To ensure your website appears in search engine results for relevant terms, it’s essential to identify the right keywords. But how do you determine relevance? Which terms should you prioritize, and what factors influence this decision? Ideally, you want to focus on terms that:
- Align with your audience’s needs.
- Are achievable in terms of ranking.
- Offer tangible business benefits.
- Have actual search demand.
The process of identifying these terms is known as keyword research. By the end of this article, you’ll be equipped to conduct your own keyword research. This foundational step helps integrate the right keywords into your site. The next phase involves linking these keywords to specific pages on your website, forming your keyword strategy—a topic we’ll explore further in a separate article.
What is Keyword Research, and Why Is It Important?
A robust SEO strategy can significantly boost long-term traffic and drive growth through your website. According to our 2024 State of SEO Survey, 93% of respondents in 2023 reported that SEO positively impacted their website performance and marketing goals. However, simply implementing an SEO strategy isn’t enough to achieve success.
To generate results via organic search, your content must resonate with your target audience, address their questions, and assist them in solving problems. Crafting high-quality content, enhancing SEO, and optimizing your site all hinge on effective keyword research, making it a critical component of the process.
Keyword research involves pinpointing and analyzing the terms people use when searching online for information, products, or services. This requires discovering popular queries, assessing their relevance to your offerings, and evaluating the competition for those terms.
By integrating relevant and valuable keywords into your content, you provide better solutions and enhance user experience for your audience. High rankings on search engines depend on creating useful and impactful content, which starts with thorough keyword research.
Understanding the Components of a Keyword
Before diving into the technical aspects of keyword research, let’s clarify some terminology. A search query consists of one or more keywords entered into a search engine. These keywords are embedded within your content. For simplicity, whenever I mention “keyword,” I refer to one or more keywords collectively.
Here are the key elements to consider when evaluating a keyword:
- Monthly Search Volume (MSV): This measures how frequently a specific term is searched each month, indicating potential traffic an article could attract. However, higher MSV doesn’t always equate to better results, as highly competitive terms might be harder to rank for.
- Search Intent: This refers to the purpose behind a user’s query. Understanding what users expect from their search allows you to tailor your content to meet their needs effectively.
- Keyword Difficulty: This reflects the challenge of ranking for a particular term based on current competition. Popular terms often attract more competitors, making it tougher to stand out.
- SERP Structure: The layout of search engine results pages includes features like featured snippets, local packs, images, and videos. This structure influences where your content appears and its visibility to users.
- Relevance: A keyword should align closely with your business expertise. For instance, a furniture retailer wouldn’t benefit from targeting basketball-related terms, as it would confuse both users and search engines.
Exploring the Keyword Research Process
The keyword research process comprises six steps:
Step 1: Brainstorm
Start by reflecting on your business:
- What terms should your site rank for?
- What distinguishes your brand from competitors?
- Who makes up your target audience?
- Who are your main competitors?
List all the terms your site should ideally rank for, keeping them broad initially. Consider your unique selling points (USPs) and how they influence customer decisions. Define your audience using detailed personas, covering demographics, motivations, and purchasing habits. Identify competitors by reviewing search results for your initial terms.
Step 2: Compile Existing Keywords
Identify terms your site already ranks for using tools like Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Google Search Console: Access insights into organic search performance, including keyword data over the past 90 days.
- Bing Webmaster Tools: Similar to Google Search Console, but provides data for Bing searches over 180 days.
- Conductor Intelligence: Offers deeper analysis of keyword rankings and competitor comparisons.
If you run paid search campaigns, leverage this data to understand effective keywords and variations. Additionally, analyze anchor text used in links pointing to your site to uncover relevant terms.
Step 3: Discover New Keywords
Analyze competitors’ strategies to find untapped opportunities:
- Use tools like Conductor for competitor gap analysis, identifying keywords where rivals dominate but you have room to improve.
- Explore organic search visibility and anchor text patterns for competitors.
- Utilize Google Ads Keyword Planner for additional suggestions and trends.
Step 4: Consolidate Keyword Lists
Combine lists from Steps 2 and 3, removing duplicates and irrelevant terms. Categorize remaining keywords for better organization.
- Merge all keywords into a single spreadsheet, noting their source for future reference.
- Eliminate redundant entries using built-in functions in Excel or Google Sheets.
- Discard terms unrelated to your business or audience, such as branded searches for competitors.
Categorize the refined list based on product type, brand, size, color, intent, or location to streamline management.
Step 5: Evaluate Keyword Attractiveness
Assess each keyword’s potential by gathering data on:
- Search Volume: Indicates monthly interest in a term.
- Competition Level: Reflects the difficulty of ranking for the term.
- Business Value: Determines the likelihood of conversion or sales.
Use tools like SEMrush, Conductor, or Google Ads Keyword Planner to obtain this information. Balance high-volume terms with manageable competition, while also considering low-volume terms with strong business value.
Step 6: Expand with Long-Tail Keywords
Focus on longer, more specific phrases that collectively drive significant traffic. These often represent niche interests and can complement broader terms.
Tools like Google Suggest, Google Trends, and related searches at the bottom of result pages offer inspiration for long-tail variations.
Recap of Keyword Research
Ultimately, keyword research strengthens your content and website by ensuring alignment with audience needs. It’s not about cramming high-volume terms into your content but finding meaningful opportunities to create valuable content. Follow these workflows to optimize your site and enhance the user experience.