How to Do Keyword Research for SEO


Keywords are the foundation of SEO. If nobody is searching for what you’re writing about, you won’t get traffic from Google—no matter how hard you try.



That’s why we wrote this beginner’s guide. It teaches you a proven keyword research framework that you can easily adapt to your website and goals. We used the same framework to grow our blog traffic from 15,000 to over 700,000 monthly search visits in just a few years.


We also tried hard to keep everything as jargon-free as possible without holding back on detail and linked to some extra resources at the end of each section for if you find yourself wanting to learn more.


Let’s get started


1.Keyword research basics


Before we dive deep into the intricacies of keyword research and how to find the best keywords for your business, let’s make sure we understand the basics




What is keyword research?




Keyword research is the process of understanding the language your target customers use when searching for your products, services, and content. It then involves analyzing, comparing, and prioritizing the best keyword opportunities for your website. 


Why is keyword research important?


Keyword research is the only way to figure out what people are typing into search engines. You need to know this to avoid creating content about things that nobody is searching for. Many website owners make that mistake, and it’s likely a big part of the reason why 90.63% of pages get no traffic from Google, according to our study.


Keyword research also helps you to answer questions like:


• How hard will it be to rank for this keyword?


• How much traffic am I likely to get if I rank for this keyword?


• What kind of content should I create to rank for this keyword?


•Are people searching for this keyword likely to become my customers?

 


Finding the right answers to these questions will help you pick your battles wisely.



 Chapter 2

 How to find keyword ideas



Keyword research starts with thinking about how potential customers might be searching for your business or website. You can then use keyword research tools to expand on those ideas and find even more keywords.



It’s a simple process, but two things need to be true to do it well:


1. You need to have good knowledge of your industry.


2. You need to understand how keyword research tools work and how to get the most out of them.





 In this chapter, we’ll run through a few actionable ways to improve your knowledge in both those areas and discover potentially winning keywords for your website in the process


1. Brainstorm ‘seed’ keywords

2. See what keywords your competitors rank for

3. Use keyword research tools

4. Study your niche


1. Brainstorm ‘seed’ keywords


Seed keywords are the foundation of the keyword research process. They define your niche and help you identify your competitors. Every keyword research tool asks for a seed keyword, which it then uses to generate a huge list of keyword ideas (more on that shortly).


If you already have a product or business that you want to promote online, coming up with seed keywords is easy. Just think about what people type into Google to find what you offer.


For example, if you sell coffee machines and equipment, then seed keywords might be:


• coffee

• espresso

• cappuccino

• french press


Note that seed keywords themselves won’t necessarily be worth targeting with pages on your website. As the name suggests, you’ll use them as ‘seeds’ for the next steps in this process. So don’t obsess too much over your seed keywords. It should only take a few minutes to find them. As soon as you have a handful of broad ideas related to your website’s topic, move on to the next step. 


2. See what keywords your competitors rank for


Looking at which keywords already send traffic to your competitors is usually the best way to start keyword research. But first, you need to identify those competitors. That’s where your brainstormed list of keywords comes in handy. Just search Google for one of your seed keywords and see who ranks on the front page.


Image Wikipedia 


If none of the top-ranking websites for your seed keywords are like your site (or where you’re trying to take it), try searching for relevant ‘autosuggest’ queries instead.


Image Wikipedia no


Google’s ‘autosuggest’ queries pop up as you type your query.