What is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the process of identifying the terms, phrases, and questions that your target audience uses in search engines.

By understanding what searchers are looking for, you can optimize your content to meet their needs, answer their questions, and solve their problems.

• Target Audience Insights: It helps you understand the language of your target audience.
• Content Strategy: Guides your content creation by identifying topics your audience is interested in.
• SEO Optimization: Improves your website’s visibility and ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs).

By taking a strategic, data-first approach to content generation, you’ll get in front of the right audience, at the right time, for keywords relevant to them.

Keyword research is the first step in providing helpful content for your users. This sets the strategy and direction of your entire content operation.

After going keyword research, you’ll have a large list of related topics that you can then sort into a content plan.

You can use that plan to strategically and systematically produce content that builds topical authority and establishes yourself as an expert to both your audience and search engines.

On the other hand, publishing content with no specific strategy, data, or reason is a huge mistake that I see made by both beginner and experienced digital marketers.

They’re writing content because somebody told them they should, but they don’t fully understand why they’re doing it. But they’re overlooking what I believe to be the one of the most powerful concepts in all of SEO.

Take Advantage of Keyword Research Tools

Luckily, the process of doing keyword research has never been easier thanks to a handful of industry-leading tools that do most of the heavy lifting.

Paid Keyword Research Tools

Overall, paid keyword research tools produce better results and provide more information than free tools. Check out these recommended keyword research tools when you can spare the cash.

Ahrefs

This pricey keyword research tool is highly desirable thanks to its intuitive design, easy user controls, and in-depth research results. It provides an excellent range of relevant keyword suggestions and has the largest database for keywords overall, totaling 5.1 billion distinct keywords across 200 countries.

SEMrush

SEMrush is a bit pricey, but well worth it since it lets you compare keywords and domains against each other plus gather information from both Google and Bing search engine results. Its position tracking feature displays how keywords and their competitiveness evolve over time.

Exploding Topics Pro

Available in a free and paid model, this tool offers advanced analysis techniques for your keyword search needs. It analyzes many data points from a wide range of sources like shopping queries, standard searches, tech news, online community chatter, and more.

Answer the Public

This tool shows raw search engine results and insights by displaying questions people ask related to inputted keywords. The tool is also beneficial since it breaks down results in intuitive graphic displays.

Free Keyword Research Tools

Good news; you can use free keyword research tools if you’ve already stretched your marketing budget or have not yet launched your business. Here are some great free keyword research tools to consider.

Google Keyword Planner Tool

Google Keyword Planner integrates easily with AdWords/Google Ads. For a free tool, it’s remarkably robust, offering a ton of historical statistics and other information when you input keywords for your research.

Google Search Console

While not a dedicated keyword research tool, Search Console is a great place to start if you already use Google Analytics. This free service lets you monitor and maintain your site’s presence by offering limited keyword research functions, plus some other controls.

Google Trends

Google returns once again with Trends: a free tool that lets you input multiple keywords simultaneously and filter them by different categories. It’s an excellent free research tool if you want to know how much web interest there is around specific keywords.

How To Find The Right Keywords For Your Content

In the simplest form, keyword research really is not that hard to do. At first it might seem overwhelming, but once you figure it out and do it a few times, it sort of becomes second-nature.

Use Keyword Research Tools

Employ the tools mentioned in the previous lesson to expand your seed list with related search terms, synonyms, and long-tail keywords.

Start with a Seed List

Begin with broad terms related to your topic or industry to create a seed list of keywords.

Analyze Search Volume

Focus on keywords with a high search volume but don’t ignore long-tail keywords with lower volume; they’re often less competitive and more targeted.

Consider Keyword Difficulty

Assess how hard it would be to rank for each keyword. Aim for keywords that you have a realistic chance of ranking for.

Look at Your Competitors

Identify which keywords your competitors are ranking for and consider whether you can create better, more comprehensive content.

Key Considerations:

• Relevance: Choose keywords that are highly relevant to your content and audience.
• Intent: Understand the intent behind the search query and ensure your content matches it.
• Balance: Strive for a mix of head terms (broad) and long-tail keywords (specific) for a balanced strategy.

Understanding Search Intent And Keyword Relevance

If you don’t understand why a member of your audience is searching for something, you’re likely wasting time and money when trying to generate a piece of content to fulfill that need.

It’s important to find the right keywords to target, but doing so is practically meaningless without understanding why those keywords are being searched.

I’m going to give you a crash course on search intent and then show you some easy ways to understand and match it.

What is Search Intent?

Search intent refers to the underlying goal or purpose that a searcher has when typing a keyword into a search engine. In SEO, understanding search intent is crucial for creating content that meets the needs of users and ranks well on search engine results pages.

There are typically four main types of search intent:

1. Informational

The user seeks knowledge on a topic, answer to a question, or solution to a problem. This can range from simple facts, like the weather, to more complex information, like how-to guides or tutorials.

Examples of Informational Search Intent

• “What is the tallest mountain in the world?”: The user is looking for specific information about the world’s tallest mountain.
• “How to make a coffee”: This search indicates the user is looking for a step-by-step guide on brewing coffee.
• “Symptoms of the flu”: The searcher wants to know what the symptoms of the flu are, possibly to diagnose themselves or someone else.
• “SEO best practices 2024”: The user is seeking the latest guidelines and strategies for effective Search Engine Optimization in 2024.

Content aimed at informational intent should be educational and provide comprehensive insights into the query.

2. Navigational

The user wants to visit a specific website or page. For example, typing “Facebook” into Google because the user intends to visit Facebook.

Examples of Navigational Search Intent

• “Facebook login”: The user wants to find the login page for Facebook.
• “YouTube trending videos”: This indicates the user wants to visit the section of YouTube that shows trending videos.
• “OpenAI blog”: The searcher intends to find the blog section of the OpenAI website.
• “Amazon Prime deals”: The user is looking to navigate directly to the deals section on Amazon Prime.

This type of intent requires content that highlights your brand or specific product/service pages to guide the user directly to their destination.

3. Transactional

The user aims to make a purchase or complete another type of transaction. This could include searching for a specific product or a type of service with the intent to buy.

Examples of Transactional Search Intent

• “Buy iPhone 13 online”: The user is looking to purchase an iPhone 13 from an online retailer.
• “Netflix subscription plans”: This search suggests the user is considering subscribing to Netflix and wants to see available plans.
• “Best deal on running shoes”: The searcher intends to find and possibly purchase running shoes at the best price.
• “Download Adobe Photoshop”: The user wants to find a place to download Adobe Photoshop, indicating a desire to either purchase or subscribe.

Content targeting this intent should focus on product benefits, offers, and persuasive call-to-actions (CTAs) that encourage taking the next step.

4. Commercial Investigation

Users are in the decision-making phase, looking to compare products, services, or brands before making a purchase.

Examples of Commercial Investigation Search Intent

• “iPhone 13 vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 review”: The user is comparing these two smartphones to decide which one to buy.
• “Best DSLR cameras 2024”: This indicates the user is in the market for a DSLR camera and wants to compare the top models of 2024.
• “Top web hosting services”: The searcher is likely considering starting a website and wants to compare web hosting options.
• “Spotify Premium benefits”: The user is evaluating whether the premium features of Spotify are worth the subscription cost compared to the free version.

Content should be designed to inform and persuade, presenting clear comparisons and compelling reasons to choose your offering.

Why Search Intent is So Important for SEO

Overall, understanding an optimizing for search intent can lead to better alignment with the needs of users, which leads to higher engagement rates. Both of these factors typically lead to increased SEO performance.

But as Google updates their Helpful Content System to understand what type of content is truly helpful, search intent becomes an even more critical concept to grasp.

In short, the Helpful Content System was built to eliminate content that was produced by website owners as an easy way to rank and capture traffic.

As AI tools became more popular, tons of people started rapidly producing low-quality content and then publishing it on their websites. In no time, the search results were flooded with junk.

As a way to combat this, Google built this new system to evaluate what is truly helpful from what is not. That’s where search intent comes in.

Anybody can produce a post that touches on the bare minimum of whatever a keyword is related to. But, what sets the good sites apart from the great ones is understanding how to really help the user.

How to Determine Search Intent

When I go through the process of determining search intent for my content, I follow this simple process:

1. Analyze the SERPs

Observing the current top-ranking pages for your targeted keyword can reveal a lot about the underlying search intent. The format (blog post, product page, FAQ, etc.), tone, and content type (textual, visual, etc.) prevalent in these pages can guide you on how to structure your own content.

2. Keyword Modifiers

Certain words and phrases act as intent indicators. For example, “buy” signals transactional intent, “how to” indicates informational intent, and “vs” suggests commercial investigation intent. Identifying and incorporating these modifiers can sharpen your content’s focus.

3. User Needs

When in doubt, put yourself in the searcher’s shoes. What would they hope to find with their query? Understanding the user’s ultimate goal can help you craft content that satisfies their specific needs.

And be honest with yourself. Truly ask yourself whether or not you’d find whatever you’re trying to produce helpful. Don’t use backward logic and try to speed through this. Truly think through this.

Ensuring Keyword Relevance

Match Content to Intent

Your content must directly address the questions, needs, or tasks that the user intends to solve with their search query. This alignment not only improves user satisfaction but also signals to search engines that your content is highly relevant, boosting your SEO performance.

Use Keywords Naturally

Keyword integration should never disrupt the flow of your content. Use variations, synonyms, and related phrases to maintain readability and engagement. This approach helps avoid keyword stuffing, which can penalize your SEO efforts.

Update Content Regularly

The internet is dynamic, and user interests shift over time. Regularly revisiting and updating your content ensures it remains relevant, accurate, and aligned with current search intent. This practice can also revive older content, giving it a new lease on life in search rankings.

Key Takeaways

By mastering the art of aligning your content with search intent and maintaining keyword relevance, you’ll not only attract more targeted traffic but also enhance the overall user experience on your site.

This strategy leads to higher engagement, improved conversion rates, and a stronger SEO profile, positioning your content for long-term success.