HOW TO PERFORM A KEYWORD RESEARCH FOR SEO

Keyword research is a crucial part of your SEO strategy. It guides your website keyword positioning and your content creation process in order to improve your rankings in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). In this article, I detail how you can perform your keyword research and analysis.

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You’ve read in my previous article “The top SEO hacks to boost your website traffic” that keyword research is the first activity to start with regarding search engine optimization (SEO). Keyword research holds the key to unlocking organic visibility and driving targeted traffic to your website. By understanding the language your audience uses and identifying the terms they search for, you can optimize your content and website to rank higher in search engine results. This article will guide you through the essential process of performing keyword research for SEO.

The purpose of a keyword research is to identify relevant keywords and search phrases that align with your business goals and target audience. There are four steps in your keyword research. First, you will brainstorm keywords. Second, you will analyze your competitors’ keywords. Third, you will discover keyword opportunities. Four, you will determine the keywords you want to target.

Before we start, I’m assuming that you’ve done your market research and know your clients and market.

First of all, brainstorm topics. Based on and your previous SEO work, if any, brainstorm a list of core topics and themes related to your business.

As with any brainstorming, do not have any limit. The time to sort the good ideas from the bad ones will come at a later stage. Write down every single idea that your mind generates.

If you are not a solopreneur but part of a business, each team member can write down its ideas separately on a Post-It note and display it on a wall. When the exercise is over, sort the notes by themes, and even by proximity of themes. The vocabulary used to express similar ideas might be a bit different, which will already bring differentiating keywords. But this article is not about how to organize a team brainstorming, so I’ll leave it there ;). Just apply theses principles for the other exercises of the keyword research.

Secondly, brainstorm keywords. Generate as much keywords as possible. Keywords can be single words or short expressions that your leads will search for on search engines. Unleash your brain.

Then, organize your keywords by topics.

Now, use Google Keyword Planner to generate keyword ideas based on your list. Explore search volume, competition, and related keywords to identify high-potential keywords.

This is where you remove the least impactful ideas, based on data.

Finalize your keyword brainstorming by creating a list of high-potential keywords and their data.

Select the 3 competitors that are the closest to your business.

Of course, if it’s relevant for your industry and if you have the time and resources, you can analyze as many as you’d like. The more companies you analyze the more precise will be the analysis.

The best way to analyze competitors is to use a specialized tool. Good news, SEMrush or Ubersuggest offer freemium plans you can leverage to perform competitor analysis.

Dig into these tools to obtain get traffic analytics, growth rate, organic vs. paid traffic, backlinks, … and of course keywords analytics.

Look at keyword gaps, meaning keywords you have found in the previous steps that are not occupied by your competitors. You might want to position yourself on these ones if their search volume is good enough.

Now, use Ahrefs Keyword Generator or KeywordTool.io to list long-tail keywords, question-based queries, and related terms that present opportunities for content creation. You will be able to capture specific organic traffic.

Based on the brainstormed keywords (section 1), competitors’ keywords (section 2), and keyword opportunities (section 3), define the keywords to be targeted by your SEO strategy.

In order to rightly select the keywords, read these guidelines:

Now, prioritize your keywords based on relevance, search volume, competition level, and business goals. This will be your final list of keywords.

In conclusion, performing effective keyword research is a fundamental aspect of any successful SEO strategy. By investing time and effort into thorough keyword research, you gain valuable insights into the language your audience uses, their needs, and the competitive landscape. Creating your list of keywords lays the foundation for optimizing your website. Armed with this knowledge, you can also craft compelling content that meets user expectations and aligns with search engine algorithms. As a result, your content and website will rank higher in search engine results, attract more targeted organic traffic, and ultimately drive valuable conversions.

Finally, remember that keyword research is an ongoing process. As search trends, user behavior, and competitors change, it is crucial to regularly update and refine your keyword strategy.

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