The Ultimate Guide to Growth-Minded Keyword Research for SEO

All, Digital Marketing, Internet, Search, SEO,

Published on: August 23, 2021

Keyword Research 101

Keyword research is the first step in the SEO copywriting process and is an essential component of your SEO strategy. Before creating content for your website, you must first determine what search terms your target audience uses. Your keywords are their search queries. Then, you can begin writing valuable and high-quality content premised on these keywords.

Here, we'll walk you through the various steps of keyword research.

What Do We Mean By Keyword Research?

SEO includes keyword research. It is the work that someone does to generate a long list of keywords for which they want a website to rank. To obtain such a list, website owners must research their target audience and search engines. For example, what search terms do people use in Google to find their products, services, businesses, or organizations? And what do they hope to discover? Then, website owners can use this list to create content that will attract more high-quality traffic to their site. Keyword research is never finished: it must be repeated regularly to stay current!

What Is the Significance of Keyword Research?

Proper keyword research is essential because it will reveal which search terms your target audience uses. We frequently encountered business owners who described their products using one set of words while their target audience used an entirely different set of words. As a result of the wording mismatch, potential customers were unable to find those websites.

Read Also: Best Practices: How to Write Effective SEO Meta Description

For instance, a marketing department may decide to give a product a unique name. This is a wise marketing decision because people will remember your product more easily. You might stand out if you rent out vacation cottages rather than vacation homes. But be cautious: very few people look for [vacation cottages]. If you optimize your text for this term, you will most likely rank high for it. However, this term will not generate much traffic, and the search volume will not be high. You will miss out on a large portion of your potential audience because they use other words.

You'll probably agree that optimizing for words that people don't use makes no sense. Thorough keyword research ensures that you use the exact words as your target audience, making the entire process of optimizing your website far more worthwhile. Furthermore, by examining search intent, you can learn what your target audience is looking for. Those questions should be answered with high-quality content.

Crucial Concepts of Keyword Research

Before we get started with keyword research, let's go over some fundamental concepts:

A focus keyword, also known as a key phrase, is the word or phrase you want a specific page on your website to find in Google. By conducting keyword research, you can narrow down your list of focus keywords.

According to SEO and PPC Marketing Agency, Long-tail keywords are more specific and are less frequently searched for than so-called head keywords. They specialize in one area. Because there will be less competition, the longer and more specific the search terms, the easier it will rank for them. Even though fewer people are searching for these terms, they may be more motivated to buy, subscribe, sign up, or do whatever you want them to do.

The decisions you make based on your keyword research comprise your keyword strategy. For example, what type of content are you going to create first? Will you concentrate on the head or the tail? Then, how and where will you distribute it? For example, will you develop a piece of content, an article, a blog post or a product page, a video tutorial, or an infographic?

Investigating search intent is critical here: you must learn what a searcher wants or needs. You're looking at more than just keywords; you're looking at the underlying goals of what a searcher wants to know, do, or buy. Your content should solve the "problem" of the searcher. This is also referred to as content design.

How Can You Conduct Keyword Research?

Here are some of the crucial steps to remember while carrying out keyword research. We will guide you through all the steps and give you practical tips to kick-start your keyword research.

Let's dive in.

1) Find Your Mission

Consider your mission before beginning anything. Consider the following questions: What is the primary goal of your company or organization? What distinguishes it? Who are you attempting to reach? What guarantees do you make on your website? Take your time and write down your mission in detail. When you can answer these questions thoroughly, you'll have completed the first and most crucial step in your keyword strategy.

The market in which you operate determines whether your mission will be brilliant enough to rank high. Some markets are incredibly competitive, with large corporations dominating search results. These businesses have sizable marketing budgets in general and SEO in particular. Competing in these markets is difficult, so ranking in these markets will be difficult as well.

Read Also: 12 Proven Tips to Increase Your Conversion Rate 2021

2) Make A Keyword List.

The next step is to list your keywords, preferably in a spreadsheet-like Google Sheets or Excel. Try to get into the heads of your target audience while keeping your mission in mind. What will these individuals be looking for? What kind of search terms might they be using to find your fantastic service or product? Which of their "problems" is your product supposed to solve? Make a list of as many answers as you can. If your mission is clear, you should have a good idea of your niche and unique selling points (the things that set your business apart from others). These are the search terms for which you want to be found.

3) Don't Forget About The Long-Tail.

When people first start doing keyword research, they tend to concentrate on the most popular "head" terms. Unfortunately, the majority of those head keywords are already taken by large corporations. Long-tail keywords, on the other hand, receive less search traffic but also face less competition. As a result, ranking for those keywords will be easier for you. Furthermore, long-tail keywords have a higher conversion value because they focus on a specific product or topic: a niche!

A long-tail keyword is usually longer and more specific than a head term. For example, if your primary keyword is [puppy training], a long-tail keyword might be [favorable puppy training for Labradoodles in Berlin].

Don't forget to include long-tail keywords in your spreadsheet as well. Add (multiple) columns for long-tail keywords after the first column for head terms. This will also aid you in the creation of a proper site structure later on.

4) Analyze the Competition

Your competition heavily influences the decision to pursue long-tail keywords. If the competition in your niche is fierce, ranking on competitive head terms will be difficult. Conversely, you will be able to rank for more of your key terms if you have little competition. As a result, you'll need to conduct some SEO benchmarking.

Google the keywords you discovered during your keyword research. Begin with your most "head" term. Next, examine the search engine result page (SERP). These are the sites you'll be competing with if you optimize your content for a specific keyword. Finally, take a closer look at this:

Do you come across any professional websites? Websites for businesses?

Are you 'equal' to these businesses?

Is your website one of these sites?

Do you have the same level of influence in your industry?

It's more challenging to rank when you're up against sites with well-known brand names. If a brand is famous through television or radio commercials, your chances of ranking high will be even lower. It won't hurt to look at their content, though. Is the content adequately written and optimized? If your competitors' content is poor, you may be able to outrank them!

Read Also: What Is Content Writing? 9 Effective Tips to Write Engaging Content

Also, take a look at ads in Google. Are there any? If you have a Google Ads account, you can check the pay-per-click. Search terms that have a high pay-per-click are usually also harder to rank for in the organic results.

Make sure to make notes in your spreadsheet about your findings for the keywords you've investigated!

5) Determine a Keyword Strategy

You can now develop a keyword strategy based on the information you've gathered. If you followed the steps above, you should have a spreadsheet with a large number of keywords and information about the competition and the search intent of your target audience for those keywords.

Consider the following question: How does my website fare compare to the websites listed in the SERPs? If you have a similar size and marketing budget, go ahead and concentrate on those key terms. If that doesn't work, try more long-tail keywords first. Focus on a large number of long-tail keywords at the same time could result in a large amount of traffic. After you've ranked for those long-tail keywords, aiming for more head terms will be much easier.

When you've decided where to start, consider the type of content: What was the search intent behind my keywords? What exactly is my target audience looking for? But, more importantly, what content can I create that isn't already available, and how can I differentiate myself in terms of quality or providing solutions? This will assist you in determining the type of content you will create.

Here are Best 5 Tools for Right Keyword Research

1. Google Keyword Planner
2. Semrush
3. Ahrefs
4. Keyword Tool.io
5. Moz Keyword Explorer

Author Bio

Alice is an experienced SEO manager; she helps optimizing copy and landing pages for several brands. Alice's previous experience with top-notch Local SEO Agency in Dallas is a plus point for us. In addition, she is well-versed in the research and implementation of content recommendations for successful organic reach.

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Abdullah Haroon

Abdullah is COO of Xtreme Technologies. He is Interested about Business, and Technology.