Tired of generic SEO advice? Want to truly understand how to attract targeted traffic to your online business? Then you need to master keyword research!
In the ever-evolving world of search engine optimization, keyword research remains the foundation for driving organic traffic and achieving sustainable growth.
Many business owners and aspiring SEO professionals underestimate the importance of keyword research, leading to wasted efforts and missed opportunities. This comprehensive guide will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to conduct effective keyword research and unlock the full potential of your online presence.
This guide is designed for beginners and experienced marketers alike. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your existing strategies, you’ll find valuable insights and actionable tips to elevate your SEO game.
My goal is to help you understand:
- What is Keyword Research?
- Why is Keyword Research Important?
- How Can Keyword Research Benefit You?
- How to Perform Keyword Research: A Step-by-Step Guide
Let’s begin with the basics!
What is Keyword Research?
Keyword research is the process of identifying the specific words and phrases that your target audience uses when searching for information online. It involves analyzing search volume, competition, and user intent to uncover valuable keyword opportunities for your business.
Simply put, keyword research helps you understand how your potential customers are looking for businesses like yours. By identifying these search terms, you can optimize your website and content to attract more targeted traffic from search engines like Google.
Here’s a simplified breakdown:
- Problem/Need: Users have questions or needs they need to solve.
- Search Query: They use specific words/phrases (keywords) to search for solutions.
- Search Engine Results Page (SERP): The search engine (e.g., Google) presents relevant results.
Keyword research helps us discover those “phrases,” “words,” and “queries” that people are using. As a business, knowing these queries allows us to optimize our content, provide answers, and attract those users to our website.
These same keywords can also be used in paid advertising (PPC) campaigns on platforms like Google Ads or social media to drive even more targeted traffic.
In technical terms:
The purpose of Keyword research is to identify the “topics” and “ideas” that resonate with your target audience and assign business value to them. It helps you discover the questions your customers are asking online, giving you the advantage of communicating with them in their own language.
Let’s illustrate this with an example:
Imagine a new father wants to buy a stroller for his child. He might use the query “Best baby stroller” in Google to find the best brand. Google, being smart, will suggest related queries to help refine his search.
Google keeps a log of how many times these queries are used by millions of users. Keyword research reveals the most popular queries, along with geographic data and search volume within specific timeframes (e.g., 30 days).
As a business owner, this data helps you understand which queries to target on your website, which ultimately leads to increased traffic, brand awareness, and potential sales.
Optimizing your website with targeted keywords is known as “On-Page SEO,” which we won’t delve into deeply today. However, performing accurate keyword research will help you experience rapid business growth by aligning your efforts with user needs.
Let’s revisit our baby stroller example. Suppose you sell baby strollers. Keyword research tools help you identify the exact terms parents are using to find solutions:
The following result is from Semrush, showing related queries and data:
Let’s break down what this image shows:
- Keyword: The query users are typing to find a baby stroller. In SEO, we call this the “target keyword” or “focus keyword.”
- Volume: This represents the number of monthly searches for that keyword. High-volume keywords are generally more desirable but also more competitive.
- Trend: Indicates whether search interest for that keyword is increasing or decreasing over time.
- Keyword Difficulty: An estimate of how difficult it will be to rank on the first page of Google for that keyword. Lower difficulty scores generally indicate easier opportunities.
In a nutshell, keyword research provides data-driven insights that help you prioritize your SEO efforts and maximize your return on investment.
Moving ahead, let’s explore the significance of keyword research.
Why is Keyword Research Important?
Not all keywords are created equal. Keyword research helps your business (blog, e-commerce store, service, etc.) in several ways:
- Understand Customer Language: It reveals the specific language your target audience uses when searching online.
- Uncover Untapped Queries: Discover hidden search terms that can drive targeted traffic and paying customers.
- Engaged Audience: Attract an audience that is already actively seeking solutions, leading to higher engagement, conversions, and sales.
- Market and Customer Trends: Monitor keyword trends to stay ahead of market shifts and evolving customer needs.
- Competitive Advantage: Gain a head start by incorporating targeted keywords and SEO strategies before your competitors do. Early adopters can earn valuable backlinks and establish authority in a less crowded niche.
- Reduce PPC Costs: Drive organic traffic for free, reducing your reliance on paid advertising and lowering digital marketing costs.
- Increase Ad Revenue: Identify high-CPC (cost-per-click) keywords to boost ad revenue from platforms like Google AdSense.
There are many other advantages, but these are the primary ones.
A Less Known Fact About Keyword Research:
It’s not just about finding high-volume keywords. Your task is to identify the right keywords – the ones that will benefit your business. You’ll also learn to prioritize them for maximum impact.
The great thing about keyword research is that it becomes more effective with practice.
Types of Keywords Based on User Intent
Let’s revisit our “baby stroller” example. A parent might use this query with different intentions:
- Learn how to choose the best baby stroller.
- Find out which baby stroller is currently ranked #1.
- Purchase a baby stroller immediately.
- Conduct research as a healthcare professional.
The same query can have different meanings depending on the user’s goal. This is known as search intent.
Keywords can be categorized based on user intent:
- Commercial Keywords: Indicate a desire to research products or services (e.g., “best baby stroller reviews”).
- Transactional Keywords: Show a clear intent to make a purchase (e.g., “buy baby stroller online”).
- Informational Keywords: Seek general information or answers to questions (e.g., “how to clean a baby stroller”).
- Navigational Keywords: Used to find a specific website or page (e.g., “ShoutMeLoud baby stroller guide”).
These categories help you understand which keywords will directly impact your revenue. They also relate to the content funnel (TOFU, MOFU, BOFU), which we’ll cover another time.
Keywords can also be categorized by length:
- Short-Tail Keywords (Head Keywords): (e.g., “baby stroller”)
- Long-Tail Keywords: (e.g., “best lightweight baby stroller for travel”)
What Do You Need for Keyword Research?
Here’s what I use for keyword research at ShoutMeLoud:
- A Keyword Research Tool: (free or paid).
- A List of Seed Words: or SEO competitive domains/businesses. (More on this below).
- A Method to Use Seed Words: for creating keyword lists or analyzing competitor websites.
- A Document: (Excel or similar) for capturing and organizing keywords.
- A System to Delegate Keywords: for content creation (blog articles, e-books, videos, product pages).
- A System for Measuring Keyword Rank: to track success.
Integrating keyword research into your marketing process will drive organic growth.
I’ve refined this process over 10 years to:
- Research
- Cleanup
- Execute/Delegate
- Monitor
- Optimize
These five steps cover all key aspects of keyword research.
Now, let’s learn how to actually DO keyword research!
3 Effective Methods for Keyword Research
Here are a few popular keyword research techniques, even a beginner can execute:
1. Analyze Competitor Keywords
This is the easiest way to find keywords that are already working. Identify 2-3 top websites in your niche. For example, searching for “best baby stroller” reveals these top websites:
Repeat this for your target keyword and enter each winning website into Semrush (or your preferred keyword tool).
Semrush will show vital details:
- Keywords driving the most traffic to that website.
- Volume, traffic percentage, keyword difficulty, and ranking position.
- Which pages are ranking for which keywords.
Semrush allows you to filter keywords based on these metrics. Within minutes, you’ll have a treasure trove of profitable keywords.
2. Keyword Gap Analysis for Easy Wins
This underutilized technique finds keywords your competitors rank for, but you don’t. It’s ideal for existing websites seeking low-hanging fruit.
3. Generate Keywords from Seed Words
This method works for new and existing websites. It’s more time-consuming but uncovers unique keywords.
Let’s use Semrush again:
- Go to Semrush.
- Click on “Keyword Magic Tool.”
Enter your seed keyword (e.g., “baby stroller”) and target country.
Click “Search.” Semrush will generate a vast array of related keywords.
Filter keywords based on parameters like:
- Exact Match: Includes the exact phrase with the same word order (e.g., “buy baby stroller”).
- Broad Match: Includes variations of the words and word order.
- Phrase Match
- Related Keywords
You can do the same with Google Keyword Planner (free). However, it’s designed for PPC and less user-friendly for SEO. For those on a tight budget, it’s a great option.
Note: I used Semrush, my go-to keyword research tool. Similar tools like KWFinder can achieve the same results.
These steps will help you capture primary keywords. Then, you need to:
- Create a cluster of similar keywords.
- Develop an SEO plan to create content/product pages and structure your website.
- Measure results and optimize.
Keyword Research in SEO FAQs
How to do a Keyword Analysis?
Keyword analysis involves using tools to identify relevant keywords. Start by brainstorming seed words or analyzing competitors. Use tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, or Mangools to find keywords based on search volume, competition, and relevance. Cluster keywords using tools like Keyword Insights and create content to build topical authority.
What is a Keyword in SEO with an example?
Keywords are words/phrases users type into search engines. For example, “best backlink checker” is a keyword used to find top backlink checker tools. Optimizing content for relevant keywords helps websites rank higher.
What is the best Keyword research technique in SEO?
The best technique depends on your goals. Effective methods include:
- Analyzing competitor keywords using tools like Semrush.
- Keyword Gap analysis to find missed opportunities.
- Generating keywords from seed words using tools like Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool.
This guide helped you understand keyword research and how to perform it effectively. This is an extensive topic, so feel free to ask questions in the comments. If you’re an experienced SEO, share your keyword research methods below!
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