Keyword Research - Quick Guide
Understanding Keyword Research in SEO
- They improve SEO ranking
- They increase search traffic.
- They target the right audience for your content.
- They help understand search intent.
- They enhance marketing strategies and increase the chances of sales.
Keyword Research Fundamentals
Conducting Effective Keyword Research
- Identifying Relevant Topics and Keywords
- Analyzing Search Intent and User Considerations
- Exploring Related Search Terms
- Using Keyword Research Tools Effectively
- Understanding SERPs and keyword placement
- Google Keyword Planner
- SEMrush
- Ahrefs
- Ubersuggest
- Google Trends
Selecting the Right Keywords
- Paragraph Snippets: Short text excerpts answering a specific query.
- List Snippets: Bullet or numbered lists providing concise answers or steps.
- Image Packs: A collection of relevant images related to the search query.
- Video Snippets: Featured video content that directly relates to the search terms.
Advanced Keyword Research Strategies
- Type: Whether the intent is informational, transactional, navigational, or commercial.
- Format: The preferred content format, such as articles, videos, product listings, or infographics.
- Angle: The unique perspective or approach that resonates most with your audience.
- What is the potential traffic that a keyword can bring?
- How relevant is this keyword to my products or services?
- What is the likely conversion rate for this keyword?
- Does this keyword align with my business goals and marketing strategy?
Top Keyword Research Tools
- Free Keyword Generator: Offers 150 keyword suggestions with limited data.
- Free Keyword Difficulty Checker: Provides a difficulty score, backlink estimate, and a basic SERP overview.
- Paid plans start at $99/month, offering more extensive features and in-depth data for advanced SEO research and strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Keyword research is important for your website because it helps you rank in search engine search results.
A good keyword research strategy and proper use of these keywords make it easier for search engines to crawl through your content to determine its relevance for specific queries.
The higher you rank, the easier it is to gain organic traffic and increase the chances of sales for your site.
It also proves your authority and expertise in your niche, establishing the brand of your website in the industry.
For the frequency of conducting keyword research, the rule of thumb is to conduct research once every six months to ensure you are always targeting the most valuable and relevant keywords for your site.
However, it will still depend on the type of content you are publishing.
You can also consider the following situations.
- Industry Trends: In fast-changing industries like technology or fashion, conduct keyword research more frequently to stay updated with emerging trends.
- Seasonal Trends: Annual keyword research is essential for seasonal businesses to capture and stay abreast of seasonal search trends.
- New Product Launches: Conduct research when launching new products to identify relevant keywords for your new offerings.
- Competitor Analysis: Regularly check competitors’ keywords, especially if they start ranking for new terms.
- Changes in Search Algorithms: Update your keyword research when significant search algorithm changes occur to ensure continued relevance and effectiveness.
By staying updated in these situations, you can easily optimize your content and ensure that your site is always ready to rank in search results.
Some of the best online keyword research tools include Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Ubersuggest, and Google Trends.
However, some of these can offer more features and better analyze keywords if you subscribe to their site compared to simply using their free keyword research plans.
These premium versions can provide you with a more in-depth analysis and statistics of your competitors’ content, search volume of certain keywords, and unique keyword ideas that you can rank for.
While a paid keyword tool may be more likely to give you the right values for search traffic or keyword data, many free options can still help your blog post perform better online, especially if you are not yet making money with your online presence.
You can choose the right keywords for your website by doing the following.
- Create a list of essential topics. These are the ones you want to rank for and categorize them based on what kinds of keywords they are, like long-tail vs. short-tail or parent keyword vs. subtopic.
- Look for how your competitors use these keywords. You can easily do this by running a quick Google search or by using a keyword research tool to analyze other sites for you.
- Look for related research terms and other relevant topics. These are words or queries people may look up when researching your topic or niche.
- Enhance your list by using different keyword research tools. These tools provide you with the relevant statistics you need to further understand your keyword ideas, including keyword difficulty, search volume, and more.
Once you have the right keywords, you can create your content accordingly.
However, you can still get new keyword ideas despite already having your content up. It is important to monitor your content’s performance and online trends for keywords and update as needed.
These are normally targeted by more prominent brands that may already have authority over a niche, which may make it difficult for smaller sites to rank for.
A great example is the word “dog,” which may be a broad topic that can have many queries, from pet health to grooming and more.
On the other hand, long-tail keywords are more specific queries, usually 3 to 5 words long.
These are more specific and are usually easier to rank for. However, a long-tail keyword also runs the risk of being too obscure to get enough traffic to compete with more difficult variations of the keyword, especially if it is not usually searched.
Going back to the dog example, long-tail keywords may include phrases like “what dogs eat” or “how to take care of a dog.”