Topic Finder

Topic Finder is a content ideation tool within the Content Toolkit in Semrush.

It helps you discover high-potential content topics backed by real-time SEO data.

Instead of spending hours on manual research, you get instant, data-driven suggestions, so you can focus on creating content that drives relevant traffic. With Topic Rotation, the tool automatically refreshes these suggestions weekly, ensuring you always have fresh, relevant ideas to capture your audience's attention.

Once you find the topic you’d like to cover, Topic Finder sends it to the AI Article Generator—and you receive a polished SEO-friendly article within minutes.

How Can Topic Finder Help Me?

With Topic Finder, you can:

Discover the best-performing content topics based on real-time SEO data
Receive automatic weekly updates with fresh topic ideas for your saved lists
Identify content gaps your competitors haven’t covered
Spot low-hanging fruit topics with high search demand and low difficulty
Get tailored ideas based on your niche and location
Instantly create briefs or generate content from the Content Toolkit

How to Use Topic Finder

Follow these simple steps to discover high-performing content topics:

Step 1: Open Topic Finder in the Content Toolkit

Click Topic Finder from the left-hand menu inside the Content Toolkit.

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Step 2: Enter Your Topic Idea

Topic Finder helps you discover high-performing content topics based on your primary idea or keyword.

Enter a broad Starting topic (e.g., "project management").
Select your target Audience location (e.g., United States).
Click Find topics to generate suggestions.

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Step 3: Review Your Topic Suggestions

Topic Finder analyzes the data and presents a list of the best-performing content topics based on your input.

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Click on any topic from the left-hand panel to analyze it.

Each topic includes the following sections to help you assess its content potential:

Why this topic works: This section explains why a specific topic was suggested. It gives a brief summary of what makes the topic valuable—such as high search demand, low keyword difficulty, and/or a strong search intent.

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SEO data: This section displays key SEO metrics for the topic, including:

Number of keywords in the group
Total monthly search volume
Average keyword difficulty (KD)
Primary search intent (informational, commercial, transactional, or navigational)

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Keywords: Click on the number shown below “Keywords” to view the full list of related keywords along with their individual metrics.

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Title ideas: A list of suggested headlines you can use for your post.

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Step 4: Choose How to Start Writing

Click ‘Start writing’ next to the topic or specific title ideas.

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You’ll get three options:

Generate a full article with AI
Create an SEO content brief
Write manually from scratch using AI assistance

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Topic Finder will send you directly to Article Generator, SEO Brief Generator, or AI Search Optimizer, depending on your choice.

Topic Lists Management and Notifications

You can manage your topics in the Topic Lists view. Here, you can see when your lists were last updated and toggle Weekly updates on or off for specific topics.

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To help you consistently discover relevant ideas, Topic Finder uses Topic Rotation. This feature automatically refreshes your topic suggestions every week, so you don't have to manually research the same keywords repeatedly.

Notifications:

Interface: Look for a green notification badge around your starting topic in the interface. This signals that new topics are available.
Email: You will receive email notifications containing rotated suggestions for your last 3 searched topics.

Note: If fewer than 50 topics are available for your keyword, rotation will be disabled.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between a keyword and a topic in Topic Finder?

A keyword is a single search term. A topic is built with a group of related keywords clustered by search intent and relevance. Each topic includes SEO data, suggested titles, and keyword groupings to help guide content creation.

Can I use Topic Finder if I’m new to SEO?

Yes. It surfaces topic ideas based on real-time SEO data, making it easier to find high-potential opportunities for beginners and experienced users.

How is search intent determined for each topic?

Search intent is based on the behavior patterns behind each keyword in the topic group. Topic Finder classifies intent as informational, commercial, transactional, or navigational to help you match your content with what users are looking for.

What does “low-hanging fruit” mean in Topic Finder?

Topics marked as “low-hanging fruit” typically have high search volume and relatively low keyword difficulty. These are good opportunities to rank faster with less competition.

What does a “niche domination” topic mean in Topic Finder?

With low difficulty and modest volume, such topics target a highly specific audience. Limited competition allows your brand to stand out and quickly build authority, driving strong engagement and long-term loyalty.

What does a “balanced growth” topic mean in Topic Finder?

Such topics offer a stable opportunity with moderate difficulty and average search volume. It’s a reliable choice for steady growth, though it may require some promotion to maximize impact.

Can I create content directly from a topic?

Yes. You can create an SEO content brief, generate an article with AI, or write it manually using AI assistance—directly from any topic suggestion within the Content Toolkit.