Keyword Research

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

What Is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the fundamental SEO process in which website owners find popular search terms that people frequently type into search engines such as Google and strategically include them in the content so that their web page appears higher on a search engine results page (SERP).

Through keyword research, you aim to uncover relevant keywords that have a sufficient search volume and align with your website’s topics or offerings. This process involves:

1. Identifying Relevant Keywords: Find keywords that are directly related to your niche, products, or services.
2. Analyzing Search Volume: Understanding how often people search for specific keywords to prioritize those with higher demand.
3. Assessing Competition: Evaluating the level of competition for each keyword to determine if it’s feasible to rank for.
4. Understanding User Intent: Grasping the intentions behind users’ search queries, whether they’re looking for information, products, services, or local businesses.
5. Discovering Long-Tail Keywords: Uncovering longer, more specific phrases that often indicate a clearer intent and may have lower competition.
6. Incorporating Semantic Keywords: Including related terms and synonyms that search engines understand as contextually relevant.

Effective keyword research empowers you to optimize your website’s content, meta tags, headings, and other elements to align with what users are actively searching for.

By integrating well-chosen keywords, you increase your chances of ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), driving targeted organic traffic, and improving your site’s overall visibility.

Why Is Keyword Research Important For SEO?

It all starts with the word typed into a search box. That keyword can make or break your website.

If you publish a page on a topic that no one is searching for, that article won’t receive any traffic from Google (or other search engines).

In essence, keyword research acts as a foundational pillar of SEO, enabling you to effectively reach your target audience, enhance your website’s visibility, and achieve better results in search engine rankings.

Among all the SEO strategies, keyword research for a website is the most important factor which helps you in:

1. Relevance and Targeting: Identifying the right keywords allows you to create content that aligns with what your audience is actively searching for. This relevance improves the chances of your website appearing in search results when users look for information related to your niche.
2. Traffic Generation: Choosing keywords with significant search volume ensures that your content has the potential to attract a substantial amount of organic traffic. This targeted traffic can lead to higher engagement, conversions, and business growth.
3. Competition Analysis: Through keyword research, you gain insights into the level of competition for specific keywords. This knowledge helps you choose keywords where you have a competitive advantage and a better chance of ranking higher in search results.
4. Content Optimization: Keyword research guides you in optimizing your content, meta titles, descriptions, headers, and other on-page elements. Proper optimization enhances your content’s visibility to search engines and improves its ranking potential.
5. User Intent Understanding: Understanding the intentions behind user search queries enables you to create content that directly addresses their needs, leading to higher user satisfaction and engagement.
6. Strategic Planning: Keyword research helps you plan your content strategy by identifying the most valuable and relevant topics to cover. This approach ensures that your efforts align with what your target audience is looking for.
7. Local and Global Targeting: If you have a local business, keyword research helps you identify location-specific keywords to attract local customers. On a broader scale, it assists in expanding your reach globally.
8. Continuous Improvement: Regularly conducting keyword research keeps you updated with changing trends and user behaviour. It allows you to adapt your content strategy based on shifting demands.
9. ROI and Resource Allocation: By targeting keywords that offer a balance between search volume and competition, you optimize your resource allocation and maximize the return on your SEO efforts.

With the right keyword selection, websites ( blogging, niche, e-commerce, service-oriented sites ) are making millions of dollars per month.

However, it is equally important to avoid using “wrong” keywords, which can attract users who are likely to leave your page.

A high bounce rate indicates to the search engine that your site is not suitable for the keyword you have ranked for and it will drop off your web page on the last page of SERPs.

That is why proper keyword research is very important.

So before choosing any keyword ask a few questions to yourself…

1. Is that keyword relevant to your website’s content?
2. Will searchers get the same thing on your site when they search using those keywords?
3. Will they get every detail on your site that they have searched for?

If the answer is Yes! then you are good to go… or else don’t use those keywords.

Do some deep research, alter the keyword or phrase, check the credibility and then choose another keyword.

How To Find The Right Keyword For A Website?

Finding a keyword is simple, but determining which one will work for you is more challenging.

If you become a master in finding and implementing the best suitable keyword for your website — You will not only get relevant traffic but you can also beat your competitors.

However in general, for most people, the keyword research process goes as:

1. Think about a few keywords that potential visitors might search for
2. Pick and feed a few of them in keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner
3. Select top-ranked keywords having the highest search volume
4. Start writing content around them

Right?

Well here they trapped themselves, this is the biggest mistake one can make while finding the keyword for a website.

Because a basic search on Google Keyword Planner only shows you keywords that are very closely related to the word you gave it.

For example:

When you enter ‘Flowers’ in GKP it will show up these results…

…and web owners will start writing posts around those populated keywords.

If you are one of them then I am afraid to say, nowadays, Keyword selection doesn’t work like this.

But don’t worry!

You have an In-depth comprehensive guide on keyword research, it will exactly show you how to find the best keywords to bring potential visitors to your website.

So let’s get started…

My first keyword research advice would be: Know your niche!

What Is A Niche Topic?

A niche topic refers to a specific and focused subject within a broader field or industry. It’s a specialized area of interest that caters to a particular segment of the audience.

Niche topics are often characterized by their unique and distinct characteristics, catering to a specific group of people who share a common passion, problem, or interest.

For example, within the broad field of “fitness,” niche topics could include “high-intensity interval training (HIIT),” “plant-based diet for athletes,” or “yoga for pregnant women.”

Each of these niche topics targets a specific subset of individuals with specific needs and interests related to fitness.

Niche topics are valuable for content creators, bloggers, businesses, and marketers because they allow them to tailor their content, products, and services to a more targeted audience.

This can lead to increased engagement, better user experience, and a more dedicated following.

When selecting a niche topic, it’s important to consider factors like audience size, competition, and the level of your expertise or passion in the subject.

A well-defined niche can help you stand out in a crowded online landscape and build a community of like-minded individuals.

In simple language, ‘niche is a subset of a larger market’.

Keyword research allows you to gain a better understanding of your niche’s subtopics and recurring themes.

Let’s say you have a blog about Biking. Then, of course, you’ll want your website to rank for keywords like “Biking” or “Best Bike.”

The problem with these keywords (also known as head keywords) is that they have extremely high competition.

You can’t or it’s really difficult to rank your website by choosing those keywords.

Then what is the solution?

Well In order to rank your website, you have to go with Long tail keywords.

If you dig deeper into the niche, you’ll find that people interested in biking may also use keywords like:

• Will biking help me lose weight
• Why biking is better than driving
• Biking is what kind of exercise
• GPS watch with heart rate monitor

These are all examples of long-tail keywords. A typical long-tail keyword has the following characteristics:

1. Consists of 3 or more words
2. Has a lower search volume but usually also lower competition
3. Is more specific = has higher engagement and conversion rates

Wait…

We have not finished yet.

Let’s take another example:

Suppose you have started an online business selling all the varieties of Apple (Fruit)…

…and you have selected the keyword “Apple” or “online apple store” to rank your website on the first page of the search engine…

…the question is

1. will it get ranked on the first page of SERPs?
2. will you get relevant visitors to your website?

Well, I won’t say anything just look at the result below and decide for yourself.

What do you think? will these keywords help you in ranking your website?

Absolutely not.

You can’t or it’s really difficult to rank your website by choosing those keywords.

When someone types “apple” in the search box they will get all the results associated with “Apple computers” not for “Apple fruit”.

Well In order to rank your website, you have to go with Long-tail keywords.

Like:

“Fresh green apple”, “Farm fresh apple”, “organic apple” etc.

or…

If you have your unique store name then consider adding it with the long-tail keywords.

ex: Larry’s farm-fresh apple.

In this vast world of SEO, webmasters have divided keywords into three main categories: Head, body, and tail.

Head Keyword

A head keyword, also known as a “head term” is a relatively short and general keyword phrase that typically consists of one or two words.

These keywords are broader in scope and often have higher search volumes. However, they can be highly competitive and may not always reflect specific user intent.

Head keywords are usually the main topics within a particular niche or industry.

They provide a general overview of what a website, webpage, or content piece is about.

Head keywords can attract a large amount of traffic but may not always lead to highly targeted visitors because the base keyword gets mixed traffic.

Let’s take an example of the keyword “Book”.

This keyword will attract searchers from various locations, and their actual search intent will vary.

Some of them might be looking for the “Definition of a Book”, some of them might be looking for a “Fiction Book” or “Poem Book”, and some of them might be trying to buy a “Biography Book” online.

You never know what people are searching for.

Suppose you have started an online bookstore that only deals with “Fiction Books” but searchers want to buy a “Poem Book”… will that visitor convert into a buyer on your site?

obviously not…

In this case, the base keyword is not helping you in driving relevant visitors to your website which results in generating less revenue from your visitors.

That is why you should start focusing on specific keywords which match your website perfectly.

Anyhow people are getting more specific day by day and it is really important to optimize your website accordingly.

So rather than focusing only on base keywords, it’s time to give some time to body keywords as well as Long tail keywords.

Body Keyword

Body keywords have 2-3 word phrases having a decent amount of search volume (minimum of 3000 -3500 searches per month) and if you compare it with head keywords the conversion rate is pretty good.

In our previous example, we chose “Book” as a head keyword; in this example, the Body keywords could be “Harry Potter books”, “book for kids”, or “best fiction book.”

Since these keywords are more specific, they will help you in driving relevant traffic to your site.

If you start implementing these types of keywords in your web content, trust me very soon your web page will get ranked on the first page of SERPs.

But make sure the Body keyword must be relevant to your page content.

Long Tail Keyword

Long Tail keywords are very very specific. Usually, it is a 4+ word phrase that almost tells the complete intention of a searcher.

For example, if people type “how to order Harry Potter books online” or “how to buy a domain name” it gives a clear idea that the searcher is trying to buy a Harry Potter series book for sure and in the second case searcher wants to buy a Domain name for his website.

Even though the search volume will be less the conversion rate will be very very high.

If your content is truly valuable, you will gain a lifetime visitor.

Now you might be thinking of…

How To Find Long Tail Keywords?

Lots of tools and software are available in the market which will provide you with a list of Long Tail Keywords (LTK).

However, there is a catch… most of them are paid tools.

But not to worry, I will tell you how you can find the best LTK for your niche website absolutely free.

1. Use Google Search Results

Yes, Google suggestions.

Go to the Google search box, start typing the keyword and look out for the autocomplete suggestions.

You can also use the underscore character ( _ ) anywhere in your search phrase it allows Google to autofill the blank.

Check if you are getting a great combination of keywords for your niche topic.

If not, then use a different variation of the underscore position or try different words.

Also, you may probably have noticed, that whenever you search for something Google will suggest some related topic at the bottom of the search result, like this:

The words in bold or even the entire phrase can be used as Long Tail Keywords for your niche article.

Just type any keyword in the Google search box which you want to target for an article.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and choose some of the phrases from the “searched related to… box” and sprinkle them in your article.

2. Answer The Public

An amazing website and I bet, you will fall in love with this awesome website.

Note: Now the free version is limited.

This tool will show you almost every question that people tend to ask about your niche or topic.

You just need to type the keyword into the search bar and it will be flooded with hundreds of questions.

Let’s take an example of “BOOKS”

Question Keyword (It will show all possible question-related keywords)…

Preposition Keywords

Comparison Keywords

3. YouTube Keyword Suggestions

We all know YouTube is a great source of knowledge. Here you will almost find every topic and its solutions.

In fact, YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google so why not make more use of it?

So type the keyword in the YouTube search box and see the autocomplete suggestion.

You will get a great list of long-tail keywords. Choose a few of them and start writing your content around them.

4. Amazon Search Bar

Yes, you read it right “Amazon”.

You probably have noticed when you search for something to buy on Google most of the time Amazon site will appear on top of the search result.

Right?

Because It’s a great keyword research tool and they are best in keyword research and its implementation.

So if you are running or planning to start an online store or a website that reviews the products you should consider the Amazon search box to find a great combination of keywords.

5. Moz Keyword Planner

Moz keyword planner is very similar to Google keyword planner with extra benefits.

Just enter the broad keyword, choose the target country and hit on the search icon.

It will provide you with lots of keywords and long-tail phrases related to your search.

Check their monthly search volume, and relevancy and find out the most suitable keyword for your niche.

If you are creating a long and comprehensive post then consider choosing the keyword having more monthly search volume.

6. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is another great keyword research tool made by Neil Patel. Just like other tools you just have to provide the target keyword in the search box as shown below.

and it will prompt up with the list of keyword suggestions with volume and estimated CPC of that keyword.

If you are curious to know how to get the most out of this free tool then here is an in-depth guide on finding a keyword using Ubersuggest.

7. Google Trends

Google Trends lets you know which keyword is on the rise and which one is losing the search query.

Add a few keywords in the comparison tab to check which keyword is currently trending.

Actually, Google Trends is a great tool for event bloggers or YouTubers.

It will exactly show you which keyword is trending at what time. So gather the data of the keyword and post your article according to trending time.

8. Forums

A place where people are asking and answering questions about your niche topic.

Here you can also find hundreds of questions that people eagerly want to know about.

If someone is asking a question on a forum it’s quite obvious that people are asking that same question in Google itself (search engine).

If you know some of the top forums related to your topic then it’s great or else you can always use the handy search string to find them.

“Keyword” + “forum”

“Keyword” + “forums”

“keyword forum”

When you search like this, Google will open top forums related to the keyword you have entered.

Open some of the links and analyze them carefully.

Go through all Q&A sections… do some research… give some time… choose the best question from it… and implement it in your content.

9. Wikipedia

People generally overlook Wikipedia but it’s a goldmine of keywords, LSI keywords, and niche topic ideas.

How?

Go to Wikipedia and enter your target keyword.

I am going to use the word “CAR”

Look how many keywords I got (marked with both blue and red boxes), it’s huge.

Similarly, head to the “contents” section for more keyword and topic ideas…

and don’t miss the “See also” section.

Gather all the keywords and phrases check with Google keyword planner or Moz keyword explorer for search volume and start optimizing your content around these words.

Simple as that.

Various Types Of Keywords

1. Keywords With Date

If you include the date in the heading, meta description, and page title then it will drive more traffic to your site.

Because it shows the freshness of the content. Suppose someone wants to start an online store in 2022 most probably they will open a site which includes the current year in the post title.

2. Urgency In Keywords

Some searchers want quick results hence they search with urgency phrases.

For example, the search goes as:

“How to make money quickly”

“How to reduce fat in 1 month”

“How to rank my website quickly”

These are the few examples that show the urgency of the searchers.

So figure out the urgency phares with the help of the above tools.

3. Number In Keywords

If you add numbers in your post title, especially the odd number then it has a positive impact on searches as well as the search engine.

Having a generic SEO title is good but not better than having a number in it.

For example, I have added the number 25 in one of my blog posts on SEO Strategies and it dramatically shows up on the first page of Google search results within 9 days.

Once you decide on your focus keyword add them in your post title and meta description.

You can use the Yoast SEO Plugin to implement and check the keyword placement in your blog post.

You have just learned how to do proper keyword research for a website.

Now move to the next chapter, where you will learn how to implement those keywords under on-page SEO strategies.

Verdict: While head keywords can be valuable for generating traffic and visibility, they might not always convert as well as long-tail keywords (more specific and longer phrases) because they don’t always capture the user’s precise search intent. As a result, a balanced keyword strategy often includes a mix of head keywords and long-tail keywords to cater to both broader and more specific user needs.

FAQs On Keyword Research