Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing the words and phrases that users type into search engines to find what they are looking for. Keyword research is essential for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) because it helps you understand your target audience, their needs, and their search intent. By optimizing your website for the right keywords, you can rank higher on Google and drive more organic traffic to your site.
How to Do Keyword Research for Google SEO
There are many steps and tools involved in keyword research, but here is a simplified overview of how to do it:
Step 1: Brainstorm a List of Topics
The first step is to come up with a list of broad topics that are relevant to your niche, your business, and your goals. These topics should reflect the main categories of your website and the problems or solutions that your target audience is interested in.
For example, if you have a website about digital marketing, some of the topics you might brainstorm are:
- SEO
- Content Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Email Marketing
- PPC Advertising
You can use tools like AnswerThePublic, Google Trends, or BuzzSumo to find popular topics and questions in your niche.
Step 2: Find Keyword Ideas Based on Key Terms, Related Search, Long-Tail Keywords, and LSI
The next step is to expand your list of topics into more specific keyword ideas. You can use different sources and methods to find keyword ideas, such as:
- Key terms: These are the main words or phrases that describe your topic. For example, for the topic of SEO, some key terms are “SEO basics”, “SEO tips”, “SEO tools”, etc. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, or SEMrush to find key terms and their search volume, competition, and difficulty.
- Related search: These are the suggestions that Google shows at the bottom of the search results page when you type in a query. For example, for the query “SEO basics”, some related searches are “SEO tutorial”, “SEO checklist”, “SEO meaning”, etc. You can use these suggestions to find more keyword ideas that are related to your topic.
- Long-tail keywords: These are keywords that consist of three or more words and are more specific and less competitive than key terms. For example, for the key term “SEO tips”, some long-tail keywords are “SEO tips for beginners”, “SEO tips for WordPress”, “SEO tips for ecommerce”, etc. You can use tools like AnswerThePublic, KWFinder, or Ahrefs to find long-tail keywords and their search volume, competition, and difficulty.
- LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing): These are keywords that are semantically related to your topic but not necessarily synonyms. For example, for the topic of SEO, some LSI keywords are “rankings”, “backlinks”, “keywords”, etc. You can use tools like LSI Graph, LSIGenius, or Twinword Ideas to find LSI keywords and their relevance score.
Step 3: Check the TRUE Keyword Difficulty and Search Volume
The next step is to evaluate the potential of each keyword idea based on two factors: keyword difficulty and search volume.
- Keyword difficulty: This is a metric that indicates how hard it is to rank for a given keyword on Google. It is usually based on the number and quality of backlinks that the top-ranking pages have for that keyword. The higher the keyword difficulty, the more competition and effort you need to rank for that keyword. You can use tools like Moz, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to check the keyword difficulty score for each keyword idea.
- Search volume: This is a metric that indicates how many times a given keyword is searched for on Google per month. It is usually based on historical data from Google Ads. The higher the search volume, the more popular and potentially profitable the keyword is. However, high search volume also means high competition and low specificity. You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, or SEMrush to check the search volume for each keyword idea.
The ideal keywords are those that have high search volume and low keyword difficulty. However, these keywords are rare and hard to find. Therefore, you need to balance these two factors and choose keywords that have enough search volume to drive traffic and enough keyword difficulty to rank well.
Step 4: Determine User Intent
The final step is to understand the user intent behind each keyword idea. User intent is the goal or purpose that a user has when they type in a query on Google. User intent can be classified into four main types:
- Informational: The user wants to learn something or find an answer to a question. For example, “what is SEO” or “how to
- how to do SEO”.
- Navigational: The user wants to find a specific website or page. For example, “Facebook login” or “Amazon customer service”.
- Transactional: The user wants to buy something or perform an action. For example, “buy iPhone 14” or “book a flight to Paris”.
- Commercial: The user wants to compare different products or services before making a purchase decision. For example, “iPhone 14 vs Samsung Galaxy S22” or “best SEO tools”.
- Understanding the user intent can help you optimize your website for the right keywords and provide the best content and experience for your users. You can use tools like Google Search Console, Google Analytics, or SERPStat to analyze the user intent for each keyword idea.
- Conclusion
- Keyword research is a vital part of SEO that can help you rank higher on Google and drive more organic traffic to your website. By following the steps and using the tools mentioned in this guide, you can find and optimize your website for the best keywords for your niche, your business, and your goals.
