Keyword Research for SEO: What It Is and How to Do

Keyword Research is a crucial part of any Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. It involves finding and analyzing what relevant audiences search for in search engines like Google, so you can create content that's more likely to Rank Highly in Search Results.

Key Points:

What is Keyword Research?: Keyword research is the process of identifying and analyzing the specific words and phrases that people use to search for information online. This helps content creators and marketers understand what their target audience is looking for and create content that directly addresses those search queries.

Why is Keyword Research Important?: Keyword research is essential for SEO as it provides valuable insights into what customers are searching for and helps content creators and marketers create targeted content that drives traffic and conversions.

How to Do Keyword Research: The process involves choosing a topic, generating a list of keywords, and analyzing the competition and search volume for each keyword. Advanced techniques include using keyword research tools, understanding keyword intent, and organizing keywords into groups.

Keyword Research Tools: Popular keyword research tools include Backlinko, Conductor, Yoast, and Moz. These tools help streamline the process and provide detailed insights into keyword performance.

Keyword Research in SEO Strategy: Keyword research is the first step in the SEO copywriting process. It helps content creators and marketers create high-quality, findable content that attracts high-quality traffic to their site.

Here's how to do keyword research for SEO:

1. Check Your Existing Rankings

If you have a website, it might already appear for some relevant keywords. You can use tools like Semrush's Organic Research to find out what keywords you rank for and the Highest Position you rank in.

2. Look at Search Suggestions in Search Engines

Google offers autocomplete predictions when you start typing, which can help identify popular queries in your niche. You can also note down keywords that appear in the "Related searches" sections of relevant SERPs and question keywords that appear in "People also ask" boxes.

3. Understand Search Intent

Search intent is the reason behind a user's search. To understand what a keyword can do for your business and how to rank for it, you need to know the usual search intent behind it. There are four categories of search intent: navigational, informational, commercial, and transactional.

4. Analyze Keyword Metrics

When choosing keywords for SEO, it's important to gather useful metrics from SEO keyword research tools. This includes metrics like search volume, keyword difficulty, and cost-per-click (CPC).

5. Prioritize Keywords

With thousands of keyword ideas, you need to prioritize the best ones for your SEO strategy. Consider factors like search volume, keyword difficulty, and relevance to your business.

By conducting thorough keyword research and creating content that satisfies target users' needs, you can earn higher organic rankings in search results and get more valuable traffic to your site.

What are Some Tools to Help With Keyword Research for SEO

Here are some of the best tools to help with keyword research for SEO:

SEMrush - An all-in-one SEO platform that offers extensive keyword research capabilities, including search volume, keyword difficulty, and competitive analysis. It has a large keyword database and provides keyword tracking features.

Ahrefs - A comprehensive SEO toolkit popular with professionals, Ahrefs provides custom keyword metrics, search volume tracking, and a large keyword database. It also offers additional SEO tools like site audits and competitor research.

Google Keyword Planner - A free tool from Google that provides keyword ideas and search volume estimates, making it one of the most accurate sources of keyword data. It's best for finding related keywords.

Moz Keyword Explorer - Moz's free keyword research tool provides access to keyword metrics like search volume, difficulty, and organic click-through rate. It's considered one of the best all-around free SEO keyword research tools.

Google Search Console - While not a dedicated keyword research tool, Google Search Console provides valuable data on the keywords your site is already ranking for and their performance.It's best for monitoring keyword rankings and identifying opportunities.

Keywords Everywhere - An affordable browser extension that provides keyword suggestions, related keywords, and search volume data as you browse. It's a simple way to get keyword insights without using a separate tool.

Mangools - Offers a suite of SEO tools including a keyword research tool with features like search volume, keyword difficulty, and trend data. It provides a good amount of data in its free plan.

The best keyword research tool depends on your specific needs and budget. Many SEO professionals use a combination of tools to get a comprehensive view of keyword opportunities and competition.

How to Prioritize Keywords for SEO

Here are the key steps to prioritize keywords for SEO:

1. Develop an initial list of relevant keywords

Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, and Ahrefs to generate a comprehensive list of keywords related to your business and content.

Analyze the keywords your competitors are ranking for to identify additional opportunities

2. Evaluate keyword metrics

Consider search volume, which indicates the potential traffic for a keyword

Assess keyword difficulty or competition, which estimates how hard it will be to rank for a keyword

Prioritize keywords with high search volume and lower competition when possible

3. Assess relevance and business value

Determine how relevant each keyword is to your products, services and target audience

Prioritize keywords that align with your business goals and are likely to drive valuable traffic and conversions

Involve your team to get input on the relevance and potential business impact of keywords

4. Consider search intent and SERP features

Understand the typical search intent behind each keyword (informational, navigational, commercial, transactional)

Factor in the SERP features like featured snippets, images, and videos that appear for each keyword

Prioritize keywords where you can create content that satisfies the search intent and competes with the SERP features

5. Identify quick wins and long-term opportunities

Look for "low-hanging fruit" keywords where you can quickly improve rankings

Also prioritize keywords that are important for your business long-term, even if they are more competitive

Aim for a mix of head terms and long-tail keywords in your prioritized list

By following these steps to prioritize keywords based on metrics, relevance, search intent and competitive factors, you can create a focused SEO strategy that drives the best results for your business.

What are Some Common Mistakes to Avoid When Doing Keyword Research for SEO

When conducting keyword research for SEO, it's crucial to avoid common mistakes that can impact the effectiveness of your strategy. Here are some key mistakes to avoid:

Ignoring Search Intent: Focusing solely on search volume without considering why people are using specific keywords can lead to targeting irrelevant terms. Understanding the intent behind a keyword is essential for creating content that matches user expectations

Choosing Keywords by Gut Instinct: Relying on gut instinct alone for keyword research can result in selecting broad, irrelevant, or overly competitive keywords. It's important to base keyword selection on data and user behavior rather than intuition

Targeting High-Volume Keywords Only: Prioritizing high-volume keywords without considering user intent and relevance can lead to fierce competition and lower conversion rates. It's crucial to balance search volume with keyword difficulty and relevance for better results

Neglecting Keyword Difficulty: Failing to consider keyword difficulty can result in targeting keywords that are too competitive, making it challenging to rank in search results. Balancing search volume with keyword difficulty is key to selecting effective keywords

Using Local Intent Keywords for Informational Content: Using local intent keywords for informational blog posts can limit the reach of your content. It's important to differentiate between local SEO strategies and content aimed at attracting website traffic to ensure your content aligns with its intended purpose

Relying on Free Keyword Research Tools: Free keyword research tools may provide inaccurate data or limited insights. Investing in paid keyword research tools like Mangools, SEMrush, or Ahrefs can offer more accurate and comprehensive keyword data for better decision-making

Targeting Overly Broad Keywords: Targeting broad keywords like "baseball" can be highly competitive and challenging to rank for. Instead, focusing on long-tail keywords that are more specific and less competitive can lead to better results and more targeted traffic

By avoiding these common keyword research mistakes and following best practices, you can enhance the effectiveness of your SEO strategy and improve your website's visibility in search engine results.

References:

•  Backlinko: Keyword Research for SEO: The Definitive Guide + Template
•  Conductor: What is Keyword Research? A Complete Guide
•  Yoast: Keyword Research for SEO: The Ultimate Guide
•  Moz: What is Keyword Research & How Do I Get Started?
•  Semrush: Keyword Research for SEO: What It Is & How to Do It