What is keyword research?
Keyword research involves identifying the specific words and phrases individuals use to search for information on platforms like Google. Understanding how to conduct keyword research is a foundational task in SEO. By uncovering what your target audience searches for, you can tailor your content to align with their interests. This process provides SEO professionals, marketers, and businesses with insights into the popularity of certain keywords and the level of competition they face in search results, guiding optimization efforts effectively.
As keyword research evolves, contemporary approaches prioritize search intent, which reflects a user’s primary objective when using a search engine. Advanced keyword research techniques include categorizing keywords based on the user journey or stages of the sales funnel. A well-executed keyword research and on-page SEO strategy facilitates the discovery of relevant information by potential customers at various points in their purchasing journey.
How to do keyword research
To pinpoint which keywords among the vast array to target, it’s vital to establish a comprehensive keyword research plan. There are numerous methods available to discover target keywords, many of which are outlined in our article “What Are Keywords.” Among the most strategic approaches is utilizing a keyword research tool equipped with a robust dataset. Tools such as Moz’s Keyword Explorer enable you to locate, categorize, and rank keywords based on metrics like relevance, monthly search volume, and difficulty level.
Step 1: Start with your seed term
Keyword research typically begins with a central topic, idea, or primary keyword, often referred to as a “seed keyword.” This seed keyword can originate from your industry expertise, the products or services you offer, participation in relevant online communities, or insights gained through social listening. For instance, if you operate a bike shop, your seed keywords might include ‘folding bikes’ or ‘e-bikes.’
To initiate your keyword research process, you can utilize tools like Keyword Explorer. Simply input your seed keyword to generate a list of top keyword suggestions along with essential metrics. For instance, let’s consider a scenario where we manage an ecommerce store specializing in sporting goods, aiming to optimize our golf category for a new line of golf clubs. We would begin by entering ‘golf clubs’ into the Keyword Explorer and selecting the desired location for our audience.
Step 2: Assess keyword metrics
Immediately, you’ll gain insights into whether there’s demand for your seed term or phrase through search volume data. If you encounter a lack of data, consider commencing with a broader seed term. For instance, instead of starting with a specific phrase like “best golf clubs for newbies,” begin with a more general term like “golf clubs.” Subsequently, you can explore the keyword suggestions within the dataset. It’s important to note that this serves as just the initial step. Relying solely on a single keyword won’t determine the success of your strategy. However, it provides valuable signals to guide your decision-making process and helps you determine whether to pursue a particular keyword path over another.
As you gain experience with keyword research in your industry, you’ll develop a clearer grasp of what constitutes a favorable combination of Search Volume, Organic CTR (Click-Through Rate), and Difficulty. Merely targeting high-volume keywords isn’t beneficial if you lack the ability to compete effectively. Alongside evaluating popularity and competition, it’s crucial to comprehend search intent within your niche. Keywords such as ‘used golf clubs’ or ‘golf clubs for sale’ signify commercial or transactional intent, while ‘types of golf club’ may indicate informational intent. Understanding intent allows you to organize and categorize your keywords effectively, guiding the style and type of content you create and publish.
For advanced users or those managing medium to large websites, the capability to conduct numerous searches within a keyword research tool is essential for comprehensive analysis and strategy development.
Step 3: Assess click-through rate
Organic Click-through Rate (CTR) provides a quick overview of the competitiveness of search results. Various elements such as paid results, image packs, local packs, and other featured snippets can potentially overshadow organic results. In this context, a higher organic CTR is preferable, indicating less competition and a greater likelihood of attracting clicks to your organic listings.
Step 4: Assess your competition
Comprehending your competition is a crucial aspect of any SEO strategy. During keyword research, you might discover that you’re contending with businesses that may not be your direct online competitors. To gain insights into your competition for the keywords you’re investigating, begin by examining Moz’s Difficulty score. The Difficulty score assesses the strength of the top results for a particular keyword. Ideally, you aim to target keywords with a lower Difficulty score, while still possessing some search volume.
Step 5: Group and organize your keywords
Organizing your keywords into groups or lists serves a purpose beyond mere organization; it’s a critical step enabling you to prioritize and make informed business decisions based on your findings.
Opting for low lexical similarity will yield fewer groups containing more keywords each, while selecting high lexical similarity will result in more groups with fewer keywords in each. This feature empowers you to organize your keyword data effectively, facilitating better decision-making and strategy development.
Step 6: Explore the SERPs
In addition to uncovering keywords through a keyword research tool, you can also draw inspiration from the content displayed on the search results page.
Features like ‘People Also Ask’ and ‘Related Searches’ offer insights into Google’s expectations regarding the searcher’s next actions. Leveraging this information can enhance your keyword list and provide valuable direction for your SEO strategy provided by Seo House.
Step 7: Apply your research to your new and existing content
Now it’s time to get down to business and put your findings into action by creating and updating content. Having organized your research into keyword lists proves invaluable here. Keywords not only guide your content strategy but can also influence other business decisions such as domain purchases, investments in specific products or services, and expansion of site categories.
Step 8: Test and repeat
Are people discovering and engaging with your content? Are visitors to your site converting? Clarifying your goals will help define what success looks like for your site. Google Search Console offers crucial insights into the queries driving traffic to your site, including Google Discover traffic. Additionally, if you have Google Analytics set up for your site, you can track visitor engagement, conversions, and more. You can start by exploring the Beginner’s Guide to Google Analytics 4.
Why should I do keyword research?
Keyword research goes beyond simply determining the search volume of specific keywords; it’s about understanding how people use language to explore ideas or topics. Therefore, researching popular keywords is not only integral to search engine optimization but also a fundamental aspect of content marketing. It helps generate ideas for future blog posts, informs content strategy, provides insights into audience questions, problems, and needs, and keeps you updated on the evolving search landscape. By crafting targeted content based on keyword research, you can attract the right traffic to your site—traffic that is more likely to convert.
How often should I do keyword research?
Keyword research isn’t a one-time task. Since your website’s foundation relies on keywords, regularly evaluating and updating your keyword strategy is essential. Search language evolves continuously, new keywords emerge constantly, and your audience’s needs and intents evolve. Therefore, keyword research should be conducted whenever you’re updating existing content, creating new content, launching a new website or page, promoting a product or service, or restructuring your site. By understanding how people search and adapting your content accordingly, you can continue to meet your audience’s needs effectively.