Keyword research can help you effectively reach a large portion of your audience. By understanding exactly what they are searching for, you can create targeted content that caters to their needs. However, to achieve maximum impact, you need to adopt a systematic approach, utilizing the most precise keyword research tools. In this post, we will provide a comprehensive step-by-step guide to conducting keyword research and highlight the tools you should employ to achieve tangible results.

What is keyword research?

Keyword research is the process of identifying words and phrases that your target audience searches for on Google. Whether they are seeking information, such as pizza delivery options in your city, or are ready to make a purchase as soon as you identify high-value keywords that are relevant to your company and their intent, you can optimize your search strategy and improve your ranking on Google.

What is keyword research

Why is keyword research so important?

Using the right keywords (also known as search queries) gives your content the opportunity to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). That's why keyword research is the foundation of search engine optimization (SEO).

If you properly conduct keyword research, scaling your current SEO efforts and driving growth becomes a relatively easy task.

It's crucial for your initial research to be comprehensive because it will serve as the basis for your search engine optimization strategy. At this initial stage of research, your goal is to gather as many relevant keyword phrases as possible that could reach your audience.

In this blog post, we will guide you on how to conduct keyword research:

  1. Explore your website for existing keywords.
  2. Dive into your keyword data using Google Search Console.
  3. Take advantage of competitor analysis tools.
  4. Discover valuable phrases with keyword generation tools.
  5. Consolidate your keyword data.
  6. Classify keywords based on user intent and semantic search.
  7. Analyze long-tail and short-tail keywords.
  8. Select the right mix of keywords to focus on.

By following these steps, you'll be able to uncover valuable insights and optimize your content for improved search engine rankings and increased visibility.

Choose the right combination of keywords

Choose the right combination of keywords to focus on

When creating a keyword plan, you need to consider the following information and how they fit into your SEO strategy:

Search volume

You should carefully evaluate the search volume for the keywords you are targeting. Keywords with high search volume are likely to be competitive. To rank higher for high-volume and high-competition keywords, you need to establish authority on the topic through your website. One way to build authority is by creating content around lower-volume related keywords. This demonstrates to Google that you are an expert in the field and boosts your authority. Knowing the search volume for any given keyword helps you develop a strategy for the most effective approach based on your website's characteristics.

Organic click-through rates (CTR)

This metric gives you an idea of how likely people are to click on publications with a specific keyword. For example, search queries like "weather forecast" often receive lower click-through rates since users get their answer directly on the Google search results page without needing to take any further action.

Keyword search trends

Trending keywords are constantly changing, so you need the latest data to stay up-to-date with search trends. Similarweb provides a "Keyword Trends" feature where you can quickly see which keywords are currently driving traffic. Trends can shift based on current events (such as the Oprah interview with Meghan and Harry) or seasonal occurrences like Black Friday. Stay updated to choose the right keywords at the right time.

Competitor keywords

You can gain valuable insights from the keywords your competitors are using. By using Similarweb's website analysis, you can see the market share each competitor holds for specific keywords.

Long-tail and short-tail keywords

As mentioned before, you should ensure that you focus on long-tail or short-tail keywords that align with your search strategy and your website's authority level.