Exploding Topics: How to Spot Trends Before They Go Mainstream (2025 Guide)

In the fast-moving digital world, being early to a trend isn’t just exciting, it’s strategic.

Whether you're a marketer, startup founder, creator, or investor, spotting exploding topics early can help you create content, build products, or invest in ideas before the rest of the world catches on.

That’s exactly where platforms like Exploding Topics come in.

In this guide, we’ll break down:

What is Exploding Topics?

How does Exploding Topics work?

How to use Exploding Topics to your advantage

Key use cases in India, Instagram, and integration with tools like Feedly and Google Trends

What Is Exploding Topics?

Exploding Topics is a trend discovery platform that uses machine learning to identify keywords, industries, and ideas that are growing in interest, but are still relatively under-the-radar.

Unlike Google Trends (which shows what’s already popular), Exploding Topics focuses on emerging topics, ideas that are gaining traction now but haven’t yet peaked.

The platform was co-founded by Brian Dean (of Backlinko fame) and is available at ExplodingTopics.com.

How Does Exploding Topics Work?

The platform scans millions of online data points across:

Search engines

Social media

News sites

Product listings

Startup databases

It then uses natural language processing (NLP) and trend forecasting algorithms to surface terms that show rapid but early growth.

Each trend is:

Categorized by industry (e.g., AI, finance, marketing, wellness)

Tagged with growth score and historical trendline

Tracked monthly to show breakout velocity

This makes Exploding Topics especially useful for:

Marketers looking to publish ahead of competitors

VCs and investors scanning for emerging startup niches

Content creators building thought leadership on rising ideas

How to Use Exploding Topics

You can use Exploding Topics in several ways:

1. Free Dashboard

Go to ExplodingTopics.com and browse trending terms by category, growth speed, or date.

For example, you might find rising search terms like:

“AI productivity tools”

“Biohacking wearables”

“Zero-proof cocktails”

2. Trending Topics by Country

Use the filter to explore Exploding Topics India, where emerging trends are specific to Indian users and markets.

This is especially useful for content strategists and ecommerce founders in India looking to stay locally relevant.

3. Weekly Newsletter

Subscribe to get curated insights sent to your inbox every week. It’s a time-saving way to stay updated on rising topics without checking the site daily.

4. Pro Version

With Exploding Topics Pro, you unlock:

Early access to emerging trends

Long-term trend growth predictions

CSV exports

Deep keyword research tools

Ideal for teams that need consistent data to guide product, SEO, or media strategies.

Exploding Topics vs. Google Trends vs. Feedly

Here’s how Exploding Topics compares:

Tool	Strength	Limitation
Exploding Topics	Predictive, early-stage trend discovery	Fewer historical data tools than Google Trends
Google Trends	Great for comparing search interest over time	Focuses only on what’s already popular
Feedly	Tracks known sources (RSS)	Needs manual input; not predictive

Using them together is even more powerful. Many professionals search for "Feedly exploding topics Google Trends" to build a complete trend-monitoring system.

Exploding Topics Instagram: Trends in Visual Culture

Exploding Topics is also useful for understanding what’s rising in visual-first platforms like Instagram.

For example:

“Clean girl aesthetic”

“Digital vision boards”

“Instagram carousels for business”

These trends may not yet be showing up on mainstream analytics tools, but Exploding Topics catches them early through web-wide pattern recognition.

Exploding Topics India: Regional Relevance Matters

If you’re targeting Indian markets, watch for Exploding Topics India via the country filter.

Emerging terms like:

“ONDC ecommerce”

“Ayurvedic biohacking”

“Green startup funding”

can help content creators, media teams, and startup founders stay ahead in a uniquely Indian context.

Who Should Use Exploding Topics?

SEO strategists: Find rising keywords before they’re saturated

Startup founders: Identify product-market fit early

Content marketers: Get ahead of seasonal or breakout ideas

Investors: Spot venture opportunities in pre-growth phases

Creators: Ride momentum before the mainstream catches up

Final Thoughts: Be Early, Not Late

Knowing what’s trending now is useful. But knowing what will trend next? That’s where the real edge is.

Exploding Topics helps you discover, validate, and act on rising trends with data, not guesswork.

Whether you’re in India, building an Instagram brand, or tracking new niches in your industry, ExplodingTopics.com can be your secret weapon.

Want to level up your trend game?

Try it now at ExplodingTopics.com