When it comes to improving your website’s visibility on search engines like Google, choosing the right keywords is essential.
Keywords are the phrases and terms that people type into search engines when looking for information, products, or services. By targeting the correct keywords, you can attract more visitors to your site and rank higher in search results.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through a step-by-step process for finding the best keywords for your website.
- 1. Understand Your Target Audience
- 2. Brainstorm Keyword Ideas
- 3. Use Keyword Research Tools
- 4. Focus on Long-Tail Keywords
- 5. Analyze Search Intent
- 6. Check Keyword Difficulty
- 7. Analyze Your Competitors
- 8. Prioritize Your Keywords
- 9. Test and Refine Your Keyword Strategy
- 10. Keep Up With Trends and Changes
Whether you’re a beginner or someone looking to sharpen your SEO skills, this article will help you understand how to do keyword research in a simple, human way.
1. Understand Your Target Audience
Before you even start thinking about keywords, it’s important to get into the mindset of your target audience. What are they looking for? What problems do they need to solve? Knowing the answers to these questions will guide you toward choosing the right keywords.
Start by asking yourself:
- Who is my ideal visitor? Think about the age, profession, location, and interests of the people you want to attract to your website.
- What kind of language do they use? If you’re targeting professionals, they might use industry-specific terms. If you’re targeting general consumers, they might use more everyday language.
- What are their pain points or goals? Understanding their needs will help you focus on keywords that address their specific problems or aspirations.
2. Brainstorm Keyword Ideas
Once you have a good understanding of your audience, it’s time to brainstorm potential keywords. Don’t overthink this part, just write down anything that comes to mind.
The goal here is to generate as many ideas as possible, even if they seem too broad or specific at first.
Here are a few ways to come up with initial keyword ideas:
- Think about your niche: If your website is about digital marketing, for example, you might think of terms like “SEO tips,” “content marketing,” or “email campaigns.”
- Ask your customers or audience: If you already have a customer base, ask them what they search for when looking for products or services like yours.
- Look at competitors: Check out what keywords your competitors are ranking for. This can give you a sense of what’s working in your industry.
3. Use Keyword Research Tools
Once you’ve come up with a list of keyword ideas, it’s time to dig deeper using keyword research tools. These tools will help you find related keywords, analyze search volume, and gauge competition.
Here are a few popular options to consider:
- Google Keyword Planner: This free tool from Google is great for getting started with keyword research. It provides data on search volume and competition for specific keywords.
- Ahrefs: A powerful paid tool that not only helps you find keywords but also shows you how difficult it will be to rank for them.
- Ubersuggest: Another great option, especially for beginners. Ubersuggest gives you keyword suggestions, search volume, and insights into the competition.
- Moz Keyword Explorer: Moz provides useful data on keyword difficulty and also suggests long-tail keywords that might be easier to rank for.
By entering your brainstormed keywords into these tools, you’ll get a more comprehensive list that includes variations, related terms, and new ideas you might not have considered.
4. Focus on Long-Tail Keywords
While it might be tempting to go after highly searched, broad keywords like “marketing” or “fitness,” these are often extremely competitive. It’s much harder to rank for them, especially if your website is new or relatively small.
That’s where long-tail keywords come in. Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases that usually have lower search volume but are much easier to rank for.
For example, instead of targeting “fitness,” you might target “best home workout routines for beginners.” These types of keywords are often more aligned with what people are actually searching for, especially when they’re ready to make a purchase or take action.
Long-tail keywords also tend to bring in more qualified traffic. If someone searches for “best home workout routines for beginners,” they’re probably more serious about finding a specific solution than someone who just types “fitness.”
5. Analyze Search Intent
Not all keywords are created equal. Even if two keywords have the same search volume, they might attract completely different types of visitors depending on the search intent behind them.
Search intent refers to the reason why someone is searching for a particular term. Are they looking to buy something? Are they doing research? Are they looking for an answer to a question?
There are generally four types of search intent:
- Informational: The user is looking for information. They might type in something like “how to plant a garden.”
- Navigational: The user is trying to find a specific website, like typing “Facebook login” or “Amazon customer service.”
- Transactional: The user is ready to buy something, so they might search for “best running shoes under $100.”
- Commercial Investigation: The user is researching a product or service but isn’t ready to make a purchase yet. They might type in “best laptops for students.”
When choosing keywords, consider the intent behind them. If your website sells products, you’ll want to target transactional or commercial investigation keywords.
If you run a blog, you’ll likely focus more on informational keywords.
6. Check Keyword Difficulty
Just because a keyword has a high search volume doesn’t mean it’s a good target
for your website. Keyword difficulty is another important factor to consider. This metric indicates how hard it would be to rank for a particular keyword based on the competition in the search results.
Most keyword research tools like Ahrefs, Moz, and SEMrush provide a keyword difficulty score. Generally, keywords with high difficulty scores (60 or above) will be harder to rank for, especially if you’re competing against well-established websites.
When you’re starting out, it’s a good idea to target keywords with lower difficulty (typically under 40) that still have decent search volume. This gives you a better chance of appearing on the first page of search results, which is crucial since the majority of users don’t scroll past the first few results.
7. Analyze Your Competitors
Keyword research doesn’t happen in a vacuum. A great way to refine your keyword list is by analyzing what your competitors are doing.
You can learn a lot from the keywords they’re ranking for, especially if they’re in a similar niche.
Most SEO tools allow you to enter a competitor’s URL and see what keywords they rank for, which pages drive the most traffic, and how difficult those keywords are.
Once you have this information, you can either target the same keywords or identify opportunities they might have missed.
Focus on:
- Gaps in their content: Look for keywords your competitors aren’t targeting or haven’t fully optimized for. This could be an opportunity for you to create better, more comprehensive content.
- Lower competition keywords: If your competitors are ranking for high-competition keywords, try finding related keywords with lower competition. For instance, if they rank for “best digital cameras,” you might target “best mirrorless cameras for beginners.”
8. Prioritize Your Keywords
By this point, you should have a decent list of potential keywords. The next step is to prioritize them. It’s impossible (and unwise) to try and optimize for every keyword at once, so you need to focus on the ones that will provide the best return on your investment.
To prioritize keywords, consider:
- Search volume: How many people are searching for this keyword each month?
- Keyword difficulty: Can you realistically compete for this keyword?
- Relevance: Does the keyword align with your website’s content and goals? Will it attract the right kind of visitors?
- Intent: Does the keyword match the stage of the buyer’s journey you want to target? For example, if you want visitors ready to buy, focus on transactional keywords.
Create a list of your top priority keywords and use them strategically across your website, in blog posts, product pages, and other content.
9. Test and Refine Your Keyword Strategy
Keyword research isn’t a one-time task. Search trends change, and so do your audience’s needs. Once you’ve started targeting specific keywords, it’s important to monitor their performance over time.
Are they driving traffic? Are those visitors staying on your site or converting into customers?
Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track how well your keywords are performing. If certain keywords aren’t bringing in the traffic or engagement you expected, don’t be afraid to refine your approach.
Here’s how to test and refine your strategy:
- Look at click-through rates (CTR): Are people clicking on your website when it appears in search results for your target keywords?
- Monitor rankings: Use an SEO tool to track where you’re ranking for specific keywords. If you’re not on the first page, consider updating or expanding your content.
- Check bounce rates: High bounce rates might mean that the keywords you’re targeting aren’t bringing in the right audience. Reassess the search intent behind those keywords.
10. Keep Up With Trends and Changes
Finally, keyword research is an ongoing process. Search trends shift, new keywords emerge, and competitors might start targeting the same keywords as you. Keeping up with these changes is key to staying ahead.
Here’s how to stay current:
- Monitor industry trends: Pay attention to news, social media, and discussions in your industry to spot emerging keywords or changes in user behavior.
- Use tools like Google Trends: Google Trends can show you how the popularity of certain keywords changes over time. This is especially useful for seasonal keywords or when new trends emerge in your niche.
- Regularly update your content: Refresh old blog posts and web pages with new keywords, statistics, and information. This can help maintain your rankings and even boost them over time.
Conclusion
Finding the right keywords doesn’t have to be a complicated or technical process. By understanding your audience, using the right tools, and focusing on search intent, you can discover keywords that will help you attract the right visitors to your site.
Remember to balance search volume, difficulty, and relevance to prioritize keywords that align with your goals.
Don’t forget, keyword research is an ongoing journey. The more you learn about your audience and the more you monitor your site’s performance, the better you’ll get at refining your strategy.
With time and effort, the right keywords will lead to increased traffic, better engagement, and ultimately, a more successful website.