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How to do keyword research? That is the focus of today’s content. It’s a fundamental question about SEO, and that’s why I’ve put together this comprehensive guide in just 3 steps.  

Here, you’ll discover the key to success, even if you don’t know anything about the topic. However, it’s important to read the entire article for a full understanding.

How to Do Keyword Research and Why It’s Important

How to do keyword research? This is one of the most important processes in SEO. In the digital age, the key to online success lies in visibility.  

Whether you’re running a blog, business website, or e-commerce store, mastering keyword research is fundamental to improving your site’s search engine ranking. Without the right keywords, even the best content may not reach its target audience.  

This guide will show you how to perform keyword research effectively in three simple steps. But first, let’s explore why keyword research is so important and what it really means.

What Is a Keyword?

A keyword is a word or phrase that describes the content on your webpage and aligns with the search terms people enter into search engines like Google. Still sounds complex? Let’s simplify.  

Think of the keyword as a phrase that summarizes an entire piece of content. For example, if a friend asks you to recommend a movie, you might describe it with keywords like “funny” or “emotional” to avoid spoilers.

Based on those keywords, your friend might show more interest and ask for further details. The same concept applies to your blog post, but instead of a friend, you have a search engine (like Google) and a user.  

Your keyword needs to explain and summarize what your content is about in a way that both the search engine and the user can understand.

Imagine you’re recommending a movie to two friends, but each speaks a different language—one is Google (the search engine), and the other is the reader (the user).  

Keywords act as the bridge between what people are searching for and the content you offer. For instance, if you’re selling running shoes, your keywords might include phrases like “best running shoes,” “comfortable running shoes,” or “affordable running shoes.”

How to Do Keyword Research: Key Elements You Need to Know

Before diving into the three-step process of keyword research, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with the types of keywords, important metrics, and on-page optimization strategies. These foundational elements will help ensure you select the right keywords and use them effectively.

Types of Keywords

If I told you that there isn’t just one type of keyword, would you be surprised? There are various types of keywords that serve different purposes. To achieve your goals with your content, it’s important to understand all the different types.

Short-Tail Keywords

These are short, broad search terms consisting of one or two words, such as “laptops” or “running shoes.”

• Pros: They have high search volumes and can bring in a lot of traffic.  
• Cons: They are very competitive and not specific enough to target niche audiences.

Based on my experience, short-tail keywords can work really well if you’re aiming for more traffic as part of your strategy, like monetizing through ads. However, keep in mind that it’s a numbers game, and it takes time.  

After all, you’ll need to create a large amount of optimized content to monetize through ads because you’ll build more authority. It’s not a matter of being right or wrong; it’s just one strategy.

Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords is essential to understand how to do keyword research, and consist of three or more words, such as “best lightweight running shoes for marathons.”

• Pros: They have lower competition and target specific search intent, leading to higher conversion rates.
• Cons: The search volume is lower compared to short-tail keywords.

Based on my experience, long-tail keywords are great if you sell your own products or services because they help you target a specific audience, and you don’t rely on ads to monetize.

Branded vs. Non-Branded Keywords

As the name suggests, branded keywords mention a specific brand, while non-branded keywords use more generic terms.

• Branded keywords include the company name or a product (e.g., “Nike running shoes”).  
• Non-branded keywords are general terms unrelated to a specific brand (e.g., “best running shoes for beginners”).

Based on my experience, you don’t need to choose just one. Non-branded keywords can work really well in lists, for example. However, you can still use branded keywords to review a specific product.

LSI Keywords

Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords are related to your main keyword. For example, if your primary keyword is “laptop,” LSI keywords could be “battery life,” “performance,” or “portability.” These help search engines understand the context of your content.  

That’s why I use Rank Math for SEO. While Yoast SEO can do the job, Rank Math offers the advantage of allowing more than one keyword per blog post.

This feature is amazing and can really help improve the ranking of your content. What is SEO for website? Click here to see my guide for beginners in 3 steps!

Keyword Metrics You Should Know

To prove something, you need metrics to support it. After all, there are good keywords and bad keywords. To choose the right keywords for your content, you need to understand a few essential metrics:

Search Volume

This metric tells you how many times a keyword is searched in a given month. High search volume keywords can drive more traffic, but they often come with higher competition. However, this isn’t always true.  

For example, a new trend might have a large search volume but low competition because there isn’t much content targeting those keywords yet. In this case, you have high search volume but low competition.  

Again, there’s no right or wrong. You could target a keyword for something new that becomes a trend but fades away in a few years. Alternatively, you might enter a saturated niche where ranking high on Google requires significant effort.  

My advice is that around 80% of your content should target high search volume and medium-high competition keywords, while 20% should focus on low competition and medium-high search volume keywords.

This strategy allows you to capitalize on trends while building a strong foundation in your niche. In my opinion, this is the sweet spot. 

Keyword Difficulty (KD)

Keyword difficulty is essential to understand how to do keyword research, it’s a measure of how hard it will be to rank for a specific keyword. It takes into account the authority of the websites currently ranking for that term.  

If you’re a new site, it’s wise to target keywords with lower difficulty. However, there should still be a good amount of search volume, even if the keyword has low difficulty.

Cost Per Click (CPC)

Though CPC (Cost Per Click) is more relevant to paid advertising, it indicates how valuable a keyword is. Higher CPC keywords usually have strong commercial intent, meaning they can lead to better conversions.  

This is one of the key metrics to consider if you sell a specific product or service. However, my advice is to also look at your competitors, which I will show you later in this content.

Search Intent is essential to understand how to do keyword research

Search intent refers to the reason behind a user’s search query, and yes, Google and other search engines consider it one of the most important metrics. After all, the best result is the one that satisfies the user’s search. The intent can be:

• Informational (learning something)
• Navigational (finding a specific site)
• Transactional (making a purchase)

Aligning keywords with user intent helps you attract the right audience. However, this is more about your content. After all, your content has to be the one that satisfies the search.

If your reader wants to learn something, create educational content. If they want to find a specific site, make a list of the best options. If they’re looking to buy, create a review.

Keyword On-Page Optimization

Once you’ve identified the right keywords, you must place them effectively throughout your content. This process is known as on-page optimization.

Title Tags

Your primary keyword should be included in the title of your page or article, as search engines prioritize this element when determining rankings.  

As you can see in this content, the keyword is “how to do keyword research,” so it’s included in the title and follows my headline framework. Click here to see my content about how to make a headline, here you will learn my framework in just 3 steps

Headings is essential to understand how to do keyword research

Keywords should naturally appear in headings to improve structure and readability. Using keywords in headings helps both search engines and readers understand the main points of your content. These are typically H2 and H3 headings.  

If you read my blog, you probably know that I always use a table of contents at the beginning of my articles. This also helps Google and users quickly find what they are looking for.

Meta Descriptions

This is the snippet that appears in search engine results under the title tag. Including your keyword here can improve your click-through rate (CTR). Meta descriptions can be a challenging topic, so I will create a separate piece of content about it in the future.

Content

Distribute your keywords naturally throughout the content, but avoid keyword stuffing. The primary focus should always be on the user experience. The best way to find a balance is by using an SEO plugin—Rank Math and Yoast SEO are still the best options.

Internal Linking

Use anchor text that includes your target keywords when linking between pages. This practice not only helps with SEO but also guides visitors through your site. This ties back to what I mentioned earlier about search volume and keyword choice.

How to Do Keyword Research in 3 Steps

Now that you understand the basic elements of keyword research, let’s move on to the main part of the guide: the three-step process for conducting keyword research.

Step 1: Find Inspiration with Competitors

One of the easiest ways to find relevant keywords is by analyzing your competitors. Competitor research provides insight into the keywords that are already driving traffic to similar websites in your niche. Here’s how you can leverage competitors’ keywords:

1. Identify Your Main Competitors: Look at the websites that rank well in your niche. Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to input your competitor’s URL and extract a list of the keywords they rank for.
2. Evaluate Their Keyword Strategy: Pay attention to their high-performing keywords, search volume, and keyword difficulty. Take note of any long-tail keywords they’re targeting, as these often offer opportunities for smaller sites to compete.
3. Look for Gaps: Your competitors may have missed some valuable keyword opportunities. If you notice keywords they aren’t targeting or covering well, those could be prime opportunities for your site.

Remember, this is just inspiration—you can and should bring your personality into your blog. Look for connections in these first steps, such as terms and topics that interest you and that your audience might find interesting as well.  

For example, I always talk about movies, even though my blog posts are about SEO and copywriting. This allows me to infuse my personality into my articles and make my content more compelling.

Step 2: Find the Best Keywords with Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is a free and reliable tool to help you find relevant keywords and assess their potential. After all, Google created it, so it’s a trustworthy source. That’s why I use this tool. Here’s how you can use it:

1. Log in to your Google Ads account.
2. Click on “Tools” on the left side of your screen, and you’ll likely be directed to the “Keyword Planner.”

3. Click on “Discover new keywords”.

4. Then enter a seed keyword like “Running shoes” and click “Get Results”. Google Keyword Planner will generate a list of related keywords, along with their search volume and competition level.

5. Filter and Sort Keywords: Look for keywords with decent search volume and low to medium competition, as I mentioned earlier. This balance allows you to target phrases that have enough traffic without being too difficult to rank for.

Step 3: Organize the Keywords on a Spreadsheet

Once you’ve gathered a list of potential keywords, it’s crucial to organize them properly. Spreadsheets (using Google Sheets or Excel) are great tools to help you keep track of keyword performance and plan your content strategy.

1. Create columns for key metrics like keyword, search volume, keyword difficulty, CPC, and search intent. This organization will help you quickly assess which keywords are worth targeting.
2. For effective content planning, group similar keywords into clusters. This technique allows you to create comprehensive content around related keywords and improve your chances of ranking for multiple terms.
3. Use your spreadsheet to prioritize keywords based on their potential value. Focus first on those with a good balance of search volume and competition, then work your way through the list.

How to Do Keyword Research for Success with Best Hints of mine

To end our article with a golden key, I will share my personal tips based on my experience as a full-time SEO copywriter. They are:

• Always frame your keyword like a question (e.g., “How to do keyword research?”).
• Use YouTube comments, Quora, and Reddit to find the most common questions.
• Look for phrases that address specific questions.
• Use multiple tools to compare data, especially if you’re doing keyword research for the upcoming months.
• Never ignore local keywords, as they present an opportunity to make your content more compelling and optimized.
• Start your blog with keywords for pillar content.
• Show your personality in your content and let Google know what makes your content different.

Mastering keyword research is essential for creating content that ranks well and attracts the right audience.  

By following the three steps outlined in this guide—finding inspiration from competitors, using Google Keyword Planner, and organizing keywords in a spreadsheet—you’ll be well-equipped to develop a successful keyword strategy.  

Remember, keyword research is an ongoing process. Search trends, competition, and user intent can change over time, so it’s crucial to revisit and refine your keyword strategy regularly.  

Consistent research and optimization will help ensure long-term SEO success and continued growth in organic traffic.

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