/how-to/

Answering the big questions

What pages did we generate?

We took a list of the top search terms by volume (from ahrefs) that contained the phrase how to and then either excel or google sheets. We then fed each of these search terms into Byword, and generated content designed to rank on and answer those specific how to questions.

This is a textbook example of a search-based campaign. We're not building our input list off of some fixed list of Excel/Sheets problems that we've pulled together. Rather, we're using research tools (ahrefs) to see what users are searching, and building our content around that.

You can see an example page here.

Why did we do this?

Causal positions itself as a more advanced alternative to spreadsheets, and therefore has an incentive to reach users who are currently working with spreadsheets.

We never expected to be able to convert users in the middle of their crisis moment, when they're searching for how to do something in Excel/Sheets, but felt that by providing content here we could build familiarity and trust, and perhaps increase propensity towards Causal if and when there was an opportunity to convert users.

Statistics

Pages Generated	1,288
Total Sessions	48k
Sessions per Month	13k
Position #1 Keywords	68

Notes

• The fact that we were able to pull this campaign off was a result of how universal Excel/Sheets are. This means that the models which Byword relies on have plenty of training data, and can give accurate answers on the topic. I wouldn't recommend using this method on more niche topics.