A Beginner’s Guide on How to Do Keyword Research
Keyword research is the most important part of search engine optimization. How you approach your audience and how you approach content strategy will have an impact on how your content is written
Many people don’t know much about search engine optimization. They are experts in keyword research and can make a difference between success and failure.
This is a great thing. SEO keyword research shouldn’t be so difficult that DIYers view it as a black box.
Keyword research is the study and analysis of keywords and phrases people use to search for information. To help you rank for this theme, find out the relative search volume of the target keywords and their competition.
Keyword research is more than a single step. Each step is informed by the process of keyword research.
This summary is of our SEO keyword research, which is also part of the keyword mapping process.
Step 1. Brainstorm Keywords, Topics & Angles
You must start your keyword list somewhere. Start by making guesses about the keywords people use to search for your products or services.
Take a look at the following:
Search engines can be used by people to search for answers to their questions. Don’t focus on keywords. Consider the questions people may have about your product/service.
Look at your site/products/services and think of them as the answers – then try to generate the questions (like the American gameshow Jeopardy). Once you have the questions down, you can write as many keywords variations as you need to find the answers online.
What you think about is what makes you a perfect visitor.
Describe your ideal visitor.
Look later
Many times you will have the ‘curse of knowledge’ – ie, you know your product/service/industry so well that you have no way to break it down to someone who has no idea about your industry.
For example, a plumber might use different terminology to describe their services than the target market. You can instead use similar concepts to break out of the rut.
Observe & Steal
To see the phrases people use about your product, you can also look at their websites and educational resources
Pay close attention to the Title tag, headings, and pages that are relevant to you, and add these keywords to your list.
Use your current website
Search for pages with Google Search Console.
This will display keywords that Google associates your site with. These keywords can be used to improve your site.
Google Ads Keyword Planner is also available. You can also visit Google Ads Keyword Planner.
A solid list of at least 10 keywords is a good place to start. You shouldn’t have too many keywords. This step will require you to use tools and research to increase and maintain the list.
Step 2. Use Keyword Research Tools to Validate or Eliminate
You can sit down and think about how people might search for your content. The goal of keyword research is to find the sweet spot between what you want to say and what they search for.
To find out what people are searching for, we need to go to Google**.
**Nota Bene Ahrefs is a premium third-party keyword research tool that we have discussed here. It can cost you a lot but it will help you make more money and increase traffic from organic search.
This is a brief overview of the main Google search engines to find new keyword ideas and search data.
Google Keyword Planner
This tool replaces the Keyword Tool that SEOs have used for years. It is free, and you don’t have to spend any money.
This will be used for determining search volume for keywords that you are interested in.
This is the view of the keyword searches (excludes variants). To see the trend information for the year, hover over the chart logo.
The Keyword Planner is also useful for generating additional keyword ideas for your list.
Use 5 to 7 keywords similar to each other in the field. Sort them and keep the best.
Google Instant
Keywords, especially for blog posts can sometimes be too narrow or long-tail to rank well on Keyword Planner. Visit Google.com to start typing your keyword.
If you have Google Instant enabled, Google Instant should also be on. If you have Google Instant enabled, Google will begin to guess your search by using search data from previous searches.
It can be used to find out if other people are searching for the same keywords as you are.
Pro tip: Although you’ll need to be familiar with Google Instant, AnswerThePublic, and KeywordTool.io can help you save tons of time. Just type your keyword and browse the Google Instant suggestions. You can take what you want and leave the rest.
Google Trends
Google Trends lets you see trends and changes in search volumes over time. It shows that there’s a seasonal trend.
This will allow you to decide which keywords to focus on. This is particularly useful when researching keywords for blog topic topics.
These tools should give you an idea of what keywords people are looking for. This will help you rank the keywords you have.
You are just one step away from choosing the keywords you want to use on your website.
Step 3. Look at the Search Results to Validate or Eliminate
Most keyword research for beginners’ articles focuses primarily on brainstorming ideas and determining volume. Many DIY websites fail because they neglect to focus on the third aspect of keyword research: how search engines understand your keyword.
Once you have created a solid list that is prioritized according to volume, go to Google Search and look at the search results. Make two judgments.
Google believes your keyword means what it is supposed to
Google has to be able to handle many complex search queries. Are they looking for plumbing supplies?
Google will show sites that it considers the most relevant to a keyword. Google will also display sites that are most relevant for the keyword, regardless of their relevance.
You might target keywords if you are the best at building square gardens in the world. Google serves Madison Square Garden results in only (in America).
You can search for keywords you are interested in. What if your website appears in the top 10?
Search results that are in the same industry or area as your website will show you more opportunities to be found. All government websites are found in 11 of the top 15 results.
It may sound like a long-shot keyword that you could eventually go after (unless your site is run by the AARP), but it is not one on which you should base your website. Google prefers government websites over commercial searches.
Can these Search Results be a competitive advantage?
Google takes into account hundreds of factors in deciding which page should rank on a search query. Google will rank websites like Amazon, New York Times, Wikipedia, and Amazon above smaller, less-known sites if they are equal.
Keyword research can be summarized as You want to win battles. Like you were just starting in soccer. Your goal was to impress others and get some playing time.
You have the option to try out for Manchester United or FC Barcelona. But you won’t get any playing opportunities.
It is better to join a local team, so you can impress smaller crowds but still be interesting.
SEMrush software can help you determine the relevancy of search results. Here’s how you can do it yourself.
Use the SEMrush toolbar for a quick way to determine your site’s authority.
Once your site is ranked and you have a general idea about its popularity, you can open a browser to search for it with SEMrush enabled. This video provides a great overview.
You will find a Page Authority Number (or Domain Authority Number) beneath each search result.
Are you in the top tier of domain authority? Search results are being dominated by authoritative websites and brands.
Next, even if the search results include authoritative sites, is the information displayed useful or not?
Would these results be relevant to your search? Google will often pull relevant results even from less-recognized sites.
Yahoo! Yahoo! Yahoo! Yahoo! Yahoo! Answers is an authoritative site. Yahoo! Yahoo!
You should consider changing your niche if you see search results full of articles from well-known brands and media sites.
This information can be used for modifying your keyword list. It can be used to increase your niche.
You will need to make a judgment call here. The process alone will give you a better understanding of your site and content strategy.
Step 4. Do Quality Assurance & Implementation
Keyword research can lead to false leads. You can also spend too much time researching for no reason.
You should organize your keywords according to the general themes
Keyword organization is crucial for a website. You should expand your search engine optimization efforts to include more related keywords.
Keep your website’s URL in mind
Keyword research should include keyword mapping. Your website must contain keywords to help you target these keywords.
Keep your keyword intent and questions in mind
Sometimes keywords do not mean what they appear to. It is not information or company listings.
Google will sometimes pick up these nuances and display them in search results. Sometimes, however, they may not pick up nuances like these and show them in search results.
Next steps
Our guide to keyword research is over. There are many steps you can take next to keyword research for beginners.
After you have created a list, organize the keywords into themes or topics and assign them pages. Keyword Mapping refers to the process of assigning and tagging keywords.
Mangool’s KWfinder can be used to estimate keyword research budgets. You can get a free trial of SEMrush if you have the funds or want to try a premium tool.
