Keyword research is essential for driving significant traffic to your blog.
It was key in enhancing my blog’s reach, and now I want to show you how to use it to boost your own blog’s traffic.
Let’s get started!
What is Keyword Research?
To begin with, let’s clarify what keyword research involves.
At its core, keyword research is a crucial component of SEO strategy.
The main goal is to identify the keywords that people frequently search for on Google and evaluate how competitive it is to rank for those keywords.
Once you identify these keywords, you need to create content that is optimized for them.
This means applying effective SEO practices to ensure that your content is easily discoverable by search engines.
Though the concept sounds simple, keyword research can be quite intricate. It’s not just about finding popular search terms; it requires a strategic approach and careful analysis.
One successful technique I’ve used is to group related keywords.
By creating content that addresses multiple related keywords, you can target various search queries with a single post. This strategy has helped me achieve impressive results.
It’s not just about how number of blog posts you put out.
And it’s not only about how well-written and valuable your posts are.
So what’s really important?
It’s all about how effectively you handle keyword research!
Ready to elevate your keyword research game?
Keep reading to discover how a strategic approach can make all the difference!
Types of Keyword Research
There are two primary methods for conducting keyword research: traditional and competitive.
Each method offers distinct advantages and approaches.
Traditional Keyword Research
Traditional keyword research starts with a broad term, known as a seed keyword, related to your niche.
From this seed keyword, you generate a list of more specific keywords, such as long-tail and medium-tail keywords.
The goal is to find keywords with substantial search volume and manageable competition.
For instance, using a tool like Ubersuggest, you can enter your seed keyword and get a list of related suggestions.
By analyzing the search results for these keywords, you can determine whether you can realistically rank on the first page.
This method is particularly helpful for new bloggers looking to identify keywords to target. However, it doesn’t provide insights into your competitors’ strategies.
Competitor-Based Keyword Research
Competitor-based keyword research involves examining the keywords that your competitors are ranking for.
By entering a competitor’s website into a keyword tool, you can uncover the keywords they are targeting and their search positions.
This method is valuable because it reveals keywords that are already effective in driving traffic.
It’s especially useful if you have an established blog and access to advanced keyword tools, which often come with a cost.
Key Factors in Keyword Research
Effective keyword research involves evaluating several key factors:
1. Search Intent
Understanding search intent is crucial.
It helps you determine why people are searching for certain keywords and how to create content that meets their needs.
Search intent can be informational, commercial, or transactional.
2. Informational Keywords
These are used by individuals seeking answers.
Keywords that start with “how,” “what,” “why,” etc., are often informational. We can find keywords related to questions. by using Ahrefs, I have search keywords related to selling shoes.
Click on ‘Questions’ to get questions asked related to target keyword.
See below with list of results questions asked by users related to particular keywords.
For example, “how to start selling shoes” is an informational keyword. Targeting these can attract users looking for knowledge.
3. Commercial Keywords
These keywords are used by people who are comparing products or services before making a decision.
Examples include “best laptops for students” or “top-rated noise-canceling headphones.”
These keywords are useful for attracting potential buyers. The following affix are generally used for commercial intent.
- Best
- Top
- Cheap
- Best Quality
- Reviews
- Comparison
4. Transactional Keywords
These indicate a strong intent to purchase.
Phrases like “buy iPhone 15 pro max” or “discount code for shoes” suggest that the user is ready to buy.
Optimizing for these keywords can help increase conversions on your blog.
5. Search Volume
Search volume measures how frequently a keyword is searched each month.
Ideally, you want to target keywords with high search volume to maximize your chances of attracting visitors.
However, high search volume often comes with higher competition.
You might be wondering:
How much traffic can a keyword potentially bring based on its search volume?
To provide some insight, a study by Advanced Web Ranking shows the typical click-through rates (CTR) for search results:
• The top-ranking result attracts about 30% of all clicks.
• The second result gets around 15% of clicks.
• The third result captures approximately 10% of clicks.
6. Keyword Difficulty
Keyword difficulty indicates how challenging it is to rank for a keyword. Keywords with high search volume are often more competitive.
Instead of targeting these, consider focusing on keywords with lower competition.
These can sometimes offer easier ranking opportunities and better results.
How To Do Keyword Research – Free and Paid
You can use both free and paid methods for keyword research.
Free tools, like Google Keyword Planner, provide basic keyword data. If you don’t have money to spend on keyword research, the free method is perfect for you.
The main limitation to use free keyword research tools, which we’ll cover later, is that they don’t offer features that can speed up the process.
For a more efficient approach, it’s worth considering paid keyword research tools. There are many best keyword research tools available for more efficiency.
These tools can help you find keywords that are easier to rank for and group similar keywords together, making it easier to plan your blog’s content strategy.
Let’s start with the free keyword research tool!
How To Use Google Keyword Planner For Free
If you’re on a tight budget and need to conduct keyword research, free tools can be a great starting point.
However, it’s important to note that these free options often come with some limitations. They might not offer the advanced features that can make your research process quicker and more efficient.
For those who want to get more out of their keyword research and save time, investing in a best keyword research tool is a smart move.
Premium tools provide valuable features such as detailed keyword analysis, difficulty scores, and the ability to group keywords effectively.
These features can make it easier to develop a solid content strategy for your blog.
With that in mind, let’s explore the free methods for keyword research:
How to Use Google Keyword Planner for Finding Keywords
Google Keyword Planner is a valuable resource that you can use for free, without needing to spend money on AdWords ads.
You will be required a Google account to get access to Google keyword planner tool. If you don’t have one, you can easily sign up for a free Google account here.
Here’s a common scenario you might face when trying to use Keyword Planner:
You might be prompted to set up an AdWords campaign. It can seem like Google is requiring you to spend money to use the tool, but there’s good news—you don’t have to.
Here’s how you can access Keyword Planner without creating an AdWords campaign:
Start by clicking here to begin. You will find a blue highlighted button “Go to Keyword Planner”, Click here to continue.
When you reach the page asking “What’s your main advertising goal?”, skip the options provided. Instead, look for and click on the small “Switch to Expert Mode” link in the bottom of the page.
On the next page, you will now have many options of a campaign type. No need to select them. you can simply click on “Create an account without a campaign” at the bottom left corner of the page and then click “Continue.”
You no need to worry about payment because Google won’t ask for your credit card details. You can Click on the “SUBMIT” button on the following screen.
Once you complete these steps, you’ll see a confirmation screen. You will have to Click the button “Explore your account” link for further action.
Now, go to the “Tools” tab at the top right corner of the menu bar and select “Keyword Planner.”
And there you almost on to it! You can have full access to Google Keyword Planner without needing to enter billing information or run an AdWords ad.
Enjoy diving into your keyword research!
How to Use Google Keyword Planner
When you start with Google Keyword Planner, you’ll see two main options:
- Discover New Keywords: This feature helps you find new keyword ideas to reach people who are interested in what you offer.
- Get Search Volume and Forecasts: This option shows you how many times keywords are searched and provides forecasts on their potential performance in the future.
There’s also a “How to Use Keyword Planner” link under these options if you want more detailed instructions. However, after reading this guide, you’ll likely find you don’t need it.
Depending on which option you choose, the Keyword Planner interface will adjust to match your selection.
These tools are excellent for uncovering a vast array of keyword possibilities. Although Google Keyword Planner is primarily designed for PPC advertisers and includes features like keyword bidding that may not be relevant for purely keyword research, it still offers valuable insights for finding the right keywords.
Let’s dive into how to make the most of each tool in Google Keyword Planner.
1. Discover new keywords
If you want to find new keyword ideas, this is the place to start.
Google Keyword Planner gives you a couple of ways to generate keyword suggestions.
According to Google’s guidelines, you should “Enter words, phrases, or a URL related to your business.” Based on what you enter, Google will provide a list of keyword ideas.
The effectiveness of the tool largely depends on the information you provide. To get the best results, be thoughtful about the keywords or URL you use.
Here’s a straightforward guide to using each option in Google Keyword Planner:
- Enter Words: Type in individual words related to your products or services, like “skin care” or “SEO.” This will help you access Google’s keyword database across various industries.
- Phrases: Enter phrases or “seed keywords” to get a list of related terms. It’s best to use at least two keywords. For example, if you have an ecommerce site selling bracelets, try entering phrases like “Tiffany bead bracelet” and “Pandora bracelet charms.”
- A URL Related to Your Business: Although this option is mainly for AdWords advertisers, you can still use it to find keywords. Input your website’s homepage or a relevant blog post to uncover some useful keyword ideas.
For instance, if you enter “home theater,” you might get around 1070 keyword suggestions.
Each suggestion will show:
- Keyword ideas
- Average monthly searches
- Competition level
- Top of page bid (low range)
- Top of page bid (high range)
You’re not limited to just single words; phrases are useful too. Google is also suggestive more seed keywords to broaden your search new keywords.
While using a URL as a seed keyword can be helpful, remember that Google limits the number of suggestions you receive per search. Even with the maximum of ten seed keywords and a URL, you might only get about 1000+ suggestions.
Understanding these options and their limits will help you make the most of Google Keyword Planner and improve your keyword research.
2. Get search volume and forecasts
If you already have a list of keywords and want to see their metrics, this is the perfect place to start.
Just copy and paste your keywords into the field provided and click the “Get started” button.
You’ll be taken to the Forecasts section. Here, you’ll see a “Keywords Results Page” similar to what you encounter with the “Discover new keywords” option.
The difference is:
- You’ll only get data for the specific keywords you’ve entered.
- Google will show you estimates for how many impressions and clicks those keywords might generate.
While this data is primarily intended for AdWords advertisers, there’s a useful feature you can take advantage of:
Click on the “Historical Metrics” tab to view the 12-month average search volumes for your keywords.
These metrics will match the ranges you see with the “Discover new keywords” tool.
That covers how to use Google Keyword Planner for keyword research. Now, let’s quickly explore how you can achieve similar results using Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest.
How To Use Best Keyword Research Tools
For a more detailed keyword research experience, consider investing in tools like Ahrefs or Semrush.
These tools offer advanced features such as competitor analysis, keyword grouping, and performance tracking, which can enhance your keyword research efforts.
Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest is another excellent tool for finding keywords.
Here’s how to use it:
How To Use Ubersuggest for Keyword Research
Keyword Overview:
Ubersuggest breaks down keyword research into three main sections:
- Overview:
- Keyword Ideas:
- SERP Analysis:
The overview looks like this for the keyword “home theater.”
Overview
In the first section of Ubersuggest, you’ll find a graph that tracks your keyword’s search volume over the past 12 months.
You can adjust the graph to show data for different countries and languages. This lets you see if the keyword is becoming more popular, losing traction, or if it’s seasonal.
The graph also gives you important details like the cost per click (CPC), SEO difficulty (SD), and paid difficulty.
These difficulty scores range from 1 to 100, with higher numbers indicating more competition and lower numbers suggesting less.
Keyword Ideas
The next section is all about “Keyword Ideas.” For instance, if you’re using “home theater” as your keyword, click on the “View all Keyword Ideas” button to see a full list of related keywords suggestions.
You’ll get around 358 keyword suggestions generated from AdWords recommendations and Google Suggest. This provides a comprehensive list of potential keywords you might want to target.
Each keyword will show data including search volume, cost per click (CPC), SEO difficulty (SD), and paid difficulty (PD).
On the right side of the “Keyword Ideas” report, you’ll see the websites that are currently ranking in the top 100 search results for each keyword. This part is especially useful because it shows estimated visitor counts based on rankings, as well as each URL’s domain score and social shares.
The domain score ranges from 1 to 100, reflecting the authority of the site—the higher the score, the more authoritative the site, and the harder it will be to outrank it. Social shares indicate how much engagement the content is getting; more shares usually mean the content is popular.
Ubersuggest also allows you to export your keyword data as a CSV file, making it easy to analyze and share your findings.
In the keyword ideas report, you can filter results to suit your needs.
You can narrow down by “keyword suggestions” or “related keywords,” or adjust filters based on competition and popularity.
If you’re overwhelmed with too many results, you can also include or exclude certain terms to refine your search.
SERP Analysis
The final section, SERP Analysis, provides a view of the top 100 websites ranking for any keyword. This is useful for researching keywords across different regions and languages, giving you a clear picture of the competitive landscape.
This overview of Ubersuggest’s features will help you effectively navigate keyword research and get the insights you need.
How To Use Semrush For Keyword Research
Semrush is a leading tool for search engine optimization and an excellent resource for keyword research in any niche. Here’s a straightforward guide on how to use Semrush to uncover valuable keywords.
First things first: you’ll need a SEMrush account. If you don’t have one yet, you can start with a 7-day free trial by clicking here.
Once you’re set up, follow these steps to find great keywords using Semrush:
Navigate to the SEMrush Dashboard:
Log in to SEMrush and click on the “Overview” tab located in the left-hand sidebar under the keyword analytics options.
Enter Your Main Keyword:
Type in the main topic or keyword you want to explore. You can also select your target country to tailor the results to your specific audience, which is highly recommended for more relevant data.
Examine the Results:
1. Volume:
This tells the volume of total searches that have been performed for the particular keyword in the search engines like Google.
For example, search volume for ‘home theater’ keyword is 12.1K and Global volume is 180.4K .
Search Volume are shown in two ways, one is Volume in the region or country you have selected and another tells the search volume globally.
2. Keyword Difficulty:
In Semrush, Keyword Difficulty (KD %) is shown as a percentage.
A score of 100% means the keyword is the most challenging to rank for, while a score of 0% indicates it’s the easiest.
For example, ‘home theater’ keyword has 67% keyword difficulty which means that it is completive keyword and will be slightly challenging to rank.
3. CPC Distribution
This section shows the average cost you’ll pay per click for the keyword in your chosen country.
4. Trend
This is really important for keyword research. It tells you how the keyword’s search volume changes each month, so you can see if it brings in traffic all year or just during certain times.
Semrush dashboard also provides in depth information of related keyword ideas with various form of suggestion. We will discuss this in detail below so keep reading!
These insights provide a clear picture of the keyword’s potential and competitiveness, so you can make informed decisions about your SEO strategy.
With this information, you’ll have a better sense of how likely you are to rank for the keyword and can adjust your approach as needed.
How to Use Semrush’s Phrase Match Feature
In Semrush, you’ll see several keyword categories:
Broad Match: Includes a wide range of keywords related to your search term, covering various related phrases.
Phrase Match: Shows keywords that contain the exact phrase you entered, helping you target more specific search intents.
Exact Match: Provides keywords that are either identical to your seed keyword or very close variations, allowing for precise targeting.
Related Keywords: Displays keywords that are closely associated with your seed keyword, offering additional options for targeting.
This is where you dive deeper into keyword research.
Earlier, we focused on identifying core keywords to lay the groundwork for your content strategy.
These main keywords can be highly competitive, making them challenging to target, especially if you’re just starting out.
Instead, it’s often more practical to look for less competitive, “low-hanging fruit” keywords that can help you build a solid ranking foundation.
The Phrase Match tool is ideal if you have a broad topic or product but need more specific keywords. This feature helps you discover related keywords and variations of your main keywords.
Here’s how it works: enter your broad keyword or topic into the tool, and it will generate a list of closely related keywords, including long-tail keywords and alternative terms that you can use in your content.
You also have the option to filter your keyword suggestions to focus on “question-related” keywords, which can be useful for creating content that addresses common questions.
This “Keyword Magic Tool” allows you to refine your keyword suggestions based on specific criteria.
For instance, you can filter to show keywords related to “sony” if that’s your focus. This tool helps you pinpoint keywords that are most relevant to your content strategy.
Key Metrics for Each Keyword
SEMrush provides several important metrics for each keyword suggestion:
- Keyword Volume: The average number of searches for the keyword.
- Keyword Trend: How the search volume for the keyword changes over time.
- Keyword Difficulty (KD): A score from 1 to 100 indicating how challenging it is to rank for the keyword. Higher scores mean more competition.
- Cost Per Click (CPC): The average cost if you were to bid on the keyword in paid search ads.
- Competition: The level of competition for the keyword in paid search.
- SERP Feature: Information about any special features appearing in search results for the keyword.
- Results in SERP: The number of search results for the keyword, indicating its competitiveness.
The keyword difficulty score is particularly useful as it helps you assess how tough it will be to rank for each keyword, streamlining the process of finding effective keywords to target.
And that covers the basics of using SEMrush for keyword research. With these tools and insights, you’re ready to identify the right keywords and enhance your SEO strategy.
Why You Should Start Using Semrush Today
Semrush is widely recognized as one of the top SEO tools out there, loved by SEO experts and bloggers worldwide. This powerful tool pulls together extensive data to offer you precise and actionable insights for keyword research.
Currently, Semrush is utilized by over 1 million users and holds a vast database of more than 800 million keywords. This information comes from 30 different geodatabases and covers over 130 million domains globally.
Even if you’re just starting with SEO, Semrush can quickly boost your expertise—seriously.
In a nutshell, Semrush is essential for all your SEO needs and can assist you with:
- Keyword Research: Discover new keywords and assess their potential.
- Content Research: Evaluate how content performs and find ways to improve it.
- Backlink Analysis: Analyze both your backlinks and those of your competitors.
- Competitor Research: Learn about the strategies your competitors are using.
- Traffic Insights: Get a glimpse of any website’s traffic metrics.
- Domain Comparison: Compare different domains to see how they stack up.
- Website Audit: Perform a thorough audit to identify and address any issues on your site.
If you’re serious about SEO, Semrush is definitely worth trying. You can start with a 30-day free trial, so you can explore all its features without spending a dime.