How to do Keyword Research for SEO: Tips & Strategies for Success

Keyword research is the foundation of any successful Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. Think of keyword research as the secret sauce to your SEO success. Without it, you’re basically throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks. 

Understanding how to identify and use the right keywords can significantly improve your website’s search visibility and drive organic traffic.

In this guide, we’ll break down SEO keyword analysis and keyword research in a way that’s easy to digest, show you why it matters, and hand you practical steps to master the art of SEO keyword strategy – How to do keyword research, minus the headache!

Table of Contents

• What is Keyword Research?
• Why is Keyword Research Important for SEO?
• How to Conduct Keyword Research for SEO
• How to Choose the Right Keywords
• What to Do After Keyword Research
• Final Thoughts

What is Keyword Research?

SEO keyword analysis or keyword research is the process of identifying words and queries that people type in search engines when looking for information, products, or services. Keyword research helps SEO professionals and content creators understand what their target audience is searching for and how to optimize content accordingly.

One of the most critical aspects of SEO keyword research is understanding search intent – the reason behind a user’s search. Keywords can be categorized into 4 main intents:

• Informational: The user is looking for information (e.g., “how to bake chocolate chip cookies”).
• Navigational: The user is looking for a specific website or brand (e.g., “Toll House cookie recipe site”).
• Transactional: The user intends to complete an action, such as purchasing a product (e.g., “buy chocolate chips online”).
• Commercial Investigation: The user is comparing products or services before making a decision (e.g., “best chocolate chips for baking”).

Why is Keyword Research Important for SEO?

Keyword research is the first and most basic step when tailoring an SEO strategy. After all, how can we effectively craft content that drives traffic, without knowing what our potential audience is interested in, and how they search for it?

Effective keyword research in SEO offers several key benefits:

• Improved Search Rankings: Targeting the right keywords helps search engines understand the essence of your content, which will eventually reflect in improved ranking for these keywords.
• Targeted Traffic: Using keywords that align with user intent increases the likelihood of attracting visitors who are interested in your content or offerings, and that are likely to perform the desired actions on your site.
• Better Content Strategy: Keyword research guides content creation, ensuring that your website answers the right questions and provides valuable information to users, while assuring a logical and strategic content flow.
• Competitive Advantage: Understanding what keywords your competitors are ranking for allows you to refine your own strategy.

How to Conduct Keyword Research for SEO

Ever wondered how to do keyword research for SEO without feeling like you’re decoding an ancient scroll? Don’t worry, it’s easier than you think—no magic spells or secret handshakes required!

1. Brainstorming and Topic Generation

Start by listing broad topics relevant to your business or niche. Expand your list with variations and related phrases. The topics would not necessarily be your main targeted keywords, but rather the Pillars you are building your content strategy upon.

2. Using Keyword Research Tools

There are various tools available to help refine your keyword list, like:

• SEMrush: Offers keyword suggestions, difficulty scores, and competitor analysis.
• Ahrefs: Provides detailed keyword metrics, including search volume, difficulty, and click-through rates.
• Google Ads Keyword Planner: Provides search volume data and competition insights in the paid niche.

In this article, we will share some cool features in SEMrush, that can help you expand and diversify your keyword clusters, and perhaps find additional directions you might want to explore.

1. First, let’s start with competitors’ analysis. Search for one of your main keywords / topics, and see which are the top 3-5 competitors. 

An important note for this section is, be mindful of the SERP (search result page). Take into consideration the tone of voice for the content you are planning to create, and the type of your website. 

Let’s say my website sells infant formula milk, and I want to establish it as a Go-To portal for parents of babies at certain ages. If I try and see what the SERP looks like for the term “baby formula”, this is what I’ll see:

These are not my competitors in terms of content! The top results for this query are Google Shopping results, and sites like Amazon, Walmart, Target, then the FDA website, etc. I can not compete with these big names, as they are not related to the world of content I want to create.

On the other hand, if I type “At what age can a baby transition from breastfeeding to formula?” – then I see results that are closed to what I want to do in terms of content type: Articles, Parenting portals, “How to” guides, etc.:

So, to summarize this section, make sure that when conducting a competitor analysis for your keyword research, you analyze direct and relevant competitors and remain mindful when examining the SERP.

    2. Now, go to “Keyword Gap” and start your analysis by checking which keywords are shared between the competitors you chose. List those down, then proceed to unique KWs for different competitors, to gain additional insights about each competitor’s USPs. If you find relevant keywords, add them to your list.

    3. The next step would be to expand your KW map even further. Use the “Keyword Strategy Builder” to generate a mind map, and explore some additional ideas for KWs / Topics. This option is extra beneficial because it can actually help you generate a basic content plan structure according to your topic pillars and clusters.

3. Search for additional keywords on competitors’ webpages

If you already have a list of keywords you want to target, it’s a good idea to check competitors’ articles and web pages to see if, how, and where they incorporate those keywords. This can help you understand what contributes to their ranking and how you can adjust your content to stay competitive.

How to search for keywords on a web page?

To find specific keywords on a webpage, you can use one of the following:

1. Use “Find” command – Press Ctrl + F (Windows/Linux) or Command + F (Mac) to open the search bar. Type the keyword, and your browser will highlight all instances on the page.
2. Run a web page audit through a third-party tool – On SEMrush, for example, you can audit a webpage by using the “Domain Overview” research. Enter the exact URL you want to audit (make sure to filter by “Exact URL” to get results for the specific page rather than the entire domain), and click “search”. The results will appear under “Top Organic Keywords”, where you can see if this webpage ranks for the KWs you are interested in.

1. Site Command on Google – Type site:example.com “keyword” into Google! Swap example.com for the website you’re searching and “keyword” for the term you’re looking for. Google will show you all the pages on that site that mention it—super handy!
2. Use the page’s HTML Source Code – If you want to dig into a web page’s HTML to find keywords, here’s how:

• Right-click anywhere on the page and select View Page Source.
• Press Ctrl + F (Windows) or Command + F (Mac) to bring up the search bar.
• Type in your keyword, and it’ll be highlighted in the page’s code.

How to Choose the Right Keywords

When choosing keywords to focus on, consider:

• Search Volume: The number of times a keyword is searched per month.
• Keyword Difficulty: A measure of how hard it is to rank for a keyword.
• Competition: The number of websites targeting the keyword.

In simple words, search volume should not be your prime consideration when choosing keywords to target. Look at the difficulty and evaluate your chances to rank for this keyword. It’s better to target lower search volume keywords & longtails for which you have the opportunity to rank in top positions, than a very high search volume keyword, which is also very competitive and does not have a chance to rank in positions that will drive actual traffic to your website.

If you look at the following example, when auditing the term “Switching From Breastmilk to Formula”, we’ll see it has an average search volume of 880, which might not seem sufficient at first glance. But when using the keyword strategy tool, we’ll discover a bunch of related long-tails that, with correctly crafted content to target them, sum up to an impressive search volume of over 7K!

Types of Keywords

1. Main Keywords

These are short, broad keywords (e.g., “Baby Formula”). They have high search volume but are highly competitive and might not reflect the relevant intent.

2. Long-Tail Keywords

Longer, more specific phrases (e.g., “how to transition from breastfeeding to formula”). These typically have lower competition and higher conversion rates, due to the higher intent of these queries.

When selecting keywords, consider:

• Relevance: Does the keyword match your content and audience?
• Search Intent: Is the keyword aligned with user needs?
• Difficulty Level: Can you realistically rank for the keyword?
• Business Goals: Does the keyword help achieve your marketing objectives?

Using keyword clustering, where related keywords are grouped together, can enhance content optimization.

What to Do After Keyword Research

Keyword research is an ongoing process. After selecting your keywords, it’s time to implement them in the process of your content creation:

• Include primary keywords in titles, meta descriptions, and headers.
• Use variations and related keywords naturally throughout the text.
• Optimize URLs with relevant keywords.
• Ensure content matches the search intent of the chosen keywords.
• Use internal linking to enhance the relevance of your keywords by linking from anchor text that includes targeted keywords to content that directly addresses those topics.

After your content is live and starts receiving traffic, it’s time to evaluate your keyword and content strategy.

1. Monitor Performance: Use tools like Google Search Console and third party tools (like Rank Ranger, Similar Web, etc.) to track rankings.
2. Refine Your Strategy: Regularly update content and adjust keyword targeting based on performance and search trends.
3. Analyze Competitor Trends: Stay ahead by monitoring competitor strategies and emerging keywords.

Final Thoughts

Keyword research is a crucial element of SEO success. By understanding user intent, leveraging the right tools, and implementing a strategic keyword approach, you can improve organic rankings and drive organic traffic. Start optimizing today by applying these steps and refining your strategy continuously.

Ready to take your SEO to the next level? Connect with yellowHEAD today and let’s craft a winning keyword strategy that drives real results!

This article was originally written in 2018 by Doron Wolffberg