how to do effective keyword research

How to Do Keyword Research for SEO: A Beginner's Guide

Published: April 04, 2024

While Google keeps us on our toes with all the algorithm updates they keep rollin' out, one thing has stayed pretty consistent for inbound marketers looking to optimize their websites for search: keyword research.

In this post, we’ll define what keyword research is, why it’s important, how to conduct your research for your SEO strategy, and choose the right keywords for your website.

Table of Contents

What is keyword research?

Why is keyword research important, elements of keyword research, how to research keywords for your seo strategy, how to find and choose keywords for your website.

Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing search terms that people enter into search engines with the goal of using that data for a specific purpose, often for search engine optimization (SEO) or general marketing. Keyword research can uncover queries to target, the popularity of these queries, their ranking difficulty, and more.

Keyword research helps you find which keywords are best to target and provides valuable insight into the queries that your target audience is actually searching on Google.

Insights from these actual search terms can help inform your content strategy as well as your larger marketing strategy.

People use keywords to find solutions when conducting research online.

So if your content is successful in getting in front of your audience as they conduct searches, you stand to gain more traffic. Therefore, you should be targeting those searches with content that features those keywords in a meaningful way.

Additionally, inbound methodology focuses less on creating content around what we want to tell people. Instead, we should be creating content around what people want to discover.

In other words, our audience is coming to us for helpful content that provides the answers they’re looking for.

In a nutshell, all of this starts with keyword research.

Conducting keyword research has many benefits, the most popular being:

Marketing Trend Insight

Conducting effective keyword research can provide you with insights into current marketing trends and help you center your content on relevant topics and keywords your audience is in search of.

Traffic Growth

When you identify the best-fitting keywords for the content you publish, the higher you’ll rank in search engine results — the more traffic you’ll attract to your website.

Customer Acquisition

If your business has content that other business professionals are looking for, you can meet their needs and provide them with a call-to-action that will lead them into the buyer journey from the awareness stage to the point of purchase.

By researching keywords for their popularity, search volume, and general intent, you can tackle the questions that most people in your audience want answers to.

Keywords vs. Topics

More and more, we hear how much SEO has evolved over just the last 10 years and how seemingly unimportant keywords have transformed our ability to rank well for the searches people make every day.

And to some extent, this is true, but in the eyes of an SEO professional, it’s a different approach. Rather, it’s the intent behind that keyword and whether or not a piece of content solves for that intent (we’ll talk more about intent in just a minute).

But that doesn’t mean keyword research is an outdated process. Let me explain:

Keyword research tells you what topics people care about and, assuming you use the right SEO tool, how popular those topics actually are among your audience.

The operative term here is topics, plural. By researching keywords that are getting a high volume of searches per month, you can identify and sort your content into topics or buckets that you want to create content on.

Then, you can use these topics to dictate which keywords you look for and target.

Keyword Research Template

Build your SEO strategy with this free template.

• Search Volume
• Keyword Difficulty

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

There are three main elements I have discovered that you should pay attention to when conducting keyword research.

1. Relevance

Google ranks content for relevance.

This is where the concept of search intent comes in. Your content will only rank for a keyword if it meets the searchers’ needs.

In addition, your content must be the best resource out there for the query. After all, why would Google rank your content higher if it provides less value than other content that exists on the web?

2. Authority

Google will provide more weight to sources it deems authoritative.

That means you must do all you can to become an authoritative source by enriching your site with helpful, informative content and promoting that content to earn social signals and backlinks.

If you’re not seen as authoritative in the space, or if a keyword’s SERPs are loaded with heavy sources you can’t compete with (like Forbes or The Mayo Clinic), you have a lower chance of ranking unless your content is exceptional.

You may end up ranking on the first page for a specific keyword, but if no one ever searches for it, it will not result in traffic to your site. It's like setting up a shop in a ghost town.

Volume is measured by MSV (monthly search volume), which means the number of times the keyword is searched per month across all audiences.

• Make a list of important, relevant topics based on what you know about your business.
• Fill in those topic buckets with keywords.
• Understand how intent affects keyword research and analyze accordingly.
• Research related search terms.
• Use keyword research tools to your advantage.

I’m going to lay out a keyword research process you can follow to help you come up with a list of terms you should be targeting.

That way, you’ll be able to establish and execute a strong keyword strategy that helps you get found for the search terms you actually care about.

Step 1. Make a list of important, relevant topics based on what you know about your business.

To kick off this process, think about the topics you want to rank for in terms of generic buckets.

You’ll come up with about five to 10 topic buckets you think are important to your business, and then you’ll use those topic buckets to help come up with some specific keywords later in the process.

If you’re a regular blogger, these are probably the topics you blog about most frequently. Or perhaps they’re the topics that come up the most in sales conversations.

Put yourself in the shoes of your buyer personas . What types of topics would your target audience search that you’d want your business to get found for?

Drill down into your website’s traffic sources, and sift through your organic search traffic bucket to identify the keywords people are using to arrive at your site.

Repeat this exercise for as many topic buckets as you have.

Remember, if you’re having trouble coming up with relevant search terms, you can always head on over to your customer-facing colleagues — those who are in sales or service. Ask them what types of terms their prospects or customers have questions about.

Those are often great starting points for keyword research.

Here at HubSpot, we use the Search Insights Report in this part of the process. This template is designed to help you do the same and bucket your keywords into topic clusters, analyze MSV, and inform your editorial calendar and strategy.

Featured Resource: Search Insights Report Template

Download the Template

Step 3. Understand how intent affects keyword research and analyze accordingly.

Like I said in the previous section, user intent is now one of the most pivotal factors in your ability to rank well on search engines like Google.

Today, it’s more important that your web page addresses the problem a searcher intended to solve than simply carries the keyword the searcher used. So, how does this affect the keyword research you do?

It’s easy to take keywords at face value, but unfortunately, keywords can have many different meanings beneath the surface.

Because the intent behind a search is so important to your ranking potential, you need to be extra careful about how you interpret the keywords you target.

Let’s say, for example, you’re researching the keyword “how to start a blog” for an article you want to create. “Blog” can mean a blog post or the blog website itself, and what a searcher’s intent is behind that keyword will influence the direction of your article.

Does the searcher want to learn how to start an individual blog post? Or do they want to know how to actually launch a website domain for the purposes of blogging?

If your content strategy is only targeting people interested in the latter, you’ll need to make sure of the keyword’s intent before committing to it.

To verify what a user’s intent is in a keyword, it’s a good idea to simply enter this keyword into a search engine yourself and see what types of results come up.

Make sure the type of content Google is displaying relates to your intention for the keyword.

Step 4. Research related search terms.

This is a creative step you may have already thought of when doing keyword research. If not, it’s a great way to fill out those lists.

If you’re struggling to think of more keywords people might be searching about a specific topic, take a look at the related search terms that appear when you plug in a keyword into Google.

When you type in your phrase and scroll to the bottom of Google’s results, you’ll notice some suggestions for searches related to your original input.

These keywords can spark ideas for other keywords you may want to take into consideration.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

The 12 Best Keyword Research Tools to Find the Right Keywords for SEO

Finding the Best Search Terms for Your Business: 10 Tools and Tips

6 Ways That Nonprofits Can Improve Their Keyword Research

How to Figure Out What Keywords Your Potential Customers are Using

The Definition of a Long-Tail Keyword [In Under 100 Words]

Keyword Research 101: How to Discover New Keywords for Your Business

How to Use Keyword Tools to Brainstorm Blog Topics [Quick Tip]

Is 2013 the Year Marketers Lose Keyword Research?

7 Keyword Research Mistakes That Stifle Your SEO Strategy

How to Identify Long-Tail Keywords to Fuel Your PPC Strategy

Discover opportunity for growth in your keyword strategy with this easy-to-use template.

Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform

Is your WordPress site slow? Get a free audit to uncover performance bottlenecks.

A Step-By-Step Guide to Keyword Research (Bonus: Best Keyword Research Tools Compared)

Imagine getting over a quarter million visitors to your site every month. We did it thanks to keyword research:

That screenshot is from one of my sites called The Wandering RV . My wife and I grew this site from a brand new site to a quarter million monthly visits in just three years with less than 30 articles.

Yes, you also have to create great content and build links to that content, but those actions come AFTER you know the best keywords to target. Every successful SEO campaign begins with keyword research ; skip this step at your peril.

Ready to get started?

How to Do Keyword Research (Quick Steps):

Good keywords make or brake a successful SEO marketing campaign. Here’s the key steps to get started with keyword research :

Step 1 : Find keyword ideas based on key terms, related search, long-tail keywords, and LSI. Step 2 : Check the TRUE keyword difficulty and search volume. Step 3 : Determine user intent.

In today’s guide, I share a step-by-step guide to keyword research that covers not just how to find hundreds of great keywords, but also how to tell which ones can move the needle for your business and which aren’t worth your time. Let’s dive in!

Keyword Research Fundamentals

Before I talk about the exact steps to find keywords for your SEO campaign, let’s briefly cover what keyword research is and why you should care.

What Is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the act of finding and vetting keywords to target in an SEO campaign.

This is done using a number of free and/or paid tools that show you what people are searching for on Google and other search engines .

Suggested in-depth guides: Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools .

The Role of Keyword Research in Digital Marketing

As you’ll learn in the next section, the quality of your keywords is the difference between a successful marketing campaign and a waste of time. The keywords you pick will determine your SEO marketing strategy from beginning to end.

Let’s see how.

How Important is Keyword Research? (Don’t Skip This!)

SEO can be complex, but it boils down to three fundamentals:

• Keyword Research
• Link building

Of those three, keyword research is the most important.

Why? Because you can create the best content and build incredible links that score you #1 Google rankings and still get zero benefits in terms of business growth or revenue if you target the wrong keywords.

For example, let’s say you want to write some content on your site’s blog so you can show up on Google’s first page. You have an idea of a blog post and think you have a good keyword to target. You make amazing content, build links to it through guest posting and email outreach (here’s how to find anyone’s email address ), and end up on the first page of Google . You’re getting hundreds of visits every month…

But your income from that article remains a big fat $0.

That’s because you didn’t properly research your keyword ahead of time. You may have found a keyword, but finding a keyword and doing keyword research are very different things.

Properly researching a keyword means understanding it’s income potential, how competitive it is, and even the exact kind of content you need to create to be able to rank for it. You’ll see what I mean by the end of this guide.

In a nutshell: Proper keyword research can be the difference between a wildly successful SEO campaign that makes your business tons of money and an utter waste of time and money.

Search Volume and Long Tail Keywords

The first concept to understand about keywords is search volume .

This is what most people look at when they first start researching keywords, and also one of the worst metrics to look at.

A high search volume is very deceiving for two reasons:

• The raw number of people searching for something has very little to do with how much you can actually earn from that traffic. For example, if you rank for a keyword that gets 10,000 searches per month, but if people are just looking for information and aren’t ready to buy (hint: you’d need to define the search intent. More below.), that does nothing for your bottom line.
• Just because 10,000 people search for a keyword doesn’t mean all 10,000 people actually click on a result. Take a look at the keyword “How old is Biden”, for example—it gets 51,000 searches per month, but only 17% of those people actually click on anything. That’s because people get the answer right on Google and don’t need to click through to find it.

On the other hand, a low search volume doesn’t mean a keyword is bad or that the number you see is the number of visitors you’ll get. Virtually all pages that rank on Google for one keyword also rank for dozens, hundreds, and sometimes thousands of other keywords.

These other keywords are usually synonyms and long-tail variants. There are also Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords, which I get to in a section below.

For example, take a look at this post that my wife, Kayla, wrote for The Wandering RV. She was targeting the keyword “best camping gear”, which gets around 2,700 searches per month according to Ahrefs. But as you can see in the screenshot below, it also ranks for 1,912 other keywords and even ranks on page one for “camping gear” at 32,000 searches per month!

The point of the story? While search volume is an important metric, you shouldn’t base your target keywords solely on how many people are searching for it every month (unless you’re only focused on brand awareness and/or advertising revenue on a per-impression basis).

Search Intent

Search intent is exactly what it sounds like—the intent of the person searching for a given keyword. It’s similar to the marketing concept “buyer intent”.

In other words: What is the user looking for?

Are they searching for an item they are ready to buy right now? Are they doing research before they make a purchase decision? Or are they just looking for information that has nothing to do with buying anything, but rather with a problem they may need a solution to?

Let’s look at an example of each.

High Buying Intent : A high buying intent keyword may be a product name, such as “RV rental las vegas”. If you type that into Google and look at the results, you see a bunch of ads for RV rentals and a map showing Las Vegas RV rental companies. Someone searching this is likely ready to buy, or very close.

Research Intent : These are keywords where people are still doing research on solutions, but will likely buy soon. “Best” and “Review” keywords often fall into this category, such as “best RV rental companies”.

Informational Intent : These keywords are for people strictly looking for information and aren’t ready or even thinking about buying anything. The “how old is Biden” example falls under this category. Another example that fits with RV rentals might be something like “how to travel the country with a pet”.

However, don’t think that you should only go after buying intent keywords. Informational keywords can help you build your email list and get people into your marketing funnel to eventually buy from you.

Search intent is also important to know because it affects what content ranks on Google. If you try to create a landing page to rank for an informational keyword when Google is ranking long-form blog content, you probably won’t rank even with perfect on-page SEO and plenty of backlinks because it’s simply not what the user is searching for.

For example, let’s say you want to rank for “small campers”. So you create a guide to owning small campers. However, when we look at Google, we can see that people aren’t looking for a guide, but rather, they’re looking for a list of small campers to buy.

That’s why even after you find good keyword ideas , you should always manually type them into Google and see what’s currently ranking to get an idea of what you need to create. Don’t write a massive guide when people just want a quick answer and don’t try to rank a blog post when people are looking to buy a product.

The Role of LSI and Synonyms

Earlier, I mentioned LSI keywords. This stands for Latent Semantic Indexing, and it’s a fancy way for Google to say “synonyms and related keywords”. They’re words that are commonly found together within a single topic and are semantically related to each other.

They’re important to tell the search engines what your content is about since there can be multiple meanings to the same keywords.

For example, let’s say you’re writing an article about cars. There are five different potential “cars” you could be talking about:

• Cars, the vehicles
• Cars, the animated Disney movie
• CARS, the Canadian Association for Rally Sports
• CARs, the Canadian Aviation Regulations
• (The) Cars, the American 1970s music band

How does Google know which version of “cars” you’re talking about? By LSI keywords! Take a look:

• Using the words “vehicle”, “used”, “new”, “buy”, “sell”, etc.
• Using the words “film”, “movie”, “Disney”, etc.
• Using the words “association”, “rally”, “sports”, etc.
• Using the words “aviation”, “regulation”, “administration”, etc.

While LSI keywords don’t necessarily matter during your keyword research, they are important when developing your actual content. You should include various LSI keywords naturally in your content without stuffing them, including in headings and image alt text.

You can find LSI keywords (and learn more about them) with a tool like LSI Graph .

How Do You Do Keyword Research? (Step-by-Step Guide)

Alright, now that you have a firm understanding of the important metrics behind keyword research, it’s time to actually find your very own keywords! There are three steps I follow when I’m doing keyword research for a new site, with an optional, more advanced fourth step:

• Find keyword ideas
• Check the TRUE keyword difficulty and search volume
• Determine their search intent
• (Optional) Find & utilize keyword silos

Let’s dive in!

Step 1: Find Keyword Ideas

Finding keyword ideas is the easy part. There are loads of tools that will spit out hundreds of ideas at the click of a button. It’s vetting them that takes effort, but we’ll get to that.

For now, go take a look at the “Best Keyword Research Tool” section below and pick your poison. I’ll be using Ahrefs in the examples because it’s my favorite tool and has all the bells and whistles, but the other tools can work as well.

My favorite way to find great keyword opportunities is spying on my competition. You can do this by plugging their site into any keyword tool and look at their keywords. Ahrefs has a nifty tool called the Content Gap Analysis.

Here’s how it works:

1. Plug your site into Ahrefs, then click the Content Gap link in the left-hand menu.

2. Plug in 1-10 competitors who are ranking on Google for keywords you want to rank for. You can find them by Googling those keywords and grabbing the URLs off of Google or by using Ahrefs’ Competing domains tool right above the Content gap link. Run the tool.

3. From here, you can export the list to an excel spreadsheet if you want. I like to comb through the list right in Ahrefs. If I see a keyword I might want to target, I open it in a new tab and add it to a keyword list using the + Add to button in the top right.

If you don’t have access to Ahrefs or another keyword tool that allows you to see competitor’s keywords, you can also use a tool like Keyword Shitter to give you a ton of ideas, then vet them using other free tools such as Uber Suggest.

Step 2: Check The TRUE Keyword Difficulty and Search Volume

Once you have a list of keyword ideas you’re comfortable working with (I aim for 50-100 at a time but you can do far more), it’s time to see which are even worth pursuing based on keyword difficulty (KD) and search volume.

There’s just one caveat… the search volume and KD you see in most keyword research tools are usually way off. KD in Ahrefs is solely based off the number of linking domains to the top results, which isn’t a 100% accurate depiction of the true difficulty to rank for a keyword.

This is because SEO is a complex beast, and things like domain rating (which I’ll cover shortly) and internal linking can have a massive impact on rankings. Backlinks are only part of the picture.

And the search volume? That’s not including LSI and long-tail keywords!

Remember that camping gear example I showed you at the beginning of this article that ranks for over 1,900 keywords? The main keyword only had 2,700 searches per month, yet the article gets over 5,000 visits per month. That’s because it’s ranking for other keywords besides the main keyword.

So if you see a keyword with 200 searches per month, chances are it’s really more like 500 or 1,000 if you include the related keywords that you’ll rank for.

To determine true search volume, grab the #1 result on Google for the keyword and plug it into Ahrefs or Uber Suggest to see how much traffic that page actually gets. That should give you a more accurate picture of the search volume for a given keyword.

Here’s the traffic for the #1 ranking page for “tiny campers”, a keyword that gets ~3,400 searches per month:

See how the page gets over 10k traffic, despite the main keyword getting a third of that? That’s true search volume potential.

The other metric, keyword difficulty, is also not 100% accurate. But figuring out true difficulty is usually as easy as looking at the top pages domain authority (DA), or domain rating (DR) if you’re using Ahrefs. Let me explain.

If a keyword has a difficulty score of 8, but the top ranking pages are all DR 80+, ranking your site for those keywords may be difficult if you have a low DR, despite the low difficulty score.

My advice is to aim for keywords with a 30 KD or lower if you’re under a 40 DR, then branch up as you build more links and gain a higher authority. As your DR climbs, your internal links are worth more “link juice” (or pass more “page authority” depending on what source you listen to).

But this isn’t an article on technical SEO, so I’ll leave it at that for now!

Step 3: Determine Search Intent

At this point, you should have a pretty decent list of keywords with a difficulty you’re comfortable tackling and a search volume potential you’d be happy to capture. Now it’s time to figure out what people actually want when they search for these terms and whether or not it fits in with your marketing and revenue goals.

This part is as simple as Googling each keyword on your list and looking at the top 3-5 results. Review their meta title and description, click on them to view the page, and check out the angle they took on the page.

• Are they mainly listicle posts? How-tos? Ultimate guides ? A landing page? Something else?
• How do they seem to be monetizing the page ? Are they using display ads ? Selling products as a solution to the problem? Affiliate marketing ? Just capturing emails and not actually selling anything?
• Take a look at the comments. Are people asking questions that weren’t answered in the article? Do they seem happy, angry, or neutral?

All of these questions will help you dial in on the type of post/page you need to create, how you can monetize it (or use it to capture emails/push notification subscribers/social followers), and what you can do to improve it.

As you’re going through each keyword, keep your answers to these questions in a spreadsheet or word document to keep track of which ones you’re interested in pursuing. Your final list is the list you can start pursuing!

To give you a better idea of how to determine search intent, here are a few examples courtesy of this Moz post :

Informational Intent:

• [product name]
• what is [product name]
• how does [product name] work
• how do I use [product name]

Commercial Intent (AKA Research Intent):

• best [product name]
• [product name] reviews
• compare [product name]
• what is the top [product name]
• [colour/style/size] [product name]

Transactional Intent (AKA Buying Intent):

• how much does [product name] cost
• [product name] in [location]
• order [product name] online
• [product name] near me
• affordable [brand name] [product name]

This graph from Ahrefs may also help:

Now take your list and go crank out some content! Or, you can follow one last step.

Step 4: (Advanced) Find & Utilize Keyword Silos

If you really want to do well, you can optionally take it one step further and look for keyword silos to create corresponding content silos on your site.

A keyword silo is a list of highly related keywords that you can create content around to interlink between on your site (also called the “hub and spoke” method). Here’s a visual I created to help you understand:

Essentially, you create a hub page targeting the primary head term you want to rank for, then create “spoke” pages based on related and long-tail keywords.

For example, while doing keyword research for my wife Kayla’s vegan food blog, I found a series of related keywords asking “Is ___ vegan”. People wanted to know if common foods, such as bagels, donuts, or Oreos are vegan.

To rank for these keywords, we created this hub page which links to all of her “Is ___ vegan” articles. These articles all link to one another, as well as back to the main hub page.

This inter-linking is called content siloing, and it works so well for two reasons:

• Because all the pages interlink to one another, if you build links to any of the pages, it improves page authority across all of the other pages.
• Google uses relevancy in its algorithm, and since these topics are all highly relevant to one another, it can improve your rankings further.

So how do you find keyword silos? There is no silver bullet solution — you have to be good at picking up on patterns and noticing relevancy. However, there is one trick you can use to try and find them: books.

Look for books on your topic on Amazon and browse the table of contents. Oftentimes, books are full of keyword silos: that’s what makes them a book! Think of the binding as the hub page and the chapters as the spoke pages.

Of course, as you can see in the example above, these keywords aren’t exactly what people are searching for on Google. People aren’t typing “vegan out in the world”, but rather “how to eat vegan at restaurants” or “how to eat vegan at family gatherings”. So you may have to do some sleuthing to figure out the keyword that corresponds with the chapter title in the books you find.

Once you find a potential silo, be sure to run the keywords through steps 2 and 3 before you commit to it! Just because you found a silo, doesn’t mean you should pursue it. Think logically about how all that content will fit into your business and how you can expand on it in the future.

What Is The Best Keyword Research Tool?

There are dozens, if not hundreds of keyword research tools on the market today. Some are extremely unique, but most are just slightly different takes on the same idea. So what’s the best one? Let’s break it down by free and paid tools.

Free Keyword Research Tools

There are two free keyword research tools I’ve used and recommend:

Ubersuggest

Keyword shitter.

Let’s put on hold all the conversions about Neil Patel for a second. This tool does its job and, if you’re on a budget, it can work to get you started with SEO.

Ubersuggest is basically a free, scaled-down version of Ahrefs or Moz. It lets you spy on competitor’s backlinks, see what keywords they’re ranking for, and do some decent keyword research. If you’re doing SEO on a budget, it can get the job done.

Keyword Shitter is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. You type in a keyword and get hundreds of keyword suggestions. It’s great if you just need tons of ideas, but it mostly only spits out related keywords to the one you typed in, not unique, separate ideas.

Paid Keyword Research Tools

Now we’re getting into the big-boy (or girl) tools! If you’re serious about SEO and you have the budget, these are the tools you want to use.

Keyword Insights

Keywords everywhere.

Ahrefs is hands-down my favorite SEO tool; not just for keyword research, but also for link-building, rank tracking, coming up with content ideas, and more. It has all the bells and whistles and is easily the best all-around SEO tool on the market. However, it comes at a steep price, with just the basic tool being $99 per month.

SEMrush is another great keyword research tool. It’s more affordable than Ahrefs, but it doesn’t have quite as many features. It’s more geared towards search engine marketing and PPC (thus the SEM in SEMrush). However, if you want a great paid tool but don’t want to pay the premium on Ahrefs, it’s a valid option. It even lets you try out the product for free!

Keyword Insights claims to be “the smartest way to group keywords and classify search intent at scale”… and with good reason. The tool utilizes geo-specific, live search engine result page data to cluster keywords into similar groups whilst also working out the search intent behind them.

A user simply uploads a list of keywords (as many as you’d like) and the tool will spit out a preformatted Google sheets document with the clustered keywords and the intent pulled through. Its most recent update also sorts the grouped keywords into “top-level themes” so you can see what their content hubs should be and what their spoke content might look like. The insights will also tell you which keywords you can target a single page with, or which need to be broken into multiple pages.

Keywords Everywhere is an awesome tool that used to be free and now is credit-based. The tool shows you search volume, competition, and average CPC right on Google whenever you type something in. It also shows you stats on related keywords and the “people also search” keywords. Regardless of which other tools you use, I highly recommend grabbing this one.

Want more SEO tools? Check out Kinsta’s list of must-have SEO plugins for WordPress .

Suggested Stack

So what keyword research tools should you get? My suggested stack is Ahrefs and Keywords Everywhere. Ahrefs is a complete SEO software that will help you rank your site, not just find keywords. And Keywords Everywhere lets you see search volume and keyword ideas any time you’re searching something on Google. Plus it’s free, so what’s not to like?

Here’s a quick recap of everything we’ve covered:

• Keyword research is extremely important to any SEO campaign and should not be skipped or taken lightly.
• Search volume and keyword difficulty can be deceiving. Do some deeper research by typing the keyword into Google and reviewing the results before you make a decision.
• Don’t be fooled by low search volume. Check the true search volume by reviewing the top pages search traffic using Ubersuggest or Ahrefs.
• Search intent is king. Make sure the content you’re creating matches the content people want to see (and what Google is already showing).
• Look for keyword silos. They’re can be a shortcut to ranking your pages faster.

And that’s all there is to it! If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment below or shoot me an email. For more help with SEO, click here to read my step-by-step guide and this awesome in-depth guide on how to drive more traffic to your website.

Bill is a content marketing and SEO expert with over 6 years' experience. When he's not nerding out over Google, he loves traveling, playing video games, and spending time with his wife.

Related Articles and Topics

Powerful Managed WordPress Hosting

4 Proven Website Ideas for Your Online Side-Hustle

• Application Development

Keyword Research is predominantly a statistical analysis of trending interests that are expressed by internet searches.

Although I realize the importance of said statistics, I am “right brained” and have struggled with being interested in numbers, all of my life. When I look at a keyword research result, the numbers tell me nothing in terms that I can understand. In fact, I’m totally bored by the concept.

I have read many posts, papers, and websites about the subject, and although not many agree with the same approach, they basically are saying the same things. b-o-r-i-n-g!

What is stopping a keyword research tool (once the stats have been gathered) from asking what it is that you sell, and then saying… well, to sell that, try concentrating on this…, and spare me the statistical analysis.

Really helpful article. Especially for the newcomers who want to be an SEO expert.

Thanks, Eva! Glad you enjoyed it. :)

What if I’m a business owner with a brand new site with no blog posts yet? How would I start this if I’m new to KW research? Are there services (real people services) that help with this or do it with me?

Hey, Johnny!

No problem! The steps with the content gap analysis are the same – you just have to manually find your competitors rather than using a tool. To do that, Google some keywords you think you want to rank for and grab the URLs of the top-ranking sites that monetize their sites similarly to you (whether that’s through ads, affiliate marketing, or selling similar products).

Paste those URLs into the content gap tool and follow along from there! Hope this helps! :)

Awesome! i am using this article to share with my students while i m teaching keyword research.

Lots of great information here ! Just wanting to introduce to a free alternative to Keywords everywhere, a chrome extension – WhatsmySERP.com/everywhere it gives you unlimited searches for volume and CPC.

Our team has launched this tool and it already has 5 star reviews and 20k+ users. I’d love for you to try it and see what your thoughts are.

I’d love to know your thoughts :)

This article is really really helpful for the newcomers. specially the one who recently started a blog or a website and Also, wants to Learn SEO.

The thing with the search intent is really important!

This was really what i was searching. perfect timing, thanks Bill such an valuable post.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

By submitting this form: You agree to the processing of the submitted personal data in accordance with Kinsta's Privacy Policy , including the transfer of data to the United States.

You also agree to receive information from Kinsta related to our services, events, and promotions. You may unsubscribe at any time by following the instructions in the communications received.

Keyword Research – An In-Depth Guide to Help You Rank Higher [+Template]

Keyword research can help you effectively reach more of your audience. By understanding exactly what they are searching for, you can create targeted content to meet their needs. But, in order to maximize your impact, you need to take a systematic approach using the most accurate keyword research tools . In this post, we’ll break down the complete step-by-step guide to how to conduct keyword research and the tools to use to achieve real results.

What is keyword research?

Keyword research is the process of finding the words and phrases your target audience is searching for on Google. Whether they are looking to find information like, pizza delivery options in your city, or are ready to purchase a product or a service, once you identify the high-value keywords they are searching related to your business, and their intent, you can optimize your search strategy and rank higher on Google.

Why does keyword research matter to you?

Using the right keywords (also known as search terms) gives your content the power to climb higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). This is exactly why keyword research is a pillar in search engine optimization (SEO).

If you set up your keyword research properly, scaling your ongoing SEO efforts and powering your growth will be fairly easy to execute.

It is important that your primary research is comprehensive and hones in on search intent because it will be the foundation of your search engine optimization strategy. Think of it as the base of all your future subject-specific SEO efforts to bring you new leads like a passive income. During this initial phase of research, your goal is to gather as many relevant keyword phrases as you can that could reach your audience.

In this blog we will guide you through how to conduct keyword research:

• Scan your website for keywords
• Dig deeper into your keyword data with Google Search Console
• Take advantage of competitor analysis tools
• Find the most valuable phrases with the keyword generation tool
• Consolidate your keyword data
• Categorize keywords by user intent and semantic search
• Analyze long-tail vs. short-tail keywords
• Choose the right mix of keywords to focus on

You can download our keyword research template below and apply what you learn as you go.

Enjoy 360 Visibility 24/7

Get the data you need to adapt to market changes and industry trends in an instant.

How to do keyword research

1. scan your website for keywords.

To start your keyword research process, the first step is to open your website and identify the main categories. Note any very obvious keywords you will need to include. The keywords you find during this process are the first ones you should add to your initial list to gain high-level insight into your website’s main goals.

At this stage don’t focus on the specific terminology used, you can tweak the wording later, focus on understanding what your website is aiming to do and/or sell to understand how you will generate search traffic.

• Pro Tip: Pay special attention to how your content is organized. Look for where the content and product pages are located. If you have a menu, those keywords are (yes, you guessed it) key. You can also find additional crucial industry words by scanning your site as a whole, including content featured on your homepage, blogs, product pages, feature descriptions, mission statements, and FAQ. If you sell a product, both the product and its category would be included .

Below you can see an example of important keywords on Similarweb’s homepage that would need to be included during this stage of SEO research. Words like ‘digital research’ and ‘investing’  relate to how our content is organized. As you go through your own website these are the types of phrases you are searching for in this stage of your keyword research.

2. Dig deep into your keyword data in Google Search Console

Take a look at the data you already have. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel – yet. If you have access to Google Search Console, (which can also be visible through your Google Analytics account), you can navigate to the performance section and look at the search results reported there. The list you create here will give you a thorough review of your strongest keywords that are already working.  If a term is performing well, you need to ensure you continue to include it in your SEO strategy , and possibly, even double down on your content efforts to win traffic from the term.

• Pro Tip: To use the Performance section effectively, set the data range for the page at 6 months, exclude all branded queries to compile a list of general terms that your audience is searching for, and then download the list it creates as a CSV file.

3. Take advantage of competitor analysis tools

Use competitive data tools to analyze your website and gain more insight into your current performance. Keep in mind that the keywords you will find differ for macro-level SEO and local SEO. You could conduct macro-level keyword research for specific countries using Similarweb. This will help you drill down and understand the topics and keyword opportunities that are trending in countries that interest you.

To do this, you can use Similarweb’s website analysis tool , and first, insert your own URL. Next, click on the Keywords section and filter out all branded keywords. After that, navigate to the “Competitors” section of your website analysis. Note the top three competitors you have and then run an audit on their websites too. For each audit you run, go to the Keyword Analysis section, filter out the branded search queries and export the reports for internal use. Remember that competitors’ traffic data can be as valuable as ranking data for your analysis, so don’t give up on any exported dataset yet – many of them will come in handy for your SEO strategy.

• Pro Tip: It can also be useful to filter out results that fall outside of the top 50 rankings in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) to weed out many irrelevant queries.

Combine the keyword list you created for each of your competitors’ sites with the one you made for your own site. You should merge the exported Excel files into one. Now you can consolidate the ranking and traffic data for each of your competitors and then remove any duplicate keywords.

Alternatively, you can decide not to consolidate your competitors’ ranking and traffic data and use only the keyword data. At this point you have the basis of the research: You found out what your website is ranked for, what phrases your competitors’ websites are ranked for, and what real people search for. Now it’s time to inspect your entire search potential.

You can also perform micro-level research using an SEO tool like Navads . Navads, acquired by Uberall in 2018, is the leading location data provider for the databases that power the navigation and mapping industry. It has a local search tool that helps you rank higher in map search results.

4. Find the most valuable phrases with Keyword Generation Tool

Your next step is to use a keyword tool to discover more keyword ideas, synonyms, and suggestions. You can use Google Keyword Planner to discover new keyword ideas. Another and often easier option is to use a keyword research tool like Similarweb’s Keyword Generator Tool and insert keywords by the categories you found on your website during stage one. Diving into more specific categories ensures the keywords the tool suggests are relevant to your topic.

Consider your target audience: Who are they? How do they search for what they need? What words or phrasing do they use? Are they primarily on desktop or mobile? This is also the perfect time to further research “interesting” phrases you may have found through competitive keyword research .

• Pro Tip: Since branded terms are usually irrelevant to SEO, be sure to filter out brand terms when you conduct your keyword research. You should also filter out irrelevant keyword phrase suggestions such as price and jobs. 

Again, in this stage, the goal is to compile a comprehensive keyword list for each of your chosen categories, so add as many relevant keywords as possible. You will probably discover that the broad category you started off with needs to be broken down into subtopics to make your keyword list usable for technical SEO and content marketing purposes. For example, digital marketing is a huge category that includes SEO, pay-per-click (PPC), media planning , marketing strategies, and more. So, each of those subjects should become its own subcategory at this stage since they each require research into specific keyword terms.

After you’ve broken down your main category into more easily digestible bite-sized subcategories, each subcategory should have its own keyword list that you can download. Now, it’s time to download those lists and take some time to review each. If you find that one of your categories is still quite wide, meaning it contains many search queries and very large volumes, you can break it down further into more detailed subcategories until it’s manageable.

Once you’re happy with your subcategory lists go to Google Keyword Planner. This tool allows up to 10 base phrases per ‘research,’ so group all phrases from the same subcategory together to find the best relevant keyword suggestions. ‘Research’ in SEO keyword planning refers to the maximum number of starting keywords that you can use in Google Keyword Planner to find related keyword suggestions.

5. Consolidate your keyword data

At this point, you’re probably wondering why you have so many keyword lists, but don’t worry that means you’re on the right track! These lists are your data sources for all search volumes and trends, and also for your competitors’ ranking and performance data. In fact, now it’s time to combine all of the lists that fall into the same subcategory by migrating all the data to one master Excel file. Once you’ve combined them remove any duplicate keywords. The reason you are merging the lists you’ve made is so you can effectively organize and implement your keyword research when it’s go-time.

• Pro Tip : Perform search trend and rank calculations on your data lists. Then consolidate the sources and remove duplicate phrase entries. Finally, pull all the competitive data related to your research (competitors ranking, traffic shares , etc.). Now you can calculate competitive keyword difficulty and value easily and build a data-driven SEO strategy. For example, you can identify recent changes in search volumes as well as competitor’s weak spots, and adjust your strategy accordingly.

To understand how to most effectively implement your keyword research, map out your data and insights against the current content on your website. Ask yourself:

• Which terms do you already have pages for?
• Which ones do you need to create pages for?

These questions will allow you to understand how to prioritize your efforts and successfully execute your keyword strategy.

6. Categorize keywords by user intent and semantic search

Start by dividing the phrases you’ve compiled into smaller groups based on topic similarities. From there you can break them down into large categories, like digital marketing, subcategories like SEO, and topic words like keyword research. For your topic keywords with semantic similarities, you want to keep in mind the users’ search intent for every query and effectively reach your potential customers.

People can use the same keywords to mean different things, so an important part of this process is decoding the user’s search intent.

For example, if someone searches for toilet paper what do they mean? Are they looking for places to order from, popular brands, or keeping tabs on which stores have toilet paper in stock? This is why you must understand search intent to categorize your keywords and ultimately reach your relevant target audience. Once you understand your target audience’s intent you can analyze the most relevant search phrases for them and for your business, and decide what are the right keywords for you.

In general, there are four main intent categories:

• Informational: These generally include “how-to” questions and “what” questions. For example, ‘how to disinfect plastic.’   
• Commercial investigation : Specific Attributes, versus, best, for example, ‘Walmart vs Target.’
• Transactional : This includes searches where the user has the intent to buy or download, for example, ‘buying waterproof kid’s toys.’
• Navigational : This includes branded queries, like ‘Facebook updates.’
• Pro Tip : Taking the time to thoroughly complete this step will help you to achieve very high clarity in your groups and ensure your SEO optimization efforts will have the largest impact possible.

Remove all remaining terms that are still irrelevant to your SEO goals such as queries that include times, locations, and competitor names. What you deem irrelevant will change based on your individual site and industry, so there is not a hard and fast rule to follow.

Optimization gaps are pages that are optimized for the wrong search intent, that have missing content, or are missing the right meta elements . To do this, continue re-dividing your keyword groups into smaller and smaller groups until you’re left only with keyword groups of semantically related search queries .  

7. Analyze long-tail vs. short-tail keywords

Within your keyword groups, it’s important to ensure you have a mix of short-tail and long-tail keywords . Short-tail keywords are more competitive and more to rank for because they are broader searches. On the other hand, long-tail keywords typically contain over three words and are less competitive because they are geared toward more specific searches. A good mix of the two types allows you to develop a keyword strategy that balances long-term and short-term wins.

For example, which of these keyword phrases do you think would be easier to rank for?

Toilet paper

Reusable toilet paper

[Did you pick the second one? Good!] The more competition there is for a keyword, the harder it is to rank.

As you can tell, long-tail keywords are more specific so they have a much clearer search intent than short-tail keywords. They also usually drive higher-quality traffic to your site since people are looking for something specific, which results in a more qualified lead. At many times data will show long-tail keywords can also produce larger traffic volumes when accumulated than short-tails for a specific topic, in those cases, it will be a strategic decision to focus on long-tail keywords that offer higher relevancy and match the audience’s search intent. This is another reason to make sure you don’t only pick high-volume phrases, but look at the big picture and choose the right keywords for SEO that offer maximum relevance and potential.

8. Choose the right mix of keywords to focus on

When creating your keyword plan you need to consider the following information and how they fit into your SEO strategy:

• Search volume: You should be closely evaluating the search volume of the keywords you are targeting. A keyword with a high search volume is more likely to be competitive, or harder to rank for. In order to rank higher on a high-volume, highly competitive keyword, you need to have site authority for the topic. One way you can build authority: create content on lower volume-related keywords. This shows Google that you are an expert on the topic and boosts your standing. Knowing the search volume for any given keyword helps you strategize to create the most effective approach given the characteristics of your website.
• Organic click-through rates (CTRs): This metric will give you an idea of how likely people are to click on posts that rank for a specific keyword. For example search terms like “what is the weather,” which are often answered on the Google Search Result page, may have a lower click-through rate since the user gets their answer question without needing to take another action.
• Keyword search trends: Trending keywords are constantly changing, so you need the most up-to-date data to stay on top of what’s trending in search. Similarweb has a keywords trends feature where you can quickly see what keywords are driving traffic now. Trends can change based on current events, pop culture developments (think Meghan and Harry’s Oprah interview ), or even seasonal events like Black Friday. Watch for specific times to rank for keywords because that’s when it matters.
• Your competitors’ keywords:  You can gain a lot of insight from keywords your competitors are ranking on. Using Similarweb’s Website Analysis, you can see the market share that each competitor has for specific keywords.
• Long-tail and short-tail keywords: As discussed earlier, you want to be sure you are focusing on the long-tail and short-tail keywords that make sense for your search strategy and your site’s level of authority.

Now you have sorted and expanded on your data strategically. This means you can easily estimate the difficulty as well as the value of ranking for a keyword or a topic and build an SEO strategy that takes everything into account and can be easily deployed. You can make smarter choices in creating or optimizing content, easily discover and address content gaps , and scale your activity without duplication hazards.

Put your keyword research to work

Boom. You did it. You just completed your initial keyword research. You now have small keyword groups you can use to map out and optimize pages from your site and create new pages for keywords you know will win SEO traffic. The list you have now enables you to easily manage on-page optimization and keyword use, as well as mitigate the risk of duplicate content.

This blog was written in collaboration with Sarah Mehlman , Content Manager at Similarweb.

Keyword research FAQs

Keyword research is the process of finding the terms and phrases that your target audience is searching for on search engines.

Why should I use keyword research?

You should use keyword research to discover the right terms that will help you climb higher on the SERP, and therefore increase the traffic to your website.

How do I conduct keyword research?

You can conduct keyword research with SEO tools . Similarweb’s keyword tool allows you to discover keywords your target audience is searching for, and the terms that are driving traffic to your competitors.

Related Posts

Marketing OKRs: How to Stay Focused and Hit Your Targets

Digital Marketing Strategy: A Beginner’s Guide

What is a Marketing Plan and How Do You Create One?

How to Conduct a Social Media Competitor Analysis: 5 Quick Steps

How to Do an Ecommerce Competitor Analysis in 2024

Industry Benchmark Analysis 2024: Is Your Marketing Strategy Aligned?

Wondering what similarweb can do for your business.

Give it a try or talk to our insights team — don’t worry, it’s free!

Showing 1 - 10 out of 832 for:

• On-Page SEO

The Ultimate 2024 SEO Keyword Research Guide

If you’re familiar with search engine optimization (SEO) , you’ve probably heard of keywords — the phrases that users type into a search engine when they want to find something.

Choosing the best keywords is vital to the success of your SEO efforts. That’s why we’re bringing you this complete SEO keyword research guide! This can be a daunting, yet profitable, task. Don’t be afraid to reach out to an SEO company for assistance. Otherwise, keep reading to dive in and learn how to do keyword research for SEO!

What are SEO keywords?

What is keyword research for seo, why is seo keyword research important.

• How to do keyword research for SEO

SEO keywords are words and phrases you add to your online content to improve your website’s rankings for those terms. The goal is that when a user searches for that keyword on a search engine like Google, your website will appear as one of the top search results.

Why are SEO keywords important?

SEO keywords are vital to your SEO efforts because you need to use them in your content in order to rank in the search results. When a user searches for a term related to your business online, you want your website to be one of the first results. And to achieve that goal, you must incorporate those terms throughout your content and website.

“Our systems analyze the content to assess whether it contains information that might be relevant to what you are looking for. The most basic signal that information is relevant is when content contains the same keywords as your search query.”

Keyword research for SEO is the process of identifying the words or phrases your target audience searches for online so you can target them for your SEO strategy. It can involve using various tools and platforms to create a list of the best phrases to target in your content.

Keyword research is important because it helps you identify which phrases your target audience uses to find your products or services on search engines like Google.

Once you know these phrases, you can incorporate them into your content and help your website rank at the top of the results each time someone searches for those words.

In other words, you’ll be able to reach more of your target market and increase your online visibility.

That means that with the right keyword targeting, you’ll drive more web traffic, high-quality leads, and sales for your business.

Say 👋 To Your New Favorite SEO Tool

Don’t let a complicated interface slow you down. Find opportunities faster with SEO.com!

How to do keyword research for SEO: Best practices for choosing the best keywords

Now you know what SEO keyword research is and why it’s important, but how exactly do you research keywords and find the right ones to target?

Here’s how to do keyword research for SEO in 10 steps:

• Use SEO keyword research tools to start off your keyword list
• Use Google Suggest and Google Trends to discover keywords
• Find out what keywords your competitors rank for
• Look at keywords you already rank for
• Create a list of your keyword ideas
• Look out for long-tail keywords
• Analyze keyword volume and competition
• Look at the search intent
• Determine target and related keywords
• Finalize your keyword list

1. Use SEO keyword research tools to start off your keyword list

One of the best ways to research keywords is to use SEO keyword research tools to make your job as easy as possible.

We recommend using SEO.com’s keyword research tool to generate a list of possible keywords to target for your SEO strategy. You can even save and export the list for easy access later.

There are a number of other helpful keyword research tools you can try, too, like:

• Keywords Everywhere
• Ahref’s Keywords Explorer
• Semrush’s Keyword Overview

Most of these tools operate by simply entering a starting phrase. The tool then generates a list of related phrases, terms, and questions that people search for online.

While you will need to weed through these lists to pick out the best phrases for your content (more on that later), these tools are a great starting point for your SEO keyword research.

2. Use Google Suggest and Google Trends to discover keywords

Another great way to discover keywords for your SEO strategy is to use Google Suggest and Google Trends .

Google Suggest is the list of suggestions that appear when you start searching for something on Google. These suggestions are perfect candidates for potential keywords to target.

And as a bonus, these suggestions are usually long-tail keywords.

In the example above, for instance, you can see examples of short- and long-tail HVAC keywords .

Long-tail keywords , as the name suggests, are longer keywords that contain multiple words or a longer phrase and are usually more specific. For example, “brownie” is a short-tail keyword, while “chocolate brownie recipe” is a long-tail keyword.

Long-tail keywords are usually less competitive and easier to rank for than short-tail keywords.

Google Trends can also give you lots of potential keyword ideas. This tool shows you what searches are currently trending on Google.

Using this tool is a great way to get an idea of which keywords related to your business are currently popular, making it easy to target keywords your audience is searching for repeatedly.

3. Find out what keywords your competitors rank for

Next in our guide for how to do keyword research for SEO is to scope out what keywords your competitors currently rank for.

After all, the goal is to outrank your competitors in the search results so you can drive more traffic and leads. Plus, your competitors already offer some of the same products or services as you, so there’s a high probability the keywords they rank for will be relevant to you.

So, what better way to outrank your competitors in the search results than to research the keywords they already rank for?

You can use a tool like Ahrefs to accomplish this.

Simply copy the URL of a page on your competitor’s website and enter it into the Ahrefs Site Explorer tool. Then, click on the Organic Keywords tab from the menu on the left-hand side to see which keywords that page is currently ranking for.

You can also look up the keywords for an entire domain using the Ahrefs Site Explorer tool.

Once you’ve identified the keywords your competitors rank for, you’ll have the ultimate list of keywords to target in your content.

4. Look at keywords you already rank for

It’s also a good idea to check out the keywords your site already ranks for.

You might be thinking, “But wait, I’m already ranking for them, so why do they matter? Shouldn’t I be trying to rank for new keywords?”

Yes, you should try to rank for new keywords, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore the ones you already rank for. In fact, by looking at your existing keywords, you’ll probably also find some new keywords you can optimize for.

The best way to check out your current keyword rankings is to head to Google Search Console and navigate to the Search Results report . From there, look at your current keyword rankings under the Queries tab.

Odds are, lots of these will be familiar to you, but you may be surprised to find some that you haven’t optimized for. Google has already deemed your website a good candidate for ranking for those terms.

If you aren’t already ranking on page one, and these keywords make sense for your SEO strategy, it’s a good idea to optimize for them and boost your rankings and traffic even more.

5. Create a list of your keyword ideas

Now that you’ve used some SEO keyword research tools and scoped out your competitors’ keyword rankings along with your own site’s rankings, it’s time to create a list of all the keyword ideas you’ve accumulated.

You can create a list in any format that works best for you. Maybe you type up your keyword ideas in a Word document or in an Excel spreadsheet.

Whatever you choose, make sure you list all of your ideas in an organized fashion because you’ll need to look at this list again in the future or likely share it with other team members.

6. Look out for long-tail keywords

Once you’ve compiled your list, it’s time to analyze it and narrow it down.

While you likely have some great keyword ideas jotted down, it’s possible that not all of them will be a good fit for your SEO strategy, so it’s important to take the time to go through the entirety of your list and weed out the less desirable keywords.

The first thing you’ll want to include in your final list is long-tail and out-of-the-box keywords. As we mentioned before, long-tail keywords are usually less competitive and easier to rank for than short-tail ones, so it’s a great idea to include these in your SEO strategy.

Keep an eye out for phrases like “chocolate chip cookie recipe” vs. “cookie” or “HVAC technician in Cleveland” vs. “HVAC technician.”

7. Analyze keyword volume and competition

You’ll also want to analyze the search volume and competition for the keyword ideas on your list.

The search volume refers to how many people search for that keyword. The higher the search volume, the more people are typing that word or phrase on search engines.

The keyword competition, sometimes called keyword difficulty, refers to how challenging it will be to rank for that keyword in the SERPs. The higher the keyword difficulty, the more challenging it will be to earn a top spot in the search results.

You can view metrics like keyword difficulty and search volume by using tools like Ahrefs.

The goal is to choose keywords that have a high keyword volume and low competition.

But this can be easier said than done. In fact, you might notice that keywords with a higher search volume also have more competition.

Try to choose keywords that fall somewhere in the middle. You should pick keywords with a decent search volume and a lower keyword difficulty, so you have a better chance at ranking at the top of the search results and can drive a decent amount of traffic to your site.

8. Look at the search intent

Now that you’ve narrowed down your keyword idea list using long-tail keywords, search volume, and search difficulty, it’s time to look at search intent.

Search intent is the reason why a user types a particular word or phrase into a search engine. When someone searches for something online, they want to solve a problem, answer a question, or get more information about a topic.

If your content doesn’t match the search intent of your keyword, it won’t rank. Even more importantly, you want to make sure that answering the search intent makes sense for your business.

For example, if you run an HVAC company , it wouldn’t make sense to match the search intent of a keyword like “plumber near me” because you don’t offer those services.

It’s important to analyze the search intent of the keywords on your list to ensure that you can (and want to) answer the search intent for your keywords.

9. Determine target and related keywords

Another important step in the SEO keyword research process is determining target and related keywords.

A target keyword is the main keyword you want to target in your content. Related keywords, as the name suggests, are related to your target keyword. They aren’t your core keyword, but you target them secondarily on your pages.

For example, let’s say your target keyword is something like “Italian restaurant.” Some related keywords you can also target could be “local Italian restaurant,” “Italian restaurant near me,” and “Italian restaurant in Philadelphia, PA.”

It’s important to group your keywords into target and related keywords to ensure you don’t create duplicate content. This strategy also helps you create content that will appear in multiple relevant search results, maximizing your online visibility.

Take a look at your keyword list to determine which words and phrases are target keywords and which are related keywords. You should also brainstorm and research any target and related keywords that are missing from your list.

10. Finalize your keyword list

Now that you’ve analyzed and brainstormed target and related keywords, it’s time to finalize your keyword list.

Take one last look through your list to ensure that the keywords are a good fit for your company in terms of search intent, search volume, and keyword difficulty.

Once you’ve finalized your list, all that’s left is to start targeting your keywords by creating valuable, helpful, and optimized content and watch your rankings and traffic soar.

Streamline keyword research with the SEO.com app

Make keyword research time- and cost-effective with the free SEO.com app. Start discovering keyword opportunities, tracking keyword rankings, and more by trying it for free today !

Table of Contents

• What Are SEO Keywords?
• What is Keyword Research for SEO?
• Why is SEO Keyword Research Important?
• How to Do Keyword Research for SEO

Cut Your SEO Time in Half

Track rankings, analyze competitors, and audit your content faster with SEO.com.

Related Resources

• SEO Title Tags: What Are They? [+ 5 Tips to Optimize Yours]
• Should You Target Misspelled Keywords in SEO?
• Should You Target Zero-Volume Keywords? (And How to Find Them)
• The Basics of Registered Trademarks & Symbols in Title Tags
• What Are Internal Links? A Guide to Internal Linking Basics
• What is an SEO Score? Definition, Factors, and How to Improve
• What is First Link Priority? (And Does It Affect Rankings?)
• Why is Google Ignoring My Title Tag and Meta Description?
• 100+ Best SEO Keywords for Ecommerce Businesses
• 100+ Best SEO Keywords for HVAC Companies

SEO Keyword Research Guide

Learn the basics of keyword research to help customers find your site, blog, or online shop.

Google’s search algorithm uses over 200 factors to rank websites . To give your website the best chance of standing out from the crowd, it is essential to conduct thorough, high-quality keyword research. Finding the right keywords that appeal to your target audience will allow you to develop and execute a keyword strategy, shooting your pages up the search engine rankings and generating reliable organic traffic.

In this guide, we will discuss the importance of keyword research and walk you through how to systematically find the best keywords for your content and how to ensure they align with user intent. To hone in on a particular topic, feel free to jump directly to that section using any of the links below.

What are keywords?

Keywords, sometimes referred to as SEO keywords, are terms and phrases used to establish and develop online content. From the potential customer’s perspective, they are words entered into the search bar that best describe the products or services they’re looking for or the question they wish to find the answer to. For the marketer, the keywords you carefully choose to include in your content directly inform search engines about the information contained on your webpages, providing a way to rank and suggest your website.

Keywords provide a variety of insights into the minds of your audience , revealing vital information such as what they want and why they want it. Typically utilized for search engine optimization (SEO) or general marketing , incorporating the correct keywords into your content can dramatically improve the success of your business. The goal is to have a customer’s keywords match the keywords on your website.

Why is keyword research important?

The keywords on your website define what your business is about and what you sell. However, the number and quality of keywords included in your content helps search engines such as Google determine where to display your website on a particular search engine results page (SERP) . The higher you rank on the SERP, the more reach and traffic you will garner. In fact, the #1 result for each search on Google receives approximately 32% of all clicks . Even if you can’t be the top ranking website, it is still worth trying for the first few results. As the number of people searching online for products and services keeps growing, your favorable placement on the SERP will draw in more and more clicks over time. Between 2019 and 2020, the traffic for the 1,000 most visited pages increased by 22% .

Through keyword research, you can find the optimal keywords that are in demand but still niche, guessing what consumers want and providing it to them before they even realize it. Including high-quality keywords in articles, blog posts, or product descriptions can help push your website up the rankings, allowing you to attract a larger audience and beat out the competition. This organic traffic generated from the SERP can outperform even paid traffic or ads, producing leads after publishing for years to come.

Getting started with keyword research

Before you begin your keyword research journey to optimize your content , there are some keyword research fundamentals you should familiarize yourself with. First, it is crucial to understand what makes focus keywords and long-tail keywords different from regular keywords.

A focus keyword, like its name suggests, is the primary keyword you focus your strategy on. It is the main word or phrase that you purposefully include in the title, URL, meta description, and text of your website and hope search engines pick up on.

Long-tail keywords, on the other hand, contain 3 or more words. They are specific phrases that shoppers are more likely to use when they are further along in the buying cycle and have a clearer idea of what they want, bringing in more qualified traffic. When there is a lot of competition in the market, long-tail keywords become particularly valuable; they are a good way for websites to set themselves apart. Looking at the search terms “toaster” and “4 slice chrome toaster”, it is easy to imagine which will produce more precise results.

Other concepts that will help you conduct the most comprehensive and advantageous keyword include:

Keyword intent

Knowing how keyword intent plays into keyword research is an integral part of developing a keyword strategy. Because you know your business inside and out, you may not share the mindset of your target audience. Knowing the keyword intent is to put yourself in the shoes of potential consumers and truly understand the purpose of their search.

As you conduct your SEO keyword research, consider whether your content truly matches the consumer’s intent. Do they want to learn something? Are they looking for a specific company or website? Are they comparing products and almost ready to purchase? Or, are they prepared to buy now? A perfect match will compel the consumer to stay on your page for longer and help you rank higher on SERPs.

Learning your audience and figuring out why they want what they want will also help you utilize trigger phrases as a part of your long-tail keywords. Tailor your keywords with trigger phrases associated with different types of consumer intent. For example, if you are selling a product , transactional or commercial trigger phrases such as “best”, “buy”, “join”, and “compare” will help you rank for searches where people have more intent to buy.

Monthly search volume (MSV)

MSV is the average number of monthly searches for a keyword. Using keyword research websites and tools, you can look up the world-wide MSV of a keyword or even narrow it down to a specific city. While a higher MSV means more potential traffic for your website, it also implies heavier competition.

Topical authority

As search engines improve and more emphasis is placed on related terms, natural language, and quality content. You want to showcase your website’s expertise by providing in-depth, interconnected content. Consumers will want to click on your website if they consider you a trusted source of information for a certain topic. Authoritative content and a good reputation will help you rank highly on SERPs.

How to conduct keyword research

Now that you understand the importance of keyword research and have gotten acquainted with some of its most important terms and concepts, you are ready to get started. Follow these next steps to identify the keywords you should be targeting to attract the audience you want and create a foolproof keyword strategy.

1. Make a list of broad topics relevant to your topic

In this first step, you want to create a spreadsheet with general categories or “buckets” for the keywords you wish to rank for. These might correspond to product categories or anything you believe your target audience would be interested in. If you blog from time to time, you may already have some topics you cover regularly.

Keep this list short and simple, with 5 to 10 topics at most. It can be helpful to imagine yourself as a buyer looking for a product or service.

General categories for a website that sells natural and environmentally friendly products might include:

• Healthy environment
• Natural health
• Non toxic home cleaning
• Natural beauty
• Healthy cooking
• Natural pet health

2. Expand each topic with a list of phrases you think your customers use

Next, with these general categories at hand, it’s time to identify the terms and phrases your target customer might type into the search bar to locate information, products, or services.

If you already have data from website analytics software like Google Analytics or HubSpot’s Sources report, look through your organic search traffic bucket to identify keywords consumers already use to arrive at your website.

This is not meant to be a final list of keywords but an opportunity to brainstorm for data points to make your research more targeted and fruitful.

For the environmentally friendly website example above, under the category “Healthy environment”, you might list:

• Compare air purifiers
• Best water filters
• Aroma diffuser
• Essential oil diffuser
• Nontoxic paint supplies
• Hypoallergenic pillows
• Natural ways to reduce allergies
• How to improve indoor air
• How to use sage

Create a list under each general category and add it to your spreadsheet. Feel free to ask your co-workers or employees for ideas, especially those who are customer-facing.

3. Find related search terms

There are many creative ways to add to your keyword lists.

• Search a keyword phrase in Google and scroll to the bottom of the page, where you’ll see a list of related search phrases in bold.
• For a deeper dive, click on one of the related searches and check out the list Google suggests at the bottom of that second page.
• The website AnswerThePublic allows up to 3 free searches a day. It delivers a chart of phrases people are searching for related to your topic.
• You can also type your keyword phrase into Google’s Keyword Planner or one of the paid tools listed below and see what other relevant terms people use.

4. Analyze the strength of your keywords

The easiest way to accomplish this next step is with Keyword Planner or a paid keyword research or SEO tool. Ahrefs , Semrush , Wordtracker , and Ubersuggest are some of the most popular. Wordtracker and Ubersuggest both have free versions you can use to start.

Here’s what you’re looking for when you analyze your keywords.

• What is the exact search term? Make sure your keyword phrase matches the precise search term people use.
• How high is the search volume? If no one uses a keyword phrase, it won’t do you much good to structure a strategy around it. Look for the highest search volume available.
• How steep is the competition? The paid tools differentiate between competition for paid ads versus for organic search. You want a higher search volume with lower organic search competition. That’s the sweet spot.
• Check for related terms you may have missed that have high search volume and low organic search competition.

5. Determine how you rank in your industry

If you’re competing against big brand names that already take up the first page of Google for most of the terms you’ve identified, you’ll want to alter your strategy to identify less competitive long-tail keywords.

Check the SERP for your most desired search terms. If it’s filled with solid brand names that have more influence and market share than your company does (at the moment), go back and refine your list with long-tail keywords.

The one exception to this strategy is if your competitors haven’t been publishing quality content. If you know you can outdo their content in length, quality, and layout, then you may be able to outrank them even if they spend more money marketing their brand.

6. Verify search intent

When a consumer enters a search query into Google, they are on a quest for something and every question needs a matching answer.

Make sure you understand your customers’ intent by typing your keywords into the search engine. What pages already rank for that phrase and what do they offer?

If a buyer is looking for information and you instead try to sell them a product, you may get a click, but they’ll bounce quickly, which will hurt your ranking. However, if a shopper is ready to buy and you deliver a product page, they’ll happily make a purchase.

Make a note in your spreadsheet about the buyer intent for each keyword phrase, or establish a habit for you or your team to check the intent of a keyword before creating content using it.

Keyword research FAQs

How do i get good at keyword research.

Other than getting a better grasp on who your target audience is and what exactly it is that they want, if you wish to improve at keyword research, it is essential to track your results and analytics. For example, using the data on Google Analytics, you can easily discern which keywords and landing pages generate the most traffic and which ones are underperforming. With this knowledge, you can come up with a plan to correct and enhance your strategy. Mailchimp and software platforms like Semrush also offer in-depth articles , guides, and courses you can use to hone your keyword researching skills and learn about broader SEO best practices.

How can I do free keyword research?

You don’t need to spend money or have a subscription to conduct quality keyword research. There are many free tools online that can help you find the right keywords to boost your content. Google Trends, Keyword Surfer, Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool, and Moz’s Keyword Explorer are just some of the free tools readily available to help you gather vital information for marketing and SEO.

How can I maintain keyword rankings?

To maintain keyword rankings, you should always stay up to date on algorithm changes and look for ways to refresh and improve your existing content. No matter how good your content is, it needs to be nurtured to keep up with the constantly changing landscape of the search engine results page. Identifying new opportunities or trending keywords can even help your content rank higher than it did before.

Key Takeaways

Conduct keyword research to scope out trends and blind spots, understand user intent, and find the optimal keywords to build your content around. However, remember that keyword research is only the foundation of your SEO strategy. To truly stand out, ensure that every blog post, article, and product description is more valuable, readable, and complete than your competition’s. Pay attention to the layout and on-page SEO of each piece of content and make your website easy to scan and mobile-friendly.

Also keep in mind that organic SEO is a long-term process. While you may rank quickly for specific terms or phrases, most businesses gradually climb up the SERPs. Level up your SEO strategy and grow your audience with Mailchimp’s tools and expert guidance. Try our marketing CRM software to create stronger connections with your customers from day one or track your performance with our digital marketing analytics reports .

How to do SEO Keyword Research in 2024 – Step-by-Step Guide

Staying ahead of the curve is paramount for success. As we approach 2023, the importance of effective SEO keyword research has never been more significant. If you’re wondering how to do SEO keyword research, then you’ve come to the right place.

This comprehensive step-by-step guide will explore the fundamentals of conducting SEO keyword research, its importance, and how you can master it to fuel your content strategy, boost organic traffic, and outpace your competition. Let’s dive into the world of keyword research, unlocking the secrets to driving exceptional results and staying ahead in 2024.

Key Takeaways on SEO Keyword Research

• SEO keyword research is the process of identifying and analyzing specific words and phrases that users type into search engines when looking for information or products online.
• Thorough keyword research helps you understand your target audience’s language and preferences, create content that aligns with their needs and interests, enhance the visibility of your website in search engine results, and provide insights into emerging trends, potential opportunities, and gaps in the market.
• Keyword research is essential for driving relevant traffic, improving rankings, gaining competitive advantage, developing a content strategy , and making it cost-effective.
• Keyword research is needed when conducting SEO, fueling your content strategy, and making paid campaigns efficient.
• Keyword research is crucial when creating new content or updating existing content on your website or blog.
• The first step in conducting keyword research is to understand your target audience and their search intent.
• Keyword research is an ongoing process that requires regular updates and optimization.
• Incorporating keywords naturally and strategically throughout your website’s content is essential for optimizing your website for search engines and attracting more organic traffic.
• Keyword research tools can be used to analyze competition, backlinks, and related keywords.
• Refining your keyword list by removing irrelevant or low-performing keywords and focusing on high-potential ones is essential.

What is SEO Keyword Research?

SEO keyword research is the process of identifying and analyzing the specific words and phrases that users type into search engines, such as Google when looking for information or products online. These keywords are crucial in optimizing your website content to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs), attract more organic traffic, and ultimately convert visitors into customers.

Understanding the keyword phrases your target audience uses enables you to create highly relevant content that addresses their needs, questions, or pain points. By incorporating these keywords naturally and strategically throughout your website’s content, you effectively signal to search engines that your site offers valuable information related to those search queries.

In a nutshell, thorough keyword research:

• Helps you understand your target audience’s language and preferences
• Allows you to create content that aligns with their needs and interests
• Enhances the visibility of your website in search engine results
• Provides insights into emerging trends, potential opportunities, and gaps in the market

By mastering SEO keyword research, you can elevate your digital presence, outrank competitors, and drive consistent organic traffic to your website.

Is Keyword Research Important?

SEO keyword research is the foundation of a successful digital marketing strategy. It plays a critical role in helping you create content that effectively caters to your target audience and ranks well on search engine results pages. Here are some key reasons why keyword research is essential for your online success:

Drive Relevant Traffic

By identifying and targeting relevant keywords, you attract visitors who have a genuine interest in your content, products, or services. This targeted traffic results in higher engagement rates, longer dwell times, and ultimately, increased conversions.

Improve Rankings

Using the right keywords allows search engines to understand what your content is about, making it more likely to rank higher for those search terms. Higher rankings lead to greater visibility, which translates into more organic traffic.

Gain Competitive Advantage

Understanding the keywords your competitors are targeting gives you valuable insights into their strategies and potential opportunities for growth. By identifying gaps and capitalizing on them, you can gain an edge over your competition.

Develop Content Strategy

Keyword research helps you discover what topics are relevant to your audience, allowing you to plan and create content that resonates with them. This not only improves user experience but also increases the likelihood of social sharing and backlinks, further boosting your SEO efforts.

Make it Cost-Effective

Organic traffic generated through effective keyword research tends to be more cost-effective than paid advertising campaigns. By investing time and resources in SEO keyword research, you can drive sustainable long-term growth without relying solely on costly paid marketing methods.

SEO keyword research is crucial for understanding your audience’s needs, creating valuable content, outranking competitors, and driving organic traffic to your website. Ignoring this vital aspect of digital marketing can severely hinder your online success.

When do you need keyword research?

Keyword research is a versatile tool that serves various purposes in your digital marketing efforts. Here are three key scenarios when you need to conduct keyword research:

1: Keyword Research For SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website’s visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs). Keyword research is integral to SEO, as it helps you identify the search terms your target audience uses to find content, products, or services similar to yours. By incorporating these keywords into your website content, you increase the likelihood of ranking higher on SERPs, driving more organic traffic, and ultimately converting visitors into customers.

2: Keyword research fuels your content strategy

Creating relevant, engaging, and high-quality content is essential for attracting and retaining visitors. Keyword research provides insights into the topics and questions that interest your audience, helping you plan and develop content that addresses their needs and preferences. By focusing on keywords with high search volume and low competition, you can create content that stands out in a crowded online space, generates organic traffic, and fosters user engagement.

3: Keyword research makes paid campaigns efficient

Paid advertising campaigns, such as Google Ads or social media ads, require effective keyword targeting to ensure your ads reach the right audience. Keyword research helps you identify the search terms your potential customers use, allowing you to create targeted ad campaigns that maximize return on investment (ROI). Additionally, understanding the cost per click (CPC) for specific keywords enables you to allocate your budget effectively and optimize your campaigns for better results.

Whether you’re optimizing your website for search engines, planning a content strategy, or running paid ad campaigns, keyword research is an indispensable tool that helps you make informed decisions and drive success in your digital marketing efforts.

4: Keyword research for writing new content and refreshing content

Keyword research is essential when you are creating new content or updating existing content on your website or blog. It is vital when you are planning to refresh your content or re-optimize it to stay relevant. Regularly updating your keyword strategy ensures that your content continues to cater to the evolving needs of your audience, while also adhering to the latest search engine algorithms and ranking factors.

Keyword Research Basics

Before we jump into how to do SEO keyword research, it’s crucial to understand the fundamental concepts and keyword metrics that influence your strategy. Here are six essential elements to consider during your keyword research process:

Average Monthly Search Volume

Monthly search volume (MSV) refers to the average number of times a specific keyword is searched for in a month. A high MSV indicates that a keyword is popular and has the potential to drive more traffic to your website. However, high search volume keywords often come with increased competition. Balancing high search volume keywords with less competitive terms can be an effective approach.

User Intent

User intent , also known as search intent, is the primary goal a user has when typing a query into a search engine. It’s essential to understand and align your content with user intent to increase engagement and conversions. User search intent can usually be categorized into four types: informational, navigational, transactional, and commercial investigation.

Relevancy refers to how closely a keyword aligns with your content, products, or services. Targeting highly relevant keywords ensures that you attract the right audience and provide them with valuable information that meets their needs or solves their problems.

Authority measures the credibility and trustworthiness of your website in the eyes of search engines. By targeting keywords within your niche and creating high-quality content, you can build authority over time. Websites with higher authority tend to rank higher on SERPs.

Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are highly specific phrases consisting of three or more words. These keywords often have lower search volume but tend to be less competitive and have higher conversion rates due to their specificity. Incorporating long-tail keywords into your strategy can help you reach a more targeted audience.

Types of Search Query

Search queries can be classified into three main types based on their structure and specificity:

• Head terms: Short, broad keywords with high search volumes and competition (e.g., “shoes”).
• Body terms: Medium-length phrases with moderate search volumes and competition (e.g., “women’s running shoes”).
• Long-tail terms: Longer, more specific keywords and phrases with lower search volumes but higher conversion rates (e.g., “best women’s running shoes for flat feet”).

Understanding these keyword research basics will equip you with the knowledge and keyword tools necessary to conduct effective keyword research and optimize your website for search engines. By focusing on monthly search volume, user intent, relevancy, authority, long-tail keywords, and types of search queries, you can create a solid foundation for your SEO strategy and drive growth for your business.

How To Do SEO Keyword Research [Experts Insights]

Conducting keyword research involves a systematic approach that helps you discover, analyze, and choose the best keywords for your website. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do keyword research:

Step 1: How to Find Keyword Ideas

Embarking on the journey of keyword research begins with uncovering a treasure trove of potential keyword ideas that resonate with your target audience. By tapping into various sources and leveraging diverse techniques, you can generate a comprehensive list of keywords that lay the foundation for a robust SEO strategy. In this section, we’ll explore four effective methods for generating keyword ideas.

Brainstorming

Start with the seed keyword . Brainstorm a potential keyword list based on your niche, products, services, or target audience. Consider the common terms, phrases, or questions your audience might use when searching for information related to your business.

Brenton Thomas , CEO, Twibi

One efficient method to choose the right keywords for your content is to start by brainstorming a list of potential keywords that apply to your topic. You can then use a keyword research tool, such as Google AdWords’ Keyword Planner or SEMrush, to identify the search volume and competition level of each keyword on your list. 

Select keywords that are both relevant to your content and have a good search volume, but not too high competition. It is important to keep in mind that the keywords you choose should match the intent behind the search queries that your target audience is using. 

Finally, ensure you add long-tail keywords to your list. These are phrases or words that are specific to your niche or area that can help you rank higher in search engines while keeping competition low. A good mix of both long-tail and short-tail keywords will help you optimize your content for better search engine ranking.

Competitor Analysis

Analyze the websites of your competitors and identify their target keywords. This can provide valuable insights into their strategies and help you discover potential keyword opportunities you may have overlooked.

Watch this video to find out how to do keyword research on steroids by analyzing top-performing content.

Remember, competitor analysis is not about copying their tactics, but rather leveraging insights to inform and refine your keyword research strategy for sustainable growth.

Gosia Hytry , Head of Content, Spaceli f t

The most efficient method for choosing the right keywords for content is to conduct competitor keyword research. It involves analyzing the keywords used by your competitors in their content and understanding their level of success with those keywords. 

By examining what works well for them, you can identify new opportunities and optimize your content. Additionally, competitor keyword research can help you gain insight into which topics and keywords resonate with their target audience, allowing you to craft content that appeals to the same demographic.

Discover your content gap

Mashiat Maswood , SEO Strategist, Verb Interactive

Running a keyword gap analysis is the most efficient strategy for discovering keywords for your content. Usually, you would take your competitor site’s top 20 ranking keywords and then run an analysis for all three competitor sites along with your own, which will help you discover the gap. For the keyword gap analysis, you must look for non-branded keywords from your top three competitors. In doing so, you can easily find the most relevant keywords for your content. 

Apart from this method, you can also use your primary keyword to discover the top three organic results. Once you’ve found them, run them in Ahref’s Site Explorer to find the high-search volume keywords. This enables you to combine the relevant keywords and create the best content.

Google Suggestions

Utilize Google’s autocomplete feature by typing in your seed keywords and observing the suggested queries. This can give you an idea of popular search terms related to your niche. Additionally, pay attention to the “ People also ask ” and “ Related searche s” sections on Google SERPs for more keyword ideas.

By incorporating long-tail keywords derived from Google Suggestions and addressing common user questions, you can enhance your content’s value. Keep in mind that search trends evolve over time, so it’s essential to stay updated by regularly revisiting Google Suggestions and adapting your keyword strategy accordingly.

Use Keyword Research Tools

Leverage various keyword research tools, such as SEOwind , Google Keyword Planner , Ubersuggest, Ahrefs , Google Search Console (GSC), or SEMrush , to generate a list of relevant keywords based on search volume, competition, and other metrics. Those tools can provide you with new keyword ideas.

In this video, you can find out how to find attractive keywords using GSC.

Pay Attention to Conversations Offline

Gresham Harkless Jr. , Founder, Blue16 Media

One of the most effective, often underutilized, approaches to finding the correct keywords or phrases is to have offline conversations. 

I think that paying attention to questions, phrases, or even sentences that potential clients are using provides a great foundation for researching keywords and opportunities that may not be apparent from the data.

Step 2: How to Analyze Keywords

Once you’ve compiled an extensive list of potential keyword ideas, the next crucial step is to analyze and evaluate them based on various factors that influence their effectiveness. This process allows you to narrow down your list to the most relevant, high-performing keywords that align with your goals and enhance your digital marketing efforts. In this section, we’ll explore three essential aspects of keyword analysis—search volume, search intent, and topic clusters —that will help you make informed decisions and develop a winning keyword strategy.

Search Volume

Examine the monthly search volume (MSV) of your identified keywords to gauge their popularity. Aim for a mix of high and low search volume keywords to balance competition and potential traffic.

Search Intent

Determine the user intent behind each keyword by analyzing the top-ranking pages for that query. Ensure that your content aligns with the user intent to increase engagement and conversions.

Vicki Mace , Digital Consultant, Insight Digital Copy

Validate Keywords by Checking Search Intent

Brainstorm to create a list of keywords based on the topics you want to write about. Put them into Google and see what types of content rank for those keywords. This information will help you decide if those keywords align with the right search intent.

Once you have decided on your keyword(s), look up their search volume, competition, and how they are trending. Use this information to prioritize or find the best keywords for your content.

Optional: Brainstorm synonyms of those words and check what types of content rank for those terms in Google. Where relevant, use these words in your content as well.

Topic Clusters

Organize your keywords into topic clusters – groups of closely related keywords that revolve around a central theme. This approach helps create comprehensive content that covers various aspects of a topic while improving your site’s overall SEO structure.

Joe Cowman , Head of SEO, FATJOE

Conduct a Full SERP Analysis

Search volume, keyword difficulty, competitive density, and cost-per-click are all great indicators for helping you compile a list of potential targets, but they should all be taken with a pinch of salt as they will always vary across different tools. The most important part of research is the intent behind the searcher’s query, and no metric can accurately provide this. 

SEMRush rolled out a search intent metric not so long ago, but in my experience, this is a little inaccurate, especially for low-volume queries, and only tells half the story.

Once you’ve got a list of relevant keywords suited to ‌your project, refine the targets further by analyzing the results for each keyword—there are content briefing tools that can help automate this process. Consider the quality of the competing content, the authority of the brands publishing it, and the relevance to your expertise.

Step 3: How to Choose Organic Keywords

Having analyzed and evaluated your list of potential keywords, the final step is to select the most suitable organic keywords that will drive your SEO strategy forward. The right keywords can propel your website to the top of search engine results pages, attract targeted traffic, and bolster your online presence.

Keyword Difficulty

Keyword difficulty is a metric that estimates how challenging it will be to rank for a specific term. Select a blend of low, medium, and high-difficulty keywords to optimize your chances of ranking well across different search queries.

Connect keywords to Your Objectives and Goals

Align your chosen keywords with your website’s objectives and goals. Prioritize keywords that are most likely to drive conversions, build brand awareness, or achieve other marketing objectives.

By following this step-by-step guide, you can conduct effective keyword research. This way empowers your digital marketing strategy, boosts organic traffic, and propels your website toward online success.

How to do AI-assisted keyword research?

If you’re doing AI-assisted keyword research, vheck whether you’re making these common mistakes!

Here’s the Misstep: Many simply ask AI platforms for keywords and take what’s given without a second thought.

• Rely solely on AI instead of SEO tools
• Ignore keyword quality 
• Overlook SEO metrics 
• Stuff keywords
• Use SEO tools powered by AI
• Use AI to understand search intent
• Use AI to organize existing research
• Ask AI to cluster your keywords – but feed it with data 
• Use AI to expand keyword ideas but double-check them.

Swipe through the carousel below to learn more

Prioritize Low Hanging Fruit

In the context of SEO keyword research, the term “low-hanging fruit” refers to opportunities that are easy to seize and have the potential to deliver quick results. These are often keywords with relatively low competition and moderate-to-high search volume. Prioritizing low-hanging fruit can provide an immediate boost to your website’s traffic and conversions while requiring minimal effort. Here are some tips on how to identify and capitalize on these opportunities:

Identify Keywords with High Potential

Use keyword research tools to find terms with a favorable balance between search volume and competition. Look for keywords with moderate search volume and low difficulty scores, as they have a higher likelihood of ranking well on SERPs.

Analyze Competitor Gaps

Study your competitors’ websites and discover keywords they may have overlooked or not targeted effectively. Exploit these gaps by creating high-quality content around these keywords and capturing traffic that your competitors are missing.

Optimize Existing Content

Review your current website content and identify pages that rank on the second or third page of SERPs for specific keywords. Optimize content by improving on-page SEO factors such as title tags, meta descriptions , header tags, and keyword density. Enhancing existing content can lead to significant ranking improvements, driving more organic traffic to your website.

Focus on Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are highly specific phrases that generally have lower search volume but higher conversion rates due to their specificity. Targeting long-tail keywords can help you reach a more targeted audience with minimal competition, resulting in faster ranking improvements.

By prioritizing low-hanging fruit in your keyword research strategy, you can quickly improve your website’s visibility on search engines, drive more organic traffic, and achieve tangible results with minimal effort. As you continue to invest in long-term SEO strategies , don’t forget to seize these easy wins along the way.

FAQs about How to Do SEO Keyword Research

Keyword research is a critical aspect of any digital marketing strategy . Here are some frequently asked questions to further enhance your understanding of SEO keyword research:

How do I know what keywords to target for my website?

To identify the best keywords for your website, follow these steps:

• Brainstorm a list of potential keywords based on your niche, products, or services.
• Analyze your competitor’s websites to discover the keywords they’re targeting.
• Use keyword research tools to generate relevant keyword ideas and gather data on search volume, competition, and keyword intent.
• Organize your keywords into topic clusters.
• Select a mix of high, medium, and low-difficulty keywords that align with your website’s objectives and goals.

How does keyword research relate to SEO?

Keyword research is an essential component of search engine optimization (SEO). It helps you identify the terms and phrases users type into search engines when looking for information related to your business. By incorporating these keywords into your website content, you signal to search engines that your site offers valuable information related to those queries. This increases the likelihood of ranking higher on search engine results pages (SERPs), driving more organic traffic and conversions.

How do I do SEO keyword research for free? Keyword research tool

Several free keyword research tools can help you conduct keyword research without breaking the bank. Some popular options include:

• Google’s Keyword Planner : A free tool within Google Ads that provides keyword ideas, search volume data, and competition metrics.
• Ubersuggest : A freemium tool that generates keyword suggestions, offers search volume data, and estimates keyword difficulty.
• Google Trends : This allows you to analyze the popularity of search terms over time and identify emerging trends.
• Google SERP features: Utilize Google’s autocomplete suggestions, “People also ask” section, and “Related searches” to find additional keyword ideas.
• Google Search Console – it’s a free website analytics software. GSC offers valuable insights into the keywords that already drive organic traffic to your website, revealing their search volumes, click-through rates, and average positions on SERPs. These insights can help you identify high-performing keywords, uncover new opportunities, and refine your SEO keyword research strategy to maximize visibility and user engagement.

What’s the best method of keyword research?

The best method of keyword research involves a combination of various techniques, including brainstorming, competitor analysis, using keyword research tools, and analyzing user intent. By following a systematic approach that covers multiple aspects of keyword discovery and analysis, you can develop an effective keyword strategy tailored to your business goals and objectives. Remember that no single method is universally superior; the key is to adapt and refine your approach based on your unique needs and circumstances.

Keyword research and search engine optimization (SEO) share a strong, symbiotic relationship. As the backbone of any successful SEO strategy, keyword research helps you identify and understand the terms and phrases users type into search engines when seeking information related to your niche, products, or services. By incorporating these keywords into your website content in a natural and strategic manner, you communicate to search engines that your site offers valuable, relevant information that addresses user queries.

Here are some ways in which keyword research influences SEO:

Improved Rankings

Optimizing your content with relevant keywords increases the likelihood that search engines will rank your website higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). Higher rankings lead to greater visibility, which ultimately translates into increased organic traffic .

User Experience

Understanding the keywords your target audience uses enables you to create content that caters to their needs and preferences. By aligning your content with user intent, you enhance the overall user experience on your website, encouraging visitors to stay longer and engage more with your content.

Site Structure and Internal Linking

Keyword research helps you organize your content into topic clusters or groups of closely related keywords. This approach not only simplifies content creation but also improves your site’s internal linking structure, making it easier for both users and search engine crawlers to navigate your site.

Content Strategy

Identifying relevant keywords allows you to plan and develop content that resonates with your target audience. This not only improves user engagement but also increases the likelihood of social sharing and backlinks, further strengthening your SEO efforts.

Keyword research plays a pivotal role in SEO by helping you understand user behavior, create valuable content, improve website visibility, and drive organic traffic. Ignoring keyword research can significantly hinder the effectiveness of your SEO strategy and limit your online success.

Kate Kandefer

Entrepreneur passionate about scaling SaaS companies on a global B2B stage. My expertise in AI, SEO, and Content Marketing is my toolkit for driving tangible results. I'm a hands-on executor guided by results, deeply passionate about marketing, and skilled at aligning business objectives with people's needs and motivations. With a pragmatic mindset. My approach is all about clarity, efficiency, and open dialogue.

Table of Contents

• 1 Key Takeaways on SEO Keyword Research
• 2 What is SEO Keyword Research?
• 3 Is Keyword Research Important?
• 4 When do you need keyword research?
• 5 Keyword Research Basics
• 6 How To Do SEO Keyword Research [Experts Insights]
• 7 How to do AI-assisted keyword research?
• 8 Prioritize Low Hanging Fruit
• 9 FAQs about How to Do SEO Keyword Research

Related Posts

• 25+ Content Creation Best Practices: Content 2024 Guide

• Master SEO-Based Content: Top Strategies!

How to write blogs that rank on Google in 2024

• #100Posts30DaysChallenge
• Affiliate program
• Privacy Policy
• Terms and Conditions

Latest Posts

• How to boost website traffic with AI – achieve 10 times growth
• How Content Gap Analysis Boosts SEO
• SEOwind vs MarketMuse vs Frase
• SEOwind vs Marketmuse vs Clearscope
• SEOwind vs Clearscope vs Frase
• SEOwind vs Surfer SEO vs Clearscope
• SEOwind vs Surfer SEO vs Frase
• SEOwind vs Jasper AI vs Frase
• SEOwind vs Rytr vs Jasper
• SEOwind vs Writesonic vs Rytr
• SEOwind vs Writesonic vs Copy.ai

© 2024 SEOwind.

• AI Article Writer
• Content Brief Generator
• Internal Links Plugin
• CyborgMethod Bootcamp
• Human vs AI Experiment

Privacy Overview

Send us an email

How to do keyword research for SEO and beyond

Written by by Jacqueline Zote

Published on  September 17, 2019

Reading time  8 minutes

It’s common knowledge that keywords help you find a place in search engine results. But improving search engine visibility isn’t their only purpose. Keywords can also help you brainstorm intriguing content ideas, understand what your audience needs, optimize your social posts and more.

With that said, not every keyword is going to make sense for your business, and not every query related to your niche is actually going to turn out to be a highly searched keyword. This makes it crucial to learn how to do keyword research so you can narrow down on the most relevant and profitable ones.

That’s exactly what this post is going to help you with.

You’ll learn how to identify how keywords on a website are used and conduct keyword research. You’ll also discover some excellent keyword research tips and tools.

What are keywords and why are they important?

But first, what are keywords anyway?

Simply put, keywords or key phrases are the terms that people use to conduct online searches and find the information they need.

For example, someone needs help baking a cake so they search on Google for “cake baking tips”. Here, the search phrase they are using is the keyword phrase.

Keywords also help to define what your content is all about. And using them strategically can help you turn up in the right search results, making sure you attract a relevant audience.

Keywords are most commonly used in SEO, where website owners optimize their content using a specific target keyword. Each webpage may have a different target keyword based on the topic and content of the page.

You would typically use keywords in your website copy, meta tags, product descriptions, blog posts , social posts, image alt text and more. This improves your chances of getting discovered in search results, as it helps search engine crawlers to understand the content of your webpages.

See for instance how the top search results for “London travel guide” all use the target keyword or its variation in the titles and meta descriptions.

The uses and benefits of keyword research

While keyword research is a necessary part of every SEO strategy, it has many other uses besides SEO. Here are some of the major reasons why you should learn how to do keyword research.

1: It helps you understand your audience

Keyword research is essentially a process of discovering the search terms that your audience is using. So by identifying what terms they are searching for, you can understand who your audience is , what they need and what they are looking for in a product or service.

These insights will help you narrow down on your target audience and group them into different personas based on what drives them. You should also be able to understand how to meet their needs more effectively.

2: It can strengthen your content strategy

Keyword research also helps you identify what topics people are most interested in within your industry. This can help you come up with content ideas that will engage them and cater to their needs, thus strengthening your content strategy .

For example, the top search results for “social media marketing” can give you an idea of what topics are performing well in the industry. While we’ll dig more into how to use Google search results for research later, you can see that the suggested related questions also help you understand what kind of information most people seek. Combining these insights can help you brainstorm content ideas that would appeal to your audience.

3: It helps you measure brand sentiment

If you conduct keyword research using branded keywords, you’ll discover some of the most common search terms people are using to find information about your brand.

In addition, you can use branded keywords to conduct social media searches and find out what people are saying about your brand. These search results can give you a general idea about people’s sentiment toward your brand .

4: It helps you monitor your competitors

Just as you conduct branded keyword research for your brand, you can also conduct branded keyword research on your competitors . This is an excellent way to understand what keywords they are ranking for, what people are saying about them and more. Keyword research can help you get granular about exactly where they stand and how you compare against them.

How to do keyword research

Now that you have an idea of how important keywords can be, let’s find out how to do keyword research not just for SEO but also for social media posts, blogs and more.

While there will be slight variations in how to do keyword research for various marketing strategies and channels, the key steps remain more or less the same. Let’s take a look at the basic steps to conduct keyword research:

1: Make a list of relevant topics

The process starts with a rough list of topics that are relevant to your business. What are the first things that come to mind when you think about your business or industry?

For instance, if you’re a digital marketer, your topics will include things like:

• Email marketing
• Social media marketing
• Inbound marketing

Keep in mind that these are not keywords but broad topics that will help you narrow down on more specific keywords later on.

2: Get keyword suggestions from Google

Now build a more robust keyword list by typing those topics into Google and listing down the suggestions.

3: Discover related searches

You can further find more keywords to add to this list under the “searches related to…” section at the bottom of the page. This section shows you popular keywords that are closely related to the search term you’re using.

This is one of the keyword research tips that you can use to come up with engaging content ideas as it helps you discover what other relevant terms people are searching for.

4: Filter your keyword list

While you have some idea that these keywords are popular and relevant, you have no quantitative data proving that. So now you need to narrow down your list to find keywords that are actually going to deliver results .

This step involves using keyword research tools like the Google Keyword Planner . You will need an AdWords account to use this tool.

Enter the keywords from your list and the tool will provide you with search volumes and traffic estimates for each of them. You’ll be able to get an estimate of how many clicks and impressions you can get for each search term.

Under “Keyword Ideas” you can also view the number of average monthly searches for each keyword along with its competition level. This is particularly important for organic SEO efforts since it lets you know how large to total potential audience for a keyword might be.

Putting this data all together, you should ideally target keywords with high average monthly searches, impressions and clicks along with medium to low competition. This is where the typical keyword research process for SEO would end.

When conducting keyword research for PPC campaigns, you will need to consider the sections such as cost and CPC. You might notice that keywords with a high amount of clicks and impressions also cost a lot more. The goal is to choose keywords within your advertising budget that can still get you plenty of clicks. Sometimes, this means targeting a more specific term or niche audience that could draw more motivated converting customers compared to a term that may have high volume but be more broad or general.

4 useful keyword research tools

Aside from the Keyword Planner tool from Google, there are a ton of other keyword research tools available in the market. Some of these tools are much easier to use, while others can provide more comprehensive data.

Some of these keyword research tools can also help you find keywords for other aspects of your marketing campaign like social media marketing and content marketing. Here are some excellent options:

1: Keywordtool.io – All-round keyword research

Keywordtool.io is one of the best alternatives to the Google Keyword Planner. It comes with robust search features that neatly sort out your searches according to channel. This makes it the perfect all-round keyword research tool–whether it’s for SEO, PPC, eCommerce optimization or social media.

The tool lets you conduct keyword research for major search platforms like Google and Bing. You can get access to useful keyword data like search volume, search trends, competition level and CPC for each keyword. Use this to conduct keyword research for your SEO and PPC campaigns.

You can also find popular Instagram and Twitter keywords and optimize your social posts for more visibility. The YouTube keyword search feature is another useful feature if you want to create video titles that will get a lot of visibility in YouTube searches.

Besides these, Keywordtool.io also comes with Amazon and eBay search features for eCommerce marketers and a Play Store search feature for app store optimization.

The Pro version of the tool even shows you the most asked questions related to your chosen keyword. This feature is extremely useful if you want to learn how to do keyword research for a blog, as it helps you come up with topic ideas and long-tail keyword ideas.

2: Moz Keyword Explore – For SEO keyword research + competitor research

This is one of the most comprehensive free keyword research tools. In addition to keyword performance insights, it also gives you keyword suggestions and helps you discover ranking keywords.

You’ll be able to see the monthly search volume, difficulty level, organic CTR and priority level for each individual keyword search. This comprehensive data is perfect to narrow down on the best target keywords for your campaigns.

The ranking keywords discovery feature also comes in handy for competitor research . Maybe you want to learn how to find keywords on a website so you can identify which keywords your competitors are using and ranking for. Just enter their URL in the explorer. And the tool will provide you with a comprehensive list of keywords that their site is ranking for.

From here, you can also see where they’re ranking for each keyword, how difficult it is to rank and how many monthly searches it gets.

3: BuzzSumo – Keyword research for blogs + social media

BuzzSumo is a leading content research tool and you can also use it for blog and social media keyword research. It may not necessarily provide you with keyword ideas, but it can provide you with some useful insights to fuel your content strategy.

Conduct a BuzzSumo search using one of the keywords from your list. This will help you discover the top-performing content topics related to that keyword. You can get an idea of how popular the topic is based on the number of links, engagements and social media shares. This should help you identify which keywords and topics to target for your blog and social media posts.

The evergreen score is another useful factor to look at if you’re learning how to do keyword research for a blog. It helps you understand how profitable the topic will be in the long run. So you’ll have a much easier time deciding whether it’s worth investing your time and effort in.

4: Sprout Social – For social media + brand listening

Sprout’s own social media listening tool can also serve as an effective keyword research tool. It lets you build listening queries so you can easily discover relevant conversations around your brand and products. Not only does this help you in your brand listening efforts, it also helps you understand trending topics that you can participate in through relevant social posts.

The Trends Report further narrows down the trending topics and hashtags relevant to your brand, competitors and industry. These will serve as excellent keywords for your social posts as they can improve your post visibility .

There you have it – some essential keyword research tips to help you get started.

As you can see, keyword research isn’t just for SEO or PPC. It can fuel various aspects of your marketing efforts such as content marketing, social media and more. Make the most of these basic keyword research tips and keyword research tools to build more effective marketing campaigns.

Do you have a favorite keyword research tip or a go-to tool to find keywords? Let us know in the comments.

[Toolkit] Communications Toolkit to Safeguard Your Brand

Find Your Next Social Media Management Tool With This Scorecard

How to ladder up your brand’s social media maturity

3 Social media executives share what it takes to build a long-term career in social

• Marketing Disciplines
• Team Collaboration

How to build a marketing tech stack that scales your business

• Customer Experience

Brand trust: What it is and why it matters

• Leveling Up

The 43 best marketing resources we recommend in 2024

Executing a successful demand generation strategy [with examples]

• Now on slide

Build and grow stronger relationships on social

Sprout Social helps you understand and reach your audience, engage your community and measure performance with the only all-in-one social media management platform built for connection.

How To Do Keyword Research That Drives Traffic To Your Site

Creating a new web page? Check out our 6 tips for beginners on how to do effective keyword research and drive more organic traffic to your site.

Brian Kessell

Share article.

With over 8.5 billion searches performed on Google globally each and every day, your pool of potential customers is massive. It’s no surprise, then, that you need to make sure your content ranks high in Google and reaches the people most likely to take an action with your brand.  

That’s where doing keyword research, and choosing the right SEO keyword, comes in. It’s an art and a science. As a search engine optimization (SEO) marketing manager at Salesforce, I know what works, and how to get eyeballs on your content. 

Let’s say you’ve been tasked with writing a page around “customer service.” Since it’s a broad and often complex topic, you might think that a long-form guide would be the best type of content.

But how do you know for sure? Are you certain there are enough potential customers searching for this term? Is the audience large enough to justify creating the page? Are searchers even looking for long form content on this topic? Are they using the same terms to search for content? Do you know what kind of content Google is ranking for your target term? 

When verifying keyword search volume, look for terms with an average monthly search volume of 100 searches or greater.

Proper keyword research can answer these questions and help you create content that’s user-focused and SEO optimized. Follow these six steps to develop better content, and get better search results.  

1. Verify search volume

Start by entering your topic or keyword idea into a SEO research tool such as BrightEdge or SEMRush . These paid tools show the average monthly search volume for your keywords. When verifying keyword search volume, look for terms with an average monthly search volume of 100 searches or greater. However, keep in mind that terms with the highest monthly search volume may not be the most relevant or focused terms to target. You should research and explore all options to find the term with the highest volume and most relevant search results. 

2. Research related terms

Always ensure that the term you are targeting is the same your audience is using to find content. SEO keyword research tools can help you identify similar or semantically related terms to see if there is greater search volume with another keyword variant. For example, “customer service best practices” returns 590 monthly searches versus “service best practices” with only 30.

Additionally, using related terms throughout the copy in addition to your target keyword can help your SEO rank by preventing keyword spamming or stuffing. Remember to write naturally, so Google does not penalize your SEO efforts by hurting your ability to rank well on the first page. Don’t feel that you need to cram the keyword into every other sentence. Google itself warns against it with this example: “We sell custom cigar humidors. Our custom cigar humidors are handmade. If you’re thinking of buying a customer cigar humidor, please contact…” You get the idea. Not only is it open to penalization by Google — and less likely to be discovered by searchers —  it’s a bad experience for the reader.

3. Explore long-tail keywords

Longer, more specific keywords often indicate searchers who are closer to taking an action. The specificity of the search lets you know they have a specific need or problem. While these terms may have lower search volume than their broader counterparts, they will often lead to more qualified conversions. For example: “customer service” vs. “customer service best practices” or “what is customer service?”

Additionally, some of these longer tail keywords may help land you in one of the coveted “ People also ask ” answer boxes in Google, especially if used in the page title or a sub-heading. 

Google search “People also ask” example:

4. Beyond keyword research: Identify search intent

So you’ve found a high volume, relevant keyword. But do you know what types of content Google is presenting on the first page? Based on your keyword research, what types of content are searchers looking for? Do they want guidance, how-to articles, a list of nearby shops, or something else completely? To quickly check, we recommend opening an incognito browser window and searching your keyword to see what Google reveals on the first page. You’ll want to open an incognito or private browsing window so your previous searches and browser cookies don’t influence the presented search results. Based on what’s ranking, will your page topic address the same first page search intent? In the example below, you’ll see that most of the top ranking first page content around the term “customer service best practices” is in listicle format (i.e. “X Best Practices for Customer Service…”). Given these results, it’s best to target your topic in a similar way to increase your chances of ranking on page one. 

Search intent example :

5. Study your competition

Are any of your competitors ranking on the first page? If so, what terms are they targeting? What types of content are they creating? How long is their content? What makes them successful? Identifying this will help inform the content strategy for your page, and give you an opportunity to expand on their success.

6. Don’t cannibalize yourself

Always ensure that there are no existing web pages on your own site ranking for or targeted to your selected SEO keyword. Check with your internal SEO team to confirm, or if that’s not an option, perform a site search on Google by typing site:[your website domain] [search query/keyword] . This will bring up a list of pages currently on your site with the target keyword in the copy. If you find a page targeting the same term, you should determine if that page should be optimized further or removed. Before removing any pages, work with your analytics or marketing team to identify the business impact of removing a page. This could consist of traffic loss or a drop in form completes and leads. If you must remove an existing page, always use a 301 redirect to automatically send the searcher to the newly created page. These redirects pass more of the SEO page equity from the page being redirected to the new page. 

If you follow these tips you’ll be on your way to finding the right keywords for SEO and creating targeted, meaningful content which searchers are looking for and need.

Want a deeper dive on keyword research? Check out our SEO Best Practices blog for more guidance on how to write and optimize SEO content for your site.

Just For You

Sales Prospecting: How to Find the Right-Fit Customers You’re Looking For

AI For Small Business is Here — Get Ready With These Tips 

Explore related content by topic

• Lead Generation
• Digital Marketing
• Digital Advertising

Brian Kessell is a search engine optimization marketing manager at Salesforce. He started his career in public relations, transitioning into digital marketing and SEO in 2016. Outside of work he enjoys traveling, photography, and is a self proclaimed “car guy”.

Get the latest articles in your inbox.

How to Write a Business Proposal for Small Businesses

Lead Generation: How To Turn Interest Into a Sale

How Demand Generation Marketing Helps You Win Over Customers

10 Secrets To a Successful Sales Meeting Agenda

What Is a Sales Pipeline and How Do You Build One? A Complete Guide

Level Up as a Salesforce Partner

Crafting Great Personas Can Inspire Potential Customers to Say ‘Yes’

How To Build Lead Generation Tactics That Work

360 Highlights

Yes, I would like to receive the Salesforce 360 Highlights newsletter as well as marketing emails regarding Salesforce products, services, and events. I can unsubscribe at any time.

By registering, you confirm that you agree to the processing of your personal data by Salesforce as described in the Privacy Statement .

Thanks, you're subscribed!

New to Salesforce?

• What is Salesforce?
• Best CRM software
• Explore all products
• What is cloud computing
• Customer success
• Product pricing

About Salesforce

• Salesforce.org
• Sustainability

Popular Links

• Salesforce Mobile
• AppExchange
• CRM software
• Salesforce LIVE
• Salesforce for startups
• América Latina (Español)
• Brasil (Português)
• Canada (English)
• Canada (Français)
• United States (English)

Europe, Middle East, and Africa

• España (Español)
• Deutschland (Deutsch)
• France (Français)
• Italia (Italiano)
• Nederland (Nederlands)
• Sverige (Svenska)
• United Kingdom (English)
• All other countries (English)

Asia Pacific

• Australia (English)
• India (English)
• Malaysia (English)
• ประเทศไทย (ไทย)

© Copyright 2024 Salesforce, Inc. All rights reserved.  Various trademarks held by their respective owners. Salesforce, Inc. Salesforce Tower, 415 Mission Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105, United States

• Do Not Sell My Personal Info
•  ⋅ 
• On-Page SEO

How To Find Competitors’ Keywords: Tips & Tools

Discover how to find competitor keywords & gain a competitive edge in SEO. Outperform your competitors in SERPs with effective targeting.

This post was sponsored by SE Ranking. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own.

Wondering why your competitors rank higher than you?

The secret to your competitors’ SEO success might be as simple as targeting the appropriate keywords .

Since these keywords are successful for your competitors, there’s a good chance they could be valuable for you as well.

In this article, we’ll explore the most effective yet simple ways to find competitors’ keywords so that you can guide your own SEO strategy and potentially outperform your competitors in SERPs.

Benefits Of Competitor Keyword Analysis

Competitor keywords are the search terms your competitors target within their content to rank high in SERPs, either organically or through paid ads.

Collecting search terms that your competitors rely on can help you:

1. Identify & Close Keyword Gaps.

The list of high-ranking keywords driving traffic to your competitors may include valuable search terms you’re currently missing out on.

To close these keyword gaps, you can either optimize your existing content with these keywords or use them as inspiration for creating new content with high traffic potential.

2. Adapt To Market Trends & Customer Needs.

You may notice a shift in the keywords your competitors optimize content for. This could be a sign that market trends or customer expectations are changing.

Keep track of these keywords to jump on emerging trends and align your content strategy accordingly.

3. Enhance Visibility & Rankings.

Analyzing your competitors’ high-ranking keywords and pages can help you identify their winning patterns (e.g., content format, user intent focus, update frequency, etc).

Study what works for your rivals (and why) to learn how to adapt these tactics to your website and achieve higher SERP positions.

How To Identify Your Competitors’ Keywords

There are many ways to find keywords used by competitors within their content. Let’s weigh the pros and cons of the most popular options.

Use SE Ranking

SE Ranking is a complete toolkit that delivers unique data insights. These insights help SEO pros build and maintain successful SEO campaigns.

Here’s the list of pros that the platform offers for agency and in-house SEO professionals:

• Huge databases. SE Ranking has one of the web’s largest keyword databases. It features over 5 billion keywords across 188 regions. Also, the number of keywords in their database is constantly growing, with a 30% increase in 2024 compared to the previous year.
• Reliable data. SE Ranking collects keyword data, analyzes it, and computes core SEO metrics directly from its proprietary algorithm. The platform also relies on AI-powered traffic estimations that have up to a 100% match with GSC data.

Thanks to SE Ranking’s recent major data quality update , the platform boasts even fresher and more accurate information on backlinks and referring domains (both new and lost).

As a result, by considering the website’s backlink profile, authority, and SERP competitiveness, SE Ranking now makes highly accurate calculations of keyword difficulty. This makes it easy to see how likely your own website or page is to rank at the top of the SERPs for a particular query.

• Broad feature set. Beyond conducting competitive (& keyword) research, you can also use this tool to track keyword rankings, perform website audits, handle all aspects of on-page optimization, manage local SEO campaigns, optimize your content for search, and much more.
• Great value for money. The tool offers premium features with generous data limits at a fair price. This eliminates the need to choose between functionality and affordability.

Let’s now review how to use SE Ranking to discover the keywords your competitors are targeting for both organic search and paid advertising.

First, open the Competitive Research Tool and input your competitor’s domain name into the search bar. Select a region and click Analyze to initiate analysis of this website.

Depending on your goal, go either to the Organic Traffic Research or Paid Traffic Research tab on the left-hand navigation menu.

Here, you’ll be able to see data on estimated organic clicks, total number of keywords, traffic cost, and backlinks.

Upon scrolling this page down, you’ll see a table with all the keywords the website ranks for, along with data on search volume, keyword difficulty, user intent, SERP features triggered by keywords, ranking position, URLs ranking for the analyzed keyword, and more.

What’s more, the tool allows you to find keywords your competitors rank for but you don’t.

To do this, head to the Competitor Comparison tab and add up to two websites for comparison.

Within the Missing tab, you’ll be able to see existing keyword gaps.

While the platform offers many benefits, there are also some downsides to be aware of, such as:

• Higher-priced plans are required for some features. For instance, historical data on keywords is only available to Pro and Business plan users.
• Data is limited to Google only. SE Ranking’s Competitor Research Tool only provides data for Google.

Use Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is a free Google service, which you can use to find competitors’ paid keywords.

Here’s the list of benefits this tool offers in terms of competitive keyword analysis:

• Free access. Keyword Planner is completely free to use, which makes it a great option for SEO newbies and businesses with limited budgets.
• Core keyword data. The tool shows core SEO metrics like search volume, competition, and suggested bid prices for each identified keyword.
• Keyword categorization. Keyword Planner allows you to organize keywords into different groups, which may be helpful for creating targeted ad campaigns.
• Historical data. The tool has four years of historical data available.

Once you log into your  Google Ads account , navigate to the Tools section and select Keyword Planner .

Now, click on the Discover new keywords option.

Choose Start with a website option, enter your competitor’s website domain, region, and language, then choose to analyze the whole site (recommended for deeper insights) or a specific URL.

And there you have it — a table with all keywords that your analyzed website uses in its Google Ads campaigns.

Although Keyword Planner can be helpful, it’s not the most effective and data-rich tool for finding competitors’ keywords. Its main drawbacks are the following:

• No organic data. The tool offers data on paid keywords, which is mainly suitable for advertising campaigns.
• Broad search volume data. Since it’s displayed in ranges rather than exact numbers, it might be difficult to precisely assess the demand for identified keywords.
• No keyword gap feature. Using this tool, you cannot compare your and your competitors’ keywords side-by-side and, therefore, find missing keyword options.

So, if you want to access more reliable and in-depth data on competitors’ keywords, you’ll most likely need to consider other dedicated SEO tools.

SpyFu is a comprehensive SEO and PPC analysis tool created with the idea of “spying” on competitors.

Its main pros in terms of competitor keyword analysis are the following:

• Database with 10+ years of historical data. Although available only in a Professional plan, SpyFu offers long-term insights to monitor industry trends and adapt accordingly.
• Keyword gap analysis. Using this tool, you can easily compare your keywords to those of your competitors using metrics like search volume, keyword difficulty, organic clicks, etc.
• Affordability. It’s suitable for businesses on a tight budget.

To explore competitor data, simply visit their website and enter your competitor’s domain in the search bar.

You’ll be presented with valuable insights into their SEO performance, from estimated traffic to the list of their top-performing pages and keywords. Navigate to the Top Keywords section and click the View All Organic Keywords button to see the search terms they rank for.

Yet, this free version provides an overview of just the top 5 keywords for a domain along with metrics like search volume, rank change, SEO clicks, and so on. To perform a more comprehensive analysis, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

When it comes to the tool’s cons, it would be worth mentioning:

• Keyword data may be outdated. On average, SpyFu updates data on keyword rankings once a month.
• Limited number of target regions. Keyword data is available for just 14 countries.

Wrapping Up

There’s no doubt that finding competitors’ keywords is a great way to optimize your own content strategy and outperform your rivals in SERPs.

By following the step-by-step instructions described in this article, we’re sure you’ll be able to find high-value keywords you haven’t considered before.

Ready to start optimizing your website? Sign up for SE Ranking  and get the data you need to deliver great user experiences.

Image Credits

Featured Image: Image by SE Ranking. Used with permission.

SE Ranking is a powerful SEO platform for agencies and in-house teams with more than a million users worldwide. It ...

Subscribe To Our Newsletter.

Conquer your day with daily search marketing news.

Find Keyword Ideas in Seconds

Boost SEO results with powerful keyword research

SEO Strategy: How to Create an Effective Plan

Written by Brian Dean

In this post, you’re going to learn exactly how to create and implement an effective SEO strategy, step by step.

In fact, this approach shared has helped me grow my website to 362,732 organic visitors every month:

So if you’re looking to get higher Google rankings , this guide is for you.

What Is an SEO Strategy?

An SEO strategy is a plan to create, optimize, and promote content to improve its visibility in search engine results, attracting more organic traffic to a website. It involves a variety of techniques, such as keyword research , on-page optimization , technical SEO , and link building .

In other words: an SEO strategy is the process that you follow when you want to get more organic traffic.

With that, here are the steps to create an SEO strategy in 2024:

Step #1: Create a List of Keywords

Step #2: analyze google’s first page, step #3: identify your competitors, step #4: create something different or better, step #5: add a hook, step #6: optimize for on-page seo, step #7: optimize for search intent.

• Step #8: Focus on Content Design

Step #9: Build Links to Your Page

Step #10: improve and update your content.

Keyword research is usually the first step of any legit SEO strategy.

And one of the best ways to find keywords that your target customers search for?

Google Suggest.

Start typing a keyword into Google’s search field, and it will populate a list of suggestions:

These usually make great keywords for SEO because they come straight from Google .

(Which means you know that people are actually searching for them.)

Plus, longer keywords (known as “ long tail keywords ”) tend to be less competitive than “short tail” terms.

So even though long tails have relatively low search volume levels, they’re much easier to rank for.

I recommend typing a few different keywords into Google until you have a list of about 10 keywords.

If you want to check out the search volume and competition levels for those terms, you can use a keyword tool like Semrush or Ubersuggest .

If you want to dive deeper into keyword research, you can check out this video.

Once you have 10 keywords jotted down, you’re ready for step #2.

OK, so you found a handful of keywords.

Now it’s time to see who already ranks for those keywords.

To do that, just type one of the keywords that you found into Google.

Scan the top 10 results:

And jot down any patterns that you notice.

For example, the SERPs for “SEO Tools” is PACKED with lists of tools:

So if you wanted to cover that topic on your site, you’d want to note that the first page results are made up mostly of list posts.

And you’d probably want to publish a list post on your blog.

My favorite tool for SEO competitor analysis is Semrush. Their tool makes the process super easy and can save you a lot of time.

First, click on “ Domain Overview ” and type in your URL:

Then scroll down to the bottom, and you’ll find a section called “ Main Organic Competitors ”

These competitors are websites that are ranking for similar keywords and targeting similar audiences as you are.

If you click on the “ View all …” button, you’ll be able to review all your competitors as well as more insightful info.

You can look at how many common keywords you share with these domains, and the amount of traffic these sites are pulling in:

The “ Common Keywords ” section is useful as it shows you the total number of keywords you share with each site.

If you see sites with a high number of common keywords, then you can consider them your competitors.

At the end of this step, you should have identified at least 4-5 main organic competitors.

Now it’s time to create some super high-quality content.

When it comes to SEO content , you’ve got two options:

Option #1: You can create something different.

Option #2: You can create something better.

Sometimes you want to create something bigger and better than what’s out there.

(aka The Skyscraper Technique .)

But sometimes you’re better off with content that’s completely different.

Because it helps your content stand out .

For example:

Some time ago I sat down to write a piece of content optimized around: “Mobile SEO”.

And I noticed Google’s first page was littered with list posts, like: “X Ways to Mobile Optimize Your Site.”

I could have created a bigger list post like: “150 Ways to Mobile Optimize Your Site”.

But that wouldn’t make any sense.

Instead, I created something totally different.

Specifically, I published an ultimate guide to mobile optimization .

And because my content stood out, it got a ton of shares:

And most important of all, backlinks :

So, what if you want to create something that’s simply better than what’s already ranking on the first page of Google?

In this case, you want to publish content that’s 10x better than what’s out there.

A while back I noticed that most content about “SEO tools” only listed 10-20 tools.

And I knew that publishing another list of 20 tools wouldn’t work.

So I decided to create a list of 177 SEO tools .

That post now ranks in the top 3 for the keyword “SEO Tools”:

If you want to improve your search engine rankings in 2024, you need to get backlinks .

(And lots of them.)

In fact, according to a study by Stone Temple Consulting that was published on the Moz blog, links are still strongly correlated with first page Google rankings .

Which means they’re still a key Google ranking factor .

The question is: how do you do it?

Well, you need to figure out why people link to specific pieces of content in your industry.

(Also known as “The Hook”.)

Then, include that “Hook” in your content.

Let’s look at a real-life example:

A while ago I noticed more and more bloggers writing about voice search .

I noticed something else too:

When people wrote about voice search, they linked to content that featured stats and data:

So I decided to do a voice search study that was packed with stats:

To date, this single post has racked up 5.6K backlinks:

And 90%+ of these backlinks cite a specific stat from my post:

Data is just one type of “Hook” that you can use to build links to your content.

Another Hook that’s working well right now is Ultimate Guides.

When you publish an ultimate guide, your guide itself is The Hook.

I’ll explain with an example…

A few years back I published Link Building: The Definitive Guide .

It was (and still is) the most complete guide to link building out there.

Every now and again a blogger will mention “link building” in a post.

But they don’t have room to cover the entire topic.

So they link to my guide as a way for their readers to learn more:

This step is all about keyword-optimizing your content for SEO .

There’s a lot more to on-page SEO than I could cover in a single post.

So if you want to learn more about optimizing your content for SEO, this video can help.

That said, here are three core on-page SEO techniques that I recommend focusing on in 2024.

Internal Linking

Yup, internal linking still works.

But you have to do it right.

Specifically, you want to link from high-authority web pages to pages that need more authority.

For example, few years ago I published Google Search Console: The Definitive Guide .

So I found a page on my site with a ton of authority…

…and linked from that page to my new guide.

Short, Keyword-Rich URLs

Our analysis of 11.8 million Google search results found something that surprised a lot of people:

When it comes to search engine optimization, short URLs generally outperform long URLs.

That’s why I make my URLs either just my keyword…

… Or my target keyword plus one more word:

Either way works.

Semantic SEO

Finally, I optimize my content for Semantic SEO .

In other words:

I find words that are related to my target keyword.

Then, I use those terms in my content.

To do this yourself, type your target keyword into Google Images.

And Google will give you words and phrases they consider closely related to that topic:

Then, type the same keyword into a normal Google search. And scroll down to the “Searches related to…” section.

Finally, sprinkle any of the terms that you find into your content:

And you’re set.

In other words: The Skyscraper Technique 2.0 .

I’ll show you how this works with a quick example.

A few years ago I wrote a post about getting more traffic to your site .

But it never cracked the top 5 for my target keyword (“increase website traffic”).

And when I analyzed Google’s first page, I realized why:

My page didn’t satisfy the search intent for that keyword.

I’ll explain…

Most of the content ranking for “increase website traffic” listed bite-sized traffic tips.

But my post gave them a high-level process.

This wasn’t the user experience search engine visitors wanted. So I rewrote my content to match this keyword’s Search Intent.

Specifically, I turned my process into a list post:

And now that my content matched Search Intent, it ranked in the top 3 for my target keyword:

Which led to a 70.43% boost in search engine traffic compared to the old version of the post:

You can (and should) publish content with Search Intent in mind right out of the gate.

In fact, that’s what I did with this post: The Ultimate SEO Audit .

I saw that most of the content ranking for “SEO Audit” listed out non-technical steps.

So I included simple strategies that anyone could use:

And this Search Intent optimization helped my post crack the first page of Google within a month.

Step #8: Focus On Content Design

The design might be the most underrated part of content marketing.

You can have the best content ever written.

But if it looks like this…

…it’s usually not going to get much traction.

That’s why I invest a lot of my marketing budget into content design.

For example, you’ve probably seen one of my definitive guides:

These guides are designed and coded 100% from scratch using WordPress.

(Which makes them expensive to make.)

The great content design doesn’t have to break the bank.

In fact, here are 4 types of visual content that are super easy to pull off.

Graphs and Charts

These work so well that I try to include at least one chart in every post.

Because they make data easy to understand.

For example, take this stat from my mobile SEO guide.

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time picturing 27.8 billion anything.

So I had our designer create a nice chart.

As a bonus, people will sometimes use your chart in a blog post… and link back to you:

Screenshots and Pictures

You might have noticed that I use lots of screenshots in every post.

In fact, this single post has 78 screenshots:

To be clear:

I don’t use screenshots just for the sake of using screenshots.

I only use them if it helps someone implement a specific step.

For example, these screenshots make the 2 steps from this guide much easier to follow:

Screenshots only make sense when you describe something technical.

What if you’re in a non-technical niche… like fitness?

Well, pictures serve the same purpose.

For example, my friend Steve Kamb at Nerd Fitness uses pictures to show you how to do exercises the right way:

Blog Post Banners

Unlike graphs and screenshots, blog post banners serve no practical purpose.

They just look cool 🙂

Here at Backlinko, we use a banner at the top of each post:

Graphics and Visualizations

Graphics and visualizations are kind of like charts.

But instead of visualizing data, they visualize concepts.

For example, in this post I explain how all 4 versions of your site should redirect to the same URL:

This concept isn’t rocket science.

But it’s hard to picture this idea in your mind.

So our designer made a simple visual that makes this concept easy to understand.

Now it’s time to actively build links to your content.

Specifically, we’re going to tap into 3 link building strategies that are working really well right now.

Broken Link Building

Here’s where you find a broken link on someone’s site…

…and offer your content as a replacement.

For example, this is an outreach email that I sent to a blogger in the marketing niche:

(Note how specific I am. I don’t say “Please consider linking to me in a blog post”. I have a specific place on a specific page where my link makes sense.)

And because I helped the person out before asking for anything, they were happy to add my link:

Competitor Analysis

This strategy is old school.

But it still works.

First, find a site that’s ranking for a keyword you want to rank for.

For example, I’m trying to rank for the keyword “SEO Audit”.

So I grab this result from the first page…

…and look at their backlinks.

I can see that this page has links from 407 domains:

So I should be able to get at least a handful of the same links they have.

To do that, I go one by one through their backlinks.

And find pages where my link would add value.

For example, this post mentions my competitor’s content by name:

There’s no reason to link to my post there. So I moved on to the next opportunity on the list.

And I came across this post:

This time, the link to my competitor’s page is part of a big list of resources.

A list that would be even better and more complete with a link to my SEO audit post.

Evangelist Method

This strategy is less about links… and more about getting your content in front of the right people.

(Specifically: people that run blogs in your niche.)

I’ll explain how this strategy works with an example…

A while back I wanted to promote a new Skyscraper Technique case study.

So I used BuzzSumo to see who recently shared content about The Skyscraper Technique.

And emailed everyone a variation of this template:

And when they replied “sure, I’ll check it out”, I sent them a link to the post:

(Note how I don’t ask for a share. This is a Judo move that makes your outreach stand out.)

Which led to dozens of shares to my brand post:

You might have read about the time that I used The Content Relaunch to boost my organic traffic by 260.7%:

And I’m happy to tell you that this approach still works.

For example, some time ago I relaunched this list of SEO techniques .

But I didn’t just re-post the same content and call it “new”.

Instead, I went through and removed old screenshots and images:

Added new strategies:

And deleted strategies that didn’t work anymore:

The result?

A 62.60% organic traffic boost to that page:

Now I’d Like To Hear From You

There you have it:

My 10-step SEO strategy for 2024.

Now I’d like to hear from you…

Which strategy from today’s post are you ready to try first?

Are you going to update and relaunch older content?

Or maybe you want to try broken link building.

Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below right now.

Brian, I can’t wait to try this for my niche sites. Your backlink strategies have always worked well with my sites. I’ll let you know how it goes

Sounds good, Reggie. Keep me posted.

Hi Brian Thanks for this detailed breakdown. I will use it as a method for my next content campaign for sure.

Glad you’re going to give it a shot, Esben. Let me know how it goes.

Definitely bookmarking this page! The video is very useful and easy to follow. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Rachel! Let me know how the strategy works out for you.

Wow, brilliant strategy! I am thrilled to learn something new and effective that isn’t “black hat”. And yes, this does require work, but that’s precisely what it should require. I would rather see sites ranking high because they contribute terrific content (i.e. useful/interesting infographics) to their niche vs. the person exploiting the latest loophole. But that’s just my opinion 🙂

Thanks, Brian!

I couldn’t agree more, Barbara. The fact is: ranking today takes a ton of work.

Always love your tips. Wondering if you have any tips on how a car dealer might be able to use this strategy.

Thanks John.

There are so many amazing car-related topics you could turn into awesome content. Just off the top of my head I can think of: most expensive cars of all time, James Bond cars, biggest gas guzzlers…

When it’s done you can reach out to blogs in the car space.

This is my first time on your blog. I thought I already know everything about SEO until I saw your techniques. I browsed on your site and almost all your tips are unique and helpful. Thanks Brian!

Thanks Pauline

It’s the first time I read your blog and man… It’s outstanding! Thanks for your unique and useful tips!

Thanks Roberto!

Great advice! All comes down to adding value. The more value you can deliver, the more likely you’ll be to get the link.

Boom. Well said, Matt.

Just found your blog and I am digging it! This is also cool strategy and easy to establish a connection with different bloggers out there. Thanks for the tips Brian!

Thanks Sanjay.

You are absolutely right. The title has the biggest effect in the success of an article. I have the same experience. You have some very good articles. I’m keep reading… 🙂

Thank you, Andras. That’s true: titles are HUGE.

That’s really and effective SEO strategy. Thank you so much for letting us know.

No prob, Justin.

Awesome idea. Gonna test this out to see how I can tweak it for my clients.

Sounds good, Sarra. Keep me posted.

This is some valuable information cramped in just one page i’ll definitely try these methods on my site

Thanks Hans.

Is there such thing as having too many backlinks?

Sandy, fortunately not. As long as they’re legit, the more the better.

Again, Brian, wonderful article. Definitely going to apply this practise.

Thanks Matthew. Let me know how it goes.

The article is simply fabulous, I will implement this technique and many of the other techniques mentioned.

Unfortunately, these techniques are not as eficacez in Spanish, but we will do what we can. Thank you.

Sounds good, Roberto. Let me know how it works out.

Hi Brian, thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge globally. I can’t say that I understand everything as I still have lots (and lots) of things to learn, but I’m really happy to have come across your site. I subscribed, of course. 😀

You’re welcome, Zurainny. No worries. Just take it one step at a time and you’ll be set.

This is totally like a twin to the Skyscraper Technique! 🙂

My first is already in the works! 🙂

Have you seen success with taking an already successful post (on your own site) and turning it into an infographic?

Be awesome! Keith Breseé

It’s a really refreshing idea. By doing this, people don’t get bored by your actual plan to influence them. Great!

Glad you liked it, Marieke.

Hello Brain, I m working in French sem, do you think this startegy ‘ll work ? Thnkx

Definitely, Sarah. It may even work better because there’s less people using it.

Thanks Brian, this is great!

You’re welcome, Bradley.

Is this the same SEO strategy for magento website? I mean e commerce magento website? thanks

Yes, Pierre, the same principles apply to all ecommerce sites.

Awesome work. I can’t wait to try this out in the next few weeks.

Sounds good, Derek!

Everytime I do some kind of SEO search in Google backlinko seems to be on page 1. Im impressed! 😀

What can I say, Allan, I practice what I preach 🙂

Great concept Brian, I am going to implement this for my business and look forward to more of your advice!

Sounds like a plan, Lars.

Awesome read Dean! A lot of really good information in this article. I’m sure I’ll put this to good use 🙂

Thanks Fraklin. I hope so. This strategy is working really well right now.

Hey Brian, great post!

I’m right at the start of trying out the skyscraper technique with my new blog post so I’ll let you know how that goes (it’s already got great results!)

I’ll be sure to try this out next and give you an update!

Thanks Liam!

Oh cool. The Skyscraper Technique is great. This works really well too.

This is something that I should definitely has a crack at. Seems that if you get it right the results are amazing! Thanks!

I agree, Nigel. Definitely give it a go.

I’m going to have to put this one into action! Thanks Brian!

Sounds good, Matt.

Brian all of your posts inspire me to get up and do something! I love your actionable style. I am brand new to the blogging biz and currently have 0 traffic. I am hoping to use this as well as other strategies I’ve learned from your posts to change that number! Thanks for all the great info!

Thanks Annie.

Brian, you are just awesome, the tactics explained here are completely unique, following some of your tactics I have also been able to fetch the reply from sites like Huffington. Soon gonna share on my site and with you that how I grew my traffic by more than 1000% 🙂

Oh nice! Glad to see you’re putting my strategies into action, Karan.

Hi Brian This was extremely useful for me – can’t wait to give it a go 😉

Sounds good, Chris.

This post is a real eye opener. I have simply been publishing posts without giving much thought toward how to make it more appealing to users (and of course wondering why I am not getting any visitors). Your post gave me some creative ideas that I can use right away. Thanks.

Sounds good, April. This approach will probably work a lot better.

And another great post by Brian, never gonna get tired from the posts you are publishing! Keep on rockin’!

Thanks Hugh. I’ll keep it up then.

100% grade A quality. I’m not sure that I’ve ever ran across a Google ranking guide that’s quite this thorough, and I’m most definitely bookmarking/sending out to clients. Appreciate your hard work and effort!

Thanks Brandy. As far as I know this is the only one out there.

Ohh man…Just starting an SEO agency. This will come very handy. Thanks Brian.

Yes it will, Sebastian.

Just want to thank you for this post, very great details and informative, I will apply this strategy for my blog.

Thanks again.

Happy to help, Lan

This is a rocking stategy it seems. Never used but atleast this inspires me to get me out of my comfort zone to do something creative and get traffic + rankings. I will definitely give this a try and see how it works for my niche.

Great post mate.

Cheers Keyur

Quick Question: What do you use to create your example images? I usually just do a screen shot, but what do you use to make the red arrows and boxes you usually use?

Great post btw… but you knew that lol

Hi RJ, I use greenshot.

Thanks, Cheers!

Brian, as always your posts are just awesome. Keep them coming 🙂

Thanks Collin.

Another great article Brian! Perfect tips for my niche sites to give them an extra boost on page 1. Thanks!

Happy to help, Holly.

This information was eye-opening for me. As someone who is relatively new to the blog scene, tips like these give me a lot of inspiration for getting a larger following. Thank you for putting all this information in one place!!

We will definitely try this. Thanks for sharing your ideas! 🙂

You’re welcome, Maribel

Great post. Sort of reflects the changing face of all PR and Marketing. Establish relationships, and provide true value. These are the ways to drive traffic and build a successful business.

The days of just crossing fingers hoping for a hit are over.

Well said, Alena. I 1000% agree.

A consistent theme among your blog posts and SEO course is go against the grain and do something different than other people.

I consider this a “Contrarian SEO” approach and I think it’s super cool you do this. I try to apply this to my day to day job and also in freelance/contractor gigs as they come in.

One question I have is how does someone who has carved out a place in SEO beat the OG contrarian SEO?

Thanks Arash. That’s a tough one. I recommend developing your own strategies and techniques. If they go against the grain, great. If not, as long as you have something that works, people will listen either way.

You’re a bad mama-jama Brian.

Thanks 👍👍👍👍

Hey Brian, You always rock, and provides great knowledge to your followers, and I’m one if your follower too. Thanks for this amazing info😊

You’re welcome, Amit.

Good information, as always, Brian. I will digest this slowly & get back to you if I have any questions. Thanks again for your help on helping us all!

Sounds good. Let me know how it goes.

Hello Brian,

Just wanted to say, thank you for this awesome Blog.

You’re welcome, Amit. Glad you enjoyed it.

Thank you for sharing such an amaizng Strategies. Your SEO Strategies help to rank much faster on Google. Hope you will come with more new strategies in Future.

No problem, Rayyan. Glad you learned some new strategies from today’s post.

Great post Brian! But in this strategy you haven’t spoke about Rank brain algorithm, as you specific only user intent. Any updates for rank brain algorithm

RankBrain is how Google measures and interprets the user experience/user intent signals. It’s involved in almost every query, so it’s always running behind the scenes.

Leave a Comment

How To Do Keyword Research for SEO That Increases Website Traffic

Fundamental to every successful SEO plan is keyword research. It finds the terms and phrases that search engines use to find your target audience, so you can produce material that draws visitors. Here’s how to conduct research on keywords that boosts website traffic.

Keyword research: definition and examples.

Search phrase research is the process of determining and evaluating search terms that people use in search engines. Because it enables you to produce material that satisfies your audience’s needs and raises your search engine rankings, it is an essential component of SEO. Finding out which particular words and queries your potential customers use can help you customize the information on your website to correspond with their search intent.

Locating high-volume, low-competition keywords that can increase targeted traffic to your website is the main objective of keyword study. Tools for this include often Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Google Keyword Planner. Through their insights into search volumes, keyword difficulty, and rival performance, these tools enable you to choose keywords with knowledge.

Creating seed keywords, expanding these ideas using keyword tools, examining search volume and competition, and finally including the chosen keywords into your content are all part of effective keyword research. When done well, keyword study can greatly improve your SEO plan and result in more website traffic and higher user interaction. See reputable sites like Ahrefs and Moz for more thorough instructions on keyword research.

Just why is keyword research important?

Search engine results visibility and success of your website are directly influenced by keyword research, hence it is essential. Knowing the particular words and phrases that your target audience uses helps you to provide material that answers their questions and wants. Specializing on these terms will help you draw in more relevant and focused visitors to your website.

Finding high-traffic, low-competition keywords is made easier with effective keyword research on search engine results pages (SERPs). More potential conversions, more website traffic, and more visibility follow from higher rankings. Insights into market trends are another benefit it offers, which keeps you ahead of rivals by pointing up chances they might have missed.

Researching keywords is also essential to maximizing your whole SEO approach. It directs content production so that your articles, blog entries, and other materials are in line with what your readers are looking for. Along with raising user engagement, this alignment raises the authority and relevance of your website in your field.

1. Understanding Keyword Research

Finding and deciphering search phrases that individuals type into search engines is known as keyword research. Knowing what your audience is looking for and how to appear higher in search engine results are made easier with it. Moz states that keyword research affects all other SEO tasks, including on-page SEO, content themes, and promotional effort.

Guidelines for Understanding Keyword Research

• Describe Your Specialty: Understand the industry you work in.
• Find Your Readership: Know the people that might visit your website.
• Analyze Rivals: Find out what terms your rivals are ranking for.

2. Keyword Research Tools

It takes the correct instruments to do keyword research well. Here are some of the greatest instruments.

The Best Keyword Research Tools

• For finding keywords straight from Google’s data, use the Google Keyword Planner.
• Great for keyword difficulty and competitive analysis is SEMrush.
• Ahrefs: Offers thorough analysis of keyword performance and that of competitors.
• Useful for SERP analysis and keyword recommendations is Moz Keyword Explorer.
• Ubersuggest is a fantastic tool for finding fresh terms and ideas for articles.

Tools Comparison Table

3. finding the right keywords.

Choosing keywords is deciding on terms that are pertinent to your writing and have a lot of searches but little competition.

The Right Keywords: A Guide

• Organize Seed Keywords Start with simple terms connected to your specialty.
• Make Use of Keyword Tools To receive suggestions, enter seed keywords into SEMrush or Ahrefs.
• Analyse Competition and Search Volume: Select terms with little rivalry and a lot of searches.
• Verify Relevance : Make sure the keywords apply to your audience and material.

For a blog on “healthy eating,” for instance, “nutrition,” “diet,” and “healthy recipes” might be seed terms. Find relevant terms like “best healthy diets 2024” or “easy healthy recipes” with a tool like Ahrefs.

4. Long-Tail Keywords

Longer and more precise keyword phrases are what visitors are more likely to utilize when they get closer to making a purchase or locating the information they require.

Long-Tail Keyword Benefits

• Less Competition: Ranks easier than big keywords.
• More precise to what consumers are looking for, higher conversion rates.
• Greater Targeted Traffic: Draws in visitors who are obviously intent.

Finding Keywords with Long Tails

• Check out Google Suggestions: Google a keyword, then see what autocomplete offers come up.
• Examine Rival Content: Find out what long-tail keywords rivals are employing.
• Use Tools: Long-tail keyword suggestions can be found using services like SEMrush and AnswerThePublic.

A broad term for a fitness website may be “workouts.” Best home workouts for beginners might be a long-tail keyword.

5. Analyzing Keyword Competition

Complementing your understanding of the difficulty of ranking for a certain keyword is an analysis of keyword competition.

Components of Keyword Competition Analysis

• Use SEO Tools: The keyword difficulty score can be displayed by Ahrefs or Moz.
• Analyse Features of SERP Examine the content of the top-ranking pages right now.
• View Domain Authority: Competing with websites with higher domain authority is more difficult.
• Analyze Reference Links Check out the number of backlinks the pages with the highest rankings have.

For instance, Ahrefs and other tools can display a keyword difficulty score of 50 (on a 0 to 100) for the term “digital marketing tips.” This suggests fairly competitiveness.

6. Grouping Keywords

Putting keywords into clusters will enable you to produce better and more logical material.

Methods of Keyword Grouping

• Decide on Primary Topics Choose the major subjects you wish to address.
• Cluster Keywords: Sort terms and search queries by comparable intent.
• Scoop Up Content: Build material around these clusters to raise your SEO.

Main subjects for a travel blog, for instance, might be “packing lists,” “destination guides,” and “travel advice.” Related terms for “destination guides” might be “top travel destinations 2024” and “best places to visit in Europe.”

7. Creating Content Around Keywords

Writing around your keywords is writing with them organically.

Conventional Wisdom

• In titles, use keywords: Put your main term right in the title.
• Naturally Include Keywords Stuff keywords; use them naturally.
• Utilise Related Term Synonyms: It also makes reading easier and helps prevent repetition.
• Optimise Meta Descriptions Give your meta descriptions keywords.

With the phrase “healthy breakfast ideas,” a blog article title can be “10 Healthy Breakfast Ideas to Start Your Day Right.” Make sure the term naturally appears throughout the material, including in the introduction and subheadings.

8. Monitoring and Adjusting Your Strategy

It takes work to do SEO once. Keep ahead by constant observation and modification.

Procedures for Keeping an Eye on Things

• Track Keyword Positions: Track your rankings with SEMrush or Google Analytics.
• Examining Traffic Statistics Check the most popular keywords.
• Edit Information Analyze performance statistics to update your content.
• Keep Up to Date with SEO Trends Keep up with the newest developments in SEO practices.

Make the material more thorough and promote it to raise the ranking if a term like “best SEO tools” is generating traffic yet is on the second page.

9. Using Keywords in Content Marketing

Maximizing your SEO activities requires careful keyword integration into your content marketing plan. This is how to go about it.

Types of Content

• Blog Posts: A broad spectrum of keywords and subjects can be targeted by regularly updated blogs.
• Infographics: Visual material able to draw in social shares and backlinks.
• Videos are interesting, very shareable material that can target keywords in titles and descriptions.
• Ebooks and Guides: Comprehensive material designed to establish authority and target long-tail keywords.

How to Integrate Keywords

• Titles and Headers: Make sure titles and H1, H2 tags contain your main keywords.
• Background and Summary: Make early keyword mentions and then summarise them at the conclusion.
• Everywhere in the Content Obviously, without overloading the body language, use keywords. Meta Tags: Use pertinent keywords to optimize meta titles and descriptions.
• For photos, include keywords in the alt text.

Keywords in the title, description, and tags might help a video series titled “Top Digital Marketing Strategies for 2024” be optimized for a blog about “digital marketing strategies.”

10. Keyword Research and Voice Search

Growing in popularity, voice search calls for a little different strategy for keyword research.

Voice Search and Keyword Research

• Conversational Tone: People usually use lengthier sentences and natural language.
• Many voice searches take the form of questions.
• Local searches are frequently made for urgent needs and local information.

Making Voice Search Optimal

• Give Long-Tail Keywords Your Attention: Use words that people actually say.
• Respond to Questions Make stuff that responds to often asked queries about your area of expertise.
• Make Use of Structured Data Apply schema markup to make your content more comprehensible to search engines.

For a home services company, focusing on queries like “best plumber near me” or “how to fix a leaky faucet” can draw in voice search traffic.

11. Measuring the Success of Your Keyword Strategy

You must routinely track and evaluate the success of your keyword approach to be sure it works.

Key Metrics to Monitor

• Important Indices for Tracking Organic Traffic Count how many people arrived via organic search.
• Monitor your position for target keywords by checking keyword rankings.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Calculate the proportion of people that click on your website from search results.
• Track the number of visitors that become leads or customers using the conversion rate tool.
• Examine the proportion of visitors that go after seeing one page, or bounce rate.

Measurement Tools

• Google Analytics offers in-depth information on user behavior and traffic.
• Monitors site health and keyword performance is Google Search Console.
• SEO tools for in-depth keyword monitoring and analysis include Ahrefs, Moz, and SEMrush.

If organic traffic for your keyword “best vegan recipes” is growing but the bounce rate is high, think about updating the material to better satisfy users.

12 Typical Errors to Steer Clear of in Keyword Research

It will save you time and increase your SEO results to stay away from typical keyword research mistakes.

Common Mistakes

• Ignoring Search Intent: concentrating just on terms without taking user intent into account.
• Stuffing keywords is a bad user experience and can result in fines.
• Not Updating Keywords: Ignoring to update and refresh keywords in response to fresh information and trends.
• Ignoring Long-Tail Keywords: Ignoring highly conversion, easier-to-rank keywords.
• Not researching the keywords and tactics of competitors.

How To Stay Away From Them

• Recognise the Goal of the User Check and match keywords to what people are searching for.
• Retain Keyword Density Naturally and contextually use keywords.
• Updates Frequently Your keyword list should be constantly improved according to performance.
• Emphasis on the Long Tail Include in your plan long-tail keywords.
• Analysis of the Competitors Check competing keywords often and modify your approach.

If a rival is doing well for “easy gluten-free recipes,” look at their material and modify your approach to include related or comparable terms.

A constant process, effective keyword research includes knowing your audience, using the appropriate tools, and continuously improving your content. The procedures in this article will help you raise search engine ranks, draw in targeted traffic, and increase the visibility of your website. Recall to keep up of SEO developments and modify your tactics as needed to keep a competitive advantage.

Please contact me with any queries or if you require additional assistance with keyword research. Enjoy your optimization!

CEO Plerdy — expert in SEO&CRO with over 14 years of experience.

• Post author By Andrew Chornyy
• Post date May 30, 2024
• No Comments on How To Do Keyword Research for SEO That Increases Website Traffic

Leave a reply for "How To Do Keyword Research for SEO That Increases Website Traffic"

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Plerdy is an All-in-one website analysis tool

Boost conversions and buff your SEO by keeping tabs on user behavior.

Get a free 14-day trial

How to do Keyword Research for an Effective SEO Strategy

CEO, Direction.com

• Updated: April 18, 2024

Keyword research is not a one-time activity, but a persistent mindset – an endless quest to uncover what words your audience whispers.

What is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the critical first step in an effective SEO strategy . It involves identifying and analyzing words and phrases (keywords) that potential customers use when searching for content related to your business in search engines like Google.

The goal of keyword research is to discover the specific keywords and questions that your target audience is asking online, so you can create optimized content that answers their questions and provides solutions.

Finding keywords that generate substantial search volume and traffic, while having less competition, is key to driving more qualified visitors to your site organically.

Thorough keyword research lays the foundation for an SEO campaign that aligns your content with search intent so you can rank higher and get your pages featured in search results. By researching what language your customers use and what questions they ask online, you can establish the topics and themes to focus your content creation on.

This ensures you satisfy user intent and provide the right information searchers are looking for.

The process involves

• brainstorming seed keywords
• leveraging keyword research tools to expand your list
• analyzing the competitive landscape
• clustering keywords into topics
• prioritizing which phrases to target
• setting aside time for ongoing research every month as the search landscape changes

Why is Keyword Research Important for SEO?

Keyword research is perhaps the most critical component of an effective SEO strategy.

Without proper keyword research, it is very difficult to rank highly or earn featured snippets, because at the end of the day, you’re playing a guessing game.

Here are 5 key reasons why keyword research is essential:

1. It Aligns Your Content with Searcher Intent Google wants to display pages that closely match what searchers are looking for. Keyword research reveals the precise words, questions, and phrases users type into search bars. 

2. It Informs Your Content Strategy and Topics The keywords you identify through research should dictate the topics, titles, headlines, and themes you create content around. This ensures your content targets words and phrases with substantial search volume that align with your business goals. 

3. It Helps You Rank for Valuable Search Queries Not all keywords are created equal. Some drive lots of traffic but little revenue. Others are too competitive to rank for. Keyword research reveals which phrases bring in qualified visitors, have less competition, and offer the highest ROI potential. 

4. It Helps You Promote Your Products/Services More Effectively When you use keyword research to learn about your audience’s intent and the things they care about, you learn how to better promote your product or service.

5. It Keeps You Ahead of Trends Regular monthly keyword research helps you stay on top of new trends, questions, and opportunities. You can adapt your content strategy based on the latest data to maintain and improve your rankings. Ongoing research is key.

How to do Keyword Research in 5 Steps

1. identify seed keywords to kickstart your research.

When conducting keyword research, you need to start somewhere. That’s where seed keywords come in – these initial keywords are the foundation on which you’ll uncover a wealth of other relevant terms and keyword opportunities.

As an SEO pro, you want to be strategic in selecting seed keywords that are relevant to your content and provide the highest ROI. Here are some tips for finding those all-important seeds:

• Analyze existing content and pull out main topics and keywords that are performing well. These proven terms should inform your research.
• Look at Google Trends and keyword planners to spot rising trends and search volumes for terms related to your content. High-potential keywords make fertile seed keywords.
• Brainstorm primary topics and categories that align with your goals. Include industry-specific jargon and lingo as seeds.
• Research competitors’ content and identify their top ranking keywords. Consider adding these to your seed list.
• Use semantic keyword grouping to populate initial seeds. For example, product name, brand names, product descriptors.

The seed keywords you start with will sprout an expansive list of keyword opportunities. 

2. Use Paid Keyword Research Tools for Enhanced Data

As an SEO expert, there will come times when you need more insightful data than free keyword tools can provide. Investing in paid platforms like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz unlocks powerful capabilities for comprehensive analysis.

How to do Keyword Research with Ahrefs

• Sign up for an Ahrefs account to access their powerful keyword tools. The paid plans are worth the investment for the depth of data you’ll get.
• Once logged in, head over to the Keywords Explorer. Start by entering a seed keyword relevant to your content focus. Ahrefs will show monthly search volume, CPC, and keyword difficulty.
• Click into individual keywords to see the top ranking domains and pages. This reveals who your primary competitors are for that term. You can also see keyword ideas related to that seed keyword.
• Check out the Questions report to uncover popular questions people are searching. These present prime opportunities to rank with detailed, helpful content.
• Save keywords to custom lists as you go so you can export and organize later. Group keywords into topics and categories.

Now here’s a pro SEO tip – drill down on those initial results by filtering and sorting. For example, you can filter by keyword difficulty to find hidden gems with low competition. Sort by volume to prioritize high traffic keywords.

How to do Keyword Research with SEMRush

• Start by entering a target keyword or phrase into the SEMrush keyword tool. Like Ahrefs, you’ll see detailed metrics like search volume, CPC, and keyword difficulty for that term.
• Utilize filters to drill down on the best opportunities — to start, we’re looking for high search volume, low competition phrases. Look for high commercial intent keywords as well.
• Use the related keywords report to expand your list. SEMrush surfaces useful long-tail variations of your core term with this feature.
• Use the SEO Content Template tool to organize your research. You can see the topics and questions people search around a main keyword. This helps cluster related keywords and create content.
• Enter the landing page you want to rank for that keyword in the keyword difficulty tool to see how your page stacks up against the top-ranking page to gauge competitiveness.

How to do Keyword Research with Moz

Moz provides top-notch tools for outsmarting the competition. For astute keyword analysis, their Keyword Explorer is a powerhouse.

• Start by entering a target seed keyword.
• Drill into keyword suggestions by clicking “Show Related Keywords.” Moz algorithmically generates closely related long-tail variations. Digging into these is key for comprehensive research.
• Use the Comparison Graph to compare metrics for multiple keywords at once. Visualizing opportunities in one place makes it easier to identify winners.
• Save keyword lists within Keyword Explorer to organize your ongoing research. Group terms by category or priority to inform your content strategy.

NOTE: While paid tools are ideal for keyword discovery, you can also leverage free tools like Google Keyword Planner for additional signals around location and ad pricing data. 

3. Expose Gaps in SERPS with Competitive Analysis

Doing diligent keyword research means going beyond your own site to analyze competitors. Auditing what terms ranking sites are targeting reveals prime gaps you can fill yourself.

Start by making a list of main competitors in your space. Now let’s get tactical – plug your rival’s domains into Ahrefs one by one.

The Organic Keywords report shows all keywords that site ranks for along with its position, traffic, and opportunity score. Scan this list for standout opportunities – terms with high search volume where that site barely ranks on page 1.

You can also filter and sort keywords by opportunity score. This surfaces keywords the domain doesn’t fully dominate yet – clear areas to make your mark.

Drill into individual keywords to see the full first-page ranking sites. These are the sites you need to out-optimize to snag that term for yourself.

With this intelligence, you can swoop in and outrank competitors for their own keywords. Tactical content gap analysis sets you up to win prime SERP real estate.

4. Organize Keywords into Strategic Topic Clusters

At this point you likely have a massive list of keywords. Make sense of them all by clustering related terms into topics and themes. This forms the content buckets you’ll optimize pages around.

Some paid tools like SEMrush have handy clustering features that automatically group keywords. Try inputting a seed keyword and opening the SEO Content Template to see the topic clusters.

If doing this manually, scan your keyword list for common themes. Group closely related keywords under relevant headings like “keyword research tips”, “SEO tools” and “keyword strategy”.

Longer keyword strings containing multiple keywords may fit under several buckets. That’s OK – some terms serve as connectors between topics.

With your keywords organized into groups, you can start mapping out content around those themes. A clustered list transforms keyword research into an actionable content production plan.

Keep a master keyword list, but also break out keywords into topic-specific lists for easy access when creating content. Clustering brings order to the keyword chaos.

5. Focus on the Most Valuable Keyword Opportunities First

With your robust clustered keyword list, now prioritize which terms should be targeted first in content production. Assess keywords based on projected ROI.

• Search Volume – Prioritize keywords with higher monthly search volume for greater traffic potential.
• Difficulty – Easier keywords are faster wins. Check difficulty scores in tools like Ahrefs.
• Click-Through-Rates – Keywords with higher CTR tend to better match searcher intent. Conversion Potential – Which keywords align closest to your business goals?

Also consider relevance to your products/services and how competitive each keyword is.

With these factors in mind, sort your master list into:

• High Priority – The “A List” keywords with the highest potential value. Focus content efforts here.
• Medium Priority – “B List” keywords worth targeting next. Still solid opportunities.
• Low Priority – “C List” long-tail keywords that can supplement your content.

Regularly re-evaluate this prioritization as you track keyword performance over time. Double down on what drives results.

Understanding Search Volume and Competition for a Keyword

As you begin your keyword research, you will notice that some words and phrases are more popular than others.

You want to target keywords your audience is searching for, but targeting the highest volume phrases and terms will not always be your best choice. Your ultimate goal is to choose the keywords that provide your web page with the biggest strategic advantage.

Making this choice means you have to understand search volume and competition for a specific keyword.

Search volume refers to the number of times someone has searched for a particular word or phrase . Higher search volumes indicate you will have to work much harder to achieve higher rankings.

This is typically the result of large brands taking up the highest volume keywords. If you’ve only just started a website, it could take you years to rank if you are competing against large companies. This means you need to find keywords with a lower search volume. Yet, you do not want too low volume or you won’t drive visitors to your site.

Keyword research for an effective SEO strategy requires going after  long-tail keywords.  These are more specific search terms and phrases that typically have lower competition. In many cases, long-tail keywords convert at a higher rate because searches are more intentional, indicating a searcher is closer to buying.

Consider the following example. You are selling shampoo on your website, so in a perfect world, you want to rank at the top for the keyword  shampoo . If you search for shampoo, you will see popular beauty stores, some big brands, and big-box retailers ranked at the top. If you want to increase your rankings, you need to research long-tail options. Examples might include phrases like:

• All-natural shampoo no sulfates
• Shampoo for curly hair without parabens
• Best price shampoo for color-treated hair

More Free and Paid Tools for Keyword Research

With an understanding of keyword volume and competition and how to target the right keywords, you can begin your research. Several tools exist to help you choose and analyze keywords and phrases. Here are some of the best free and paid tools for keyword research:

Google Keyword Planner

Google’s Keyword Planner is the place where many start their keyword research. This free tool gives you estimates for volume and traffic for any keywords you are thinking about targeting and you can use the planner to get keyword ideas. The major drawback of the Google Keyword Planner is that they categorize their search volume data by combining keywords into different ranges of search volume.

Google Trends

You can use Google Trends two ways to help with your keyword research. First, you can enter a specific keyword you are thinking about and review the percentage volume. Second, you can see the long-term growth in the popularity of a specific keyword. Google Trends is a must-have if you want to provide evergreen content on your website and it also helps you monitor seasonal changes in keyword popularity.

This free keyword research tool is quick, easy to use, and it gives you loads of keyword ideas on one page. Soovle is a scraper that provides keywords from Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, Amazon, Bing, Yahoo, and more.

Keyword Snatcher

If you aren’t yet ready to explore data about your keywords, but you need ideas, you must use Keyword Snatcher. Typically you get about 2,000 ideas for one search. You can also narrow results by the number of words, making it really simple to focus on long-tail keywords for your topic.

Keywords Everywhere

This free keyword research tool is a browser add-on for Chrome or Firefox. Keywords Everywhere provide users with monthly search volume, cost per click, and competitive data for keywords from more than 15 different sites. It’s a great extension to use with other keyword research tools such as Moz, Ubersuggest, Soolve, and more.

Thorough, ongoing keyword research should form the foundation of your SEO strategy. Taking the time to research and analyze your target keywords will help align your content to searcher intent, driving more qualified organic traffic.

By following the research process outlined in this guide, you now have a data-driven methodology for discovering new keyword opportunities as they emerge. Maintain comprehensive keyword lists segmented by priority that connect to your overarching content strategy.

Make time each month to repeat your keyword research, even if it’s just analyzing a few new seed keywords. Consistency is key to staying ahead of the game. New conversational keywords and questions will arise that you can capitalize on with optimized content.

The companies dominating search have mastered rigorous keyword analysis. With the steps in this guide, you now have an inside track on conducting research like the top SEO pros. Know your high-value keywords, understand user intent, and create content that ranks. By tapping into keyword intelligence, you will elevate your strategy and leave competitors in the dust.

But if you don’t want to head up all this work yourself, you can always enlist the help of experts who know it best. Get in touch with our team to discuss a detailed SEO content plan that will help your business dominate the SERPs.

About The Author

Chris kirksey, how much does seo cost the 2024 seo pricing guide.

• Last Updated: April 21, 2024
• Authored by: Chris Kirksey

The Power of Inbound Links: 10 Tactics to Skyrocket Your Website Traffic

• Last Updated: April 18, 2024

The Burning Question 🔥 — How Long Does SEO Take to Work?

Where does your website appear on search engines?

Silver Tax Group

I’ve worked with Direction.com for over 6 years now. Not only do they deeply understand my company and business goals, but they continually shape SEO strategies that drive repeat success.

Elevate Holistics

The team at Direction.com is always a pleasure to work with. I’ve launched multiple SEO campaigns with them for various companies I own and they deliver every single time.

Ralston Architects

Our revenue has tripled in 6 months. Direction.com has raised the bar for B2B client service. It was refreshing working with a firm with such dedication and passion to our definition of success.

SEO & Lead Gen Services

Direction.com 4005 Guadalupe St Suite B Austin, TX 78727

Get Started

Made with ♥ in Austin, TX   ©2024 Direction Inc

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

11 Effective Keyword Research Techniques for Successful SEO Watch Overview

For successful SEO, the use of effective keyword research techniques is vital. That way, you know the keywords you are targeting are the most effective ones for increasing your online visibility, growing your organic traffic, and repeatedly appearing in front of your target market.

The alternative would be to target keywords that perhaps no one is searching for, or that attract the wrong audience, or that you stand little chance of ranking for and actually attracting traffic from. And no one wants that, right?

So in this post, you’ll discover 11 effective techniques you can start employing today as part of your online marketing strategy.

Why Is Keyword Research So Important?

Creating content for your website often involves a significant investment of time, effort and other resources.

To be worthwhile, your content needs to generate a positive ROI in as short a time frame as possible. And preferably your investment will continue to pay off for a long time to come!

One of the best ways to achieve that is to create content that performs well on search, in terms of attracting an ongoing stream of traffic.

To do that, you need keyword research .

Keyword research means:

• Gaining an understanding of what keywords your target market is looking for…
• What keywords you could create content for that stand a reasonable chance of ranking high enough on search to attract people in that target market to your website.

And of course such content can also be repurposed for publication elsewhere too, giving you potentially:

• Multiple chances of ranking for the same keyword…
• Multiple listings for the same keyword (multiplying the chances of someone clicking through to your content)...

Start with the wrong keyword (or none in mind at all) and you negate all these benefits.But target the right one, and your content can put your business in front of hundreds, more likely thousands, of people in your target market for months if not years to come.

In addition, keyword research helps provide inspiration for what to create content about in the first place.

The more such research you do, the more understanding you’ll gain about the type of content that appeals to and will help attract your target audience.

11 Top Keyword Research Techniques

1. determine relevance.

One of the first things you need to be able to do for effective keyword research is to determine the relevance of a particular keyword for your target market.

In other words, if you’re targeting a keyword that people in your target market are not even searching for, then you have a problem! You’ll be:

• Attracting people to your site that have no interest in what you sell…
• Not showing up in front of people who might otherwise be your ideal customers.

Instead, carefully consider how closely a particular keyword correlates with the products or services you provide. Two crucial questions to ask are:

• Is the keyword relevant to what your business does?
• Is the keyword relevant to what your ideal customers are searching for?

If you can answer Yes to both of these questions, you have a potential keyword. But it’s just the first step, and more than just relevance to consider… other techniques we discuss below help you assess its overall suitability.

2. Assess Intent

The ability to determine the intent behind a particular keyword is crucial for finding suitable keywords.

In other words, what is someone’s intention when searching for the keyword in question?

• Are they primarily looking for information , such as the answer to a question?
• Are they looking to navigate somewhere, such as finding a particular website?
• Do they have commercial intent, which is when someone’s search relates to brands, services or products, often as part of pre-purchase research?
• Is their intention transactional —are they ready to make a purchase?

Assessing someone’s intent behind a particular search helps you decide the value of the keyword in question to your business, and indeed the type of content that would be a good match for it.

3. Preliminary Research

If you’re brand new to researching keywords in your niche, a smart way to get started is by conducting more general, preliminary research.

This is designed to give you a broad understanding of what your target customers are searching for, in order to help guide your further research.

At this stage, focus on the main topics and themes, rather than any detailed analysis of individual keywords.

You can do this research through brainstorming, talking to customers, or using relevant software.

In the following sections, we'll delve deeper into these methods and the more advanced techniques for keyword research.

4. Internal Brainstorming

Finding relevant keywords by brainstorming, either by yourself or preferably with members of your team, is one of the simplest keyword research techniques available.

And it’s cost effective too, requiring nothing more than a piece of paper, whiteboard, or similar, and the collective knowledge, insights and experience of your team.

To get started, just think about what your prospective customers are likely to be searching for, at various stages in the buying process.

Write down all the ideas that come to mind or are suggested by others, making them visible to everyone involved in order to help trigger further ideas.

Think about all the stages in someone’s buying journey, not just the final stage when they’re ready to buy. What are people looking for information about before they’re even thinking about buying?

For example, a dental clinic selling ‘new smiles’ might think about people searching for ways to improve their confidence, to look good on camera or even how to learn public speaking. They may not even have thought about a ‘new smile’ yet, but may at some point be a prospective customer.

Don’t discard any ideas too easily.

Even those that may not seem immediately relevant can be plugged into suitable tools (see the next section) to help discover new ideas that you wouldn’t have otherwise thought of.

5. Software-Assisted Brainstorming

Multiple tools are available to assist you with brainstorming more keywords, including those provided by Google itself at no cost.

The first of these is Google Autocomplete. This is built into Google’s search engine, and is what’s shown as you start to type, providing you with multiple related (and popular) searches.

Get started by simply typing in some of the keywords you found through your internal brainstorming (#4 above).

Next is Google’s related searches, which usually shows towards the bottom of the search results pages.

Drill down into any of these keywords to find even more suggestions.

Finally, Google’s Keyword Planner tool (available from within Google Ads) provides far more potential keywords, along with additional insights such as search volume.

6. Customer Research

An often (strangely) overlooked keyword research technique involves asking your customers—or otherwise ascertaining—what keywords they used in either finding your website in the first place, or when researching similar products and services.

Depending on the type of business, as well as speaking with them directly, this can be integrated into an automated onboarding process, such as an additional (optional) field in an online form.

Some will only be too happy to provide you with the relevant information.

Another important technique is to use Google Search Console, which shows you some of the keywords people are using to find your website. Watch the following video for a quick intro on setting it up (or see the full guide ):

7. Supply and Demand

A key technique for effective keyword research is the ability to accurately assess the ‘supply’ versus the ‘demand’ for a particular keyword, where the:

• Supply refers to the number of web pages containing the keyword—so, the number of web pages you’d be potentially competing with to attain a high ranking position
• Demand refers to the number of searches for the keyword in question.

Essentially, these insights let you know:

• How tough it’s likely to be to rank for a particular keyword—in other words, what’s the competition like? A higher ‘supply’ means tougher competition.
• The relative size of the rewards from a prominent ranking—or, what level of traffic could it bring? More ‘demand’ equates to higher potential rewards, relative to other keywords.

So you want to aim for keywords that have moderate (or higher) rewards and without too much competition, rather than keywords with low rewards and relatively high competition levels.

Usually this means looking for long-tail keywords, which we’ll discuss more in the next section.

A full guide on how to assess demand and supply as part of keyword research for SEO can be found here .

8. Long-Tail Keywords

As just discussed, aiming for ‘long-tail’ rather than ‘short-tail’ keywords is key to avoiding higher competition levels, while benefiting from lower-but-still-reasonable rewards that stack up to mean significant traffic over time.

(Even more so when the content created for each keyword—such as a blog post—is just the first in a series of content pieces, repurposed from the original and published on different content platforms around the web. Here’s the workflow you need to achieve that effectively.)

In case you’re not yet familiar with what the term ‘long-tail keyword’ actually means, here’s a quick definition:

• A keyword like ‘keyword research’ is a short-tail keyword—it’s more broad (the intent of the searcher is less clear, e.g. are they looking for a tool to help, wondering how to do it, looking for someone to do it for them, or something else?). Generally short-tail keywords tend to be just one or two words long.
• A keyword like ‘how to do keyword research’ is a long-tail keyword—it’s a lot more specific and you know exactly what they’re looking for (i.e. some sort of guide or tutorial that guides them through the keyword research process). Long-tail keywords are generally three or more words long.

So long-tail keywords also mean you know more about the intent of the searcher.

This helps you create the exact type of content they’re looking for, with relatively high rankings and attracting highly-targeted visitors to your website on an ongoing basis.

In short, long-tail keywords that in some way relate to what your business does and reflect what your target market is likely to be searching for are the ‘diamonds in the rough’ that you are looking to find.

Each might not mean significant traffic levels on their own. But when plugged into a consistent content marketing and/or advertising strategy, their impact can be transformative.

9. Location-Specific Keywords

In a local business serving a specific geographic area?

Then it’s vital to incorporate location-specific keywords into your keyword research.

The type of keywords you’re looking for should incorporate both what your business does, and the area you serve (including relevant sub-localities).

So if you run an auto-repair shop in Boston, the keywords you target might include “auto repair Boston” or “best Boston auto repair”.

Don’t forget the non-obvious place names too. People might not just search based on the main town or city, but their suburb, county or some other location.

10. Keyword Clustering

Keyword clustering is a technique whereby similar keywords are grouped together.

For example, you might have a number of different long-tail keywords that all essentially mean something very similar, such as:

• how to do keyword research
• keyword research tutorial
• keyword research how to
• keyword research guide

By clustering groups of keywords together like this you might be able to create a single piece of content that targets all of them. One could be the primary keyword, and the others all secondary.

11. Mobile-Optimized Keywords

One final technique involves specifically looking for keywords that people are more likely to use when using mobile devices.

Research shows that nearly 60% of all searches are now carried out on mobile.

For example, opticians near me .

To Conclude

For successful SEO, effective keyword research is critical—otherwise you risk optimizing content for the wrong keywords that either attract the wrong type of visitor, are too challenging to rank for, or otherwise attract too little or no attention.

By incorporating most if not all of these keyword research techniques, you can improve the online visibility of your business and get in front of your target market with increasing levels of success.

@bySteveShaw

Steve Shaw is the founder of EverywhereMarketer , and has ran online businesses for over 20 years, serving over 13,000 customers in 137 countries. EverywhereMarketer helps you grow online visibility, attract more customers and grow your business across multiple channels.

What to Do Now...

Watch the recap.

Watch the following short video for a quick recap of this post (and don't forget to subscribe to our channel on YouTube).

Share this Post With Your Network

If you've got value from this post, add value to others by sharing it with them...

Share Tweet Share Save

More from EverywhereMarketer

9 steps to grow your google local ranking: a guide for small local businesses.

Just like any other business, your local business needs visibility on Google in order to grow revenue and attract new customers from your local area. In this post, discover why a Google local ranking matters and how Google ranks local businesses, and then get 9 steps to to grow your own rankings and visibility on…

5 Best Practices for Repurposing Content Effectively

This post explores 5 best practices for repurposing content effectively, including ways to maximize the results you achieve from your repurposing activities while avoiding additional personal workload. You’ll also find a way to approach content repurposing in a scalable way, while achieving the consistency needed to achieve long-term success…

• SEO Software
• Keyword Research

How to Do Keyword Research [Video Tutorial]

Unlock the secrets to effective keyword research with our step-by-step guide. Discover how to find the right keywords to boost your SEO, drive traffic, and increase revenue. Watch this video tutorial to learn about the best tools and strategies to dominate search engine rankings!

Introduction

What is keyword research, why should we care about keyword research, step #1. create a list of seed keywords, step #2. choose seo tools to use, step #3. generate your keyword list, step #4. filter your data, step #5. prioritize your keywords, step #6. build a keyword map, step #7. monitor the results and adjust your strategy, video transcript:.

Good keywords are hard to find. For every keyword that works, there are hundreds that don't. And if you make the wrong choice, you are stuck creating content that'll never show up in search. We can’t let that happen!

This is why I want to carefully navigate you through the seven steps of keyword research and focus your efforts on those keywords that really count and can bring you more traffic and revenue in the future. Keep watching!

Hey everyone, it’s Mary from SEO PowerSuite, the all-in-one toolkit that covers every aspect of SEO.

Before we move to the practical part of how to do keyword research, I want to make sure that you know the theory.

Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing search queries that people enter in search engines. Search engines correlate these words with your content and then show it to users. This is how they promote your site and put it in a better rank position.

Keyword research is not about a thoughtless gathering of all words more or less related to the topic of your business. It is about in-depth analysis and the right further use of the keywords.

In brief, keywords are used for:

• On-page optimization
• New content ideas

The first is about making your landing pages and content visible. The second one is about finding new topics for your blog and ideas for new pages. Once your landing pages are well-optimized, Google ranks them higher in search results, which means that users can find your business much easier. You get the visibility you deserve, drive more traffic, get more visitors, more clients, and more revenue.

So, without exaggeration, keyword research is the cornerstone of search engine optimization, as it impacts every other SEO task you perform. Continuous keyword research helps you keep up with the latest trends in your industry, realize what your real and potential customers search for, what your competitors publish, and therefore try to make even better content.

Steps to Effective Keyword Research

Seed keywords broadly describe your niche. They are short, typically one or two words, like "dance school" or "car repairs". Seed keywords are used to kickstart the process of developing more keyword ideas. Identify them by breaking your business down into general topics and picking valuable keywords for each.

For example, if you own a travel agency, your seed keywords can be:

• Travel agency
• Vacation packages
• Plane tickets
• Budget travel
• Last-minute travel
• Travel agent
• Tour agency
• Travel consultant

Another way to collect seed keywords is by going through your website’s navigation and looking for keyword terms.

There is a huge range of SEO tools on the market, both free and paid. For this video, we will limit ourselves to a handful of the most popular and reliable keyword research tools:

• Google Ads Keyword Planner: Generates a huge list of similar words and phrases based on your seed keywords.
• Google Search Console: Used to search for those keywords that you already rank for.
• Google Trends: Checks the popularity of a specific keyword over a selected time period.
• Rank Tracker: Offers nine different SEO keyword research methods, over twenty keyword research tools, plenty of metrics, unlimited filtering options, and position tracking.

Now that you've got your seed keywords, let's explore some of the keyword research methods in more depth and see how to use Rank Tracker for this purpose. Start with related searches to see what users search for on Google. Use the TF-IDF Explorer to find the most frequently used keywords of top SERP competitors. Check your competitors’ ranking keywords as well.

At this point, you need to clean your keyword list to exclude useless results. Analyze your keywords based on metrics like keyword length, search volume, difficulty, expected traffic, and cost per click.

Segment and prioritize your final selection of keywords so that they are easier to manage and implement in your SEO strategy. Universal criteria for SEO segmentation are semantic similarity, search intent, search volume, and competition.

Keyword mapping is a process where you assign the researched phrases to specific pages on your site. This helps you avoid keyword cannibalization and ensures that the keywords are used consistently. Group them into sets you can target on one page according to their topic and intent. Assign each group to a page on your site.

Track the performance of your keywords over time. Adjust your strategy based on ranking changes, updating content with new keywords as needed.

Let's quickly recap:

• Generate as many keyword ideas as possible.
• Filter the researched terms.
• Prioritize the remaining keywords.

The keyword research process can be summarized in three words: generate, filter, prioritize.

I hope you guys enjoyed this guide and found it helpful. If you did, give it a thumbs-up and subscribe to our channel! See you in the next video. Bye!

• Technical SEO 9 Reasons Google Rankings Suddenly Dropped: Find-and-Fix SEO Guide Are you seeing a sudden drop in Google rankings? Use this guide to find potential causes, recover lost positions, and protect your website from future drops.
• Keyword Research YouTube SEO Guide on Tips & Tools to Rank Your Video in 2024 If you want to optimize your YouTube SEO and don't know where to start, check out these recommendations to get your video to the top.
• Keyword Research Long-Tail Keywords: Find and Use Them for SEO Used right, long-tail keywords can help you bypass competition, win featured snippets, and deliver not just traffic, but actual paying customers. Here is how.