Keyword Research Template Ahrefs for Efficient SEO Planning

Using a keyword research template from Ahrefs can help you plan your SEO strategy efficiently. Ahrefs' keyword research tool offers a comprehensive template that includes features like keyword clustering and SERP analysis.

The template helps you identify relevant keywords and phrases that your target audience is searching for. This information can be used to create high-quality, engaging content that resonates with your audience.

Ahrefs' keyword research template is organized into sections, making it easy to navigate and analyze the data. The template includes a section for keyword ideas, which provides suggestions based on your target keywords and phrases.

By using a keyword research template from Ahrefs, you can streamline your SEO planning process and create a content strategy that drives meaningful results.

Keyword research is the process of identifying and selecting the most relevant and effective keywords for your content.

It's a crucial step in creating content that resonates with your target audience and drives organic traffic to your website.

Keyword research involves analyzing search volume, competition, and relevance to determine the best keywords for your content.

According to Ahrefs, a tool used for keyword research, a good keyword has a search volume of at least 100 searches per month.

Keyword research also involves identifying long-tail keywords, which are more specific phrases with lower competition and higher conversion rates.

Long-tail keywords can be more effective than broad keywords, as they attract targeted traffic and reduce bounce rates.

Keyword research can be done using various tools, including Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and SEMrush.

These tools provide insights into search volume, competition, and cost-per-click (CPC) for each keyword.

Keyword research should be an ongoing process, as search trends and algorithms change frequently.

It's essential to stay up-to-date with the latest keyword research tools and best practices to ensure your content remains relevant and effective.

Conducting keyword research has many benefits, the most popular being.

It helps you find your SEO sweet spot, the overlap of keywords that aren’t too hard to rank for and keywords that you can confidently produce excellent content on.

Keyword research determines who your competitors are and which area of the search landscape you can rank for.

It identifies the queries that your target audience is actually searching on Google.

Your content strategy can be informed by insights from actual search terms.

If your content successfully gets in front of your audience, you stand to gain more traffic.

Targeting those searches with content that features those keywords in a meaningful way is key.

Knowledge of the search terms people use can help inform your website’s content strategy.

Using these keywords will help search engines better understand what your site is about and rank it more highly.

Keyword research is still an extremely valuable exercise despite no longer being a fail-safe way to rank highly in Google.

A target keyword is a word or phrase that you're optimising a particular page on your site to rank for.

To choose a target keyword, you'll want to consider factors such as search volume. The more searches a keyword gets each month, the better. This is because it means you can get more traffic.

You'll also want to look at keyword difficulty. A lower difficulty score means it's easier to rank for that keyword. For example, tools like Semrush and Ahrefs include keyword difficulty scores.

Additionally, consider the cost per click (CPC). A higher average CPC means the keyword is more valuable, as advertisers won't pay more per click than what that traffic is worth to them.

Choosing a target keyword is a crucial step in SEO. It's essential to choose a keyword that has a high search volume, as it means you can get more traffic.

Using a tool like Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, or Ahrefs can help you find the metrics you need to evaluate your keywords. These tools can also help you find additional keyword ideas.

Keyword difficulty is another factor to consider. A lower difficulty score means it's easier to rank for the keyword. You can calculate KD% specifically for your domain with Semrush AI tools.

A higher average CPC (cost per click) means the keyword has more commercial intent. This is because advertisers won't pay more per click than what the traffic is worth to them.

Relevance to your business is also important. You should choose a keyword that your potential customers are likely to search for. This is a gut-check, so you'll need to use your best judgment.

Targeting keywords with a growing search volume is a good idea. This means the keyword is becoming more popular, and you can benefit from the increased traffic. You can find this info in Google Trends or using Ahrefs and Semrush.

Here's a summary of the factors to consider when choosing a target keyword:

Choosing a website theme is a crucial step in setting up your online presence. You want to make sure your theme is aligned with your target audience and keywords.

To refine your website theme, you should check the monthly search volume (MSV) for the keywords you've chosen. This will give you an idea of how often people are searching for those terms, which can help you tailor your theme accordingly.

Look for a mix of head terms and long-tail keywords in each bucket. This will help you create content that appeals to a wider range of people.

Checking how competitors are ranking for these keywords can also provide valuable insights. By analyzing their website themes, you can see what works and what doesn't.

Here are some key considerations to keep in mind when choosing a website theme:

Keyword research tools are essential for finding keyword opportunities, analyzing search volume, and discovering keyword competitiveness. Google Ads Keyword Planner is a tool that used to be the go-to for most SEOs, but it's now limited unless you spend money on Google's advertising platform.

Ahrefs has built one of the largest and most robust databases of keyword data, making it a great choice for keyword research. KWFinder is another favorite tool for beginners, providing a ton of helpful features in a nice user interface for a nice price.

SEMRush is a super powerful keyword research application that's also a comprehensive SEO tool. Long Tail Pro's step-by-step system helps discover thousands of profitable, targeted keywords and calculates Keyword Competitiveness for almost any niche.

Here are some of the top keyword research tools:

These tools can help you brainstorm more keyword ideas based on exact-match keywords and phrase-match keywords, and some of the best SEO reports and keyword research have come from experts using Ahrefs Keywords Explorer.

To get started with keyword research, you'll want to use a keyword research tool, such as Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer, to find keywords with traffic potential.

First, enter a few broad keywords related to your site, known as your "seeds", into the tool. For example, if you're running a computer parts store, you might enter keywords like pc, computer, computers, motherboard, and intel. Then, filter the Matching terms report for keywords with Traffic Potential (TP).

To run keyword research like a pro, you'll need to understand three key things: how popular each keyword is, what the person typing the keyword is looking for, and how much competition there is for each keyword.

Here's a quick rundown of what you'll want to know about each keyword:

By understanding these three key things, you'll be well on your way to creating a successful keyword research strategy.

To run keyword research, you need to understand three key factors: how popular each keyword is, what the person typing the keyword is looking for, and how much competition there is for each keyword. This will help you discover how hard it will be to rank for it.

The late afternoon is actually the best time for brainstorming, according to studies. This can help you come up with more ideas and get started on your keyword research.

To find keywords with traffic potential, you can use a keyword research tool like Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer. Simply enter a few broad keywords related to your site, go to the Matching terms report, and filter for keywords with Traffic Potential.

To identify topics or buckets that you'll use to create content, you can research keywords with a high volume of monthly searches. This will help you anticipate users' questions and answer them.

Here are some key steps to follow:

Remember, building up a strong SEO strategy takes time. It takes a long time to see results when you're first building that strategy out.

To identify top-performing competitor pages, you'll want to analyze your competitors' most trafficked pages. This can give you insight into which keywords are driving the most traffic to their sites.

Go to Ahrefs' Site Explorer and enter a competitor's domain. Then, navigate to the Top pages report to see the competitor's top pages by estimated organic traffic. For example, if you're looking at newegg.com, you'll see its top pages and the keyword sending the most traffic to each page.

Make a note of any keywords that your customers may also be searching for. This can help you identify potential keywords to target in your own content.

Here are a few examples of top-performing pages for a hypothetical computer parts store:

Note that not all keywords may be relevant to your business. For instance, if your store sells computer parts and not accessories or ready-built computers, you may not want to target keywords like "gaming desk" or "gaming pc."

Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is a crucial concept to consider in keyword research. It helps search engines understand the overall topic of a page by finding words that frequently show up together.

LSI keywords are not synonyms, but rather related words that can be added to your core keyword page if it makes sense to do so. Similar to variations, we are not trying to rank for these terms, but rather improve our rankings for our core keyword by including these LSI keywords.

Here are some examples of LSI keywords for the keyword "Dog":

Understanding user intent is also vital in keyword research. Searchers may have different meanings for the same keyword, and it's essential to determine the intent behind a search to create relevant content. By entering the keyword into a search engine and analyzing the results, you can verify the user's intent and create content that addresses their needs.

For example, if you're researching the keyword "how to start a blog", you may find that most users are searching for info on how to start a website with a blog, not an individual blog post.

Latent Semantic Analysis is a crucial concept in keyword research that helps search engines understand the overall topic of a page. It's used to find words that frequently show up together, giving search engines a better idea of what a page is about.

Search engines used to be simple, just counting how many times a keyword was mentioned on a page. But that approach doesn't work anymore, and it's not a good idea to try it. Instead, search engines look for related words that show up together, like synonyms and LSI keywords.

Here's an example of LSI keywords for the keyword "Dog":

LSI keywords are not synonyms, but rather related words that can help improve your rankings for your core keyword. They're added to your core keyword page if it makes sense to do so, not to rank for those terms, but to improve your rankings for your core keyword.

Understanding user intent is also crucial in keyword research. It's not just about including the keyword the searcher used, but about addressing the problem they want to solve. By interpreting the intent behind a search, you can create content that meets the needs of your target audience.

SERP features are a crucial aspect of keyword research analysis. They can make or break your search engine rankings.

Looking up keywords and examining the first result is an easy way to get a feel for what SERP features are all about.

There are 22 common types of SERP featured snippets, although we'll focus on the most important ones here.

Factoring in SERP features is essential to choose the right keywords.

Keyword Research Metrics are crucial for understanding how popular a keyword is.

Search volume is a metric of how often a particular keyword is typed by users in a search engine. The higher the search volume, the more demand there is for a certain keyword. Think of search volumes as relative metrics instead of absolute, as they can vary depending on the tool you use.

Ranking difficulty is another important metric to consider. It varies for a number of reasons, but it's essential to take it into account when building your keyword strategy. There are four things to look at to assess ranking difficulty:

Volume is measured by MSV (monthly search volume), which means the number of times the keyword is searched per month across all audiences. It's not always the case that a higher MSV is better, as it can make it more difficult to rank for that keyword.

Search volume is the average number of times that users search for a keyword each month. Knowing the number of monthly searches in a particular country can help you target keywords that will attract as many users as possible from your chosen market(s).

To establish a strong keyword research strategy, start by making a list of 5 to 10 general topic buckets that are essential to your business. These topics are likely the ones you blog about most frequently or that come up in sales conversations.

Think about your buyer personas and what types of topics they would search for that you'd want your business to get found for. For example, HubSpot's topic buckets might include "SEO", "blogging", and "CRM software."

To gauge the importance of these topics, look at the number of searches (MSV) using tools like Ahrefs. This data will help you determine how many sub-topics you need to create content on to be successful with that keyword.

Here's an example of HubSpot's topic buckets with MSV:

Developing a solid SEO strategy is crucial for your keyword research efforts. You want to focus on keywords that you have a chance of ranking for based on your website's authority.

To start, prioritize low-hanging fruit by targeting keywords with little competition. This means choosing keywords that don't already have multiple articles vying for the top spot.

Large companies often go after high search volume keywords, but these keywords are usually too competitive for smaller businesses. Instead, focus on long-tail keywords that are more specific and less competitive.

Here are some key factors to consider when assessing ranking difficulty:

By considering these factors, you can create a keyword strategy that takes into account your competition and your ability to produce excellent content.

To get started, make a list of important, relevant topics based on your business. Then, fill in those topic buckets with keywords. This will help you identify the most relevant keywords for your business.

Here's an example of how HubSpot might categorize their topics:

By analyzing these topic buckets and their corresponding MSV, you can gauge the importance of each topic to your audience and identify areas for content creation.

Remember, there are no "best" keywords - just those that are highly searched by your audience. Your goal is to craft a strategy that will help you rank pages and drive traffic.

When evaluating the value of keywords for your business, consider their potential to drive sales. This means looking at how close searchers are to making a purchase based on their search queries.

Some keywords are better than others at indicating a searcher's intent to buy. For example, searchers who type in "amd ryzen 5 3600" are likely ready to buy, giving that keyword a high "business potential" score.

You can use a simple scoring system to evaluate the business potential of each keyword. This system takes into account how close the searcher is to making a purchase. Here's a quick cheat sheet to help you get started:

Remember, the way you score a keyword may differ from how someone else scores it. It all depends on how valuable it is for your business.

There are several types of keyword research that you can use to inform your Ahrefs keyword research template.

Competitor research involves analyzing the keywords your competitors are ranking for to identify gaps in the market and opportunities for improvement.

Long-tail keyword research focuses on more specific phrases with lower search volumes, but also less competition, making them easier to rank for.

Short-tail keywords are typically short phrases containing between 1 and 3 words. They have very high search volumes.

These keywords are commonly used as the "seed" keyword during keyword research. They're often the foundation of a keyword strategy.

Ranking well for short-tail keywords requires extremely relevant and optimized content. It also demands a substantial number of authoritative backlinks passing PageRank to the URL.

A high authority site is often necessary to rank for these terms. This can be measured using tools like Ahrefs Domain Rating or SEMrush Authority Score.

It's not advisable to focus all your efforts on short-tail keywords. A balanced approach that includes long-tail keywords is usually more effective.

Types of keywords can be categorized in several ways, but let's start with search volume. There are two main types: long-tail and short-tail keywords.

Long-tail keywords, also known as phrases, have relatively low search volumes and are typically longer and more specific. They're easier to rank for and can attract users with more specific intent, which can lead to more conversions.

Short-tail keywords, on the other hand, have very high search volumes and are commonly used as the "seed" keyword during keyword research. They require extremely relevant, optimised content and a substantial number of authoritative backlinks to rank well.

Another way to categorize keywords is by search intent. Search intent, or user intent, is the main reason why a user inputs their query into a search engine. It can be informational, navigational, commercial, transactional, or local.

Search intent is the main reason why a user inputs their query into a search engine. There are five common types of search intent: informational, navigational, commercial, transactional, and local queries.

Informational search intent is about looking for a quick answer to a question or a comprehensive guide on a topic. People searching for "backlink checker" are clearly looking for a free tool.

Navigational search intent is about finding a specific website or webpage. Commercial search intent is about researching a product or service before making a purchase.

Transactional search intent is about making a purchase or completing a transaction. Local search intent is about finding a business or service in a specific geographic area.

Here are the five common types of search intent: