comes with challenges. One I’m all too familiar with is missing the growth peak of a trending topic because I didn’t schedule it for the ideal publication date.
\nWhen you publish a topic after it’s passed its peak, you miss out on organic traffic. A lot of time and effort goes into researching, writing, and optimizing content, but timing is a significant factor in its success.
\nDeveloping a trend-matched editorial system for content calendar planning involves incorporating trend projection into your decision making when choosing publication dates. You can then write the content before the topic peaks and publish it while interest is still building.
\nWhen it comes to creating content around trending topics, there are two factors you have to keep in mind: how long it will take you to create the content, and the trend’s growth rate or momentum.
\nIf you can match your content production timeline to a trend’s momentum, you can publish it before it peaks and capitalize on its increased search volume.
\nYour production timelines will be specific to your team and the type of content you publish.
\nTrend momentum, however, can be defined by the following stages:
\nWith these stages in mind, you can strategically position topics on your content calendar according to when they will peak and how long it will take you to produce each piece.
\nAligning trend momentum and content production timelines sounds simple enough, right?
\nTo build a sustainable system, there are a few more steps to keep in mind. The guide that follows is my recommendation for how to set up your trend-matched content calendar and incorporate monitoring and analysis for continuous refinement.
\nI’ve included estimates for how long each step should take. The result is a 90-day plan to align your calendar with trend trajectories for optimal publishing.
\n[cta:trends]
\nBefore you can start looking into trends, you need to gather some information about your content production capacity.
\nFirst, look back through past content you’ve published and determine how long it takes to produce a piece of content from the time the writer picks up the topic to publication. This means you need to include the time it takes to edit and revise the content in addition to how long it takes to write the first draft.
\nChecking your project management app or other tools you use to manage your workload should help you track down this information.
\nIf you publish multiple types of content—blog posts, videos, newsletters, social media content, white papers—repeat this process for each. Consider the balance of content types as well. Social media content is usually published more frequently than blog content, which is usually published more frequently than research-heavy pieces like white papers.
\nThen factor in the size of your team. If you work alone, there’s no need to worry about this step. Otherwise, multiply what you can publish each month according to how many people you’re working with.
\nHere’s an example. Say you have a team of three writers, and your content production timelines are as follows:
\nWriter A will publish one white paper and two blog posts per month. Writers B and C will each publish one blog post and five LinkedIn posts.
\nThis brings your total monthly capacity to one white paper, four blog posts, and ten LinkedIn posts.
\nOnce you know your content production timelines, you can start looking for trends to produce content about.
\nHead over to the Trends Database and choose a category that’s relevant to your niche.
\nThen set the filters as follows:
\nComb through the results for trends that are relevant to your brand, or export all the results to a CSV file and sort through them that way.
\nOne feature I like to check when analyzing trends is the Trend Forecast.
\nThis is helpful for estimating when the topic will peak, which is valuable information when adding content to your calendar. Making a note of the likely peak of topics you’re interested in will help with the next step.
\nKeep in mind the timeframe of the calendar you’re planning. For instance, if you’re planning your Q1 calendar, you want to look for topics peaking in mid to late January through late April, or possibly a bit later.
\nYou might need to repeat this process a few times if you have multiple categories to cover and multiple content types to produce with different production timelines (and therefore requiring trends with different growth stages).
\nGoing along with our example from the previous step, I’d be looking for three white paper topics, twelve blog posts, and 30 LinkedIn posts. The white paper and blog post topics should be experiencing more moderate growth, while I would focus on exploding topics for the LinkedIn posts.
\nNow it’s time to actually fill in your calendar. It may take some tweaking along the way, so don’t be surprised if you need to step away and come back a few times before it’s ready.
\nThe easiest way to go about it is to work backwards. Start with your latest peak date and count back approximately two weeks—that’s the date you want to publish your content for that topic.
\nThen count back again however many days or weeks you need to produce the type of content you’ve planned for that topic. Going back to our example, for a blog post, this would be another two weeks. This is the date you want to start production.
\nRepeat this process to fill your whole calendar.
\nIf you’re planning content for a team, make sure to consider assignments carefully and keep them balanced. The amount of time between publication and peak can be flexible, and might be shorter for social media content compared to longform content. You can adjust it slightly to accommodate workloads or other conflicts.
\nYour calendar is planned, but there’s still work to do. Trends can shift quickly, so the next order of business is to set up some trend monitoring so you can pivot your content plan if needed.
\nIn the Exploding Topics app, go to Trend Tracking and create a new project. Name it “Q1 Content Calendar” or something similar that will be easy to identify.
\nThen add all the topics you put on your content calendar to your project so you can easily find them again. Check this project at least once a week, just in case a topic has experienced unexpected growth (or lack of growth).
\nYou can shift its place on your calendar or remove it if you feel it’s no longer a good opportunity for you. For topics that are already exploding, it may be beneficial to check in more frequently, as growth can spike suddenly.
\nAnother tack you might take is to change the type of content you produce based on adjusted peaks. For example, say a topic you had planned for a blog post starts to peak earlier than you expected. If you can quickly pull together a LinkedIn post about the same topic instead, you might still be able to benefit from its growth.
\nTo enhance this step further, you can also layer in competitor monitoring. Using Semrush’s EyeOn competitor monitoring tool, you can see when they publish new content. If that content overlaps with topics you have on your calendar, you can tweak your approach.
\nPerhaps your product review becomes a comparison post, or you spot content gaps in your competitor’s piece and make sure to cover the missing information in your own version.
\n[cta:eyeon]
\nAs you start to publish the content on your calendar, there’s some ongoing maintenance and optimization you’ll need to perform.
\nFirst, take this opportunity to track your production timelines and make sure they align with what you estimated at the beginning of this process. This will help you adjust your trend matching during your next calendar planning cycle.
\nNext, take note of the trend’s status and growth volume on its publication date.
\nThis will help you determine how closely you were able to align trend growth with your content production timeline. Did you publish as close to the trend’s peak as you intended? Did you publish too late? Use this information to inform your next planning cycle.
\nFinally, choose a set timeframe after publication (I recommend 30 days) and check in on your content’s performance metrics. As you repeat the trend matching process, you can experiment with publishing at different growth stages to see if it impacts traffic and engagement.
\nWhen it comes to content marketing, there’s so much that’s out of your control. Trend matching your content calendar can help you take back some control by accounting for a topic’s growth trajectory when choosing its publication date.
\nTo enhance your content planning process further, incorporating Semrush into your workflow can help you at every stage, from keyword research to monitoring search engine and AI visibility after publication.
\nSemrush Pro is the perfect plan to start with. Try it out today and pair it with Exploding Topics Pro to kickstart your trend-matched editorial system and find the perfect publication date for every piece of content.
","summary":"Content calendar planning is a task I genuinely enjoy. It requires creativity to come up with topics and write hooks that will capture people’s attention, but also strategic thinking, organization, and—especially if you’re managing a team of writers—balancing workloads. As much as I like to wrangle topics into a perfectly ...","seo_title":"My 90-Day Trend-Matched Editorial System for Content Calendar Planning","meta_description":"A practical 90-day system for aligning your content calendar with trend momentum—so you publish at the right time, capture peak interest, and maximize organic traffic.","featured_image_alt":"Content Calendar Planning Blog Post Image","url":"https://explodingtopics.com/blog/content-calendar-planning","featured_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/output=f:webp/zum7mTJcSHKlhgwmvMw5","author":{"bio":"Molly is a technical content writer with a passion for making technology easy for anyone to understand. She specializes in content strategy and implementing data-driven workflows that improve user experience. Molly holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Northwestern University, and loves blending her creative writing background with her technical writing experience to craft narratives that inform and engage readers. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and spending time with her family, including their many, many pets.","slug":"molly-tyler","email":"molly.tyler496@gmail.com","title":"Writer","last_name":"Tyler","first_name":"Molly","facebook_url":"","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-tyler-writer/","instagram_url":"","pinterest_url":"","profile_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/oCdUgSWR3e8Fwq2zeMdX","twitter_handle":""},"tags":[],"categories":[{"name":"seo","slug":"seo"}]},{"status":"published","created":"2026-04-22T11:52:45.074610Z","updated":"2026-04-22T13:55:31.018790Z","published":"2026-04-22T11:39:23.992000Z","scheduled":null,"title":"How to Use Exploding Topics: A Quick Start Guide","slug":"how-to-use-et","body":"Exploding Topics enables you to spot and track trends to inform several aspects of your businesses. Product ideation, marketing strategy, and investment decisions all benefit when you back them with real user data from multiple channels.
\nTo keep all this valuable information at your fingertips, Exploding Topics provides a dashboard with the latest trending topics, products, and startups as well as specific trends you’re tracking.
\nWhether you’re new to Exploding Topics or an experienced user looking to get more out of it, this quick-start guide will introduce you to everything it’s capable of so you can enhance your business and take advantage of emerging opportunities in your industry.
\nBefore I show you how to use Exploding Topics’ available tools, it’s important to understand how it identifies trends.
\nFirst, Exploding Topics gathers data from multiple sources across the web, including search engines, social media, podcasts, forums, and e-commerce sites. Diversifying data sources instead of relying only on search performance helps Exploding Topics identify potential growth more accurately.
\nInformation gathering occurs in real time, so Exploding Topics is constantly updating its database with the latest metrics on all the topics it tracks.
\nExploding Topics analyzes this data using proprietary machine learning models. They look at historical growth patterns, current growth trajectory, and sudden surges in activity to recognize emerging trends.
\nThe trends found to have the highest growth potential are reviewed by experts from the Exploding Topics team. They add their own insights to these topics to provide more context around what’s driving interest in them.
\nAll of this sets Exploding Topics apart from other trend analysis platforms like Google Trends. Rather than reacting to growth after it’s already happened, Exploding Topics uses its unique combination of AI and human insight to predict trends before they take off, giving you the opportunity to be an early benefactor of growing interest in a topic.
\n[cta:trends]
\nUsing the Exploding Topics dashboard as a launch pad, I’ll walk through each of the features available. In addition to showing you the fast results you’ll get on the dashboard, I’ll also explain how to dig deeper for more detailed trend research.
\nI’m using the Exploding Topics Pro Business plan, so you’ll see all the paid features available. However, if you’re using a different plan or the free version, you’ll still have access to many of the options I’ve covered.
\nWhen you open the Exploding Topics app, you’ll see the Recommended Trends section of the dashboard.
\nThese are trends experiencing significant growth and may represent opportunities for you to expand your brand awareness. If you’re tracking any trends (more on that in a bit), the recommendations shown here are pulled from the same category or categories as the trends you’re watching.
\nYou can also set your preferred category using the Categories dropdown so this section displays the trends that are the most relevant to you.
\nIf you want to explore more topics, click the Browse Trends Database.
\nExploding Topics’ Trends Database holds over one million topics, products, and startups curated by a proprietary algorithm and updated daily. Search for topics you’re interested in, or browse by category.
\nUsing the filters, you can further narrow your results by timeframe, growth, type, and volatility.
\nEach listing in the database shows the trend’s Google search volume and growth. Clicking on a trend shows additional information, including its activity by social media channel and its search growth forecast.
\nLastly, you can export trends from the database to a CSV file. This is useful if you want to compare trends or build a strategy that incorporates multiple trends to maximize your brand’s visibility.
\nExploding Topics enables you to track trends over time. This is useful if the topic is highly relevant to your niche and you want to monitor it, or if you’ve spotted a topic that’s starting to gain momentum and you want to watch it for growth.
\nIn order to see trends in this section of the dashboard, you need to have first created a project and added topics to it. You can do this by going to the Trend Tracking tool and clicking the Create A Project button.
\nThen click the Add Topics button to search for topics in the Trends Database to track.
\nClick the Track Topic button and select your project from the list to start tracking.
\nYou can organize trends into multiple projects. This is perfect for planning marketing campaigns or tracking topics in different subcategories.
\nYou can see your projects in the Trend Tracking tool, or on the dashboard. If you have multiple projects, you can use the dropdown to filter trends by project.
\nTo see all the trends you’re tracking across projects, click the View All Projects button.
\nResearching trending products helps with product ideation, competitor analysis, and finding gaps in your existing offers.
\nExploding Topics shows trending products on your dashboard and enables you to easily track them for ongoing monitoring.
\nClick on View All Products to search all the products in Exploding Topics’ database and filter them by category, growth metrics, sales potential, and more.
\nYou can also export relevant products to a CSV file to analyze outside of Exploding Topics.
\nTikTok has become an important space for trends of all kinds to emerge and expand. The pull of influencers on the platform makes it great for generating buzz, and its e-commerce capabilities enable sellers to boost revenue and build awareness for their products, too.
\nTikTok’s cultural significance makes it an important data source for Exploding Topics as well as a crucial factor in trend analysis. The TikTok Insights add-on lets you see key metrics right in the app.
\nIn your dashboard, you’ll see the total TikTok views and posts for some of the top trends analyzed by Exploding Topics.
\nClick View All Insights to see more finds from TikTok. Search for specific hashtags related to your niche, or narrow the results by growth, timeframe, or category.
\nLooking into trending startups is useful for finding emerging competitors as well as scoping out potential investments.
\nThe Exploding Topics dashboard includes a section for trending startups. You can quickly add any of them to a project for further monitoring by clicking the Track Topic button.
\nOr, click View All Startups to refine your search. Use the filters to view startups by category, growth, funding, number of employees, and/or location.
\nIf you want to do some further analysis, you can export the startups matching your criteria to a CSV file.
\nExploding Topics Pro users receive a weekly trend report newsletter that includes analysis of startups and products with high growth potential.
\nIn your Exploding Topics dashboard, you’ll see links to the most recent reports with some of the featured trends listed.
\nIf one of the listed items catches your attention, you can read the full report for trend analysis written by Exploding Topics experts, including why the topic is trending and related trends to watch.
\nViewing old reports is useful if you want to compare past emerging trends with their current growth. The View All Reports button takes you to Exploding Topics’ full report library.
\nThe experts at Exploding Topics analyze the trends identified by its algorithm to create topic clusters by making connections between “macro trends” and “micro trends.”
\nMicro trends include specific products, brands, ideas, or concepts. These trends are narrow, like “rice water face wash” or “carbon credit trading.”
\nMacro trends, or meta trends, are broader trend categories that encompass multiple micro trends. Analyzing meta trends helps highlight opportunities to cross-reference micro trends and multiply your growth.
\nThe Exploding Topics dashboard includes a section for popular meta trends, where you can see some of these top-level trends.
\nClick View Analysis for more detailed information about a meta trend displayed in the dashboard, or View All Meta Trends to explore all the macro trends Exploding Topics has identified.
\nThe Meta Trends Library is divided by category to help you find relevant subjects. When you click on a meta trend, you’ll see a diagram of related micro trends.
\nThe inner ring closest to the meta trend are micro trends that are directly related to the meta trend, while the outer ring is made up of trends that are relevant to the meta trend, but don’t necessarily fall directly under it.
\nDetailed context about the significance of the meta trend and why it’s on the rise is provided under Background & Analysis, and if available, related meta trends are listed as well.
\n[list=topic number=5 category=business]
\nNow that we’ve concluded our tour of the Exploding Topics dashboard, I’ll show you a brief workflow for analyzing trends with Exploding Topics.
\nFirst, we need to find a promising topic. I’m going to use the Trends Database and search in the Technology category.
\nUsing the filters, I’ll look for topics experiencing regular growth over the past five years. These topics have sustained interest, but haven’t peaked yet. They’re also not exploding, which means they should be less competitive than other trends.
\nIf you have a specific topic in mind, you can use Exploding Topics’ Trend Analysis tool to gather data about it, even if it’s not in the Trends Database yet.
\nOnce I’ve selected a topic, the first thing I look at is the trend forecast. For this topic, Exploding Topics has projected it will peak a few months from now. That gives me time to take advantage of its current growth before interest starts declining.
\nNext, I can read a bit of background information about the topic to make sure it aligns with my niche.
\nThe channel breakdown is extremely helpful. This tells me that “Scrut Automation” is most popular on LinkedIn, so I’ll want to create some posts about it to share there. I can then allocate my remaining resources to other channels based on how much potential I think they have.
\nSince there’s no traction on TikTok, I’d want to weigh the potential of being an early advocate for the product on that platform against the risk of not finding any engagement there.
\nThe Key Indicators section verifies what I already knew about this topic being fairly reliable. The related topics listed give me some ideas for how to work this topic into a larger content strategy.
\nTaking all of this information together, I can determine:
\nThis was a short and simple example, but it gives you an idea of the kind of insights you can get from Exploding Topics to inform your own strategy.
\nThis guide has everything you need to get started with Exploding Topics. Once you get your feet under you, you can start learning how to level up your trend forecasting.
\nA feature I didn’t cover here is the Exploding Topics API, which gives you the power and flexibility to bring Exploding Topics data to you. Automate your content workflow, set up trend alerts, or even create detailed data visualization to help you understand your growth potential.
\nAll you need is an Exploding Topics Business Plan and the API add-on to start experimenting. Get access to current trend data that predicts consumer interest instead of reacting to it so you can be on the forefront of your industry’s growth curve.
","summary":"Exploding Topics enables you to spot and track trends to inform several aspects of your businesses. Product ideation, marketing strategy, and investment decisions all benefit when you back them with real user data from multiple channels. To keep all this valuable information at your fingertips, Exploding Topics provides a dashboard ...","seo_title":"How to Use Exploding Topics: A Quick Start Guide","meta_description":"Learn how to use the Exploding Topics dashboard to find the latest trending topics, products, and startups.","featured_image_alt":"How to Use Exploding Topics Blog Post Image","url":"https://explodingtopics.com/blog/how-to-use-et","featured_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/output=f:webp/ZyS4FNT2TuKXU1Cf21pI","author":{"bio":"Molly is a technical content writer with a passion for making technology easy for anyone to understand. She specializes in content strategy and implementing data-driven workflows that improve user experience. Molly holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Northwestern University, and loves blending her creative writing background with her technical writing experience to craft narratives that inform and engage readers. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and spending time with her family, including their many, many pets.","slug":"molly-tyler","email":"molly.tyler496@gmail.com","title":"Writer","last_name":"Tyler","first_name":"Molly","facebook_url":"","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-tyler-writer/","instagram_url":"","pinterest_url":"","profile_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/oCdUgSWR3e8Fwq2zeMdX","twitter_handle":""},"tags":[],"categories":[{"name":"market-research","slug":"market-research"}]},{"status":"published","created":"2022-08-22T10:39:39.583181Z","updated":"2026-04-17T10:51:44.529080Z","published":"2026-04-17T01:39:00Z","scheduled":null,"title":"Top Trending Topics (April 2026)","slug":"trending-topics","body":"This is a list of the top 100 trending topics in the US right now.
\nNote that the topics in this list aren’t fads (like new movies or video games).
\nInstead, these are long-term trends that are likely to see upward growth throughout 2026.
\n\nThe data from this list was generated using our proprietary algorithm and trend curation process.
\n| # | \nTopic | \nSearch Growth | \n
| 1 | \nJumping Spider Enclosure | \n725% | \n
| 2 | \nSalmon DNA Microneedling | \n99x+ | \n
| 3 | \nHealth Tracking Ring | \n8,000% | \n
| 4 | \nAI Earbuds | \n6,700% | \n
| 5 | \nPlaud Note | \n8,900% | \n
| 6 | \nCold Plunge Sauna | \n6,300% | \n
| 7 | \nPeptide Lip Balm | \n7,800% | \n
| 8 | \nBooktok | \n1,114% | \n
| 9 | \nBeehiiv | \n6,300% | \n
| 10 | \nPermanent Jewelry | \n1,700% | \n
| 11 | \nWifi 7 Router | \n2,175% | \n
| 12 | \nPupsicle | \n3,033% | \n
| 13 | \nWalking Pad | \n4,350% | \n
| 14 | \nAI Story Generator | \n4,250% | \n
| 15 | \nBuldak Ramen | \n1,220% | \n
| 16 | \nAI Mirror | \n4,000% | \n
| 17 | \nAI Image Enhancer | \n8,200% | \n
| 18 | \nWorkwhile | \n633% | \n
| 19 | \nINNBeauty Project | \n3,233% | \n
| 20 | \nDUPR | \n2,933% | \n
| 21 | \nCold Plunge Tub | \n4,400% | \n
| 22 | \nShoe Washing Bag | \n1,217% | \n
| 23 | \nTumble Rug | \n2,400% | \n
| 24 | \nAI Robot | \n1,700% | \n
| 25 | \nBoneless Couch | \n9,700% | \n
| 26 | \nViwoods | \n6,000% | \n
| 27 | \nWanderlog | \n4,900% | \n
| 28 | \nAI Personal Assistant | \n4,200% | \n
| 29 | \nSuri Toothbrush | \n6,500% | \n
| 30 | \nBoucle Bed Frame | \n99x+ | \n
| 31 | \nMilky Toner | \n8,300% | \n
| 32 | \nFluted Glass Cabinet | \n5,800% | \n
| 33 | \nDog Dental Powder | \n9,700% | \n
| 34 | \nPrequel Skincare | \n9,600% | \n
| 35 | \nNotegpt | \n8,500% | \n
| 36 | \nOwala | \n6,800% | \n
| 37 | \nAirplane Phone Holder | \n7,100% | \n
| 38 | \nPDRN Toner | \n99x+ | \n
| 39 | \nTalking Flash Cards | \n5,100% | \n
| 40 | \nPDRN | \n9,500% | \n
| 41 | \nTheraFace | \n5,400% | \n
| 42 | \nMofusand Blind Box | \n4,500% | \n
| 43 | \nIonic Thermal Brush | \n1,440% | \n
| 44 | \nPrompt Engineering | \n3,700% | \n
| 45 | \nVector Database | \n2,200% | \n
| 46 | \nWorkflow Automation | \n1,750% | \n
| 47 | \nPenpot | \n7,600% | \n
| 48 | \nCuripod | \n9,400% | \n
| 49 | \nTuta Email | \n99x+ | \n
| 50 | \nPrezi AI | \n6,000% | \n
| 51 | \nOled Gaming Laptop | \n1,467% | \n
| 52 | \nWorkflow Automation Platform | \n3,400% | \n
| 53 | \nAI for Teachers | \n3,900% | \n
| 54 | \nAgricultural Marketplace | \n2,100% | \n
| 55 | \nMixed Metal Jewelry | \n967% | \n
| 56 | \nOrganic Modern Kitchen | \n99x+ | \n
| 57 | \nBaby Bottle Washer | \n4,550% | \n
| 58 | \nAI Mini PC | \n8,800% | \n
| 59 | \nYemeni Coffee | \n99x+ | \n
| 60 | \nPistachio Perfume | \n7,100% | \n
| 61 | \nAI Air Fryer | \n8,700% | \n
| 62 | \nRed Light Mask | \n4,900% | \n
| 63 | \nTranslation Earbuds | \n4,800% | \n
| 64 | \nMagnetic Power Bank | \n4,900% | \n
| 65 | \nJellycat Charms | \n4,200% | \n
| 66 | \nCloud-Native | \n350% | \n
| 67 | \nOrganic Modern Kitchen | \n99x+ | \n
| 68 | \nBarrel Leg Pants | \n7,400% | \n
| 69 | \nBirch Juice Moisturizer | \n99x+ | \n
| 70 | \nGender Affirming Care | \n2,550% | \n
| 71 | \nAI Translator Headphones | \n3,100% | \n
| 72 | \nAlgae Cooking Oil | \n7,500% | \n
| 73 | \nAI Voice Detector | \n6,000% | \n
| 74 | \nRug Tufting | \n139% | \n
| 75 | \nHigh Speed Hair Dryer | \n8,000% | \n
| 76 | \nLaptop Screen Extender | \n3,233% | \n
| 77 | \nAI Mouse | \n9,800% | \n
| 78 | \nPadel Shoes | \n2,400% | \n
| 79 | \nAI Music Generator | \n6,100% | \n
| 80 | \nAlgorithmic Bias | \n1,650% | \n
| 81 | \nMagnesium Glycinate Supplement | \n3,250% | \n
| 82 | \nTiphaus | \n99x+ | \n
| 83 | \nPartiful | \n99x+ | \n
| 84 | \nCarsized | \n4,400% | \n
| 85 | \nFastmoss | \n8,400% | \n
| 86 | \nDocuclipper | \n5,900% | \n
| 87 | \nHigh Speed Hair Dryer | \n8,000% | \n
| 88 | \nMomcozy | \n8,800% | \n
| 89 | \nPetfolk | \n9,100% | \n
| 90 | \nPilates Outfit | \n2,733% | \n
| 91 | \nSteamdeck | \n6,800% | \n
| 92 | \nPanthenol Moisturizer | \n3,150% | \n
| 93 | \nBarrel Fit Jeans | \n5,600% | \n
| 94 | \nLash Clusters | \n99x+ | \n
| 95 | \nProbiotic Soda | \n1,467% | \n
| 96 | \nAI Shoes | \n99x+ | \n
| 97 | \nLow Rise Sweatpants | \n2,100% | \n
| 98 | \nPickleball Grip | \n1,150% | \n
| 99 | \nGigpro | \n453% | \n
| 100 | \nAI Robot Dog | \n1,320% | \n
Pro Tip: Semrush is invaluable for analyzing competitors and boosting your topical authority around new trends.
\n[cta:keywords]
\nWith that, here is a collection of trending topics worth keeping an eye on:
\n5-year search growth: 3,250%
\nSearch growth status: Exploding
\nDescription: This supplement combines magnesium with the amino acid glycine, known for its high bioavailability and effectiveness in supporting muscle and nerve function, bone health, and energy production. It is distinguished by its ability to be easily absorbed by the body, reducing the likelihood of digestive discomfort often associated with other forms of magnesium supplements. The target demographic includes individuals seeking to improve their magnesium intake for better overall health, particularly those with deficiencies or increased needs due to lifestyle or health conditions.
\n5-year search growth: 6,800%
\nSearch growth status: Exploding
\nDescription: A specialized treatment focusing on the health and relaxation of the scalp and hair. The process typically involves deep cleansing, nutrient-rich conditioning, and techniques to stimulate blood flow, promoting hair growth and preventing hair loss. This holistic approach is beneficial for individuals seeking to maintain optimal scalp health and achieve stronger, more resilient hair.
\n5-year search growth: 7,900%
\nSearch growth status: Exploding
\nDescription: Tools that use machine learning algorithms to automate the creation of video content. They can produce high-quality videos quickly and efficiently, making them popular for various applications such as marketing, entertainment, and education. AI video generators are particularly beneficial for content creators, marketers, and educators looking to streamline video production processes.
\n[cta:keywords]
\n5-year search growth: 8,200%
\nSearch growth status: Exploding
\nDescription: Advanced software solutions that utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to improve the quality of images. These tools can automatically make adjustments and enhancements such as noise reduction, sharpening, color correction, and upscaling without requiring human intervention, thereby enhancing the overall quality and resolution. AI image enhancers are widely used in fields like photography, graphic design, and digital marketing to produce high-quality images efficiently.
\n5-year search growth: 3,900%
\nSearch growth status: Regular
\nDescription: Artificial intelligence for educators encompasses a range of tools and applications aimed at improving educational experiences. These technologies automate administrative tasks, personalize learning, and provide real-time feedback, thereby supporting teachers in crafting engaging content. The primary beneficiaries of these AI tools are educators seeking to enhance teaching efficiency and effectiveness, allowing them to concentrate more on student engagement.
\n5-year search growth: 1,267%
\nSearch growth status: Exploding
\nDescription: Activities or environments that fully engage an individual's senses, often creating a sense of presence in a different reality. These experiences utilize advanced technology such as virtual reality (VR) simulations, interactive art installations, and 360-degree videos to create realistic and interactive environments. Immersive experiences are particularly appealing to individuals seeking highly engaging and sensory-rich activities, including gamers, art enthusiasts, and professionals in training scenarios.
\n[cta:trafficanalytics]
\n5-year search growth: 7,000%
\nSearch growth status: Regular
\nDescription: These are athletic footwear designed to improve running performance by integrating a carbon fiber plate within the midsole. This design feature enhances stiffness and energy return, thereby increasing running efficiency and speed, making them distinct from traditional running shoes. Carbon-plated running shoes are primarily targeted at competitive runners seeking to enhance their performance in races.
\n5-year search growth: 950%
\nSearch growth status: Exploding
\nDescription: Nicotine pouches are small, tobacco-less pouches that contain nicotine, flavorings, and sweeteners. Experts believe these pouches are safer than alternative nicotine products because they don't contain tobacco leaves and have fewer carcinogens. Zyn, the leading provider of nicotine pouches, brought in $446.8 million from nicotine pouches in 2025.
\n5-year search growth: 99x+
\nSearch growth status: Exploding
\nDescription: Creatine gummies are a dietary supplement designed to provide the benefits of creatine in a convenient, chewable form. These gummies aim to increase muscle mass, improve muscle strength, and enhance exercise performance, differentiating themselves from traditional creatine powders and capsules by offering a more palatable and easy-to-consume option. They are primarily targeted at athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness enthusiasts looking for an effective and convenient way to incorporate creatine into their supplement regimen.
\n5-year search growth: 5,300%
\nSearch growth status: Exploding
\nDescription: Technology that converts written text into spoken words using advanced machine learning algorithms. These systems, including tools like Google Text-to-Speech and Amazon Polly, are used in applications such as virtual assistants, audiobooks, and accessibility tools, with recent advancements focusing on improving the naturalness and expressiveness of the generated speech. The primary users of text-to-audio AI are developers, businesses, and individuals seeking to enhance user experience and accessibility through voice-enabled applications.
\nThat wraps up our list of current trending topics worth keeping an eye on.
\nThere are a few “big picture” patterns in this list. For example, many of the trends are related to beauty and natural health. And many others are tech-focused.
\nWe keep this list updated. Check back soon for updated data and trends.
","summary":"This is a list of the top 100 trending topics in the US right now.\n\nThe data from this list was generated using our proprietary algorithm and trend curation process.\n\nNote that the topics in this list aren’t fads (like new movies or video games).\n\nInstead, these are long-term trends that are likely to see upward growth throughout 2026.","seo_title":"Top Trending Topics (April 2026)","meta_description":"A regularly updated list of the top 100 trending topics in the US right now.","featured_image_alt":"Trending Topics Blog Post Image","url":"https://explodingtopics.com/blog/trending-topics","featured_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/output=f:webp/mRswz7EOToG5EN4jegIu","author":{"bio":"Fabio is a research associate at Exploding Topics.\r\n\r\nSince 2021, Fabio has researched, written, and edited articles for the Exploding Topics blog. Alongside this, he also manages social media content for X and LinkedIn.\r\n\r\nAway from his work at Exploding Topics, Fabio is Head Editor of the match report project at Flashscore.\r\n\r\nFabio has worked on thousands of articles and blog posts across a wide variety of industries including sports, technology, retail, and finance.","slug":"fabio-duarte","email":"fabio.p.duarte@outlook.com","title":"Research Associate","last_name":"Duarte","first_name":"Fabio","facebook_url":"","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabio-duarte-b6996318a/","instagram_url":"","pinterest_url":"","profile_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/dIHDuu0QOWurzcpz0eD4","twitter_handle":"@FDuarteWriting"},"tags":[{"name":"semrush","slug":"semrush"}],"categories":[{"name":"market-research","slug":"market-research"}]},{"status":"published","created":"2026-04-14T12:16:47.597252Z","updated":"2026-04-14T12:25:20.264899Z","published":"2026-04-14T12:15:59.203000Z","scheduled":null,"title":"E-commerce SEO in 2026: Grow Your Traffic Without Ads","slug":"e-commerce-seo","body":"Organic search can be a huge traffic driver to your store. And it can work for you day and night, whether or not you’re currently spending money on ads, creating content on social media, or sending emails.
\nOn average, organic search drives about one in three visits to E-commerce stores, according to Promodo. That’s 33% of overall traffic!
\nAnd although it takes some SEO work behind the scenes, that traffic doesn't stop the moment you stop spending on ads or posting on social media.
\nOrganic traffic, on the other hand, can compound. Pages that rank today can drive sales for a while without additional spend.
\nBut organic traffic doesn’t just come on its own. You’ll need a solid E-commerce SEO strategy—one that’s built for the way search works now, with AI Overviews and large language models (LLMs) answering searchers’ questions before you can.
\nIn this guide, I’ll cover creating a full E-commerce SEO strategy, including how to build and optimize the right page types and how to show up in both traditional and AI-powered search results.
\nPlus, I’ll include a bonus section on how to find products with growing search demand to kick off your whole SEO strategy a step ahead of the competition.
\nE-commerce SEO is not just a scaled-up version of standard SEO.
\nE-commerce SEO is the process of optimizing an online store to rank higher in search results and attract buyers without paying for clicks or impressions.
\nThe end goal is to get product pages, category pages, and supporting content in front of consumers who are actively looking for what you sell.
\nAn online store can have thousands of product pages, category variations, seasonal collections, and filtered navigation pages to optimize, so it usually needs a more expansive SEO plan than a typical website running standard SEO.
\nE-commerce sites also need to rank across multiple intent types simultaneously. Product pages target transactional queries from buyers who are ready to purchase. Category pages target broader browsing queries. Blog content targets informational queries from shoppers still in research mode. Each page type has different optimization requirements and a different role in moving someone from search to sale.
\nE-commerce SEO has three main foundations:
\nThis guide covers all three.
\nBut before we take a look at those, here’s how you can set yourself up for success before you even put your whole SEO strategy in place.
\n[list=product number=5]
\nOther E-commerce SEO guides start with optimizing your existing product pages. That's cool if your catalog is already set in stone.
\nBut if you want to give your SEO a head start, stock up-and-coming products that are just about to have their moment.
\nAlready do that? Great! Then you can use search trend data to decide which products to prioritize before investing in SEO.
\nIf you hop on a trend before it goes mainstream, you can build your topical authority and really dial in your technical and on-page SEO for that product or product category before your competitors even stock the product.
\nBut how do you find trending products to stock and optimize before they hit it big?
\nWith Exploding Topics, you can find products or product categories whose search interest is gaining momentum across search engines and social platforms.
\nMomentum equals opportunity.
\nExploding Topics has a dedicated Trending Products report that filters trend data specifically to emerging products.
\nTo find the best, most relevant trending products for your store:
\n![\"Exploding](\"https://cdn.buttercms.com/grKtprosTs2Q7tu7tamQ\")
![\"Exploding](\"https://cdn.buttercms.com/F1xZRfTeSu2DUBAK3fMr\")
Start your free trial of Exploding Topics Pro now.
\nOnce you know which products are worth prioritizing, the next step is making sure you're building the right pages to capture how people actually search for them.
\nKnowing which products to stock and work on optimizing first is only half the E-commerce SEO equation. The other half is building the right pages and the right content to capture each type of search query and topic your products generate.
\nStart by mapping intent.
\nTake one of your trending products, type it into a keyword research tool and get a feel for how people are searching for it. Queries like \"buy [product]\" or \"[product] price\" are transactional. Queries like \"how does [product] work\" or \"best [product] for [use case]\" are informational.
\nEach query type belongs on a different page, and assigning them correctly before you build out your content is incredibly important.
\nE-commerce stores need three distinct page types to cover the full range of how buyers search, and each one has to be optimized differently. Getting this wrong is one of the most common E-commerce SEO mistakes. If you don’t map out your plan beforehand, you may end up optimizing multiple pages for the same keyword or topic, causing them to cannibalize each other.
\nThat just means you’ve confused search engines and LLMs, so they don’t know which page or content is right to serve to searchers and end up avoiding your content altogether.
\nSo, keep your SEO work focused, not disjointed.
\n| Page Type | \nQuery Type | \nExample Query | \nFunnel Stage | \nSEO Focus | \nPrimary Goal | \n
| Category page | \nBroad, high-volume | \n\"men's trail running shoes\" | \nMid-funnel (browsing) | \nPrimary keyword in H1, title tag, and URL | \nCapture browsers comparing options | \n
| Product page | \nSpecific, transactional | \n\"Brooks Cascadia 18\" | \nBottom-funnel (buying) | \nProduct name, model, and variant keywords | \nConvert shoppers who have decided | \n
| Blog / buying guide | \nInformational | \n\"best trail running shoes for wide feet\" | \nTop-funnel (researching) | \nTopic coverage, internal links to category and product pages | \nIntroduce shoppers early and build topical authority | \n
The three page types you need to optimize separately are:
\nThe three page types work as a funnel. Blog content builds topical authority and captures early-stage visitors. Category pages are for mid-funnel browsers. Product pages bring in buyers. Internal links should connect all three tiers, flowing authority from content down to category pages and from category pages down to products.
\nAt least, that’s how funnels are designed to work. These days, traditional funnels have broken a bit with the fragmented way searchers now research and discover products online. So although it’s still incredibly important to optimize your pages in the way I described, know that you need a well-rounded strategy that includes SEO, content marketing, and PR to drive traffic.
\nAlso, make sure that you’re researching and targeting complete topics, not just one-off keywords.
\nFor a deeper look at how to build a research process around topics and intent rather than individual keywords, see Why Keyword Research Doesn't Work in 2026 (And What to Do Instead).
\nOne of the biggest mistakes people make with E-commerce SEO is not paying enough attention to keyword cannibalization.
\nCannibalization happens when two pages on the same site target the same keywords or topic and split the ranking signals that should be concentrated on one. One of the most common versions in E-commerce: a category page and a blog post both targeting the same broad topic.
\nThe fix for this is intent alignment before you build. Make category pages own transactional keywords, whereas blog content owns informational keywords. Map each topic to exactly one page type, and you’ll eliminate the overlap before it becomes a problem.
\n[cal:comp_keywords]
\nWith your page types mapped out, the next thing to think about is how those pages connect—and how Google navigates between them.
\nA thoughtfully organized site structure tells Google which pages matter the most and makes it easy for shoppers to move through your website from discovery to purchase.
\nThe standard E-commerce page hierarchy is typically homepage → category pages → subcategory pages → product pages, with each level reachable within a few clicks. Pages buried too deep can get a bit lost both to search engines and to customers, so keep your products from sinking too deep down the line.
\nFor the best possible E-commerce SEO, URLs should reflect your hierarchy and stay human-readable. A URL like yourstore.com/womens-boots/ankle-boots/chelsea-boot-brown tells both Google and the visitor exactly where they are. Parameter-heavy URLs like yourstore.com/product?id=4872&color=brown are harder to index and don't communicate anything useful.
Some websites use faceted navigation—filtering by size, color, or price, for example. This can generate large numbers of near-duplicate URLs that dilute your crawl budget and fragment ranking signals.
\nTo fix that issue, use canonical tags to point filtered variants back to the main category or product page, or apply a noindex tag to low-value filter combinations. The goal is to concentrate Google's crawl budget on pages that actually have ranking potential.
Internal linking is one of the most underleveraged tools in E-commerce SEO, and one of the easiest to improve without creating new content.
\nEvery internal link passes authority from one page to another. In an E-commerce context, that means blog content and high-authority category pages can actively strengthen the rankings of product pages simply by linking to them. Category pages should link to relevant subcategories and top products. Blog content should link to the category pages it's most closely related to. The flow of authority should always point toward the pages that drive transactions, but don’t discount interlinking blog posts and category pages, too.
\nAnchor text matters as well. Use descriptive, relevant anchor text that tells Google what the destination page is about. \"Women's waterproof hiking boots\" is more useful than \"click here\" or \"these boots.\" Vary the phrasing across different links pointing to the same page rather than repeating identical anchor text each time.
\nFor large E-commerce catalogs, it's worth periodically auditing for orphan pages—pages with no internal links pointing to them. Google relies on links to find and rank content, so orphaned pages rarely get found regardless of how well optimized they are on the page level. A tool like the Semrush Site Audit can find these quickly.
\nFor a full walkthrough of internal linking best practices, see our Internal Linking Guide.
\nOnce your site’s structure is solid, the next E-commerce SEO layer is optimizing the individual pages within it.
\nEach product and category page needs a unique title tag that leads with the primary keyword/topic and stays under 60 characters. Meta descriptions likely won't directly affect rankings, but they may influence click-through rate from the SERP, so write them for the shopper, not the algorithm.
\nProduct descriptions are also important, and they’re where many E-commerce stores lose ground. Copying manufacturer descriptions creates duplicate content across dozens of retailers, giving Google no reason to rank your version over anyone else's.
\nIf possible, write original descriptions that address how the product solves a specific problem, naturally incorporate target keywords, and answer the questions a shopper would ask before buying.
\nStructured data (specifically Product schema) is one of the highest-impact on-page investments an E-commerce store can make. Product schema enables rich results in Google SERPs showing price, availability, and review ratings directly in the search listing.
\nThese rich results increase click-through rates and, critically, make your product data readable by AI systems evaluating purchase-related queries. Review schema and Breadcrumb schema compound this effect across your catalog.
\nImage optimization matters more in E-commerce than in almost any other site type. Every product image should have descriptive alt text that includes the product name and relevant topical information. Compress images to minimize page load time without sacrificing quality, as slow-loading product pages lose both rankings and conversions.
\nStrong on-page optimization improves how individual pages rank. Content marketing, though, improves how the entire site ranks.
\nProduct pages and category pages alone won't build the kind of authority your store needs to show up in search results. Informational content (like buying guides, comparison posts, and how-to articles) does that work by establishing your store as a trusted source on topics related to what you sell.
\nThis is topical authority at work.
\nWhen you cover a subject area widely and with expertise, Google and LLMs start to recognize it as a reliable source and will hopefully start to surface your content consistently across that topic.
\nFor more on building a content strategy, check out our Free Content Strategy Template With Tools & Examples.
\nOne of the absolute best things you can do for your content strategy in the age of AI Overviews and increasing LLM usage is jumping on search trends and building authority before your competitors can catch up.
\nYou've already identified trending products in your niche using the Trending Products report in Exploding Topics. Now, use the Trend Analysis tool to surface the informational topics forming around those products.
\nThink questions people are starting to ask, related concepts gaining popularity, and trending use cases that haven't been covered extensively yet.
\nCreating content around these rising topics now means you're building authority in a less competitive environment. So by the time the topic reaches its highest traffic point, your content has more age, backlinks, and engagement signals than all the newer content that’s popping up.
\nRemember to build your internal links from your new trendjacking content. Every informational piece should link to the most relevant category page, routing the topical authority it builds toward the pages that drive transactions.
\nLearn how to use Exploding Topics to build early authority in What is Trendjacking? How to Use it in Your Marketing.
\nThat content foundation also sets you up for the fastest-changing part of E-commerce SEO right now: showing up in AI-powered search results.
\nThe most rapidly changing part of E-commerce SEO right now is what happens outside of the organic results.
\nGoogle’s AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity now all surface product recommendations directly in chat responses, complete with pricing, ratings, and links to purchase. For E-commerce stores, this is a crazy cool opportunity for a meaningful new discovery channel, but it operates by different rules than traditional search.
\n[cal:aio]
\nHere are three things you can do right now to make sure your store and your products are visible in these new search environments.
\nThe E-commerce AI search visibility starting point is crawlability. AI search engines use their own bots, and these need to be permitted in your robots.txt file. If you're inadvertently blocking them, no amount of content optimization will help.
\nBeyond crawlability, structured data is the highest-impact technical investment you can make for AI visibility. I mentioned Product schema earlier, but you’ll also want to think about adding others like Offer schema, AggregateRating, and Review schema. These make your product data machine-readable in a way that plain text descriptions don't.
\nPrice, availability, return policy, and shipping details should all be marked up clearly and kept consistent across your product feeds, on-site schema, and page content. Inconsistencies between these can cause AI systems to display inaccurate information, which may cost you the sale.
\nAI shopping recommendations don't rely on web content alone. Semrush research found that ChatGPT's product recommendations align with top Google Shopping results around 75% of the time, which means keeping your Google Merchant Center feed accurate, complete, and up to date is as important as any on-page optimization.
\nI already touched on how AI search platforms actively cite product review articles, buying guides, and comparison content when answering shopping-related queries. So keep going on that!
\nAlso, product descriptions and buying guides should be written in direct, specific language that addresses particular use cases, audience needs, and product attributes. AI systems match products to queries by reading feature labels and intent signals from your content, so clearly answer what a product does, who it's for, and why it's the right choice for a specific need.
\nReviews and user-generated content are important, too. Ratings appear prominently in AI product carousels. Products with poor ratings or thin review coverage are unlikely to be featured, regardless of how well optimized the product page is.
\nFor a full breakdown of how to optimize your E-commerce store for AI shopping features, see How to Optimize Your E-commerce Store for AI Search.
\nOnce you've got all of this in place, the last piece is knowing how to tell whether it's actually working.
\nBuilding a full-featured E-commerce SEO framework takes real investment, so you’ll want to track the right signals to figure out if it’s actually working or not.
\nTracking E-commerce SEO performance starts with Google Search Console, which shows which queries are driving impressions and clicks to which pages. Monitor category pages, product pages, and blog content separately, since they serve different stages of the buyer journey and have different success metrics.
\nOrganic revenue and assisted conversions in your analytics platform help you figure out whether your visibility is translating to sales, not just traffic. Keep in mind, though, that this attribution can be tricky to measure. Today’s customers often have multiple different interactions with your brand through multiple different channels before converting.
\nCore Web Vitals scores, crawl coverage, and index status are also important metrics to keep an eye on. Google Search Console surfaces these directly, and addressing issues as they appear is more effective than treating technical SEO as a one-time audit.
\nFor visibility tracking and competitive benchmarking beyond what Search Console provides, Semrush One gives you the full picture of traditional rankings together with AI visibility.
\nThe real key to E-commerce SEO is consistency. Treat it as an ongoing priority to build up and keep both organic and AI visibility as high as possible.
","summary":"Organic search can be a huge traffic driver to your store. And it can work for you day and night, whether or not you’re currently spending money on ads, creating content on social media, or sending emails. On average, organic search drives about one in three visits to E-commerce stores, ...","seo_title":"E-commerce SEO in 2026: Grow Your Traffic Without Ads","meta_description":"A complete E-commerce SEO guide covering product research, page structure, on-page optimization, technical SEO, and AI search visibility for online stores.","featured_image_alt":"E-commerce SEO Blog Post Image","url":"https://explodingtopics.com/blog/e-commerce-seo","featured_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/output=f:webp/HfiP5LtFTYmwkIH6zhd7","author":{"bio":"Jolissa Skow is a senior content writer and content strategist with a background in SEO, Google Analytics, and WordPress. She's been published on Search Engine Land, G2, UpCity, Salesforce, and more, and her Google Analytics tutorials have been shared by Google on their social media platforms. She loves to read and runs a book blog in her spare time. She currently lives in Minneapolis, where you'll find her zipping around on her pedal-assist electric bike.","slug":"jolissa-skow","email":"jolissa.skow@gmail.com","title":"Senior Content Writer","last_name":"Skow","first_name":"Jolissa","facebook_url":"","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jolissa-skow/","instagram_url":"","pinterest_url":"","profile_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/GYZYCKikRmeIz8F6odMV","twitter_handle":""},"tags":[],"categories":[{"name":"seo","slug":"seo"}]},{"status":"published","created":"2026-04-09T12:34:51.560099Z","updated":"2026-04-09T12:38:17.796533Z","published":"2026-04-09T12:33:32.638000Z","scheduled":null,"title":"Meet the Travel Blogger Using Trends to Enhance His Trips","slug":"traveling-mitch-media-cs","body":"In 2010, a Canadian university student named Christopher Mitchell was getting ready to spend a year studying abroad in Norway. The idea of writing individual emails or letters to keep all of his friends and family apprised of his travels sounded daunting until his roommate suggested that Mitchell create a blog.
\nMitchell took his friend's advice, and started a website called Traveling Mitch. Little did he know that this student side project would one day become the keystone of an award-winning career in content creation and community building.
\n[cal:freshness]
\nChristopher took a winding path from student to educator and finally blogger. He and his partner, Bri, spent several years after university pursuing higher education and teaching in different locations around the world. It was ultimately a blogging opportunity in Korea — and an experience at a bloggers' conference — that led Christopher to realize he could make content his entire career.
\n\n\"I applied for, and became, a Worldwide Korea blogger for a year while teaching in the country. I worked with the Korean government to explore and write about the country, and when I left, I got a certificate of appointment from the minister of culture at the Moon Palace and I thought maybe this is something I should be using to guide me,\" Christopher said. \"Later, when I was teaching in Turkey, I decided to take a few days off to go to a conference called the Travel Blog Exchange, which I'm actually now director of. That was when I learned there really were people making a living on their terms through blogging.\"
\nWith Bri's support, Christopher returned to Toronto and began building up his career as a travel blogger. Over the following years, he'd start new ventures — including a community called the Toronto Blogger Collective — and navigate a post-COVID travel landscape.
\n\"When COVID hit, I realized I needed to be doing more to support other people,\" Christopher said. \"We formed another website focused on Ontario, with the goal of helping people explore their own backyards during COVID.\"
\nThe fact that Christopher's travel-related business expanded, rather than contracted, during a near-global travel shutdown speaks to his ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit. And that new goal of helping others stayed strong, even after borders re-opened and Christopher could travel the world again.
\n\"I shifted my entire mindset, I think in part because of my background in education, to this idea of creating positive ripples through my blogging work,\" he said. \"Everything that I produce, everything that I put out, there has to be something positive in it — whether that's shining a light on a local business, giving love to a destination that needs it, or giving a speaker a chance when they haven't gotten an opportunity elsewhere.\"
\nToday, Christopher writes about traveling internationally, his favorite destinations in Canada, and even the act of blogging itself. Bri joined him in full-time content creation, too, and the duo work with a small team to keep the content production flowing. Together, they manage over 16 different content channels.
\n[cta:social]
\nBut regardless of the subject, or how they'll share aspects of their trip with followers, Christopher and Bri are careful to make sure that their work aligns with that bigger goal of creating positive ripples.
\nChristopher explained that he conducts extensive research to figure out what he should see, who he should talk to, and how he should present the finished content for every trip. This is the case whether he's traveling for fun, crossing an item off his bucket list, or working in tandem with a travel bureau.
\n\"We brought in six figures from partnerships alone last year, but you don't always want to be posting sponsored content,\" Christopher said. \"The big thing is that we're very intentional about having full creative control over what we're posting. For example, if we're going to do a winter travel article, we'll consult Pinterest, Exploding Topics, and a few other outlets to correlate what's trending at that moment.\"
\nThose trends ultimately shape how Christopher and Bri frame specific stories from each trip, too.
\n\"I feel like part of my job as a blogger and content creator is to understand where there's interest. I can have some very specific interests, so I use Exploding Topics as a validator,\" Christopher said. \"Let's say that local farmers markets are trending, and I'm going to a location that happens to be known for their market. The trend data can be a signal that I need to write a standalone post on the farmer's market, interview someone who runs the market, and put it all under the umbrella of why supporting and experiencing local markets is valuable. The trend plants that first seed for me.\"
\n[cta:trends]
\nEven though Christopher keeps trends and his audience's interests in mind with every story he tells, the voice of his blogs and newsletters is always, unapologetically, Traveling Mitch.
\n\"In the creator community, there can be a propensity to showcase that you're bigger than the sum of your parts, but I find that if you really want to connect with people and produce great work, you have to break things down to showcase the sum of your parts,\" Christopher said. \"That's the way we connect with each other. If you read my writing and speak to me, you won't be confused about whether it was the same person.\"
\nHe recognizes that every creator will have their own style and preferred channels, but wants aspiring bloggers to know that being authentic is a big key to success.
\n\"When I started to speak publicly about my ADHD, and started talking about being an entrepreneur in the creative space with anxiety, there were people who reached out to me or who would take me quietly aside and say, 'you know, I also struggle with this,\" Christopher said. \"I wish I would've been quicker to be unapologetically myself including showcasing my struggles, because that vulnerability is a breeding ground for meaningful connection.\"
\nChristopher's journey, both through the world and in continuing to hone his own authentic voice, continue on. And while he and Bri are always the ones running the show, audience input, community connections, and trends will continue to help guide their path into new adventures.
\nIf you're working on building a career as a content creator, and want to use trends as a research and validation tool like Traveling Mitch, it's easy: just sign up for a free seven-day trial of Exploding Topics Pro. You'll get clear data around emerging trends and see where people are talking about these topics online — like a helpful roadmap for your own content creation journey.
","summary":"In 2010, a Canadian university student named Christopher Mitchell was getting ready to spend a year studying abroad in Norway. The idea of writing individual emails or letters to keep all of his friends and family apprised of his travels sounded daunting until his roommate suggested that Mitchell create a ...","seo_title":"Meet the Travel Blogger Using Trends to Enhance His Trips","meta_description":"Christopher Mitchell started a travel blog as a hobby in 2010 — and today, it's his career. Learn how he blends trips, technique, and trends as a successful content creator.","featured_image_alt":"Traveling Mitch Media Case Study Blog Post Image","url":"https://explodingtopics.com/blog/traveling-mitch-media-cs","featured_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/output=f:webp/9KuRPfHuTR6O6kyzeenN","author":{"bio":"Emily is a freelance content writer at Exploding Topics. \r\n\r\nA former news correspondent, she has over 15 years' experience creating B2B SEO content that resonates with humans, not just algorithms. Through her SEO consultancy, she helps SaaS companies connect with their ideal audience through organic search. \r\n\r\nEmily can also be found leading SEO training sessions for nonprofits and incubators like Nest, WomensNet, and more.","slug":"emily-gertenbach","email":"emily@egcreativecontent.com","title":"Writer","last_name":"Gertenbach","first_name":"Emily","facebook_url":"","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/egertenbach/","instagram_url":"","pinterest_url":"","profile_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/phlwhfleSRa39eLcrrHf","twitter_handle":""},"tags":[],"categories":[{"name":"Case Studies","slug":"case-study"}]},{"status":"published","created":"2026-04-08T11:05:25.060017Z","updated":"2026-04-08T11:08:28.678825Z","published":"2026-04-08T11:04:12.783000Z","scheduled":null,"title":"New Exploding Topics Dashboard: Your Trend Tracking Control Center","slug":"dashboard-announcement","body":"Exploding Topics includes a variety of tools for discovering, researching, and tracking online trends. Now, all those tools are in one convenient place.
\nWe’ve given Exploding Topics a bit of a facelift and added a brand new dashboard. On this handy landing page, you’ll find ideas for trends to incorporate into your business strategy, updates for topics you already have your eye on, and easy access to other key resources.
\nExploding Topics has always given you the tools to research trends you’re interested in and learn about new ones that weren’t previously on your radar. On the new dashboard, you’ll find recommendations for topics you might want to pursue based on the categories you’ve already shown interest in.
\nThis personalized experience delivers topics, products, and startups with strong potential in your niche right to you.
\nTrend recommendations introduce you to topics you may not have otherwise considered and save time you would have spent digging through the Trends Database.
\nIn addition to recommended trends, the dashboard also highlights products and startups experiencing high growth for your consideration.
\nAnd if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a whole section for popular meta trends.
\nJust by scrolling the dashboard, you’ll see tons of top trends you can use in your marketing, product development, and investment strategies.
\nNeed to see which of your tracked trends are growing? No need to open your individual projects. The top performing topics you’re monitoring are now accessible from the dashboard.
\nEasily filter by project to keep everything organized without having to navigate to the Trend Tracker at all.
\nIf you’re enjoying the TikTok Insights add-on, you’ll be pleased to hear that the Exploding Topics dashboard features a section for topics that are trending on this platform, with their views and post counts.
\nIt’s the perfect place to generate social media content ideas and find new products to sell on TikTok Shop.
\nExploding Topics’ trend reports are delivered to Pro users by email, but if you want to return to a previous report, you can find it in the Reports Library—and now, on the dashboard.
\nRecent reports and the top trends included in them are easier than ever to spot. These resources include expert insights on the products and startups with the greatest potential for growth at a given time.
\nIf you missed them in your inbox, you can catch up on what you missed here.
\nThe new Exploding Topics dashboard makes it simple to review key trend growth metrics at a glance. Rather than switching between tools to catch up on the latest data, all the high-level information you need is right at your fingertips.
\nWant to dig deeper? The dashboard will help you with that, too. Each section includes a helpful link to the tool that will give you all the details on the topic you’re interested in. Jump to the Trends Database, dive into meta trends, or find TikTok hashtags to follow.
\nPlus, every trend on the dashboard has a helpful Track Trend button so you can follow up on it later.
\nThe Exploding Topics dashboard is live now for all users. To make the most of it, make sure to set up your first trend tracking project and sign up for Exploding Topics Pro to access meta trends, the TikTok Insights add-on, and more!
","summary":"Exploding Topics includes a variety of tools for discovering, researching, and tracking online trends. Now, all those tools are in one convenient place. We’ve given Exploding Topics a bit of a facelift and added a brand new dashboard. On this handy landing page, you’ll find ideas for trends to incorporate ...","seo_title":"New Exploding Topics Dashboard: Your Trend Tracking Control Center","meta_description":"We’ve given Exploding Topics a bit of a facelift and added a brand new dashboard.","featured_image_alt":"Dashboard Announcement Blog Post Image","url":"https://explodingtopics.com/blog/dashboard-announcement","featured_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/output=f:webp/8Z6puJ87SKqTp9GEwXUE","author":{"bio":"Molly is a technical content writer with a passion for making technology easy for anyone to understand. She specializes in content strategy and implementing data-driven workflows that improve user experience. Molly holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Northwestern University, and loves blending her creative writing background with her technical writing experience to craft narratives that inform and engage readers. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and spending time with her family, including their many, many pets.","slug":"molly-tyler","email":"molly.tyler496@gmail.com","title":"Writer","last_name":"Tyler","first_name":"Molly","facebook_url":"","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-tyler-writer/","instagram_url":"","pinterest_url":"","profile_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/oCdUgSWR3e8Fwq2zeMdX","twitter_handle":""},"tags":[],"categories":[{"name":"market-research","slug":"market-research"}]},{"status":"published","created":"2026-04-02T11:15:17.882486Z","updated":"2026-04-02T11:22:51.356428Z","published":"2026-04-02T11:14:51.163000Z","scheduled":null,"title":"How to Use Bing’s AI Performance Dashboard to Grow Your LLM Visibility","slug":"bing-ai-performance","body":"Most marketers chasing AI visibility are focused on a few top platforms: ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews, and Perplexity, for example. Microsoft Copilot rarely makes the list, despite Copilot surpassing 100 million monthly active users across Windows, Edge, Microsoft 365, and Bing.
\nIn February 2026, Bing Webmaster Tools launched AI Performance, a native dashboard showing how and when your content gets cited in Copilot and AI-generated Bing answers. It tracks which pages are being referenced, the queries that triggered those citations, and how citation volume shifts over time.
\nIn this guide, I’ll show you how to grow your LLM visibility by learning how to read Bing’s data, identify gaps in your coverage, build content that Copilot is more likely to cite, and use trend research to get ahead of the topics your competitors haven't touched yet.
\nAI Performance is a free reporting dashboard inside Bing Webmaster Tools, launched in February 2026.
\nIt gives website owners their first look at how content is cited across Microsoft's AI experiences—specifically Microsoft Copilot, AI-generated summaries in Bing, and select partner AI integrations.
\nBefore this, publishers had no direct way to measure their Copilot visibility. You could track traditional Bing search performance, but citations in AI-generated answers were completely invisible. AI Performance changes that by showing you four types of data:
\nOne important note: citations are not clicks. A citation means your content was visibly referenced in an AI-generated answer, not necessarily clicked on. These metrics are designed for trend analysis and visibility benchmarking, not as a replacement for traditional performance data.
\n[cta:trends]
\nLog into Bing Webmaster Tools, select your verified property, and open the “AI Performance” dashboard:
\nYou'll see citation data for the past 3 months by default, with options to view 7 days, 30 days, or a custom range.
\nTo read and gain insights from the report:
\n![\"The](\"https://cdn.buttercms.com/f7ZTMKsT12aDIpn70paw\")
![\"The](\"https://cdn.buttercms.com/I91tXB6ERMaaPta7Gbu7\")
Once you understand where you’re currently being cited, the next step is identifying where you’re not showing up.
\nLet’s take a look at how to find gaps in your citation coverage.
\nYour cited pages and grounding queries help you figure out where Copilot already trusts your content. The gaps (topics in your niche that aren't appearing in your grounding queries report) are where you have room to grow.
\nHere are a few ways to find those growth opportunities:
\nIf you publish broadly about a topic but only a narrow slice of it shows up in the dashboard, that's a signal your content in those other areas lacks the depth or clarity AI systems need to cite it confidently.
\nI’ll go over writing great content for AI citations in the next section.
\nIf a grounding query like \"email automation\" appears but \"email automation for small businesses\" doesn't, you may have a coverage gap at the subtopic level. AI systems cite content that matches query intent closely, so broad coverage of a topic doesn't guarantee visibility across all the related, more niche questions users ask.
\nPages that are indexed and receiving traditional search traffic but never appearing in citations might share some of these characteristics: they're thin on specifics, structured for reading rather than referencing, and/or covering topics with strong competition from other authoritative sources. These pages are candidates for a content audit before you create anything new.
\nThink you need to create new content (or update existing content) in order to show up in Copilot for more topics?
\nNext, I’ll give you a few tips for creating the types of content that Copilot wants to cite.
\nContent that gets cited in AI-generated answers is:
\nTo create content like that, follow these guidelines.
\nAI systems frequently pull from the opening sentences of a section, so front-load your main point rather than building toward it.
\nExample: A section about project management software that starts with \"Project management software helps teams track tasks, deadlines, and dependencies\" is more citable than one that opens with background context.
\nHeadings that are clear and descriptive give AI systems an explicit signal about what the section covers. Vague or clever headings make it harder for the model to match your content to a grounding query.
\nExample: Go with \"How to Set Up Email Automation for Ecommerce\" over “Getting Started” to begin your tutorial.
\nQuestion-and-answer formatting matches how users prompt AI tools. A clear question followed by a concise, self-contained answer is exactly the kind of chunk Copilot can cite accurately.
\nExample:
\n[Heading] What are the best books for small business owners?
\nThe best books for small business owners are…
\nData points, named examples, and cited sources make content more trustworthy as a reference. Vague assertions get passed over by Copilot and other LLMs in favor of content that gives AI something concrete to trust.
\nExample: According to Semrush research, AI search visitors are projected to surpass traditional search visitors by early 2028. Some industries may see this tipping point even sooner.
\nOutdated information gets deprioritized as AI systems favor fresher sources. If a cited page starts losing citation volume, a content refresh is often more effective than creating a new page on the same topic.
\nWhen you do update content, consider telling Bing to crawl it right away. To do that, use the “Request Indexing” button inside Bing’s URL Inspection tool:
\nNow you know how to identify content gaps and create the kind of content Copilot and other LLMs will want to cite.
\nThe next step in gaining more visibility in Copilot involves being really strategic with the content you’re adding to your website.
\nCreating citable content improves your chances of being referenced, but one-off articles can only take you so far. To scale your visibility across related queries, you need to expand that authority outward using topic clusters.
\nYour most-cited pages are typically your strongest starting point for expanding AI visibility. If Copilot already cites a page, that’s a sign that your content has established credibility on that topic. You can take advantage of that credibility by building out your content strategically—in topic clusters.
\nTopic clusters are a group of interlinked pages that cover a broad subject and its subtopics in depth, signaling to both search engines and AI systems that your site has far-reaching authority in that area.
\nHere are a few tips for creating successful topic clusters that boost your visibility in Copilot and other LLMs:
\nFirst, treat each cited page as a hub. Map out the subtopics, related questions, and adjacent concepts that surround it. A cited page on \"home office setup\" can anchor a cluster covering ergonomic desk chairs, monitor placement, lighting for video calls, and productivity tools for remote workers. Each supporting page deepens your topical authority and gives AI more of your content to draw from when answering related queries.
\nThen, match new pages to grounding query gaps. Go back to your Grounding Queries data in the AI Performance dashboard and think about phrases that are close to your cited topics but not yet appearing. Those are the subtopics your cluster is missing.
\nWriting directly to fill those gaps increases the likelihood that your new content will get pulled into citations on related queries.
\nNext, link cluster pages to each other deliberately. Internal links help both search engines and AI systems understand the relationship between your topics and pages. A cluster that's well-connected helps LLMs and search engines understand your widespread topical coverage.
\nFinally, prioritize depth over volume. Instead of focusing on publishing a lot of thin content on every subtopic, take your time and cover topics with thoughtful, in-depth, well-researched pieces. AI systems typically cite this type of content that fully addresses a question rather than just touches on it.
\nSo far, you’ve been working on expanding visibility based on existing citation data. But to get ahead, you need a way to identify topics before they show up in your dashboard.
\nIn the AI Performance dashboard, the Grounding Queries data tells you where you have visibility today. It doesn't tell you about the topics that are quietly gaining momentum in your industry that you might be able to grab Copilot visibility around tomorrow.
\nBut Exploding Topics will.
\nThe Exploding Topics Trends Database tracks over 1.1 million trends across industries, surfacing topics before they hit the mainstream. For your AI visibility strategy, finding emerging topics can be a huge win because getting cited early is significantly easier than trying to displace established sources once a topic is saturated.
\n[list=topic number=5 category=all]
\nTo find emerging topics in your niche, start with the Trends Database. Filter by your industry category and sort by growth stage.
\nTopics categorized as \"Exploding\" or \"Peak\" with relatively low existing content competition are your best opportunities—you can publish authoritative content while the competition is still fairly low.
\nNext, map trends to your grounding query themes. Cross-reference emerging topics against the grounding query themes already appearing in your AI Performance dashboard. A trend that's adjacent to a topic you're already being cited for is lower-risk, because you're expanding authority in an area where Copilot already recognizes your site, rather than starting from scratch.
\nMake sure to also take a look at the Meta Trends report. This section groups individual trends into bigger related clusters:
\nIf you find a meta trend that aligns with your industry, the trends within it are ready-made cluster topics. Each one is a candidate for a new page targeting an emerging grounding query.
\nPublishing on a trend three to six months before it peaks gives your content time to get indexed, earn citations from other sources, and build the credibility signals AI systems use when deciding what to cite.
\nYou now have a system: measure your visibility, identify gaps, build citable content, expand authority through clusters, and get ahead of emerging topics.
\nMarketers are excited about Bing’s AI Performance because it gives you something that didn't exist until recently: a direct window into how Microsoft's AI ecosystem uses your content. If you act on that data early, your authority will be harder to displace once the space gets more competitive.
\nThe other side of that equation is knowing which topics are worth building around in the first place. Exploding Topics helps by surfacing trends in your industry before they reach their peak search volume, so you can publish authoritative content while competitors are still catching up.
\nStart an Exploding Topics Pro trial today to find the emerging topics you can use now to gain more visibility in Copilot and other LLMs.
","summary":"Most marketers chasing AI visibility are focused on a few top platforms: ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews, and Perplexity, for example. Microsoft Copilot rarely makes the list, despite Copilot surpassing 100 million monthly active users across Windows, Edge, Microsoft 365, and Bing. In February 2026, Bing Webmaster Tools launched AI Performance, ...","seo_title":"How to Use Bing’s AI Performance Dashboard to Grow Your LLM Visibility","meta_description":"Learn how to use Bing’s AI Performance dashboard to track citations, identify content gaps, and grow your visibility in Copilot and AI-powered search.","featured_image_alt":"Bing AI Performance Blog Post Image","url":"https://explodingtopics.com/blog/bing-ai-performance","featured_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/output=f:webp/QBQ1jgNnQhyVzMt8asIb","author":{"bio":"Jolissa Skow is a senior content writer and content strategist with a background in SEO, Google Analytics, and WordPress. She's been published on Search Engine Land, G2, UpCity, Salesforce, and more, and her Google Analytics tutorials have been shared by Google on their social media platforms. She loves to read and runs a book blog in her spare time. She currently lives in Minneapolis, where you'll find her zipping around on her pedal-assist electric bike.","slug":"jolissa-skow","email":"jolissa.skow@gmail.com","title":"Senior Content Writer","last_name":"Skow","first_name":"Jolissa","facebook_url":"","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jolissa-skow/","instagram_url":"","pinterest_url":"","profile_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/GYZYCKikRmeIz8F6odMV","twitter_handle":""},"tags":[],"categories":[{"name":"aiseo","slug":"aiseo"}]},{"status":"published","created":"2026-04-01T10:06:42.874271Z","updated":"2026-04-01T11:46:29.062296Z","published":"2026-04-01T10:05:24.210000Z","scheduled":null,"title":"The AI Myths Marketers Believed and What the Data Actually Shows","slug":"ai-marketing-survey","body":"What are real marketing departments doing with their budgets in the era of AI? Exploding Topics decided to find out.
\nWe surveyed over 1000 marketing budget decision-makers, and the answers we received completely rewrite some of the prevailing AI narratives.
\nWe found AI adoption at a massive scale. But we also found that the biggest AI adopters are also increasing their hiring the most: marketing tools might be getting replaced, but marketers are not.
\nYet in other ways, the responses still painted a picture of huge flux in marketing department budgets. The rise of AI optimization, massive lurches between social platforms, and evolving attitudes to attribution all emerged as key themes.
\nMarketing departments are no longer just experimenting with AI. In fact, a significant minority are now using the technology as their main marketing content creator.
\n28.27% of respondents said that AI produces the majority of their content, either with or without some human editorial oversight.
\nThat’s still slightly below the 36.21% of departments who mostly rely on internal teams for content. But AI has become the second most common marketing content lead, ahead of contractors (17.96%) and paid UGC (4.86%).
\nFactoring in marketers who report using a “fairly equal mix” (12.7%), more than 4 in 10 departments are using AI as a major content creator.
\nAnd the pace of adoption is increasing. 68.55% of marketing departments are increasing their levels of AI content.
\nAlmost 1 in 3 (32.04%) describe their attitude as “doubling down”: greatly increasing AI content and scaling back human labor hours.
\nVery few marketers are having second thoughts about AI. Just 2.18% are fully reversing course, with a further 3.57% drawing back a little.
\nAnd notably, only 9.82% of marketing departments still haven’t used any AI-generated marketing content.
\nThe Middle Atlantic emerges from the data as an AI marketing hub. 41.28% of respondents from the region are doubling down on AI, with just 1.7% reversing course.
\nMeanwhile, New England ranks among the most cautious areas. 22.22% have not used AI for any marketing content, and a further 18.52% are either reversing course or drawing back.
\nAs more marketing departments double down on AI, many existing tools have begun to fall by the wayside.
\nAlmost half (46.33%) of decision-makers have replaced “lots” of marketing tool subscriptions with AI alternatives.
\nA further 31.45% have replaced “a few” tools, with only 22.22% yet to jettison any of their existing marketing stack.
\nAnd the decision-makers with the deepest pockets are being the most ruthless with their existing subscriptions.
\nAmong the departments with the biggest budgets ($10M+), 94.2% have replaced at least some marketing subscriptions with AI tools.
\nOn the other hand, the smallest marketing departments (budgets of less than $100K) are by far the most likely not to have replaced any of their existing tools with AI. 60.2% are yet to make any changes.
\nBut as soon as budgets rise above $100K, most marketing departments are making AI-related changes to their stack. Among departments with budgets between $100K and $500K, only 21.85% have not replaced any of their tools with AI.
\n[list=topic number=5 category=marketing]
\nOne thing departments of all sizes seem to have in common is that AI is not currently producing a smaller, more efficient marketing stack. Only 9.22% of respondents report that their stack has gotten smaller in the past 12 months.
\nOn the contrary, 59.03% report at least a slight increase in the number of tools, signifying a shift toward more specialized software.
\nAnd the most aggressive adopters of AI (those who have replaced “lots” of subscriptions with AI alternatives) are actually by far the most likely to have increased the overall size of their marketing stack. 47.97% of this group have made significant increases in the past 12 months, and a further 35.12% have made slight increases.
\nBy comparison, it’s the marketing departments yet to replace any of their subscriptions with AI tools that are most likely to have reduced the size of their stack.
\nThe bottom line at the moment is that more AI tools generally equals more tools overall.
\nSo AI isn’t reducing the average marketing stack. And as it turns out, nor is it reducing budgets.
\nOnly 16.37% of respondents said that the rise of AI has led to a decrease in their marketing budget. It was far more common (41.96%) to report an increase.
\nOf course, most marketing departments are still in the early stages of full-scale AI adoption. Understandably, a significant minority of respondents felt that there had been no meaningful impact on budgets yet, or that it was too early to tell.
\nBut for those who have noticed an effect, AI generally isn’t being used as an excuse to cut costs. The West South Central region is something of an exception (34.02% reported decreased budgets), but the overall national picture poses a challenge to a persistent AI myth.
\nThere is a perception that managers are too quick to assume they can automate marketing functions, and that these decision-makers view AI as an easy cost-saving measure. But the data shows that AI is typically an additional investment.
\nHaving said that, there has still been a reallocation of resources away from existing marketing workflows. 40.28% of departments report that AI has caused a major budget reallocation.
\nCounting those who anticipate change within the next 12 months, 86.31% of marketing departments are planning or executing AI-driven budget reallocations.
\nHowever, marketing departments don’t seem to be replacing existing human labor with AI. In fact, 60.12% have actually expanded the size of their team within the past 12 months.
\nOnly 8.9% of marketing departments have seen any sort of reduction in size. That’s quite remarkable against a national backdrop of 1.17 million job cuts in 2025, and within a sector that is clearly embracing AI tools.
\nAnd against all expectations, departments who are “doubling down” on AI are also by far the most likely to be significantly expanding their teams.
\nIntuitively, you would expect the AI “reversers” to be the ones increasing hiring, bringing more staff on board in order to undo overambitious automation plans. But only 27.28% of the departments that are fully reversing course on AI have expanded the size of their departments in the past 12 months.
\n54.55% of these AI backpedallers have retained roughly the same team size, and 18.18% have actually made reductions.
\nIn stark contrast, 65.33% of the marketing departments going full steam ahead on AI have “significantly increased” team size in the last year. A further 17.03% have made slight increases, and only 5.58% have made any sort of reductions.
\nAnd as the above chart illustrates so clearly, AI adoption maps directly onto team expansion. At each increment of AI positivity, from reversing course through to doubling down, the percentage of teams who are significantly expanding their team size increases.
\nIn another piece of our original research, we found that 43.31% of workers fear AI making them look replaceable to their employer. But at least in a marketing context, it appears these fears are largely unfounded for the time being.
\nWhat might be causing this phenomenon? There are a few possible explanations:
\nA combination of all these factors is probably at play in most cases. But the upshot is that AI-enabled marketing teams are getting bigger, not smaller.
\nWe’ve covered how AI is being used for marketing. But we also need to consider how the rise of AI is changing the very purposes of marketing.
\nFor example, getting to the top of Google SERPs is a long-standing marketing goal. But with the dawn of AI Overviews and the increasing use of chatbots like ChatGPT, does that remain a top priority?
\nFirst and foremost, marketing departments are certainly aware of the need to appear in these next-generation searches. 71.52% have begun actively investing in influencing AI-generated answers.
\nAnother 15.77% are planning to start efforts to influence AI responses. That leaves just 12.7% of marketing departments with no plans to do so.
\nAnd AI optimization (AIO) is seeing some of the biggest budget increases.
\nRespondents were asked to select up to three marketing channels seeing the biggest budget uplifts. 36.61% selected AIO, behind only paid search (40.18%).
\nNotably, SEO is only seeing the biggest budget increases in 1 in 4 marketing departments. Only PR and partnerships are receiving a smaller share of budget boosts.
\nThat tells a clear story of shifting priorities. With AI Overviews significantly increasing zero-click searches, marketers have been forced to reassess, and the current focuses are ads and AI.
\n[cal:aio]
\nAnother element of evolving marketing strategy is platform shift. AI is prompting decision-makers to refocus attention on new channels.
\nMore than 95% of respondents said that they redistributed their platform investment in 2025. The number one reason for doing so was “influence in AI search or AI answers” (45.44%).
\nOther common reasons for refocusing included better performance/ROI (38.39%), moving audience (36.31%), and a better creator/influencer ecosystem (35.02%).
\nInterestingly, however, attention is not shifting uniformly from one platform to another. For instance, TikTok topped the charts for both gaining budget (53.87%) and losing it (35.52%).
\nTikTok, YouTube, and Google Search were the top budget gainers:
\nBut TikTok and Google Search featured in the top three again for losing budget:
\nThe number of platforms that place similarly in both lists illustrates the absence of a single winning playbook in 2026. Most platforms seem to be working well for some marketing departments but not others, and there is high churn as marketers try to find the winning formula.
\nOne potential exception is X, which did not make the top 5 for gaining budget, but was ranked 4th for losing budget. That suggests a net exodus away from Elon Musk’s platform among marketers.
\nMeanwhile, YouTube stands out as a more universal winner. Only 28.67% of marketing decision-makers are deprioritizing Alphabet’s video platform, whereas 52.08% are assigning it more budget.
\nAs well as being quite a known quantity amid instability elsewhere, YouTube has the benefit of being a top source for Gemini, so brand efforts on the platform can have a knock-on effect on AI visibility.
\nWhen posting to social media, most marketers are focused on building brand social accounts. 41.37% say this is their main emphasis.
\nMicro-influencers (19.84%) are slightly more likely to be a main focus than big influencers (17.76%). Meanwhile, a little over 1 in 10 departments are deprioritizing social media altogether.
\nAnd while AI is vastly changing the marketing landscape in many ways, AI influencers are yet to become a mainstream strategy. Fewer than 10% of marketing decision-makers are focused on creating them in-house.
\nAmid all of this uncertainty, what do marketers plan to do next? Most departments are actively experimenting, committing more funds to pilot projects.
\nA third of decision-makers (33.23%) are “significantly increasing” the budget assigned to pilot schemes, with another 26.69% “somewhat” increasing budget. Less than 8% are reducing their budget for running experiments.
\nThis ties into the significant platform churn we observed. To a certain extent, marketers are just having to throw things at the wall and see what sticks.
\nHowever, if there is one thing that stands out as “future-proof”, it is AI.
\nWe asked all of our 1000+ respondents to note down the marketing budget line item that feels most future-proof. AI was the clear recurring theme.
\nOn the other hand, “human” and “people” also appeared in a non-trivial number of responses. “Human employees”, “human touch”, “human oversight”, and “human content” were all submitted as answers.
\nIt’s also notable how prominently “none” featured, further underlining the sheer extent of uncertainty at present.
\nAs marketers step up pilot schemes and move to new platforms, how confident are they in their ability to see what is and isn’t working?
\nIt certainly feels as though rising zero-click searches and relative intangibles like AI brand sentiment should have made things harder for marketers, compared to long-standing click-based approaches to attribution.
\nHowever, 82.73% of respondents reported that leadership is at least somewhat confident in current attribution models. 43.25% reported being very confident.
\nOf course, you could argue that more than half of marketers feeling less than “very confident” does show some level of disruption within attribution. But it was surprising to see less than 1 in 5 respondents report any kind of skepticism.
\nAnd confidence in attribution is much higher among marketing departments who are actively trying to influence AI-generated answers.
\nAmong the decision-makers placing a priority on influencing AI-generated answers, 84.46% said they were “very confident” in current attribution models. Just 3.26% voiced any sort of skepticism.
\nBy contrast, attribution skepticism among those not even planning to try and influence AI answers reached 47.66%.
\nThis suggests that marketing departments yet to react to “the great decoupling” (an AI-fuelled rise in impressions and drop in clicks) are most likely to feel as though attribution is broken. But marketers who are proactively addressing the new era of AI searches are finding that they are able to quantify their efforts. Tools like Semrush Enterprise AIO are providing increasingly sophisticated solutions.
\n[cta:custom type=\"button\" heading=\"Get AI On Your Side\" cta_label=\"Analyze Your AI Visibility Now\" url=\"https://www.semrush.com/semrush-ai-toolkit\"]
\nDespite continued faith in attribution among most marketers, there is also a shift toward channels with less directly attributable revenue.
\nMore than 1 in 3 (37.3%) marketing departments are significantly increasing investment in channels like brand, PR, community, and AI visibility.
\nIncluding those who report a “slight” increase in investment, 65.08% of decision-makers are increasing spend on channels with less directly attributable revenue.
\nAnd while a reasonable minority (27.08%) are keeping investment roughly the same, only 7.84% are funnelling investment away from these channels.
\nCrucially, it appears that willingness to spend on these less attributable channels is closely linked to confidence in attribution models.
\nAmong marketing leaders with high confidence in attribution models, 76.15% are “significantly increasing” spending on channels with less directly attributable revenue.
\nAt the other end of the spectrum, 46.15% of respondents who were “very skeptical” about attribution models are also moving investment away from channels where attribution is hardest.
\nSo why would greater faith in attribution trigger more spending on less attributable channels?
\nIn some cases, marketing leaders are presumably satisfied that they have attribution models that can adequately account for channels like AI visibility. This essentially provides the data-backed “permission” to spend.
\nAlternatively, effective tracking of the channels with more directly-attributable revenue could be providing the headroom to experiment with other channels.
\nSure enough, 88.36% of decision-makers who are significantly increasing investment in experiments and pilot projects are also significantly increasing investment in channels with less directly attributable revenue.
\nThose who are significantly decreasing investment in pilot projects are also mostly drawing back from less attributable channels.
\nOur hard data from marketing leaders has certainly underlined the significance of AI. But it has also busted some prevalent myths.
\nAnd the real, on-the-ground situation is even more fascinating than some of the narratives that have been weaved. It paints a striking picture: AI is not the efficiency play envisaged by many, it’s an expansion play.
\nTo sum up:
\nIt’s the marketing departments yet to embrace AI that are more likely to find their backs against the wall in terms of weak attribution models, declining budgets, and shrinking teams.
\nPlatforms like Semrush Enterprise AIO can help you get to grips with the AI era, handing you back control of attribution and providing the data you need to start embracing expansion. Request a demo today.
\nThis survey was put to 1,837 respondents. Of those, 1,010 were marketing budget decision-makers, and 1,008 proceeded to complete the full survey.
\n35.18% were marketing managers, 26.76% were marketing leaders (CMO/VP/Head of Marketing), 21.11% were founders or CEOs, and 12.49% were consultants or agency workers. “Other” accounted for 4.46% of responses.
\n49.6% of the marketing decision-makers surveyed were male, and 50.2% were female. Respondents were drawn from all major US regions (there were no responses from US territories).
\n20.02% of respondents managed budgets of under $100,000. 26.76% managed budgets between $100,000 and $500,000. 31.22% managed budgets of $500,000 to $2,000,000. 15.16% managed budgets of up to $10,000,000, and 6.84% managed budgets in excess of $10,000,000.
","summary":"What are real marketing departments doing with their budgets in the era of AI? Exploding Topics decided to find out. We surveyed over 1000 marketing budget decision-makers, and the answers we received completely rewrite some of the prevailing AI narratives. We found AI adoption at a massive scale. But we ...","seo_title":"The AI Myths Marketers Believed and What the Data Actually Shows","meta_description":"We surveyed 1,000+ marketing leaders about AI and budgets. The results challenge everything: teams are growing, not shrinking, and tool stacks are expanding.","featured_image_alt":"AI Marketing Survey Blog Post Image","url":"https://explodingtopics.com/blog/ai-marketing-survey","featured_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/output=f:webp/EYBf7SGZRwWaJ5hpB2Kc","author":{"bio":"James is a Journalist at Exploding Topics. \r\n\r\nAfter graduating from the University of Oxford with a degree in Law, he completed a Diploma in Journalism through Press Association Training. He won the Premier League award for the best sports exam script. \r\n\r\nNow in his second spell with Exploding Topics, following three years covering Liverpool Football Club, James has a keen interest in the latest trends. He has been published in areas from AI to the commerce industry, with bylines including The Independent.","slug":"james-martin","email":"jamescmartin98@gmail.com","title":"Research Journalist","last_name":"Martin","first_name":"James","facebook_url":"","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-martin-117bb8171/","instagram_url":"","pinterest_url":"","profile_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/GCm7FjDRlG3oU5UIrwjw","twitter_handle":"@JamesMartin013"},"tags":[],"categories":[{"name":"marketing","slug":"marketing"}]},{"status":"published","created":"2026-03-31T11:45:28.203619Z","updated":"2026-03-31T11:51:07.538972Z","published":"2026-03-31T11:44:37.012000Z","scheduled":null,"title":"How to Kill or Validate a Business Idea in 30 Minutes","slug":"validate-business-idea","body":"Business ideas are inherently exciting. But there is nothing financially or emotionally worse than getting carried away, sinking months into a project that was doomed to fail from the start.
\nJust 30 minutes of your time could answer the all-important question: could this really work?
\nWith the help of data, you can take a step back and complete an objective review. After half an hour or less, you’ll have significantly more clarity on numerous key points:
\nSo without further ado, let’s validate your business idea.
\nOr kill it.
\nMany of the best business ideas are born from a personal pain point. But that’s far from failsafe: the mere fact of knowing you would pay for a particular product or service does not guarantee the existence of a wider market.
\nIf you take one thing away from this guide, it should be that data is your friend when validating a business idea. It strips back all of the emotion and subjectivity.
\nSo the first thing to do is to see if anybody else wants what you’re planning to offer. If the answer is no, then your decision is clear: kill the idea.
\nThere are different ways you could go about doing this: you could conduct field research, run your own focus groups, or even create a simple prototype product to help gauge interest.
\nBut all of those things take time and money. And I promised 30 minutes.
\nThankfully, the incredibly valuable data that you need is probably already out there. You don’t need to start from scratch, you just need to know where to look.
\nA simple place to begin is checking search volume. You could use a free tool like Google Trends, but I prefer Exploding Topics, which gives you raw figures instead of a relative “0-100” scale.
\nAfter all, if I’m thinking about launching a business, it’s no good knowing that my idea is the most popular that it has ever been. If that only amounts to 60 searches per month, I’m going to struggle to find a market.
\nLet’s say I’ve been playing a lot of pickleball recently, and I’ve been unable to find adequate socks. Searching “pickleball socks” in the database gives me an immediate overview:
\nStraight away, I can see that the monthly global search volume is 2.9K. That’s not super-high, but it wouldn’t justify killing the business idea on the spot.
\nI can also see that there have been clear December search spikes since 2022. From this, I can infer that pickleball socks are growing in popularity as a seasonal gift for people who play the sport, but interest among enthusiasts themselves is progressing more gradually.
\nAgain, this alone may not justify a “kill” verdict. It might prompt a pivot in how I plan to market the product, but it isn’t necessarily terminal.
\nMy next simple step is toggling on the “forecast” option (another advantage of Exploding Topics over Google Trends). Based on millions of data points from online signals and similar search trend patterns, the platform is able to forecast the likely trajectory of the trend over the next 12 months.
\nThis forecast suggests that interest in pickleball socks may have peaked. For a search term which didn’t have the highest volumes in the first place, that’s enough to make the call: kill the idea.
\n[cta:trends]
\nIt isn’t always quite as simple as validate or kill.
\nHaving looked at the search volume, you may conclude that the trend you have identified is not yet strong enough to support a new business idea. But there is enough promise to keep an eye on it.
\nEven with something like the pickleball socks, you might decide that you’d like to keep track of whether or not the forecasted decline plays out as predicted.
\nIn situations like this, it’s important to keep a convenient log of your paused ideas, ideally somewhere that also continues to track changes in search interest.
\nIf you’re using Exploding Topics, you can use Trend Tracking for this. It will continuously monitor the 5-year trend line and monthly search volumes of your on-hold ideas.
\nAfter your quick initial search, you can move these ideas completely onto the back burner. Periodically checking in every couple of months or so will show you at a glance whether any paused ideas can be moved up to the next stage of validation (or if they need to be killed for good).
\nIf there’s consumer interest in your business idea, then it has passed the first hurdle. The next step is to check whether you’re offering anything different from what’s already out there.
\nAs a writer, let’s say I’ve identified writer’s block as a possible pain point, and hit upon the idea of an AI writing tool. One look at the trend shows me that this is not a sufficiently unique product idea.
\nGrowth is exploding. But the market is already well on its way to maturity, with over 200K searches per month: to stand any chance with a general-purpose AI writing agent, I would have needed to set out before April 2025 (66.3K monthly searches), when interest began to rise steeply. Ideally, I would have been marketing the product pre-2023.
\nThe verdict on this business idea in its current form is clear: kill.
\nHowever, I can look at related trends to see if there are any longer-tail searches that might yield a convincing USP.
\nGoogle Trends is good for this: when you look up a topic, it breaks down a list of related top queries and rising queries (albeit still without raw search numbers). Alternatively, the functionality is built into Exploding Topics, so you’ll see related trends under every search chart.
\nHere’s what it looks like for AI writing tools:
\nThis shows that tools for students, academics and authors have all shown some upward momentum, at far lower raw search volumes (you can check these by clicking into the individual trend). Catering to one of these markets could therefore have the hallmarks of a business idea with a USP.
\nBut in order to know that for sure, you need to do a bit of competitor analysis. That might sound daunting, but don’t worry: you’ll still have the whole process wrapped up in 30 minutes.
\nAt this stage in your research, the simplest method is often just a Google search. I typed in “AI academic writing tools”, and found out within seconds that there are already multiple players within the space.
\nFrom here, you could decide that the niche is already too congested. Or you could skim competitors’ sites for any obvious gaps or areas for improvement.
\nIncidentally, the Reddit result that featured high up my search could prove to be a very useful resource. It will be full of genuine users talking about what is and isn’t working for them.
\nIt’s also worth returning to a trend tracking platform to see how these newly-discovered competitors are faring. You don’t want to take inspiration from a business idea that isn’t working.
\nIn this case, Paperpal is clearly achieving excellent growth.
\nNevertheless, if you can’t find a genuine way of organically standing out, it’s time to kill the business idea. Otherwise, it’s onto the final stage.
\n[cta:market]
\nIf you have a target market and a USP, you’re a good chunk of the way there. But you still need to see if there is genuine room for growth before you have a fully validated business idea.
\nIf you checked the 1-year trend forecast at step 1, you’ve already taken a big step. Of course, it’s only predictive, but steep expected growth over the next 12 months is a very positive sign.
\nI’m about to become a father for the first time, and I’m thinking about what I’ll need for the baby. Let’s say I’m conscious about protecting their eyes and ears from splashes during bath time; a quick look at the trend forecast highlights this as a potentially high-growth idea.
\nBut even with a chart like this, you’ll still want to carry out some final checks. For that, you need to look at some secondary signals outside of traditional search growth.
\nIn the vast majority of cases, you won’t be selling a product that nobody has ever sold before. Naturally, you’ll want to take steps to stand out, but there will be useful points of comparison already on the market. It’s worth checking how consumer search interest is currently translating into hard sales.
\nIf I click on “product details” within Exploding Topics, I can see average sales data from Amazon. Using the baby shower caps example, top sellers are averaging a little over $8,000 per month.
\nI’m also going to check how baby shower caps are performing across various social channels. If you can, it’s good to find a trend tracking tool that picks up growth signals from multiple platforms.
\nIn this case, I can see that interest is especially high across Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
\nYou may want to do a quick search for your product on the platform(s) where it is gaining the most traction. This will only take a matter of minutes, but you’ll get more of an idea about how people are talking about the product, and where your messaging could fit in.
\nFor TikTok specifically, you can use the TikTok Insights tool. You’ll be able to view the top-performing videos directly, as well as accessing metrics on total posts, views, and likes.
\nWhen thinking about growth potential, it’s also sensible to check if there’s room for expansion from your initial idea. There are plenty of successful niche businesses, but ideally you’ll have a roadmap beyond a single product.
\nFor this, you’ll want to consider which “meta trends” your business idea fits into.
\nReturning to the shower cap idea, “baby on board” is a massive meta trend. So if you manage to find initial traction, there are all kinds of areas into which you could grow.
\nSo in theory, you’ve got a clear progression:
\nLaunch baby shower caps brand → Grow brand awareness on channels like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest → Capitalize as product interest continues to grow → Branch out into related baby products once consumers trust your brand
\nStarting a business is still really hard, and validating the idea is only the first step. But in 30 minutes, you’ve been able to efficiently kill any non-starters, and clarify the ones that stand a real chance of success.
\n[cta:eyeon]
\nThat’s it! You’re done. And there’s probably enough time left in that 30 minutes for you to start brainstorming your next great business idea.
\nI would argue that this is where Exploding Topics stands out even more. Unlike lots of trend tracking alternatives, it is a platform for inspiration and discovery as well as targeted trend validation.
\nYou can browse it in a way that simply wouldn’t be possible with something like Google Trends. So rather than thinking of an idea and then going through all of the steps to check it, you can effectively scroll through a curated database of potentially viable jumping-off points within the niche of your choosing.
\nYou can filter by timeframe, growth, and volatility to really hone in on early-stage, high-velocity trends. So instead of relying on personal flashes of inspiration, and hoping you’ve hit upon market fit, you can start multiple stages ahead of your competitors.
\nAnd when that spark does come to you, you’ll have the data you need to validate or kill it without wasting time and money.
\nSign up for a free trial of Exploding Topics today to start validating business ideas without all the fuss.
","summary":"Business ideas are inherently exciting. But there is nothing financially or emotionally worse than getting carried away, sinking months into a project that was doomed to fail from the start. Just 30 minutes of your time could answer the all-important question: could this really work? With the help of data, ...","seo_title":"How to Kill or Validate a Business Idea in 30 Minutes","meta_description":"A bad business idea costs you time, money, and momentum. Here's how to use search trends, competitor data, and social signals to validate yours in 30 minutes.","featured_image_alt":"Validate Business Idea Blog Post Image","url":"https://explodingtopics.com/blog/validate-business-idea","featured_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/output=f:webp/32HvSGyxS8iOXQ7j4tRX","author":{"bio":"James is a Journalist at Exploding Topics. \r\n\r\nAfter graduating from the University of Oxford with a degree in Law, he completed a Diploma in Journalism through Press Association Training. He won the Premier League award for the best sports exam script. \r\n\r\nNow in his second spell with Exploding Topics, following three years covering Liverpool Football Club, James has a keen interest in the latest trends. He has been published in areas from AI to the commerce industry, with bylines including The Independent.","slug":"james-martin","email":"jamescmartin98@gmail.com","title":"Research Journalist","last_name":"Martin","first_name":"James","facebook_url":"","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-martin-117bb8171/","instagram_url":"","pinterest_url":"","profile_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/GCm7FjDRlG3oU5UIrwjw","twitter_handle":"@JamesMartin013"},"tags":[],"categories":[{"name":"market-research","slug":"market-research"}]},{"status":"published","created":"2026-03-26T10:26:01.716886Z","updated":"2026-03-26T11:26:13.517388Z","published":"2026-03-26T10:25:14.528000Z","scheduled":null,"title":"How to Master E-commerce Demand Forecasting + Find More Profitable Products","slug":"demand-forecasting","body":"Have you ever ordered too much of a product that quickly stops selling? Or ordered too little of something that takes off? Or maybe you've spotted the next big trending product just a touch too late—after a competitor already pretty much owns it.
\nConsumer trends now move at breakneck speed thanks to viral sharing platforms like TikTok and Instagram, making e-commerce demand forecasting much more difficult than it used to be.
\nIf you’re only using historical data, you’re missing a big part of a product’s potential. Instead, you need to combine that historical sales data (what's actually sold, when, and at what velocity) with forward-looking signals that predict where demand is heading.
\nWhen you combine the two, you get smarter inventory decisions, fewer stockouts, less dead stock, and a better shot at catching the next big product trend before it peaks.
\nIn this guide, I’ll walk you through a step-by-step process to master e-commerce demand forecasting and predict which new products you should stock next.
\nBefore jumping into the tutorial, here are a few things you should know.
\nE-commerce demand forecasting is the process of predicting how much of a product customers will want to buy over a future time period. Brands use those predictions to make decisions about inventory, purchasing, production, pricing, and marketing spend.
\nDone well, forecasting keeps your inventory aligned with actual demand, reduces dead stock, and ultimately helps you grow your business faster.
\nYou’re a busy e-commerce business owner, and you’ve gotten inventory decisions mostly right in the past. So why spend time and resources on forecasting?
\nWell, a significant portion of your working capital is usually tied up in inventory, right? Buy too much and you tie up capital in excess inventory; buy too little and you lose revenue to stockouts.
\nThat’s where demand forecasting comes in.
\nAccurate demand forecasting protects you on both ends. When you know what to expect, you order the right quantities at the right time, which keeps carrying costs down and fulfillment rates up. You also reduce the need for last-minute purchase orders, which often come with raised prices from suppliers and expedited shipping fees that eat into your margins.
\nE-commerce forecasting:
\nAnd for trend-driven categories like eco-friendly products, wellness, or seasonal goods, forecasting also gives you a timing advantage. Brands that identify rising demand early can build inventory and launch content while competitors are still catching up.
\n[list=product number=5]
\nFollow these six steps to start or improve your forecasting process and grow your store faster.
\nBefore you pull any data, get clear on what you're actually trying to forecast and over what time period. A short-term forecast covering the next 4–12 weeks will drive different decisions than a long-term forecast looking out 6–12 months.
\nThe differences:
\nYou’ll most likely need both running at the same time. The key is keeping them separate so one doesn't distort the other. For example, a viral sales spike in week three shouldn't skew your 12-month category forecast.
\nYour historical sales data is the foundation of any reliable forecast. Start by pulling at least 12–24 months of sales data (if you’ve got it), broken down by SKU.
\nYour primary data sources will be:
\nPull unit sales, revenue, return rates, and dates. But don't stop at sales data alone! Your site analytics contain demand signals that your transaction history misses entirely.
\nCart abandonment rates, for example, show you products customers wanted but didn't buy, which can reveal unfulfilled demand that never shows up in your revenue numbers. If you run promotions regularly, note those dates as well.
\nOnce you have the data, clean it before you do anything else. Look for three things in particular to clean:
\nAfter cleaning, look for seasonal patterns. Plot your weekly or monthly sales by SKU over the full data period and look for recurring peaks and troughs. Seasonality is one of the most predictable demand variables you have, so make sure to use it.
\nHistorical data tells you what customers wanted. It can't tell you what they're starting to want right now, especially for product categories that didn't exist in your catalog last year.
\nFor a peek into future trends and an opportunity to stock up-and-coming products before your competitors, check out Exploding Topics.
\nExploding Topics tracks search and interest trends across thousands of products and topics and surfaces ones with a history of steady, compounding Google search volume growth over months or years. It also provides a forecast for the next year so you can find the best growing-yet-not-peaked products for your store.
\nStart by opening the “Trending Products” dashboard:
\nHere, you can use the 9 different filters to find the most relevant trending products:
\nOnce you see a promising product you’d like to explore a bit deeper, click into it. On the product detail page, you’ll find:
\nIf a trend is rising in your niche but you don't yet carry a product that addresses it, you have a lead time advantage—you can source, list, and build content around it while competitors are still catching up.
\nUse what you find to test your long-term forecasts. If you were planning a modest inventory for a product category that Exploding Topics shows accelerating in interest, that's a signal to revisit your assumptions.
\nAnd if a product or trend is projected to keep climbing over the next 12 months, for instance, you can build that into your reorder plans and stock calculations rather than going only by your historical sales.
\nConversely, if a category you were planning to expand into shows a peaked or declining forecast, you have data to justify stocking less.
\nNow, with your clean historical data and trend signals in hand, you need a method to turn that information into an actual forecast. Forecasting methods generally fall into two categories: passive and active.
\nPassive forecasting uses your historical sales data to project forward. It works best for stable, established product lines where demand is relatively predictable from one period to the next.
\nActive forecasting incorporates external data such as market research, trend signals, economic indicators, and consumer behavior data alongside your sales history. It's better suited for trend-sensitive categories or any product where external factors are likely to shift the demand.
\nYou’ll probably want a blend of both passive and active forecasting. Your core catalog might run on passive forecasting with a seasonal adjustment, while newer or trend-driven SKUs would benefit from checking active signals like the Exploding Topics data you gathered in Step 3.
\nWithin those categories, the specific method you choose depends on how much data you have and how much complexity your operation can support.
\nA moving average is a practical starting point. A simple moving average takes your average unit sales over a defined period (like the last 12 weeks) and projects that forward. A weighted moving average does the same thing but gives more influence to recent weeks, which is useful if your sales are trending up or down.
\nIf your products have strong seasonal patterns, layer in a seasonal index. Calculate the ratio of each month's sales to your annual monthly average, then apply that multiplier to your baseline forecast. For example, a product that historically sells 40% above average in November gets a 1.4x multiplier applied to whatever your baseline projection is for that month.
\nIf you have a longer sales history and more SKUs, you may benefit from a time-series analysis, which detects trends and seasonal cycles in your data automatically. These are typically built into demand planning software rather than done manually in a spreadsheet.
\nFor new products where you have no sales history, shift to qualitative methods: look at comparable product launches in your catalog, use Exploding Topics trend data to gauge interest trajectory, and factor in supplier minimums and your risk tolerance.
\nIf you don’t currently have software to handle these, you can find a few helpful tutorials through the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
\nWith your method chosen, build out your forecast SKU by SKU for your timeframe. For each product, produce two numbers: your demand estimate (how many units you expect to sell) and your reorder point (the inventory level at which you need to place a new purchase order to avoid a stockout).
\nYour reorder point accounts for two things: lead time and safety stock.
\nLead time is how long it takes from placing a purchase order to receiving inventory.
\nSafety stock is a buffer you hold above your expected demand to absorb forecast errors or supply chain delays.
\nA simple formula for reorder point is:
\n(average daily sales × lead time in days) + safety stock
\nFor safety stock, a common approach is to multiply your average daily sales by the number of days of buffer you want to hold. How many days of buffer depends on how variable your demand is and how reliable your supplier lead times are.
\nKeep in mind that trend-driven products, like anything you've flagged as emerging in Exploding Topics, warrant a more conservative buffer, since demand can accelerate faster than your lead time allows you to respond.
\nDocument your assumptions as you build. If your forecast turns out to be wrong, you can note whether the error came from a bad demand estimate, an unexpected lead time change, or a supplier issue. Those audit notes will make your next forecast better.
\nA forecast is a living model, not a one-and-done task. Set out to review it monthly at minimum, comparing your forecast against actual sales for each SKU.
\nRevisit your Exploding Topics data at the same interval. Trends can shift quickly, and a category you flagged as emerging three months ago, for example, might now be approaching its peak or continuing to accelerate. Keeping your trend signals current makes sure your long-term forecasts reflect the current market, not the one you mapped out a few months ago.
\n[cta:trends]
\nTraditional forecasting methods work the best when demand is relatively stable and your sales history is long enough to show meaningful patterns. If that’s not true for your business, you’d definitely benefit from AI-powered forecasting.
\nWhereas a moving average or seasonal index can process the data you feed it manually, machine learning models can ingest dozens of variables (sales velocity, competitor pricing, social media signals, weather patterns, etc.) and identify relationships between them that no human analyst would spot in a spreadsheet.
\nThe more data the model sees over time, the more accurate its predictions become.
\nThe most practical application of AI in forecasting right now (unless you’re a large business) is using tools that already have AI built in. Demand planning platforms like Inventory Planner and Cin7 use AI to automate replenishment recommendations and flag anomalies in your sales data.
\nExploding Topics also uses AI to find rising consumer interest trends from search and social behavior at scale, detecting signals that would be incredibly difficult to track manually.
\nAI also changes how quickly you can respond to forecast errors. Traditional models are updated on a fixed schedule, whereas AI-powered systems can detect when actual sales are diverging from the forecast in real time and prompt you to adjust before a stockout or overstock situation develops.
\nThat said, AI forecasting is only as good as the data behind it. Feeding a machine learning model incomplete, uncleaned historical data will not have a good outcome. The fundamentals in the steps above still apply regardless of which tools you use.
\nEven a well-built forecast will miss sometimes. These are some of the most common variables that can cause errors in your forecasting:
\nDemand forecasting is fundamentally about reducing uncertainty. You'll never eliminate it entirely, but if you combine clean historical data with forward-looking trend signals consistently, you’ll make better inventory decisions and grow your sales faster.
\nStart with your historical data as a baseline, build seasonality and lead times into your reorder points, and use Exploding Topics to identify rising trends in your category.
","summary":"Have you ever ordered too much of a product that quickly stops selling? Or ordered too little of something that takes off? Or maybe you've spotted the next big trending product just a touch too late—after a competitor already pretty much owns it. Consumer trends now move at breakneck speed ...","seo_title":"How to Master E-commerce Demand Forecasting + Find More Profitable Products","meta_description":"Master e-commerce demand forecasting with this step-by-step guide. Learn how to use historical data and trend signals to make smarter inventory decisions.","featured_image_alt":"Demand Forecasting Blog Post Image","url":"https://explodingtopics.com/blog/demand-forecasting","featured_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/output=f:webp/g5C0R6UTp2VynWLRvbT8","author":{"bio":"Jolissa Skow is a senior content writer and content strategist with a background in SEO, Google Analytics, and WordPress. She's been published on Search Engine Land, G2, UpCity, Salesforce, and more, and her Google Analytics tutorials have been shared by Google on their social media platforms. She loves to read and runs a book blog in her spare time. She currently lives in Minneapolis, where you'll find her zipping around on her pedal-assist electric bike.","slug":"jolissa-skow","email":"jolissa.skow@gmail.com","title":"Senior Content Writer","last_name":"Skow","first_name":"Jolissa","facebook_url":"","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jolissa-skow/","instagram_url":"","pinterest_url":"","profile_image":"https://cdn.buttercms.com/GYZYCKikRmeIz8F6odMV","twitter_handle":""},"tags":[],"categories":[{"name":"market-research","slug":"market-research"}]}]}![\"Setting](\"https://cdn.buttercms.com/HSJDvW6SI2Ajb1nkmhIa\")
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