Keyword research is a vital part for any online business. SEO is mostly directed by the keywords you optimize for.
These keywords give you an idea on what your audience is searching for online. They also give you key information on what to optimize for to make a good online presence.
They will also show you new opportunities when venturing online.
By understanding which keywords are ranking on Google and other search engines, you can increase visibility, engagement rates and conversations on your website.
We are going to discuss how to carry out keyword research.
Keyword Research 101
Before diving into how to carry out keyword research for your website, business or even YouTube channel, it is important to understand the various factors to consider when picking the right keywords.
Here are some of this factors
Search Volume
This refers to the average number of searches a particular keyword gets on a monthly basis.
You should try to target keywords with a high Search Volume. This will increase your visibility on the web especially if you eventually rank on search engines.
Also note that these keywords often have high competition making it harder to reach the top. Nevertheless, if your content is high quality and you drive in backlinks, it may take a longer time to achieve.
The right Search Volume will depend on your website. It is important to note that choosing keywords with 100 searches per month is good so far as it drives in quality leads.
If you are looking to do keyword research, there are a lot of keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner. If you are looking for extra data then you should get a paid keyword research tool like Ahrehs or SEOprofiler.
Keyword Difficulty
This is also known as keyword competition or the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Difficulty. This a virtual score ranging from Zero(0) to 100 estimates how hard it would be for your website to rank on Search Engines.
The higher the value, the harder it would be to compete with competitors to range higher.
This difficulty will ultimately depend on the quality of your website.
Ahrefs show in the various authoritative scores such as Domain Rating, URL Rating, Backlinks and Referral Links. All these metrics show your website standing in reference to a given keyword.
In general for a new website the lower the keyword difficulty score the likelihood you will rank.
Search Relevance
Search Relevance determines how a given Searcy query is related to a given search term.
You may choose a keyword with a high Search Volume. Nevertheless, if this search term shows results of not describing what is found in your page then it is unlikely you are going to achieve any engagements or conversions.
Getting 10 visitors who are satisfied with your page prospects is better than 100,000 visitors who bounce back because they can’t find what they are searching for on your page.
How To Do Keyword Research For Your Website
- Determine Your Ranking In Relevant Search
You must establish benchmarks before developing your keyword strategy. This will guide you around creating new contents and updating old ones.
If you’ve already attempted to incorporate SEO keywords into your website, make sure to use a reliable keyword ranking tracker to determine where you stand in a relevant search.
Ahrefs, Moz and SEOprofiler can help you to accomplish this task alongside other relevant factors
Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool which can also help you accomplish this by connecting your website to it.
Suggested Tool: Google Search Console
Google Search Console monitors your website overall performance relative to a given search term on Google search.
It tracks keywords you are already ranking for inorder determine where you stand and gives you data on keywords worth optimizing or targeting. Use the information to improve content.
- Search Intent
Search intent is key for attracting your target audience to your website.
The old Google algorithm which prioritized keyword place and Backlinks to rank websites. But due to the prevalence of low quality keywords, Google has changed its algorithm to focus on intent, semantic and relevance. This is why long-tail keywords are often recommended for keyword research.
Ignoring search intent is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. This can result in your website ranking for the wrong keyword. This can also result in an increased bounce rate.
Even though SEO experts classified intent differently, according to Think With Google, there are four types of search intent:
- Informational.
- Commercial.
- Transactional.
- Navigational.
One can identify keyword intent on your page using identifier clues. An example is information intent can be found on blog, help and FAQs page. Commercial intent can be found on product page or product category page.
Tools like Semrush can help you identify Keyword intent.
You should also consider target keywords based on your competitors.
Also pay close attention to semantic or relevant keywords. This gives search engines context about your page. You can use these keywords in your blog post and product descriptions.
Create a strategy using these keywords to optimize for each type of intent for your most important audiences.
E-commerce should not just focus on optimizing for transactional intent. Instead build a complete sales funnel to reach customers at various stages of the buyer’s process by creating high-quality content relevant to each intent.
- Look For Target Keywords
You can do keyword research personally or by spying on your competitors for related keywords. SEO experts often advise both.
You can do keyword research by using tools like Google Keyword Planner(free) or Ahrefs. You can use Google tools like Autocomplete, people also ask and related searches.
Go through your keywords to narrow down your main keyword.
Use tools like Ahrefs, Semrush and SEOprofiler to determine:
- Search volume.
- Search relevance.
- Keyword difficulty.
- Search intent.
Check to see if there are long-tail keywords from your identified keywords, this can be useful in creating product pages and blog post content for your website.
Most people won’t search for these queries, but they’re your target audience who are sure of what they want. As a result, they are more likely to engage.
Google built-tools like Autocomplete, people also search for, and related searches makes it easier to find long tail keywords.
Use the information gotten from this with the Google chrome extension ” Surfer” to find data like estimated monthly searches and Cost per click (CPC)
