For any digital business, conducting regular keywords research with tools like Google Keyword Planner is crucial. This helps you discover valuable keywords to create targeted content.
Start with a Clear Niche
Before diving into keywords research, define your niche. For example:
- In finance, you could focus on “Personal Finance,” “Stock Market Tips,” or “Fintech.”
- In healthcare, you might write about “Yoga Asanas,” “Workout Tips,” “Weight Loss,” or “Diet.”
Collect Initial Keywords
Gather a few keywords that are relevant to your niche. Then, use Google Keyword Planner tool to find more keyword ideas. Filter out the ones that aren’t relevant and focus on the best ones. This approach ensures your content attracts the right audience and drives traffic to your site.
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Metrics to Consider while conducting Keywords Research
To determine if a keyword is good or bad, use Google Keyword Planner tool.
- Research each Keyword: Check each keyword on Keyword Planner.
- Sort by Monthly Searches: Sort the results by average monthly searches to find high-volume keywords.
- Filter for Quality: Choose keywords that have a good or okay rating in both search volume and competition.
This way, you’ll collect keywords that are worth targeting in your content.
You can filter keywords in the way mentioned in this excel Sheet
Monthly Search Volume
Monthly search volume is an important metric for keywords since it indicates how often a term is searched on search engines, helping to gauge its potential traffic and relevance for targeting in digital marketing campaigns. Higher the monthly search volume, better is the keyword.
- Very Good: 100,000 – 1,000,000 searches
- Good: 10,000 – 100,000 searches
- Okay: 1,000 – 10,000 searches
- Not Recommended for Beginners: Fewer than 1,000 searches
Competition
Keyword competition is important as it helps to assess the difficulty of ranking in search engine results, guiding strategy for effective SEO and content planning. Lower the competition, easier it is to rank in Search Engines for that keyword.
- Low: Good – Ideal for targeting as it suggests easier ranking opportunities.
- Medium: Okay – Competitive but manageable for moderately experienced marketers.
- High: Not Recommended for Beginners – Indicates intense competition, making it challenging for new entrants to rank well.
Length of keywords
The length of a keyword, also known as keyword complexity, is crucial as it directly impacts search specificity and user intent. Longer keywords (long-tail) attract more qualified traffic, leading to higher conversion rates, while shorter keywords (short-tail) are usually more competitive and less targeted.
- Four or More Words: Very Good – Ideal for targeting specific niches, often associated with lower competition and higher conversion rates.
- Three Words: Good – Suitable for capturing more targeted searches than broader terms.
- Two Words: Okay – Often still specific but may face more competition.
- One Word: Very Bad – Typically highly competitive and vague, not recommended for effective targeting.
YOY change
Year-Over-Year change measures the growth or decline in search volume for a keyword across comparable time periods. A high YOY change highlights a keyword’s rising popularity or relevance, aiding in strategic decisions for content and marketing focus to capitalize on emerging trends
- As High as Possible: Indicates significant growth in interest or demand, suggesting a trending or increasingly relevant keyword.
It’s quite uncommon to find a keyword that excels in the first three categories. For beginners, it’s advisable to target keywords that are two words or longer, have low to medium competition, and boast good to very good monthly search volumes.
Bid Range
The bid range is the factor for pay-per-click (PPC) advertising as it determines the potential to outbid competitors for premium ad placements, directly influencing visibility and click-through rates.
- As High as Possible: Indicates a higher willingness to pay for clicks, which can be beneficial for securing top ad placement in competitive markets
| Monthly Searches | Competition | Length of keywords | YOY change | Quality |
| 10k-100k | Low | 2 or more | 0% or more | Good |
| 10k-100k | Medium | 3 or more | 0% or more | Good |
| 1k-10k | Low | 2 or more | 100% or more | Good |
| 1k-10k | Low | 2 or more | 0%-100% | okay |
| 1k-10k | Medium | 3 or more | 0% or more | okay |
Filter good keywords for your Niche. Once you have 50+ such keywords related to your Niche, you are well set to build a content business.
Tools and Techniques for Keywords Research
Keyword research is fundamental to successful SEO and digital marketing strategies. By identifying the right keywords, businesses can optimize their content to meet the specific search queries of their target audience. Let’s explore various tools that are essential for discovering and analysing profitable keywords.
Google Keyword Planner Tool
Google Keyword Planner is a free tool offered by Google. It’s designed for advertisers to find the right keywords for their Ads campaigns, but it’s equally useful for SEO and keyword research.
The biggest advantage of Keyword Planner is that it is directly integrated with Google Ads, providing data that’s reflective of real search trends on Google. It’s particularly useful for understanding the commercial intent behind keywords.
SEMrush
SEMrush is a digital marketing tool that offers detailed keyword analysis features. It provides data on keyword volume, trend, competition, CPC, and related keywords.
SEMrush stands out for its ability to conduct competitive analysis. You can see which keywords your competitors rank for and how they perform, helping you to identify gaps in your own strategy and areas for improvement.
Ahrefs Keywords Explorer
Ahrefs Keywords Explorer offers extensive data on keywords including search volume, keyword difficulty, click metrics, and global volume.
What sets Ahrefs apart is its extensive database and the ability to see click distribution on search engine results pages. It also provides a detailed breakdown of the top-ranking pages for each keyword, offering insights into why they rank well.
Moz Keyword Explorer
Provides keyword suggestions, SERP analysis, and competitive keyword metrics. Moz offers a unique metric called “Priority,” which combines search volume, competition, and potential CTR to help prioritize keyword opportunities.
Keyword Tool
This tool uses Google Autocomplete data to generate hundreds of relevant long-tail keywords for any topic. Keyword Tool is excellent for discovering long-tail keywords that are not visible in Google Keyword Planner.
Ubersuggest
It is developed by Neil Patel, a popular blogger. This tool provides keyword suggestions, competitive data, and top SEO pages insights. Ubersuggest offers free access to some features and is user-friendly, making it ideal for beginners.
KWFinder
Focuses on finding long-tail keywords with low SEO difficulty. KWFinder provides an intuitive interface and detailed data on search trends, helping users to easily find keywords that can achieve quick rankings.
All these tools offer unique features and benefits, making them valuable resources for anyone related to SEO and content marketing. By effectively leveraging these tools, you can significantly enhance your keyword research and refine your overall digital marketing strategy.
Innovative Techniques for Keywords Research
Keyword research is the most important part of SEO and content marketing. By innovating beyond traditional methods, marketers can uncover new opportunities and gain insights into what their audience is truly seeking. This article covers three advanced techniques for finding keywords: competitor analysis, social media trends, and question-based platforms.
Using Competitor Analysis to Find Keywords Research Opportunities
Competitor analysis is a strategic method to discover potential keyword opportunities that can elevate your SEO strategy. Let’ see how to use this approach in an effective way
Identify Your Competitors:
Begin by listing your direct and indirect competitors. Use tools like Alexa or SimilarWeb to get insights into their online strategy.
Analyse Competitor Websites:
Tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush can analyze your competitors’ websites to see which keywords they are ranking for. This analysis provides a benchmark against which to measure your keyword strategy.
Keyword Gap Analysis:
Perform a keyword gap analysis to find the keywords that your competitors rank for but your site does not. This reveals gaps in your content that you can fill to capture additional traffic.
Monitor Competitor Content and Ads:
Regularly review your competitors’ content and paid ads to understand their focus keywords. This monitoring can uncover high-value keywords that they are investing in.
Utilising Social Media Trends and Tools to Identify Emerging Keywords
Social media platforms are live ecosystems where new trends and keywords emerge daily. Utilizing these platforms can provide a treasure of real-time data for keyword discovery
Track Trending Hashtags:
Platforms like Twitter and Instagram use hashtags to signal trending topics. Tracking these can provide immediate insights into current interests and discussions relevant to your niche.
Use Social Listening Tools:
Tools like BuzzSumo or Mention can scan social media posts and discussions for prevalent themes and keywords. These tools offer an aggregated view of what is trending in your industry.
Engage with Influencer Content:
Influencers drive discussions and can often be the origin of new keyword trends. Analysing their posts and the audience’s reactions can highlight emerging keywords before they become mainstream.
Using Question-Based Platforms like Quora and Reddit to Find Long Tail Keywords
Question-based platforms such as Quora and Reddit are invaluable for discovering long-tail keywords that reflect real queries from users:
Search Relevant Topics:
Enter topics related to your industry on these platforms to find a variety of user questions. These questions often contain long-tail keywords not visible on more traditional SEO tools.
Analyse Questions for Keywords:
Look at the phrasing and specific words used in popular questions. These often highlight long-tail keywords that are exactly how potential visitors are searching for answers.
Participate in Communities:
By participating in specific subreddits or Quora topics, you can gain deeper insight into the language and problems of your target audience, which in turn can guide your keyword strategy.
Use Direct Questions as Content Titles:
Many SEO professionals use exact questions as content titles to directly match the search queries, which can significantly boost the relevance and ranking of your content.
By incorporating these innovative techniques into your keyword research process, you can discover a broader range of keywords, align your content more closely with your audience, and stay ahead of competition in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
Building a Keyword Strategy
Developing a robust keyword strategy is not just about finding the right terms; it’s also about organizing and prioritising those keywords for maximum impact, and effectively integrating them into your content and broader marketing strategies. Here’s how you can build an effective keyword strategy
Organising and Prioritising Keywords
Prioritisation:
Not all keywords deserve equal attention. Prioritise your keywords based on a combination of factors:
Search Volume:
Keywords with higher search volumes are generally more desirable but can be more competitive.
Keyword Difficulty:
This metric indicates how hard it would be to rank for a particular keyword. Tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush provide difficulty scores.
Business Relevance:
How relevant is the keyword to your business? The more closely a keyword is related to your products or services, the higher its priority.
Conversion Potential:
Identify which keywords have historically led to conversions or are likely to do so. Use analytics to track conversion paths and prioritize keywords that contribute to your business goals.
Categorisation:
Begin by categorizing your keywords based on relevancy to different parts of your website, product types, customer intent (informational, navigational, transactional, etc.), and topics. This helps in creating a structured keyword map that aligns with different pages and content areas.
In conclusion, organizing and prioritizing keywords is a critical step in shaping an effective SEO strategy that aligns with your business goals. A well-thought-out keyword organization and prioritization plan is essential for any business looking to gain a competitive edge in the digital marketplace.
Now lets look at some advanced techniques of future trends in keyword Research
Advanced Techniques and Future Trends in keywords Research
As the digital landscape evolves, so does the field of SEO and keyword research. Advanced techniques and emerging trends are shaping the future of how businesses optimize their content for search engines. Let’s look at some of the advanced techniques and future trends in keyword research and SEO.
Exploring Semantic Search and the Use of AI in Keywords Research
Semantic search seeks to improve search accuracy by understanding searcher intent and the contextual meaning of terms as they appear in the searchable dataspace. This is where AI and machine learning come into play, enhancing the capability of search engines and SEO tools to understand and process natural language queries.
AI in Keywords Research:
AI tools are increasingly being used to conduct more effective keyword research. These tools can analyze large data sets quickly and provide insights based on user behaviour patterns that traditional tools might miss. For example, AI-powered tools like Clearscope and MarketMuse analyse top-performing content and suggest keywords that are not only relevant but also semantically related, enhancing content relevancy for better search engine rankings.
Semantic Optimisation:
Instead of focusing solely on exact-match keywords, semantic search encourages the optimization of content by including related terms, synonyms, and contextually relevant phrases. This approach aligns with Google’s algorithms like RankBrain, which interpret the meaning behind queries, to better match search results to user intent.
The Impact of Voice Search and Long-Tail Keywords on SEO Strategies
Voice search is becoming increasingly popular, with devices like smartphones and smart speakers making it easier for users to search using natural language. This shift has significant implications for keyword research.
Natural Language Queries:
Voice searches are typically longer and more conversational than text-based searches. This change means businesses need to optimise for long-tail keywords that mimic how real people talk and ask questions in a conversational manner.
Question-Based Content:
To capitalize on the rise of voice search, businesses should consider creating content that directly answers questions. Tools like Answer the Public can help identify common questions around specific keywords.
Local SEO Emphasis
Voice search is often used for local inquiries, such as finding nearby services or locations. Optimizing for local search terms and including phrases like “near me” or “open now” can drive more traffic from voice searches.
Staying Ahead in Keywords Research
Keeping Up with Algorithm Changes and SEO Trends. Search engines frequently update their algorithms, which can dramatically shift what works in SEO:
Continuous Learning
SEO professionals must stay informed about the latest changes and adapt their strategies accordingly. This requires regular reading and research. Websites like Search Engine Journal, Moz Blog, and Google’s Webmaster Blog provide up-to-date information on the latest SEO trends and algorithm updates.
Experimental Mindset
Embracing an experimental approach by testing different SEO tactics can help uncover what works best for specific content or audiences. A/B testing various keyword integrations and content formats can provide valuable insights into search engine behaviors.
Tools and Resources for Continuous Learning and Adaptation
Several tools and resources can help SEO professionals stay at the cutting edge
SEO Tools
Beyond traditional keyword research tools, consider utilizing SEO platforms that integrate AI to analyze trends and predict future shifts. SEMrush, for example, offers features like Keyword Magic Tool and Position Tracking to stay ahead of competitive shifts.
Courses and Certifications
Engaging in ongoing education through courses offered by platforms like Coursera, Udemy, or specific certifications from Google can keep skills sharp and knowledge current.
Community Engagement:
Participating in SEO forums and professional groups can also be invaluable. Platforms like LinkedIn groups, specific subreddits like r/SEO, and other online communities offer places to discuss strategies, share experiences, and get advice from peers.
By embracing advanced techniques and staying informed about future trends, SEO professionals can not only keep up but also stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of keyword research. These strategies ensure that your SEO efforts are both effective and forward-thinking, allowing your content to resonate more deeply with both search engines and users.