Blog keyword research is a crucial step in increasing online visibility. This is because 71% of online experiences begin with a search engine, and most people don't scroll past the first page of results.
To ensure your blog appears on that first page, you need to understand what people are searching for. Keyword research helps you identify the most relevant and high-traffic keywords related to your content.
A well-planned keyword strategy can boost your search engine rankings, drive more traffic to your blog, and ultimately increase engagement and conversions. According to a study, businesses that invest in keyword research see a 25% increase in online sales.
By conducting thorough keyword research, you can create content that resonates with your target audience and sets your blog apart from the competition.
Why Is Important?
Keyword research is crucial for finding your SEO sweet spot, where you can confidently produce excellent content that resonates with your target audience.
Keyword research determines who your competitors are and which area of the search landscape you can rank for.
It helps identify the queries that your target audience is actually searching on Google, which informs your content strategy and larger marketing strategy.
Your content strategy should be based on what people want to discover, not just what you want to tell them.
If nobody's searching for a specific keyword, you won't have much luck or traffic, no matter how great your content is.
People use keywords to find solutions when conducting research online, so targeting those searches with content that features those keywords is key.
Inbound methodology focuses on creating content around what people want to discover, and keyword research is a crucial step in achieving that.
You need to ensure that the SEO keywords used in your content matches with your brand, product, or service to the keywords that your customer use.
A good keyword research helps you craft a viable SEO strategy, which in turn creates a detailed plan of action to achieve your goals.
Choosing the right keyword can make all the difference in terms of search volume data, trends, and competition levels.
Benefits of Keyword Research
Conducting keyword research has many benefits, the most popular being that it helps you understand what relevant audiences are looking for and prioritize ranking opportunities.
Keyword research can help you create content that satisfies target users' needs, earning you organic rankings in search results and valuable traffic to your site.
Google says content relevance is one of the most important factors when ranking search results, and adding relevant keywords to your page can help it rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Effective keyword research helps businesses attract the right audience – they're genuinely interested in their products or services.
Studying keywords can provide a competitive advantage by giving you a sneak peek into the strategies of your competitors and identifying gaps and opportunities in your market.
By bidding on relevant keywords, you can optimize your advertising spend and reach potential customers who are more likely to convert.
Keyword research goes hand-in-hand with creating high-quality and relevant content, ensuring you provide valuable information to your audience and improving your search engine rankings and fostering trust and authority.
Understanding Keyword Research
Keyword research is the activity of analyzing and finding a list of valuable keywords for SEO copywriting. It helps decipher what users are searching for and why, and it's essential for creating content that aligns with user intent.
There are four categories of search intent: navigational, informational, commercial, and transactional. Understanding these categories can help you determine what type of content to create and how to rank for a specific keyword.
To get started with keyword research, you don't need to be an expert – it's no rocket science! Once you understand the basics and learn some proven strategies, you're good to go.
What Is?
Keyword research is a crucial activity that helps you understand what users are searching for and why. It's not just about identifying popular search terms, but also about deciphering the user's intent behind those queries.
Keyword research is defined as the activity of analyzing and finding a valuable list of keywords for SEO copywriting. This list of keywords serves as a guide for the direction of your content and marketing strategy.
A keyword can consist of a single word, but more often than not, it's made up of several words. For example, "search terms" is a keyword, as is "best keyword search tool".
There are three primary types of keyword intent: Informational, Navigational, and Transactional. Informational intent is driven by users seeking information or answers, while Navigational intent comes into play when users are looking for a specific website or webpage. Transactional intent is when users are ready to take action, whether making a purchase, signing up, or subscribing.
Here are some examples of keywords with their corresponding intent:
Understanding keywords is essential to creating content that covers the topic thoroughly and satisfies users' needs. By analyzing and finding valuable keywords, you can create a content hub model that organizes articles into topics divided into content hubs, also known as topic clusters.
A seed keyword is the fundamental, foundational keyword representing a particular subject's core topic or niche. It's the starting point of keyword research, from which a broader list of related and more specific keywords can be generated.
AI Overviews
Keyword research is a crucial activity that helps you understand what users are searching for and why. It's not just about identifying popular search terms, but also about grasping the user's intent behind those queries.
A seed keyword is the fundamental keyword representing a particular subject's core topic or niche, and it's the starting point of keyword research. For example, if you have a website focusing on "fitness", then "fitness" itself will be your seed keyword.
Keyword intent, or search intent, lies at the heart of every online search, and there are three primary types of keyword intent: Informational, Navigational, and Transactional. Informational intent is driven by the audience seeking information or answers, while Navigational intent comes into play when your audience is looking for a specific website or webpage.
To understand what a keyword can do for your business, you need to know the search intent behind it. For example, people who search "pedigree small dog" typically want to purchase Pedigree-branded food for small dog breeds.
Here are the four categories of search intent:
- Navigational: The user is looking for a specific page (e.g., “pedigree foundation”)
- Informational: The user is looking for general information on a topic (e.g., “can dogs eat spicy food”)
- Commercial: The user is researching their options before making the final decision on which product to buy (e.g., “best dry dog food”)
- Transactional: The user is looking for a specific product or brand, with the intention to make a purchase (e.g., “pedigree puppy food”)
Using a keyword research tool can save you a lot of time and give you data you wouldn't find elsewhere, such as keyword difficulty, search volume, and SERP data. It's a great investment if your website or blog brings you money in any way.
SERP Features
SERP Features are a crucial part of keyword research, and understanding them can make a big difference in your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
There are 22 different types of SERP features that Google will highlight, and you can find out more about them by looking up keywords and seeing what the first result looks like.
SERP features can present both an opportunity and a threat. They can lead to more impressions and clicks, but some features can also eliminate the need for users to click on results, or detract clicks from standard organic results.
You can rank organically for some SERP features, which can be a game-changer for your SEO strategy. For example, the popular products SERP feature can be a great opportunity for businesses that sell products online.
To see which SERP features each keyword triggers, you can use tools like Semrush's Keyword Magic Tool. This tool allows you to hover over keywords to see exactly which SERP features they trigger.
Here are some common SERP features to look out for:
- Popular products
- Reviews
- People also ask
- Definitions
- And more!
By understanding SERP features and how they can impact your keyword research, you can make more informed decisions about which keywords to target and how to optimize your content for search engines.
Choosing the Right Tools
Ryrob's keyword research tool is easy to use, giving you several related keywords for solid blog topics. You can plug in your keyword and get started right away.
To choose the best keywords for SEO, you need to gather useful metrics from SEO keyword research tools and analyze the SERPs to see what results are shown. This will help you narrow down your options and focus on the most relevant keywords.
Here are some tools you can consider:
- Rank Tracker by SEO PowerSuite, which allows you to see all the phrases a particular domain ranks for, along with search volumes and keyword difficulty.
- Semrush Keyword Magic Tool, which is free to set up and gives you a list of similar keywords to sort based on how specific you need your results to be.
- Semrush's Keyword Overview tool, which gathers metrics for up to 100 keywords at once.
Responsibility
Any website owner, blogger, or online marketer should take responsibility for choosing the right tools. This is a crucial step in achieving their online goals.
Website owners, bloggers, and online marketers are responsible for understanding their target audience and creating content that resonates with them.
SEO specialists play a key role in helping others make informed decisions about the tools they use. They can provide valuable insights and expertise to ensure the right tools are chosen.
Ultimately, the responsibility for choosing the right tools lies with the individual or team working on a project.
How to Choose for Your Website
To choose the right keywords for your website, use Google Keyword Planner to cut down your keyword list and prioritize low-hanging fruit. Prioritize low-hanging fruit, which are keywords that you have a chance of ranking for based on your website's authority.
Use tools like Ahrefs Webmaster Tools and SE Ranking to gather useful metrics from SEO keyword research tools and analyze the SERPs to see what results are shown. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools offers plenty of detail into any verified domains you own, while SE Ranking provides comprehensive data, but may require some digging to access.
Check the monthly search volume (MSV) for keywords you’ve chosen and factor in SERP features as you choose keywords. You can also use tools like Rank Tracker to monitor SERP data and do keyword research, and integrate it with Google Search Console and Keyword Planner for a free version.
To refine your list, make a list of important, relevant topics based on what you know about your business and fill in those topic buckets with keywords. Understand how intent affects keyword research and analyze accordingly. Research related search terms and use keyword research tools to your advantage.
Here's a checklist to help you choose the best keywords for SEO:
- Gather useful metrics from SEO keyword research tools
- Analyze the SERPs to see what results are shown
- Prioritize low-hanging fruit
- Check the monthly search volume (MSV) for keywords you’ve chosen
- Factor in SERP features as you choose keywords
- Check for a mix of head terms and long-tail keywords in each bucket
- See how competitors are ranking for these keywords
By following this checklist, you can choose the best keywords for your website and improve your SEO strategy.
Amazon
Amazon has its own search engine called A9, which collects data on popular search queries and offers automatic suggestions based on product conversion rate and buying behavior.
You can search for these suggestions manually or use free tools that do it automatically.
These keywords are especially useful for content with transactional intent.
If you're an affiliate marketer or e-commerce store owner, Amazon's search engine can be a valuable resource for finding relevant keywords.
What to Avoid:
When researching keywords, it's essential to avoid common pitfalls that can harm your search engine rankings. Don't overthink the number and placement of the keywords, as this can lead to unnecessary complexity.
Following keyword density recommendations is also not recommended. Instead, focus on using keywords naturally and consistently throughout your content.
Stuffing keywords into your text unnaturally is a big no-no. Remember, "LSI keywords" are a myth, and using them can make your content seem spammy.
Here are some key things to avoid in your keyword research:
- Overthinking the number and placement of keywords
- Following keyword density recommendations
- Stuffing keywords into the text unnaturally
Analyzing Keyword Data
Analyzing keyword data is a crucial step in blog keyword research. It involves examining metrics such as monthly search volume, competition, and cost per click (CPC) to determine the potential effectiveness of a keyword.
Monthly search volume represents the number of times a specific keyword is searched for within a defined time frame, typically on search engines like Google. High search volume keywords are more competitive but offer the potential for more significant traffic.
You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner to get search volume and traffic estimates for keywords, and then use Google Trends to fill in some blanks and determine which terms are trending upward. The higher the search volume, the more traffic you can get if you rank well for that keyword.
A good keyword research tool can help you filter for keywords with specific volumes, such as over 100 searches per month. You can also look up keyword volumes for specific keywords using the Keyword Overview tool, which even lets you check search volumes in specific regions.
Here are some key metrics to consider when analyzing keyword data:
By analyzing these metrics, you can identify the best opportunities for your blog and create SEO-optimized content that resonates with your audience.
Alternative Estimation Methods
Domain age can be a useful metric to estimate keyword difficulty, as it can indicate the age of the ranking websites. A keyword with a 6-months-old website in the first SERP could be easy to rank for.
You can also use the Keyword Golden Ratio method to find long-tail keywords that are likely to be easy to rank for. This method allows you to find keywords with a good balance of search volume and difficulty.
Sometimes, if there is no relevant content, Google will display semi-relevant websites with high authority, making it seem like the difficulty metric is high. However, this doesn't mean you can't outrank them with highly-focused, relevant content.
Here's a summary of alternative estimation methods:
Organic vs Paid
Organic keywords appear in search results naturally, while paid keywords are used in paid advertising campaigns like Google Ads, where you pay for your website to appear at the top of search results for specific keywords.
Organic keywords are a result of your website's relevance and authority, whereas paid keywords require a budget to reach the top of search results.
Understanding the difference between organic and paid keywords is crucial in analyzing keyword data, as it helps you identify which keywords are driving traffic to your website for free and which ones require a paid advertising budget.
Organic keywords can provide valuable insights into your target audience's search behavior and preferences, while paid keywords can help you reach a wider audience and drive more traffic to your website.
By analyzing your organic and paid keyword data, you can make informed decisions about your content strategy and advertising budget.
Competitor Research and Analysis
Understanding your competitors' keyword strategies is crucial to identifying gaps and opportunities in the keyword landscape. You can find this information by manually searching for keywords in an incognito browser and seeing what positions your competitors are in.
To get a sense of the terms that your competitors rank for, manually search for keywords in an incognito browser. This can be a quick way to get a sense of the terms that your competitors are targeting.
You can also use tools like Keyword Tool Pro to perform a competitor analysis. Enter your competitor's domain into the search box and the results will show all the keywords that the page ranks for. This can help you identify keywords that your competitors are targeting that you may be missing out on.
Here are some ways to conduct a competitor analysis:
- Check your competitor's domain to get new topic ideas
- Use tools like Keyword Tool Pro to analyze your competitor's keywords
- Identify gaps and opportunities in the keyword landscape
- Use tools like Rank Math's SEO Analyzer to inspect your competitor's web pages and gain valuable insights into their SEO strategy
By conducting a competitor analysis, you can gain a deeper understanding of your competitors' keyword strategies and identify opportunities to improve your own keyword research.
Competitor Research
To get a sense of the terms your competitors rank for, manually search for keywords in an incognito browser and see what positions your competitors are in. This will help you understand the balance of terms and identify opportunities to own market share on other important terms.
By checking the keywords your competitor ranks for, you can find new interesting topic ideas you can cover with your website. This is especially useful if you're running a content-focused blog or a small business.
Performing a keyword search on your competitors can help you identify search terms that might be too difficult to rank for. However, it's also a great way to find keyword opportunity gaps, which occur when you find related keywords that are related to your brand or industry with low to medium competition level.
To find these keyword opportunities, you can use tools like Keyword Tool Pro, which has a competitor analysis function that shows all the keywords that the page ranks for. Alternatively, you can use other tools like Rank Math's SEO Analyzer, which allows you to inspect your competitor's web pages and gain valuable insights into their SEO strategy.
Here are some key metrics to consider when analyzing your competitors' keyword strategies:
- Monthly search volume: This represents the number of times a specific keyword is searched for within a defined time frame.
- Competition: This measures the level of competition among websites and marketers for a particular keyword.
- Cost per click (CPC): This is relevant for running paid advertising campaigns and signifies the amount advertisers are willing to pay for a single click on their ad.
By understanding these metrics, you can identify gaps and opportunities in the keyword landscape and create content that targets popular keywords.
Here are some tools you can use to conduct competitor-based keyword research:
- Rank Tracker by SEO PowerSuite
- Semrush's Position Tracking tool
- Ahrefs' Keyword Gap tool
These tools can help you identify which keywords competing websites are ranking for that you might be missing out on, and provide insights into your competitors' SEO strategies.
By analyzing your competitors' keyword strategies, you can identify areas where you can improve your own content and marketing activities.
YouTube Suggestions
YouTube suggestions can be a goldmine for competitor research. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world.
You can use YouTube keyword research to inform your Google keyword research too. There's a high chance that popular topics on YouTube will have high search volumes in Google too.
Looking at the title of a video result, such as "diy water filter", can give you a keyword idea. A quick check of the search volume shows that the phrase is really popular in Google search too.
YouTube's Autocomplete feature is another useful tool. It shows you what people usually search for when looking for videos on YouTube, which can be "practically" oriented search queries.
Tools like YouTube Keyword Tool can scrape the autocomplete results automatically, making it easier to collect keyword ideas.
Content Strategy and Planning
To develop a solid content strategy, it's essential to understand your target audience and the topics they're searching for. By breaking down your main category into smaller topic buckets, you can create a list of relevant topics that align with your business goals.
A good starting point is to identify 5-10 topic buckets that are essential to your business, such as "SEO", "blogging", or "CRM software". You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner to search for keyword ideas based on your website or a specific keyword.
Here are some example topic buckets for a business like HubSpot:
- “SEO” (201K)
- “blogging” (60.5K)
- “CRM software” (49.5K)
- “social media marketing” (405K)
- “email marketing” (22.2K)
- “lead generation” (18.1K)
- “inbound marketing” (8.1K)
- “marketing analytics” (6.6K)
- “marketing automation” (6.6K)
- “AI marketing” (4.4K)
These topic buckets can then be broken down into sub-topics and keywords that are relevant to your business and target audience.
Customer Acquisition
If your content meets the needs of your users, adding a strong call-to-action will lead them into the buyer journey from the awareness stage to the point of purchase. By researching keywords for their popularity, search volume, and general intent, you can tackle the questions that most people in your audience want answers to.
The Purranormal Detective Agency would do better to produce excellent content on the broader topic of paranormal investigators, which has a monthly search volume (MSV) of 800. This shows that there's a clear interest in this topic.
Conducting effective keyword research can provide insights into current marketing trends and help you center your content on relevant topics and keywords your audience is looking for. This allows you to stay on top of what's currently popular and trending.
TL;DR: Content Strategy
When creating a content strategy, it's essential to identify the right keywords to target. This involves making a list of important, relevant topics based on your business and filling in those topic buckets with keywords. You should also understand how intent affects keyword research and analyze accordingly.
To start, think about the topics you want to rank for in terms of generic buckets. This will help you come up with a list of keywords that are relevant to your business. For example, if you're a regular blogger, these are probably the topics you blog about most frequently.
Researching related search terms is also crucial. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner to find keyword ideas and analyze their popularity. Remember, there are no "best" keywords, just those that are highly searched by your audience.
Here are some key points to keep in mind when creating a content strategy:
- Identify your target audience and their search intent
- Use keyword research tools to find relevant keywords
- Create content that solves users' problems
- Use keywords strategically, but avoid keyword stuffing
- Monitor and adjust your content strategy regularly
By following these steps, you can create a content strategy that drives traffic and engagement to your website.
Content Quality and Usability
Content quality is one of the most important factors in search engine rankings. To create quality content, you generally need to satisfy search intent, present your content effectively, and provide accurate and up-to-date information.
Delivering a great user experience is also crucial. This means making your content easy to find and digest, using formatting tricks like subheadings, bullet points, tables, and bolding.
To stand out among your competition, think about providing added value. This might involve covering a topic more thoroughly, using a new angle, or providing helpful examples.
For example, Rover's dog feeding guide covers the topic thoroughly and includes lots of related information and resources from reliable sources like veterinarian Dr. Jamie Whittenburg.
Here are some ways to add value to your content:
- Cover the topic more thoroughly
- Use a new, unique angle
- Provide helpful examples
- Add original data
- Create original media
Rover's guide is a great example of how to make information easier to find and digest. It includes a table of contents, and even provides a video for people who prefer to get information that way.
Anticipate Trends
Anticipating keyword trends is a crucial step in creating timely and relevant content that resonates with your audience.
To get ahead of your competitors, try to anticipate upcoming keyword trends by using tools like Google Trends. It tells you which search terms are gaining popularity.
For example, by exploring the topic of "dog food" over the past 30 days, you can see keywords with the biggest increase in search frequency since the last time period. These keywords can help you create valuable content that gains rankings before your competitors even realize the terms are popular.
By quickly creating content around these trending keywords, you can gain valuable rankings. Before your competitors even realize the terms are popular.
You can also anticipate keyword trends by keeping up with industry news, seeing what relevant communities talk about on social media, and speaking to or surveying your customers.
To stay on top of trending keywords, use a tool like Rank Math's Google Trends, which provides insights into how the search volume for specific keywords changes over time.
Here are some ways to anticipate keyword trends:
- Keep up with industry news
- See what relevant communities talk about on social media
- Speak to or survey your customers
By anticipating keyword trends, you can create timely and relevant content that resonates with your audience and stays ahead of your competitors.
Measuring Success and Tracking
To measure the success of your keyword research efforts, you can track keyword rankings, organic traffic, click-through rates, and conversions. Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console provide valuable data for this purpose.
You can also use tools like Rank Math PRO's Rank Tracker to track the keyword performance of your selected keywords. This tool offers keyword tracking, historical data, and automatically adds focus keywords from your posts.
Tracking keyword rankings is a key part of measuring success, and tools like Semrush's Position Tracking tool make it easy to see how your visibility and individual rankings change over time.
Measuring Success
You can measure the success of keyword research by tracking keyword rankings, organic traffic, click-through rates, and conversions. Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console provide valuable data for this purpose.
Tracking keyword rankings is a great way to measure success. Semrush's Position Tracking tool makes it easy to see how things are going.
Organic traffic is directly related to keyword rankings. The higher you rank in search engine results, the more traffic you'll attract to your website.
To see improvements in traffic, focus on tracking keyword rankings and adjusting your strategy accordingly. Just import your keywords from Keyword Strategy Builder (or elsewhere) and watch how your overall visibility and individual rankings change over time.
Conducting keyword research every few months is a good idea. This allows you to capitalize on new ranking opportunities and keep growing your traffic.
Low Engagement
You may be ranking high for certain keywords, but if they're not generating clicks, it's a sign of low engagement.
Keywords with high impressions but low number of clicks can indicate a big traffic potential, but you're not ranking high enough.
Check your Search Console's Performance section, specifically the Search results in the Performance section.
Sort the results by the number of impressions to identify keywords with low click-through rates.
Look for keywords that could be relevant for your content but have a low number of clicks.
Analyze these keywords to see if they're worth the effort, considering their search volume and difficulty.
If they are, improve the optimization of the article for these keywords to boost engagement.
Wrapping It Up
As we wrap up our discussion on measuring success and tracking, it's clear that keyword research is a crucial part of the journey.
Keyword research guides you toward success in the vast world of the internet, where every search is a journey.
Your grasp of search elements like user intent and keyword deployment will determine your digital fate.
Continually adapting and refining your content is essential to stay on track.
You must continually adapt, track keyword performance, analyze trends, and refine your content to stay ahead.
The journey doesn't end; it evolves, and staying up-to-date with keyword performance and trends is key to success.
Track Your Rankings
Tracking your rankings is a crucial step in measuring the success of your keyword research efforts. You can measure the success of keyword research by tracking keyword rankings, organic traffic, click-through rates, and conversions.
Google Analytics and Google Search Console provide valuable data for this purpose. To track keywords in Google Search Console, navigate to the left-hand menu and click on Performance.
The Performance report shows various data, including total clicks, total impressions, average click-through rate (CTR), and average position. This data gives you an overview of how your website is performing in Google search.
To track keywords, click on the Queries tab under the Performance report. This will display a list of the keywords that users have used to find your website. Rank Math PRO offers Rank Tracker to help you track the keyword performance of your selected keywords.
Semrush’s Position Tracking tool makes it easy to see how things are going. Just import your keywords from Keyword Strategy Builder (or elsewhere). Then, watch how your overall visibility and individual rankings change over time.
Don't forget to keep adding new keywords as you target them. Conducting keyword research every few months at a minimum is recommended, so you can capitalize on new ranking opportunities and keep growing your traffic.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I research keywords for my blog?
Use Google Keyword Planner to narrow down your keyword options, and prioritize low-hanging fruit with high monthly search volumes and strategic SERP features
How many SEO keywords should I use in a blog?
For most blog posts, use 1 primary keyword and a few supporting keywords to boost your search engine ranking. However, for main pages like home and about, it can be challenging to stick to just one specific keyword.
How do I extract keywords from a blog?
To extract keywords from a blog, enter the URL and language of the webpage into our free keyword extraction tool. This will instantly reveal the most relevant keywords for your blog.
What is the best keyword research tool?
The best keyword research tool is subjective, but top options include Semrush, Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, and Jaaxy, each offering unique features and benefits for SEO and content optimization. Choosing the right tool depends on your specific needs and goals.
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