How to Do Keyword Research
Keyword Research is an extremely crucial aspect of SEO. This is the process of identifying the keywords and phrases that potential customers search for to find the content, product or service you provide.
The goal of keyword research is to determine what keywords people are already using to search for the types of products or services you offer. Then, you can optimize your website and content around these keywords to improve your website’s ranking in search results.
For example, a company that sells Air Conditioners needs to do keyword research to find out what customers are searching for. Are they searching for an “air conditioning unit” or “ac unit”? While these are very similar, they are different enough that finding out the answer to this question should influence the content on your site.
Brainstorm “Seed” Keywords
Starting your keyword research process with seed keywords is a crucial step in optimizing your online presence. These keywords serve as the foundation for generating a comprehensive list of relevant and high-performing keywords. Most keyword research tools require a seed keyword to generate a multitude of keyword ideas.
If you’re unsure about your seed keywords, don’t fret! You can easily brainstorm them by considering your target audience and what they would search for on Google to find products or services like yours. For instance, if you run a business selling painting supplies, some potential seed keywords could be: paint brushes, canvas, and acrylic paint.
It’s important to keep in mind that seed keywords are only the beginning of your research process. They serve as a starting point to uncover more specific and valuable keywords related to your business. So don’t spend too much time overthinking your seed keywords. Once you have a few broad ideas, you can move on to the next step in your research.
What are Your Competitors Ranking For?
Accelerating your keyword research can be achieved by looking into the keywords that are driving traffic to your competitors. The first step in this process is identifying your competitors, which can be done with the help of your previously brainstormed list of seed keywords. Simply search for one of your seed keywords on Google and take note of the websites that appear on the first page of the results.
Once you have identified a competitor website that aligns with your business, it’s time to delve deeper. Competitive intelligence tools like Ahrefs’ Site Explorer can provide valuable insights into the specific pages that generate the most traffic for your competitors, as well as the keywords that these pages are targeting. By analyzing this data, you can gain a better understanding of the keywords that are most relevant to your niche and target audience, allowing you to refine your own keyword strategy accordingly.
Use Keyword Research Tools
While analyzing your competitor’s websites can provide valuable keyword information, it’s important to note that there are likely a lot of untapped keywords that your competitors haven’t yet targeted. Fortunately, there are several keyword research tools that can help you uncover these hidden gems.
These tools typically operate by generating keyword ideas based on a seed keyword that you input into the tool. One of the most widely recognized keyword research tools is Google Keyword Planner. While it’s primarily designed for individuals looking to display paid advertisements on Google, it can also be utilized to identify keywords for SEO purposes.
Understanding Relevant Keyword Research Data
The two main pieces of data you are looking for while doing keyword research are monthly search volume and difficulty.
- Monthly search volume tells you how many times a keyword is searched for. So the higher the volume the better. However, most of the time a keyword with a higher search volume has a high difficulty.
- When a keyword is a high difficulty, it means that there are a lot of other web pages currently ranking for that keyword. That usually means it will be more difficult to rank highly for that keyword.
While high-volume high difficulty keywords are important, sometimes the lower-volume keywords with low difficulty are more in line with the product or service you provide, so make sure you don’t neglect them.
To Summarize — Keyword Research Matters
Keyword Research is vital to your SEO strategy. It’s so vital that it’s important that you keep coming back to it. Good keyword research is not a set-and-forget-it strategy. Trends change and your goals change. So every few months, come back and do your keyword research again. To learn more about keyword research, SEO, and Digital Marketing check out Rinard Media’s library of free resources.
