How To Do Keyword Research for SEO
While Google keeps us updated with all the algorithm updates they keep implementing, one thing remains fairly constant for inbound marketers looking to optimize their sites for search: keyword research.
Well, the need for keyword research remains the same. How do you actually do it no?
1. What Is Keyword Research?
Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing search terms that people enter into search engines to use that data for a specific purpose, often search engine optimization (SEO) or general marketing. Keyword research can reveal targeted searches, the popularity of those searches, their difficulty in ranking, and more.
2. Why is Keyword Research is Important?
Keyword research provides valuable insight into the search queries your target audience is actually searching for on Google. The insights you gain into actual search terms can help inform your content strategy as well as your broader marketing strategy. However, the keywords themselves may not be as important as you think.
We hear more and more about how SEO has evolved over the last 10 years and how important keywords themselves are to our ability to rank well in daily searches.
And that's true to a certain extent; Using keywords that match one's search is no longer the most important ranking factor in the eyes of an SEO professional. Rather, it's the intent behind these keywords, and is there any piece of content that defines that intent (we'll talk more about intent in a moment).
However, this does not mean that keyword research is an outdated process. Let me explain:
Keyword research tells you what topics people are interested in and how popular those topics are with your audience, provided you use the right SEO tools. The operational term here is topic - by researching keywords that get a high number of searches per month, you can identify your content and sort it by the topic you want to create content for. You can then use these topics to determine what keywords to search for and what goals to target.
For an in-depth look at how Ahrefs can help you with keyword research for SEO, check out our exclusive case studies and interviews here.
By researching keywords by popularity, search volume, and general intent, you can answer the questions that most of your audience wants to be answered.
3. How to Research Keywords for Your SEO Strategy
I'll outline a keyword research process you can follow to come up with a glossary of terms to focus on. That way, you can create and implement a strong keyword strategy that will help you find the search terms that really interest you.
Step 1: Make a list of important, relevant topics based on what you know about your business.
At the beginning of this process, think about what topics you want to classify in relation to the general bucket. You will create about 5 to 10 topic segments that you think are important to your business and then use those topic segments to find some specific keywords at a later date.
If you're a regular blogger, this is probably the topic you blog about most often. Or maybe the topic that comes up the most is sales promotions. Put yourself in the shoes of your buyers - what topics will your target audience be looking for that you want to find for your business? For example, if you were once a company like HubSpot - you sold marketing software (which has some great SEO tools in it... but I digress), you might have a similar topic like:
- "inbound marketing" (21K)
- "blogging" (19K)
- "email marketing" (30K)
- "lead generation" (17K)
- "SEO" (214K)
- "social media marketing" (71K)
- "marketing analytics" (6.2K)
- "marketing automation" (8.5K)
Do you see these numbers in brackets to the right of each keyword? This is your monthly search volume. This data can be used to measure how important this topic is to your audience and how many different subtopics you may need to create content to succeed with those keywords. To learn more about this subtopic, let's move on to Step 2...
Step 2: Fill in those topic buckets with keywords.
Now that you have a few thematic segments to focus on, it's time to identify some keywords that fall into those categories. These are the key phrases that you think are important for ranking in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) because your target customers are likely to be searching for this particular term.
For example, if I were to use this latest topic basket for an inbound marketing software company - Marketing Automation - I would consider some of the keywords I think people are typing on the topic. This can include:
- marketing automation tools
- how to use marketing automation software
- what is marketing automation?
- how to tell if I need the marketing automation software
- lead nurturing
- email marketing automation
- top automation tools
Etc. The purpose of this step is not to find the final list of your key phrases. You just want to end with a group of phrases that you think potential customers can use to find content related to a particular topic. We'll narrow down the list later in the process so it's less complicated.
While more and more keywords are encrypted by Google every day, another smart way to generate keyword ideas is to find out which keywords are already on your website. To do this, you will need website analytics software such as Google Analytics or HubSpot resource reports, which are available in the traffic analysis tool. Research your website traffic sources and search your organic traffic basket to identify the keywords people are using to get to your website.
Repeat this exercise for as many themed buckets as you have. And remember, if you're having trouble finding relevant search terms, you can always reach out to customer-focused coworkers - those who work in sales or service - and ask them what types of terms their prospects and customers are using. . This is often a good starting point for keyword research.
Here at HubSpot, we use Search Insights Hassle for this part of the process. This template is designed to help you do the same, add your keywords to thematic clusters, analyze MSV, and inform your calendar and editorial strategy.
Step 3: Understand How Intent Affects Keyword Research and Analyze Accordingly.
As I said in the previous section, user intent is now one of the most important factors in your ability to rank well on search engines like Google. Nowadays, it's more important that your website address the problem that searchers decide to solve than just bringing up the keywords that searchers are using. How does this affect your keyword research?
It's easy to use keywords for face value, and unfortunately, beneath the surface, keywords can have very different meanings. Since the intent behind a search is so important to your ranking potential, you need to be very careful when interpreting the keywords you are targeting.
For example, you are doing research on the keyword "how to start a blog" for an article you want to create. A "blog" can be a blog post or a website from the blog itself, and the intent of the searcher behind these keywords will influence the direction of your article. Do searchers want to know how to start a separate blog post? Or do you want to know how to actually start a website domain for blogging purposes? If your content strategy is aimed only at people who are interested in the latter, then you need to double-check your keyword intent before committing to it.
To check what users want to do with keywords, it's a good idea to type those keywords yourself into a search engine and see what kind of results are displayed. Make sure the content type from Google closely matches what you want to create for your keywords.
Step 4: Research related search terms.
This is a creative step that you may have thought of while doing your keyword research. Otherwise, this is a great way to fill this list.
If you're having trouble finding more keywords to search for a specific topic, take a look at the related search terms that appear when you type keywords into Google. As you type a phrase and scroll to the bottom of Google results, you'll see several search suggestions related to your initial input. These keywords can trigger ideas for other keywords that you should consider.
Step 5: Use keyword research tools to your advantage.
Keyword research and SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Ubersuggest can help you find more keyword ideas based on the exact same keywords and phrases based on the ideas you've generated so far. This exercise can show you alternatives you may not have considered.
4. How to Find and Choose Keywords for Your Website
Now that you have an idea of the keywords you want to rank for, it is time to refine your list based on what works best for your strategy. This is like:
Step 1. Understand the three main factors for choosing good keywords.
Before you choose keywords and expect your content to rank for them, there are three things you need to rank your keywords for:
1. Relevance
Google ranks content by relevance. This is where the concept of search intent comes in. Your content will only be classified as a keyword if it meets the searcher's needs. Also, your content should be the best source for queries. Why should Google rate your content higher when it offers lower value than other content on the web?
2. Authority
Google will give more weight to sources it considers authoritative. This means that to be an authoritative resource, you should do all you can by adding useful and informative content to your website and promoting that content for social signals and feedback. If you don't think you have a good reputation in the space, or if your keyword SERPs are filled with extensive sources you can't compete with (like Forbes or The Mayo Clinic), you stand a chance of lower rankings unless your content isn't outstanding.
3. Volume
You can complete the first page rank for a certain keyword, but if no one is looking for it, it will not drive any traffic to your website. Something like setting up shop in a ghost town.
Volume is measured by MSV (monthly search volume), which means how often a keyword is searched per month across all target groups.
5. Best Keywords for SEO
Understand that there are no “best” keywords, only those that are highly sought after by your audience. With that in mind, it's up to you to develop a strategy that will help you rank pages and increase traffic.
The best keywords for your SEO strategy take into account relevance, credibility, and volume. You want to find frequently searched keywords that can compete fairly based on:
- The level of competition you are facing.
- Your ability to produce content that exceeds current ratings.
And done!
Congrats! You now have a list of keywords that will help you focus on the right topics for your business and generate short and long-term profits.
Remember to re-evaluate these keywords every few months - once in a quarter is a good indicator, but some companies do this more often. As you gain credibility with the SERPs, you will find that you can add more keywords to your list to deal with maintaining your current presence and then move on to new areas...
Editor's note: This post was originally published in Nov 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.