Sometimes developing an idea can be like banging your head against a brick wall.  All sorts of questions and doubts arise such as:

• Have I covered the topic thoroughly or adequately?
• What have I overlooked?
• Is there a missing link to something or a hole in my coverage?
• Does my writing hold up logically?

No matter what you write – internet content, books, articles, term papers, etc. – you know you have to research. You know you have to go beyond the superficial to hold the reader’s attention or to make that “A” you need to hike your GPA. But researching well is time-consuming and often tiring.  It can lead you down more than one rabbit hole in the course of a project and the next thing you know a deadline is staring you in the face and you’re way behind.

The first search image I got using the term "Google wonder wheel"

Fortunately the Google Wonder Wheel can help. Touted as a help to searching the internet and providing relevant search terms in a mind mapping way, this gadget has possibilities that can deliver a martial arts strike against that brick wall and turn it into a pile of powder.

Maybe you already know about the Wonder Wheel and what it can do to speed up idea development.  But are you getting the most out of it?

Wonder Wheel Uses

What I like about this tool that Google rolled out in May, 2009 is that not only does it help with searches, it’s capability to stimulate ideas for further development works at a glance. You can take an idea and follow it down many levels through multiple avenues without ever exhausting all the possibilities and all it takes is the click of the mouse. In fact, your problem could become knowing when to stop!

The Wonder Wheel is great for keyword research and SEO skill development, for drawing a big picture of a topic and stimulating ideas for sub-topic development, for niche marketing development, web site development, and just about any kind of writing you can imagine.  By the time you’ve used it on that novel you’re writing, you’ll have ideas for the next four.  The same thing for blog posts or articles, too.

Accessing and Using the Wonder Wheel

The second wheel generated when I clicked on the "google understanding" link from the first wheel

Accessing and using the Wonder Wheel is really easy:

1. Go to Google, type in a search term and click on “Search”.  The typical list of sites will come up, but forget about that linear mode  for now and
2. Look at Google’s left sidebar on the page.
3. Scroll down to “All results” and find “Wonder Wheel”.
4. Click on the words and up pops…the Wheel!
5. Look at the links and click on any that appeal to you.  Now you have two Wonder Wheels linked to each other.
6. Keep doing this until you’re satisfied you’ve found everything you’re looking for.

Every new wheel produces a list of links in the right hand column of the page.  What could be quicker or easier for time-challenged writers, students, web designers, or marketing departments?

Any way I look at it, Google’s Wonder Wheel is the easiest idea generating tool we writers have to make our content labors faster and easier.

What suggestions do you have for making the most out of this tool?

For more information go to Google Wonder Wheel Step-by-Step and thanks for stopping by this blog.

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