How to Do Online Research in Less than 30 Minutes?

We’ve all been there – you start online research expecting it to be quick, and then you scroll for hours. No wonder why; the Internet is full of information, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. So, how to find exactly what you need without wasting time? The answer is simple: start using AI tools!

Online research involves information and data collection from the Internet to address specific questions, analyze trends, or solve problems. It’s crucial in many different fields, such as education, healthcare, marketing, business & product development.

See how, with the help of Brand24’s Brand Assistant, you can do research in less than 30 minutes!

What is online research? Definition

Online research (also called Internet research) is the process of collecting information, data, or insights from the Internet. By Internet, I mean different sources, such as:

• Websites and blogs
• Social media platforms (it’s called social media research)
• Forums
• Databases

Goals of online research

I’m sure that whenever a question arises in your head, you immediately open Google to find out the answer.

Believe me, it’s exactly the same in big companies – the first reaction is often, “Let’s check on Google.”

So, what is online research used for?

Well, for practically everything – it’s really up to you!

For example, individuals do research on the Internet to:

• Compare options, read reviews, and gather information about products when they want to buy something.
• Research topics when they want to know or learn something.

Meanwhile, businesses conduct online research to:

• Discover consumer behavior and economic trends to improve their business strategy and idea (market research)
• Gather data about a particular market, target audience, and customers to maximize profits (business research)
• Study competitors’ strategies, strengths, and weaknesses to identify opportunities and stay one step ahead (competitor research)
• Learn more about consumers, their behaviors, and pain points to refine offerings and improve satisfaction (consumer research)
• Examine what the customers are looking for, helping guide new product development or refine existing products (product research)

As you can see, online research can refer to anything from a simple search for information to an in-depth analysis conducted by a company, researchers, or other professionals.

Generally speaking, the main purpose of online research is to find answers to questions, learn more about a particular topic, and make informed decisions.

Benefits of online research

You already know the goals of online research, so here are the benefits:

• Compared to traditional methods, online research is much cheaper.
• It provides up-to-date data from a variety of online resources.
• It’s so easy to do; you don’t have to collect data by yourself.
• You can conduct online research anytime and anywhere.

How to do online research?

Let’s be honest – scrolling through Google isn’t always the most efficient way to conduct online research.

There’s a much better way!

In just three steps, I will show you how to perform online research in less than 30 minutes:

Step 1: Ask AI tools

Without AI, quick research is a challenge, especially regarding more advanced tasks like online market research.

To get the best results, you need to ask the right questions (also known as prompts) to the right AI-powered tool.

I’ve selected three tools:

• the well-known ChatGPT
• the currently gaining popularity Perplexity
• one of the best for businesses to do research – Brand Assistant, created by Brand24

All of them based their answers on search engine data, except that Brand Assistant has something extra – it provides data from projects you have created in Brand24!

This means it can generate conclusions tailored specifically for you!

In contrast, ChatGPT and Perplexity can only provide general conclusions, likely the same ones they give to other businesses.

Shall we start?

Let’s say you want to research Audi (a German luxury car manufacturer). I’ll show you how each tool handled a basic research question: “What is Audi’s sentiment?”.

ChatGPT

Here are the answer provided by ChatGPT 4o:

• Question: What is Audi’s sentiment?

As you can see, ChatGPT’s answer is very general. It combines information from various sources, but many of them are not the latest.

It may not be enough if you are looking for deep analysis.

But ChatGPT is very fast!

Perplexity

• Question: What is Audi’s sentiment?

Like ChatGPT, Perplexity doesn’t analyze the data it finds online in any deeper way; it simply cites sources and provides basic conclusions.

Again, the provided information is not actual.

It’s more helpful for quick fact-checking than for advanced research.

Brand Assistant

Finally Brand Assistant’s answer:

• Question: What is Audi’s sentiment?

Bingo!

Brand Assistant has all the knowledge that other AI chats have and supplements it with real-time data from the media monitoring tool.

You get accurate data, deep analysis, and ready-to-use insights.

It’s the best AI tool for your business!

Here are the other effective prompts for AI that will work perfectly for any business:

• What is the primary source of mentions?
• How many mentions did the brand/product/company receive last month?
• What other brands/products/companies appear in mentions?
• How do customers feel about the brand/product/company?
• What are the latest trends for the brand/product/company?
• What is the most trending topic?
• What time is the target audience most active on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter/TikTok/YouTube/LinkedIn?
• How do customers perceive the brand/product/company compared to competitors?
• What is the share of voice compared to competitors?
• Conduct competitor analysis of the brand/product/company.
• Present customer insights.

Try asking Brand Assistant these questions yourself – tailor them to your company, brand, or product.

But remember to set up a project in Brand24 first.

Step 2: Ask the target audience

The next step is to complement AI insights with direct feedback from your target audience.

It takes some time but also brings valuable findings that sometimes AI can’t deliver!

Online surveys are one of the best ways to do this. However, they need to be well-prepared to make people actually want to participate.

Tips for effective online surveys:

• Use clear language so it’s easy for survey takers to understand.
• Your online survey can’t be long; overly long surveys discourage participation.
• Use mainly close-ended questions (yes/no, ranking, multiple-choice questions) and fewer open-ended questions (if at all). Close-ended questions are much easier for participants to fill out and for you to group the answers and analyze them.
• Encourage people to complete your survey by offering small rewards.
• Make sure your online survey is mobile-friendly,
• Test it with a small group first to spot and fix any issues.

Step 3: Benchmark with competitors

In the final step, compare the online research results for your company, brand, or product with your competitors.

This is a crucial step. It helps you:

• Understand your position in the market.
• Identify your strengths.
• Uncover what the competition is failing at and use it as an opportunity for growth.

For competitor analysis, tools like Brand24 are very helpful.

With its Comparison feature, you can quickly analyze and contrast your performance with others:

You can also use the all-knowing Brand Assistant!

Let’s ask for a comparison between Audi and its competitors:

Brand Assistant, as always, does not disappoint. It lists the biggest competitors and gives actual data without any problems.

Plus, it serves up priceless conclusions:

Challenges in online research

Researching information on the Internet is great, but it still has some limitations.

You need to be aware of them. Here are the most important ones:

1. Information overload: The Internet is a bottomless pit of information. It’s an advantage, but it’s also a trap. You can find yourself drowning in irrelevant data, wasting time on unnecessary rabbit holes instead of conducting focused and efficient research.
2. Outdated information: Nothing is lost on the Internet, which isn’t always a good thing. Many sources, like articles, often go years without updates. So, there is always a risk that you will come across outdated information that no longer reflects current realities. Always check publication dates and verify details against newer sources.
3. Uncertain source credibility: While there are many credible sources online, there is also a lot of misinformation. You always have to verify the reliability of your sources and that what is published is true.
4. Diverse opinions: Everyone has the right to express their view online. Diverse opinions can provide valuable perspectives, but they can also muddy your research.
5. Trend detection: Online trends are fast-paced. Identifying and turning them into actionable insights is a challenge that demands constant monitoring.

Conclusion

Online research is powerful, but it can be tricky. That’s why using AI tools is a game-changer; they:

• Select the most important information.
• Analyze data at lightning speed.
• Give you ready-to-use conclusions.

I’ve prepared a cheat sheet on how to do online research – feel free to save it for later:

Final thoughts:

• Depending on your needs, you can do online research for quick answers or detailed analyses.
• A key step in research is conducting online interviews, and the best way to do this is through well-designed surveys.
• ChatGPT and Perplexity are good tools for individual online research.
• Brand24 and its Brand Assistant are the best choices for businesses. With them, you can conduct comprehensive research and effectively monitor your brand and its competitors.

Conducting research with the Brand Assistant is a pure pleasure! Testing it costs you NOTHING – start your free trial now!