What is Keyword Research ?[Comprehensive Guide]

Can I ask you a question?

Do you know what is keyword research?

Let me teach you in a simple way!

In this article, I will explore Keyword Research based on my experience and provide a comprehensive explanation using my knowledge.

Dig Deeper!

What is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is a technique to find the words or phrases searched by the user on Google.

Optimize the website and blogs with relevant keywords to fit users’ intent, solve their doubts and issues, and make your website visible to the right audience.

Importance of Keyword Research in SEO?

Here are four reasons why keyword research is necessary:

1. Understand what people are searching: Conducting keyword research is crucial as it helps create content relevant to your target audience and attracts organic traffic to your website.
2. Identify the correct keywords to target: Not all keywords are created equally. Some are more competitive than others, and others have more search volume.
3. Optimize the content for search engines: This can help you attract more visitors to your website and boost its traffic. You are more likely to appear in search results for the right keywords.
4. Improve your website’s SEO: SEO is optimizing your website to rank higher in SERPs. You can enhance your website’s SEO and attract more organic traffic.

Types of Keywords

There are nine types of keywords: Short-tail, long-tail, seasonal, geo-targeted, commercial, transactional, informational, navigational, and LSI(Latent semantic indexing) or semantic keywords.

Let’s look into a bit of detail about this keyword with examples.

Short Tail Keywords:

Short-Tail keywords are broad, generic, and commonly searched keywords, usually consisting of one or two words.

For example: ‘Digital Marketing.’

This keyword has a high search volume and attracts a broad audience, and is difficult to rank. Also, due to its lack of detail, it has a low conversion rate because of high competition.

Long-Tail Keywords:

Long-tail keywords are more specific phrases, usually three or more words, which will target niche audiences.

For example: ‘Online marketing for small businesses.’

These keywords usually have low competition but a high conversion rate. It has a Lower search volume but will be the primary source of your organic traffic.

Seasonal Keywords:

Keywords that are popular during specific times of the year.

For example, ‘Black Friday deals‘ is a particular time of year keyword, so you must target the right keyword to get the best returns with high-quality content.

Great for improving traffic and getting more sales than the other days.

Geo-Targeted Keywords:

Geo-targeted keywords are helpful in targeting specific locations.

For example, ‘Best restaurants in New York,’ ‘SEO agency in Bangalore.’

These keywords help local businesses rank higher in searches and have a high chance of getting customers from their location.

Commercial Keywords:

Commercial keywords showing purchase intent. These keywords are often used by people who are researching before buying.

For example, ‘Best AI tools for digital marketing,’ ‘Semrush Review.’

These keywords are good for lead generation, but sometimes they are competitive.

Transactional Keywords:

Transactional Keywords are the user ready to act, such as purchasing or signing up.

For example, ‘Semrush Coupon‘ and ‘Semrush free trial signup.’

If you do this correctly, then you have high conversion potential.

Navigational Keywords:

Users use Navigational Keywords to find a specific website or page.

For example, ‘Semrush login,’ ‘Amazon customer service.’ These keywords are mainly for existing users.

Informational Keywords:

Informational keywords are used when users look for information rather than make purchases.

For example, ‘How to improve SEO rankings,’ ‘How to do keyword research using Semrush?’

It is suitable for attracting traffic, providing the correct information, and solving people’s problems. It makes you trustworthy, gains credibility, and builds brand authority in your niche.

LSI Keywords:

LSI(Latent semantic indexing) keywords are related to terms or phrases that help search engines understand the content context.

For example, For ‘Apple,’ LSI keywords could be iPhone, MacBook, or iOS updates.

It will Improve the content relevancy and ranking and make it hard to identify manually without tools.

Here is a solution!

Above all types of keywords, you can identify in a single SEO tool, which is Semrush. You can try the semrush free trial. If you like it, you can purchase it at a discount.

Understand Search Intents in SEO

The search intent is to identify the user’s search query. Search engines like Google aim to deliver the most relevant results by understanding the purpose behind each keyword.

There are four types of intents: Informational, Navigational, Commercial, and Transactional.

1. Informational Intent:

Information intent means users are looking for information, answers, or explanations. For example, How to do competitor analysis or What is Google AI overview.

2. Navigational Intent:

Navigational intent means users want to find a specific website, brand, or service. They already know where they want to go.

For example, ChatGPT login or signup.

3. Commercial Intent:

Commercial intent means users research before purchasing products or needing a service. They will compare, read reviews, and explore everything about products or services.

For example, Semrush vs. Ahrefs or the best free keyword research tools.

4. Transactional Intent:

Transactions intent means users are ready to take action, such as making a purchase, signing up, or downloading something.

Keyword Research Tools

Keyword research tools are essential for your research. Therefore, I will now list a few tools for your reference.

1. SEMRUSH
2. Google Trends
3. Ahrefs
4. Google Keyword planner
5. Moz Keyword planner
6. Soovle
7. Ubersuggest
8. Wordstream
9. RankAtom

These are the tools for keyword research. But my favorite tools, which I recommend to you, are,

Semrush

Ahrefs

What do you mean by seed keyword?

Seed keywords(Primary keywords) generate related keywords and phrases that people might use when searching for information, products, or services online.

I will begin with an example to enhance your understanding,

Okay, now let’s say you are running a ‘Digital Marketing Agency’ and want to optimize your content for search engines.

Then,

Your seed keyword could be ‘Digital Marketing Agency.’ This term will help define the general theme of your content.

Then, you would consider how real people might search for your agency.

These variations could include terms like ‘best digital marketing agency’,.

If you want to target your local area, the keyword should be ‘digital marketing agency near me.’ Most people, including me, search for the term ‘near me’ on Google.

This approach will make your content more likely to appear in search results when people use different search queries related to your Primary keyword.

Finally, a seed keyword serves as the initial foundation for conducting keyword research, enabling your content to establish a stronger and more resonant connection with the audience you’re aiming to reach.

Optimize the keywords for your local area and another country for more visibility.

How to do Keyword Research?

Based on my insights and expertise in keyword research, I will outline the keyword research process for your quick reference.

Step 1: Understand Your Goals

Step 2: Identify your niche

Step 3: Identify Primary keywords

Step 4: Utilize keyword tools

Step 5: Find the relevant keywords

Step 6: Analyze the search volume

Step 7: Know about keyword difficulty

Step 8: Consider user intent

Step 9: Analyze your competitor’s keywords

Step 10: Try to include Long-tail keywords

Step 11: Local keywords(If your business has a local focus)

Step 12: Create keyword groups

Step 13: Content planning

Step 14: Implement it to write a blog or optimize your website

Step 15: Track and monitor

Step 16: Adapt and change the keyword based on the trend and volume

Step 17: Stay updated

Benefits of Keyword Research

In my analysis, I will provide a brief list and explanation of the benefits of keyword research and keywords for your quick reference.

Okay, let’s stick with this.

Improve SEO – By focusing on the right keywords that people frequently search for, your content will be much easier to find for the user in the search engine result pages(SERPs)

Content Relevance – Implement researched keywords naturally into your content and maintain its relevance to gain traffic, which will be useful for readers.

Competitive Analysis – Analyse your competitors’ organic keywords relevant to your content and implement them in your content strategy.

Long-Tail Keywords – Long-tail keywords help answer the user’s questions and are less competitive than short keywords.

Content Ideas – By related keywords and the questions people commonly raise, you can craft in-depth and valuable content that thoroughly covers different angles of a subject.

Localization – Find the keywords that people are searching near you and optimize for them to rank in the SERPs.

Monitoring Trends – Keyword research tools frequently give us valuable information about how people’s searches change over time.

This knowledge can assist you in staying current with users’ interests, and I suggest the Semrush SEO tool.

Social Media Strategy – Optimize your keywords for social media as well. People search on social media, too.

These are my insights into keywords. I trust that they will be helpful for your keyword research.

How to track Keywords and Update Content

First, you should use an SEO tool to track your keywords, improve your reach, and stay updated with the latest trends.

Then, set up alerts to receive notifications whenever your keywords are mentioned in news articles, blogs, forums, and social media platforms.

You should also regularly read industry news, blogs, and publications to stay informed about the latest developments in your field. This will help you identify emerging keywords and trends.

You want to use web analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics) to monitor user behavior on your website.

Pay attention to which keywords drive the most traffic, have the highest conversion rates, and result in engagement. This data can guide your keyword optimization efforts.

Engage in social listening by monitoring conversations on social media platforms. Also, understand how people are discussing topics related to your keywords; according to that, you need to optimize your keywords.

One important thing you want to do is set a regular schedule to review and update your keyword list. This could be monthly or quarterly, depending on how quickly trends change in your industry.

Remove outdated or irrelevant keywords and add new ones based on the insights you’ve gathered for better use.

Here is the full guide to track your keyword ranking on the search engine result pages(SERPs) with the help of the ‘Semrush Position Tracking‘ Tool.

FAQs

Conclusion

The article comprehensively covers keyword research, emphasizing its importance, process, benefits, and tools.

The blog is a thorough guide covering all aspects of keyword research. It’s designed to be a one-stop resource for anyone looking to understand or improve their keyword research efforts.

If you have doubt, drop it in the comment box, and we will clear it!