Keyword research is the process of finding keywords and phrases that are relevant to your business to target through search engine optimization (SEO). Conducting thorough keyword research is crucial for developing an effective SEO strategy and driving more organic traffic to your site.
What is keyword research
Keyword research involves extensive analysis of your target keywords to gain insights into search intent, competition levels, volume estimates, and more. This data then informs decisions around keyword targeting and content optimization.
Why Finding Keywords is important for SEO
Thorough keyword research lays the foundation for an effective SEO campaign. Without understanding what terms your audience is searching for and how difficult it is to rank for those terms, you’ll struggle to gain organic visibility.
Step 1: Finding Keywords
Finding the right keywords to target is the critical first step in developing an effective SEO strategy. There are several key components to keyword discovery and research at this initial stage.
Understanding Search Intent
When identifying potential keywords and phrases to target, it’s important to first analyze and understand the search intent behind queries in your niche. The three main types of search intent are:
Informational Queries
These are searches aimed at discovering, learning, or researching a topic. For example, “what is blockchain technology” or “how do seo work.” Informational queries present an opportunity to attract organic traffic by creating content that answers these questions and solves these search intents.
Navigational Queries
These searches are conducted with the direct intent of finding a specific website or webpage. An example would be someone searching for your brand name or website URL specifically. The goal for navigational queries is to ensure your site surfaces for branded search terms so people can easily find your homepage, contact page, etc.
Transactional Queries
Transactional searches indicate a user’s immediate intent to complete an action or conversion. These may include product searches, service searches, or any query where the searcher clearly intends to make a purchase right away. The focus for transactional keywords should be conversions over pure traffic volume.
Identifying Seed Keywords
Next, put together an initial list of seed keywords to expand upon. Excellent sources for seed keywords include:
Utilizing Existing Site Keywords & Content
Analyze keywords currently driving traffic and conversions by reviewing your site analytics and metrics. Also take an audit of topics and terms covered within existing content and site architecture. Visitor behavior reveals the terms resonating already.
Researching Historical Search Trends
Look back at historical search data using Google Trends to identify new and rising queries gaining steam in your industry. This helps you spot keyword trends and opportunities early before competition ramps up.
Exploring Competitor Keywords
Use keyword research tools to analyse the terms your competitors are ranking highly for. This provides inspiration for related keywords you may be missing or have an opportunity to target as well.
Expanding the Keyword List
With an initial seed list compiled, the next step is keyword expansion. This involves leveraging tools to discover additional keyword variations and semantically related terms.
Google Keyword Planner
Google’s free Keyword Planner tool lets you input seed terms to generate hundreds of additional keywords and phrases grouped into relevant categories and topic clusters. The data shows search volumes, competition levels, and suggested bid prices for paid search.
Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest by Neil Patel offers similar functionality to Keyword Planner. Input a root keyword and get expansive suggestions of related long tail keywords and phrases to target. Useful filters help narrow down options.
Answer the Public
This tool aggregates the autocomplete questions and suggestions that appear in Google’s dropdown search menu. This reveals the wording people use when searching, helping uncover more keywords with high search intent.
Prioritizing Keywords
With an expanded keyword list, the final step of initial keyword research involves categorizing terms based on priority to determine SEO targeting focus.
Assess Keyword Competitiveness
Use a metric like Keyword Difficulty (KD) to estimate how hard it will be to rank for each term. Higher KD scores indicate more competition. This helps filter out oversaturated keywords.
Evaluate Search Volume
While search volume size is not everything, it still carries weight in assessing priority. Look for a healthy balance between high volume and competitiveness within your niche.
Consider Conversion Potential
Which keywords align closer to the bottom of the funnel based on consumer intent? These terms may warrant higher priority for driving qualified traffic.
Analyze Relevance
Ensure keywords connect closely to your products, services and existing pillar content to maximize on-page optimization potential. This impacts content quality and credibility.
Organize by Groups
Categorize keywords across groups, such as:
- Primary Focus Keywords (Top 10-20)
- Secondary Keywords (Next 50-100)
- Tertiary Long Tail Keywords (100-500)
Add keywords into tracking sheets or SEO software so you can monitor performance over time across each category.
Getting the first keyword research phase right is crucial, as it informs your complete SEO targeting strategy downstream. Continually expand and refine this list moving ahead based on the very latest search data.
Conclusion
Effective SEO begins with in-depth keyword research. By uncovering the most valuable keywords and phrases aligned to consumer intent, assessing competitiveness, prioritizing targets, and continually tracking performance, you can drive more qualified traffic over time. Ongoing analysis and refinement based on the latest data is key to matching more relevant searches. With the right methodology and tools, thorough keyword research lays the foundation for increased visibility and conversions.
