Exploding Topics Review 2024: Become The Best In Your Industry

I could earn a tiny commission if you shop using my links. Please read my disclaimer for more.

I was introduced to Exploding Topics by a fellow content marketer who had seen some quick successes ranking for trendy topics nobody has covered yet. His results inspired me to check this tool out for myself and see if it can really give me a competitive advantage thanks to the AI insights.

In this honest Exploding Topics review, I’ll give you an insider look into this software tool, share the most impressive features, and tell you what niches it’s best for.

AI Trend Discovery
exploding topics logo

Exploding Topics Overview

4.9
  • Early access to the hottest topics
  • Data-driven insights
  • Helps branding & topical authority
  • Investing opportunities

Quick summary of my Exploding Topics experience

First of all, I’m really impressed by the explosive growth of Exploding Topics. When I first joined, their database only had 14k+ trends, and now it’s 770k+ trends. It shows that the tool is actively being developed so more people across industries can find valuable insights.

They also improved their algorithm so it can now identify trends up to a year before they explode (it was only 6 months before).

Overall, Exploding Topics is a great investment if you want to build authority in your industry, find untapped opportunities, or identify promising startups. No other tool gives you so much data-driven insights about what’s trending before it goes mainstream.

If you’ve been on the fence, now is a good time to give Exploding Topics a try – it can hardly get better than what they currently offer.

What is Exploding Topics?

Exploding Topics is your early-warning system for the next big thing. It tracks the trajectory of trends across various industries, pinpointing where rapid growth and buzz are surging.

exploding topics homepage
Screenshot of the Exploding Topics homepage in 2024

This data fuels innovation. You can discover untapped markets, develop products your audience desperately needs (but doesn’t yet know they want), or shape content that resonates at exactly the right moment.

With Exploding Topics, you are able to stop guessing your business strategy and take a data-driven approach. You can keep an eye on what’s happening in the world and pinpoint the opportunities with the highest potential for success.

a bit of History

Originally founded by Josh Howarth, Exploding Topics was later acquired by a well-known SEO expert Brian Dean. His expertise influenced rebranding and brought new levels of insight to the platform, making it a go-to place for those looking to capitalize on trends.

Key benefits of using Exploding Topics

Who is Exploding Topics for?

While most businesses across industries can benefit from Exploding Topics, I think it is best for:

  • Bloggers and content marketers: Find fresh, engaging topics with high search potential that haven’t been covered to death. Create content that resonates with your audience and drives traffic.
  • SEO professionals: Turbocharge your SEO strategy by pinpointing low-competition keywords linked to rapidly growing trends. Help your clients achieve quick ranking results and stand out in their field.
  • Investors: Gain an edge by discovering promising trends and emerging startups with untapped potential. Make informed decisions about where to allocate resources for maximum returns.
  • Entrepreneurs: Validate your business ideas and spot market gaps before they become saturated. Be the first to offer groundbreaking products or services, positioning yourself for lasting success.

What industries can benefit the most from Exploding Topics?

Exploding Topics analyzes trends across a vast range of industries.

At the time of my writing this review, their database has 779k+ trends and keeps growing.

Their full list of categories is extensive, so if you can see anything remotely relevant to your work in the image below, you’ll definitely see the value in Exploding Topics.

exploding topics review categories
Categories available on the Exploding Topics website

Here are just a few key industries that can see huge gains:

  • Technology: Stay on top of cutting-edge innovations, from AI and machine learning to blockchain and gaming.
  • E-commerce & Retail: Discover in-demand products, pinpoint shifts in consumer behavior, and tailor your offerings for maximum appeal.
  • Marketing & Advertising: Create campaigns that speak your customer’s language, ensuring your message resonates with your target audience.
  • Health & Wellness: Identify emerging trends in fitness, nutrition, and self-care, allowing you to offer products or services that meet growing demands.
  • Finance: Understand trends impacting various markets and make informed predictions about stock prices or cryptocurrency values.

And if you are an investor, this AI-powered business tool will give you a general overview of what’s trending at any given time, opening up a world of new possibilities for your portfolio.

Key features of Exploding Topics

When you log in to Exploding Topics, the first thing you see is your dashboard, also known as the Trend Tracking tab.

Here you see all your projects and trends you are currently tracking.

exploding topics dashboard tracking

Projects are basically folders, or collections of trends – helpful for storing trends from one category together or separating research by client.

When you are inside a project, you can sort the trends based on the growth or search volume:

exploding topics tracking example
Example of my tracked trends sorted by search volume

1. Trends database

This is the best part of Exploding Topics and the whole point of using this tool, so let me start with it.

Having access to this Trends Database is like having insider information about the world. (Or a friend from the future telling you what happens next!)

While most other people are shocked and impressed by new technology, you have known about it for months and are now happily riding the wave.

In the database, trends are organized into categories and sub-categories.

exploding topics trends database

You can browse a specific topic you are interested in and get lost here for hours (talking from experience). If you think you know everything about your niche, I promise you, you’ll be humbled.

I recommend doing this freestyle browsing regularly so you actually discover new things related to your industry and not just track stuff you already know about.

As you enter the category, you’ll see pages and pages of trending topics in this niche. There are multiple filters that help you prioritize all of that juicy data.

For example, here is a sneak peek into the home decor topics that have been exploding in the last year, sorted by trend line and with brand names filtered out:

exploding topics database in use

Whether you are a content creator or own a brick-and-mortar business, this gives you a huge competitive advantage and enough time to prepare something relevant to match your audience’s interests.

If you have an Investor or Business plan, you can export this data into a CSV file.

Alternatively, you can search for a specific topic or type of product, and the Exploding Topics algorithm will suggest a bunch of trends for you to check out.

exploding topics search example

Exploding Topics empowers you to make strategic decisions driven by data rather than just gut feelings. This translates into smarter content, more effective branding, and, ultimately, a business that outshines the competition.

2. Deep dive into each trending topic

Something in the database has caught your eye? The next step is a deep dive into the details of that particular topic.

Exploding Topics will show you the search volume for the previous month and growth over the selected time period.

You can look at different time frames from 3 months to 15 years to get a full picture. You can also enable trend forecasting, and it will show an AI prediction for the next year (see the dotted line on the screenshot below).

exploding topics trend forecasting example

There is also a channel breakdown that tells you where this topic is most popular. In this example, since it’s a home decor trend, Pinterest is expectedly a clear winner, with Instagram being a close second.

For business, technology, or finance topics, I often see LinkedIn and Twitter dominating the chart. Sometimes, a particular thing becomes a trend thanks to TikTok’s popularity, and you’ll see it here.

Generally, this is a good indication of where your potential audience hangs out and where you should prioritize creating content to get more eyes on your brand.

On the same page, you’ll see a list of related trends for this topic, which is a goldmine for keyword research!

exploding topics review related trends

This example makes me wanna start a Japandi blog, so let’s look at something else…

3. Trending products

All the features in Exploding Topics are pretty self-explanatory. If you want to find trending products, you simply go to the tab called Trending Products.

Here, you’ll see a big list of products that are currently popular in a particular niche. Similar to the Trends Database, you can set the timeframe between 3 months and 15 years and filter/sort the products according to their trending status. You’ll also see the monthly search volume for each product and the trend pattern.

And then there are some new filters and columns, such as average price, monthly sales, revenue, Amazon Best Sellers Rank, and even average review score.

For example, here is a sneak peek into trending products in the Pets category in the last 6 months, ordered by growth:

exploding topics reviewing trending products

I don’t know much about pets, but dental stuff for dogs seems to be all the rage right now. I spotted dental chews, toothbrushes, and toothpaste for dogs on just one page of scanning through this category.

If you look into a specific product, you’ll see all those metrics again and more. Same as with trending topics, you’ll see search volume, growth percentage, trend curve, and forecasting.

exploding topics review trending product example

One new metric you might find interesting here is the average TikTok views for videos with this product.

But there is more.

If you scroll down on the product page, you’ll see a list of top-selling products on Amazon. This alone is incredibly helpful whether you are an affiliate marketer, a dropshipper, or sell your own products.

You’ll also see some other trending products somewhat related to this one, related trending topics, and the channel breakdown similar to what we saw in the Trends Database.

exploding topics review trending product details

4. Trending startups

The ‘Trending Startups’ section shows you a list of companies that are starting to get popular. This feature is only available with the Investor and Business plan.

Basically, Exploding Topics watches the internet to see which startups are mentioned more and more. It points out newer businesses that seem to be catching on and could be good places for you to invest in as they grow.

exploding topics trending startups

Here, you see some familiar fields, as well as new information specifically important for investors, such as funding data, whether it’s bootstrapped, and the number of employees.

You can, of course, take a closer look at any startup that piques your interest and see the whole picture, including their funding info, growth numbers, website and social platforms, and more.

exploding topics for investors

5. Meta trends

Meta trends is a beta feature that looks very promising.

It gives you a visual representation of each meta trend, which is basically an umbrella topic for all the smaller trends.

When you go to Meta Trends, there is a library of top-level trends, and if you click on any of them, you’ll see an interesting overview.

First, there is some background info and analysis of this trend. Then, you see a diagram of all the trends that fall under this umbrella topic.

Here is an example of the meta trend “Premium Snacks”:

exploding topics meta trends

The inner ring has all the popular micro trends, and the outer ring shows some other related trending topics.

You can click on any topic and see the details about it, such as trend growth and search volume, without leaving this screen. You can also click Track Topic, and it will be added to your dashboard.

The data in Exploding Topics is updated daily, so you can keep an eye on everything that seems relevant to your business.

6. Weekly trends newsletter

The Exploding Topics Tuesday is a weekly overview of the most trending things on the internet. Other than seeing the thing itself, you get a short explanation of what it is, why it’s trending, and some data-driven insights.

Here’s a sneak peek into one of the newsletter issues:

exploding topics newsletter sample

As a random example, one of the topics in an older issue was “Nattokinase.” Other than learning what it is, we learned that (quoted exactly from the newsletter email):

  • Searches for “nattokinase supplement” have increased by 886% over the past two years.
  • Videos mentioning nattokinase supplements have over 5.4 million views on TikTok.
  • One pack of nattokinase capsules brings in approximately $128K/month on Amazon.

Having insights like this lets you keep your finger on the pulse of your industry (and what’s happening in the world) and identify new opportunities before they are mainstream.

You can see a sample newsletter issue here.

Over the months I’ve been receiving their newsletter, I’ve seen anything from 4 to 9 trending topics highlighted, some of which are only fully visible for Pro members.

Other things I like about Exploding Topics

Trend analysis

If you want to quickly look up whether something specific is trending, you can go to Trend Analysis. This is a relatively new feature, and it will give you detailed information about your topic, similar to what you see in the trends database.

A generous trial

About a year ago, when I first signed up for Exploding Topics, they only offered a 7-day trial for $1. Now, you get to use the tool for 14 days, which is basically half of the month for free!

For example, with a Business plan, you are saving $124 before you even commit. And you get access to all the features like personalized insights, instant trends, and forecasting! I think that’s very nice of them.

Exploding Topics pricing

You can use Exploding Topics for free with limited functionality, and it will already put you ahead of many people who don’t follow industry trends.

But if you are treating your business seriously, you need to go Pro.

To me, using Exploding Topics without a Pro subscription feels like you are constantly being teased with good stuff but never fully allowed in.

This is what you’ll see without a subscription:

exploding topics paywall

(You can still get lots of insights if you’re on a budget. In fact, for a free version, you don’t even need to create an account – just go to the Exploding Topics website and browse the trends.)

But if you have a Pro account, all those blurred trends become available to you.

Another huge advantage is that you can see the super new trends peaking in the last 3 or 6 months, while with the free version, you can only look at 5-year and 2-year trends for each topic. Depending on your use case and industry, this can make a huge difference.

There are 3 Pro plans in Exploding Topics:

exploding topics pricing
  • Entrepreneur ($39/month): This may be enough for most solopreneurs and small business owners to stay in the know with your industry. You get access to the whole database of trends and can track up to 100 in your dashboard.
  • Investor ($99/month): The name says it all – if you are looking for investing opportunities, this is a plan for you. In addition to trending topics and products, you have access to trending startups, trend forecasting, and up to 100 trend analyses. You are also allowed to bring 3 more team members on board.
  • Business ($249/month): This plan, I think, is best for agencies working with multiple clients and various industries. On top of all the features from the Investor package, it allows you to track and analyze unlimited trends, get trend reports, and even use Exploding Topics API. You can have a team of 10 people, which technically makes it cheaper than the Entrepreneur plan per person.

All Pro plans come with an annual commitment, so think long-term and choose carefully depending on the features you need.

Room for improvement

While I love this product, and I believe it’s more than worth the money if you put the data to good use, there are a couple of suboptimal things I’d like to mention:

  • I have experienced some bugs with the Beta features, especially Trend Analysis, but that’s kinda expected. I recently reported an issue, and I’m sure they’ll fix it by the time it’s out of beta.
  • No monthly payment options. Even with the smallest plan, you have to pay close to $500 right away for a year, which is simply not affordable for some people. (Also, I personally don’t need this tool every single month, and it would be nice to be able to pay for one month every quarter or a couple times a year. I’m sure some other solopreneurs might relate to this, but I understand that we probably aren’t the target audience here.)
exploding topics logo text

Final verdict: Is Exploding Topics worth it?

With Exploding Topics, you can stop reacting to trends after they’ve reached their peak. Instead, you’ll be the one setting the trends, establishing yourself as an authority before anyone else catches on.

Usually, if you hear about a new thing from YouTube or social media, it’s probably too late. This is why Exploding Topics is so worth it: it gives you direct knowledge about future trends before anyone hears about them.

So far, I haven’t seen any decent competitors that bring you valuable information about trending topics on a silver platter like this tool does.

Overall, if you don’t just browse the trends but actually utilize the data from Exploding Topics in a strategic way, you can quickly grow your business and become an authority in your niche.

Overall Rating:
4.9 / 5

Pros

  • Database of 770k+ trends
  • Identifies trending topics and products at early stages
  • Trend forecasting
  • Tracking & organizing trends
  • Promising startups to invest
  • Social channels breakdown

Cons

  • Somewhat expensive
  • Only annual plans
  • Beta features aren’t reliable

Frequently asked questions

Is Exploding Topics legit?

Exploding Topics has proven to be a legitimate and reliable trend discovery tool, earning an impressive rating of 4.9 out of 5 on ProductHunt. Its co-founder, Brian Dean, is a well-known expert in the SEO world.

What is Exploding Topics used for?

Exploding Topics identifies rapidly growing trends, products, and startups before they become mainstream by analyzing massive amounts of online data. It’s useful for market research, content creation, and strategic planning, helping marketers, business owners, and investors spot emerging opportunities in their industry.

Is Exploding Topics free?

Yes, Exploding Topics is free to use. Just go to their website and start exploring available categories, and you’ll get a lot of interesting data without paying or even signing up.

However, I noticed that the juiciest keywords and trends are hidden behind the paywall, so getting a Pro subscription is definitely worth it. It also lets you search the trends database and track relevant topics, which allows for more focused and time-efficient research.

Similar Posts