How to do keyword research for SEO
Who doesn’t want to rank on Google.
Right?
Google’s search algorithm considers more than 200 factors when ranking websites. The first step to enabling your site to shine in this competitive world is quality keyword research. Identifying the right keywords that appeal and resonate with your target market, you could create and implement a keyword strategy meant to boost your pages in search rankings and drive consistent organic traffic.
In this blog, we will discuss why keyword research is crucial and how to successfully find the best keywords for your content, matching up with the user intent.
What are keywords?
Before we move forward with the meaning of keyword research.
Let’s understand “what are keywords?”
Keywords are those terms that best capture the content of your page or post. It is the specific search term you want to rank for on that particular page. When users type in that keyword or phrase in Google or any other search engine, your page should ideally pop up in the result list.
For example, if your website is for flowers delivery and you are selling variety of flowers, a couple of topics to use in a blog posting include “What flowers to give your girlfriend ” and share your thoughts about the flowers offered in your store by giving reviews of them. If you deal with flowers only, think about this:
What do you want to rank for?
What phrases do you think people searching for you might type into search engines?
What would their search look like?
Most likely, it would be flowers gift delivery, since that keyword accurately represents the content on that page. If you had to sum up your content in a few words, what would you say? Those words form your keyword or keyphrase, especially if it’s made up of several words.
We often use the term ‘keyword,’ but it doesn’t always refer to one word. Often, it refers to a phrase with multiple words. So, when we talk about keywords, we are usually referring to phrases rather than single words.
What is keyword research?
Keyword research is basically an attempt to find out the words used when information is sought on a particular topic. It also assesses the frequency at which those words are found on search engines, like Google and Bing. Such a process helps find newer keywords with greater relevance and subsequently boosts your paid as well as organic search marketing campaigns.
If you’re looking to pin down the right terms that meet the content of your business and offerings, as well as having a healthy amount of search traffic, for the purpose, there are plenty of keyword research tools like:
Other than the search volume, here are other keyword metrics that will help you determine which one of these keywords you’re going to spend your time with, and that includes the following:
- Cost-per-click (CPC)
- Difficulty to rank
- Estimate visits
Importance of keyword research
Google looks at content on a page to rank it. It looks at the words used throughout a page. Imagine this: if every word in a blog post about flowers delivery appears twice, then all those words hold the same weight. Google won’t be able to figure out which words matter most. Words you use alert Google about what your page or post has to do with. For Google to understand what your page is talking about, you should use these key terms as many times as possible.
But do not forget that the thing that makes Google special is not keywords alone. In fact, much more important than this is to focus on your audience. The basis behind search engine optimisation is that a user should see your page at the search engine while they are in the lookout for certain phrases or relevant keywords. So, it’s important for you to be in their shoes. What words they will use should be there.
Using the wrong keyword phrase ensures that you are not going to attract visitors whom you want because the information you will give them may not be what your desired audience is looking for exactly. On the other hand, if you use the right terms, it can throw your business sky-high. The keywords will therefore need to match exactly what the audience seeks. It can lead you to the wrong audience or none at all, so choosing the right keywords is really very important.
How to do keyword research
Now that you understand why keyword research is so important and have become familiar with some key terms and ideas, it’s time to dive in. Here’s how to pinpoint the relevant keywords you should focus on to draw in your ideal audience and build a solid keyword strategy.
1. Create a list of topics related to your niche
Begin by building a simple spreadsheet with general categories that your keywords will fit into for the topics you want to rank for. These categories could be product categories or possibly just anything you believe your targeted customer would find interesting. Maybe you blog sometimes, but either way, you are bound to have some ongoing themes in mind. Ideally, this list of ideas should be pretty condensed: 5 to 10 topics is a pretty good number. It often is helpful to think in the shoes of a potential customer searching for a specific type of product or service.
2. Brainstorm all the keywords you think your customers might use
For each topic, brainstorm all the terms you think your customers might use. Now that you have those broad categories, it’s time to determine what specific keywords and phrases your ideal customer would type into a search engine to find what they need-information, products or services. If you have access to tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Ubersuggest, etc check out your organic search traffic section. You will be able to see keywords that people are already using to find their way to your site. This is not the final keyword list yet. It’s more of brainstorming and gathering insights to make your research sharper and more effective.
3. Get related keywords
There are so many great ways to expand your keyword lists.
For example, you can just search in Google for a keyword phrase and scroll down to the bottom of the page to see lots of related search phrases in bold.
If you want to dig deeper, click one of those related searches and check out the suggestions Google gives at the bottom of that next page. Another way would be to enter your keyword phrase into Google’s Keyword Planner or any of the following paid tools to see what other relevant terms people are using.
4. Check out the power of your keywords
You can easily make it if you use Keyword Planner or paid keyword research and SEO tools. Some of the top used ones are Ahrefs, Semrush, and Ubersuggest. You could begin with the free version provided by Ubersuggest. While you are conducting keyword research, make a note of the following:
- Specific keyword phrase
- Your keyword phrase should exactly match what the people are looking for.
- Make sure that your search volume is big enough. It doesn’t help much with strategy if no one searches for a keyword phrase.
- Target keywords with the highest search volume.
- How competitive is the competition? Paid tools will show you that difference between competition for paid ads and organic search.
You want to find the keywords with a high search volume but lower competition in organic search—that’s where the magic happens. Also, look for any related terms you could have overlooked that have huge search volumes and low competition.
5. Determine your place in your field
If you are competing with big brands at the first page of Google for your selected keywords, then you have to pivot and go for less competitive long-tail keywords. Look at what is at the top of the SERP for terms you actually want to rank for. It should have powerful brand names, which is more in the market and generated by people who consume more than you do currently. Go back to your keyword list and add more long-tail choices. This means if perhaps your competitor fails to input high quality, you really want to keep it all as in the initial direction. You might end up with higher ranking, maybe even because, at any rate, your pockets aren’t as full of cash compared to your competition; it lets you shine deeper and greater in either aspect, content or visual, at any case.
6. Check out search intent
But at what price? When someone punches in the question into Google, someone is looking for something of specific relevance, and an answer deserves to be a clear one. In short, to be honest about what your clients want, insert your key words in the search query term. Discover other things that are already ranking for what you are trying to. Discover what they give to people. If someone is just looking, you may get that next click by promoting a product, but he’s gone pretty quickly, and the rankings are going to hurt. Flip that around, if you’ve got an actual buyer coming in, and you give him a product page, the chances he’s going to buy improve. Keep track of each keyword’s buyer intent in your spread sheet or make it a routine for you or your team to check the intent behind any keyword before you create any content around it.
Do some keyword research to identify trends and gaps, get a grip on what users search for, and discover the best keywords to shape your content. Just keep in mind that keyword research is just the starting point of your SEO strategy game plan.
To really drive an impact, every blog post, article, and product description should have more value, be easier to read, and more comprehensive than your competitors have. They need to concentrate also on layout and the on-page aspect of SEO in each content piece so that the website is easy to navigate and responsive. All these can indeed seem confusing and frustrating. Remember, though, that while anyone can attempt SEO, there is a big difference between doing it and doing it right. That is why it is always advisable to trust expert hands. SEO specialists know the tips and tricks you don’t, and they stay ahead of the ever-changing algorithms to deliver results that matter.
Don’t let your competitors outrank you. Partner with experts like Tussle Digital, who will propel your website to the top and keep it there. Take the stress out of SEO and let the experts handle it for you. Start boosting your online visibility today because your business deserves to be seen. Reach out to us today.