Keyword research is at the heart of SEO.
With the aid of thorough keyword research, marketers can learn their target audience’s language, and curate optimised, traceable content which speaks directly to them.
Keyword research is imperative for any online business hoping to be favoured by search engines. That’s why, in this blog post, the Clarus team walk you through all the steps necessary to master keyword research, from brainstorming to analysing, to tactically leveraging keywords to refine your SEO strategy.
What is Keyword Research?
Keywords are, essentially, the language of online customers.
A ‘keyword’ can refer to any term or phrase commonly inputted in online searches for specific products, services or information. A given keyword is like a code which corresponds directly to a particular user intent, and yields search results specifically tailored to that expectation.
Naturally, an apt description of a product or service is itself a keyword, but enhanced keyword research is more sophisticated than that. The simple key-phrase “best coffee machine,” for example, might be searched with an informational, commercial or transactional intent: the user may be looking to find an article with the answer to their query, they may be seeking more information about products, or they might be ready to purchase a product. In order to see growth in your conversion rates, it’s fundamental to ensure that your web page meets the desired user intent, and this involves targeting highly specific keywords as well as generic descriptors.
Keyword research for SEO is the process of identifying, analysing and leveraging optimal keywords to bridge the digital gap between marketers and their online leads. By attaching the appropriate keyword to a web page, marketers can feel confident that they will meet their target audience’s expectations and provide them with pertinent solutions. Keyword research also grants online businesses with increased visibility in the SERPs, generating organic web traffic.
I – Brainstorming Keywords
Before you begin the keyword research process, it’s essential to brainstorm and identify some potential keywords relevant to your business and suited to your customers’ needs.
Different kinds of Keywords
Before you get started, it’s important to note that there are two kinds of keywords to consider: focus keywords and long-tail keywords.
Focus keywords
Focus keywords are simple, key terms which guide users to a page. These are vital for brand awareness and traffic – without them, sites stand no chance of ranking in the search results. Targeting focus keywords is, therefore, of top priority for SEO.
Long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are more niche, lengthy phrases which cater to more specific search queries and audiences. These are integral for conversion rates. Long-tail keywords are less commonly searched for, but those who do search for them are far more likely to convert. Long-tail keywords are also easier to rank for, as fewer websites use them.
To increase your chances of ranking highly in the SERPs and satisfying user intent, we recommend using a select combination of both focus and long-tail keywords in your content.
Seed Keywords
Now you have a sense of what your keywords should look like, it’s time to begin the brainstorming process. Your initial ideas can be referred to as ‘seed’ keywords. Seed keywords may not be the exact keywords you end up targeting, but they are the seeds from which your keyword research strategy can grow.
There are two fundamental considerations when developing seed keywords: your business offerings and your customers’ needs.
Business offerings
Begin by reflecting on your business offerings and determine some focus keywords based on these. Home in on the best features, products or services your business offers – these should be a suitable starting point for your keyword research.
A stationery business, for example, might consider keywords such as “fountain pens” and “weekly planners”.
Customers’ needs
Consider your customers’ needs, pain points and related queries and then tailor your keywords to these with the addition of question modifiers. This ensures that your content will suit a broad range of user intents.
To refer back to our example, a stationery business might cater its keywords to its audience by considering equivalent key phrases such as “Which pens are best for calligraphy?” or “How to plan your work week”.
Competitors’ keywords
If in doubt, check which keywords your competitors are ranking for. By consistently monitoring your competitors, you will be provided with valuable insights into their strategies, which will allow you to refine your own. If you’re struggling to discern who your competitors are, start by typing your seed keywords into Google and taking note of any first-page business websites similar to yours.
Don’t neglect this step – as much as it’s appealing to be original, it is far more lucrative to be findable. Using popular keywords is what generates web traffic.
II – Analysing Keywords
Using Keyword Research Tools
When you’ve come up with some seed keywords, your next step is to plug them into a keyword research tool. These tools generate related, trending suggestions with the additional provision of MSV data. We recommend running different variants of your keywords (pluralising them, reordering them, etc.) until you find the optimal version.
Here are some of our best picks:
- Google Keyword Planner (GKP) is a free keyword tool which not only produces original keywords but also offers invaluable metrics for keyword research. It is particularly useful in that it reveals search volume and search difficulty estimates for keywords – in the following section, we’ll uncover how exactly you can leverage this data.
- Another essential tool is Google Trends, which boasts a huge backlog of highly illuminating data. Google Trends is based on real-time, geo-specific search query data trends, so you can see how your chosen keywords have performed over time and in which areas they perform the best. It also allows you to compare the geo-specific popularity of two similar, competing search terms. This is particularly handy for local SEO keyword research.
- An additional resourceful method of securing optimal keywords involves leveraging Google’s suggested searches. Like Google Trends data, suggested searches are based on the currently popular searches. To find trending keywords within your niche, simply begin typing some of your chosen keywords into Google’s search bar and pay attention to the suggested searches that pop up.
These tools combined offer a clear understanding of which keywords people are searching for at a given time and in a given place, as well as how highly certain keywords are likely to rank in the SERPs.
Understanding keyword research
Much of keyword analysis is highly personalised. It is on the part of the individual to assess which keywords their business is likely to rank for and prioritise those. Businesses launching into a competitive market, for example, might find it more profitable to hone in on the features of their business that make it unique within that market and build long-tail keywords around those features. Businesses with more authority in their field, on the other hand, might find that targeting focus keywords with a high monthly search volume is optimal.
Generally, the best keywords strike a balance with regard to two fundamental metrics: search volume and keyword difficulty. These are the vital metrics provided by GKP. The search volume refers to how often a keyword is searched for, and the keyword difficulty describes your competition for ranking in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Ideally, you want to select keywords with a high monthly search volume but a low keyword difficulty – this way, you increase both your potential website traffic and your chances of ranking highly in the SERPs.
III – Targeting keywords
By now, you should have compiled and refined a list of keywords to include in your SEO strategy. Your next step is to determine which, out of these keywords, you should aim to target or prioritise and where to include certain keywords in your content.
Identify the primary target topic
All of your keywords will likely revolve around a fundamental feature, service or product of your business, and it’s essential to identify this core topic, which will reveal your ‘primary keyword’.
A primary keyword is a simple, high-search-volume descriptor which encompasses a vast number of related secondary keywords. For example, the phrase “chocolate cake” could be a primary keyword, under which fall secondary keywords such as “chocolate cake recipe”, “gluten-free chocolate cake”, and “chocolate cake, serves 60 people”.
Your primary keyword should appear in your H1 headings and your page URL, whereas your secondary keywords serve as subtopics and belong within your content and in the H2 and H3 headings. For any long-tail secondary keywords which are particularly specific and niche, we recommend dedicating a separate web page to them.
Consider the search intent
Keyword research is a customer-focused practice which requires careful consideration of users’ search intent. By considering customer needs and the phrases customers input based on those needs, your content and CTAs can become the solution they are looking for. Google accounts for relevance in their rankings, so it is essential that your keyword-targeted content meets searchers’ needs.
There are four types of search query:
- Navigational: Navigational search queries are made by users seeking a specific website, page or business.
- Informational: Informational search queries are made by users with questions they need answered
- Commercial: Commercial search queries are made by users researching particular products/services or brands
- Transactional: Transactional search queries are made by users ready to convert (i.e., make a purchase, respond to a CTA)
User intent is one of the most important elements of keyword research. All content should be built around a particular user intent in order to stay relevant. Essentially, content should be created for users, instead of being directed at users.
To meet the search intent, you must match the correct keyword to the appropriate content. Sometimes, this will be unequivocal – a ‘how to’ keyword title clearly matches an informational search query. Some keywords, however, are more obscure, particularly the focus keywords we identified above. To find out how to match these to the correct page, try searching them on Google and see which pages pop up first. If a bunch of product pages pop up, for example, you know that the keyword is often typed in with a commercial or transactional intent, so you can feel confident targeting those keywords in your product pages.
Optimise your content with keyword research
Considered keyword research provides valuable insights into current marketing trends and common customer demands, allowing businesses to amend their online marketing strategies accordingly. Fundamentally for SEO, targeting the correct keywords promotes visibility in the SERPs, generating organic, relevant web traffic.
At Clarus Digital, we specialise in crafting and refining tailored SEO strategies to help businesses thrive. Reach out to the team today on our contact page or click here to find out more about what we can offer your local business.
