How to do Keyword Research for SEO?

Keyword research is the backbone of SEO and helps rank keywords on search engine result pages. They also help in improving online visibility and overall authority of the webpage. It is a part of on-page SEO techniques to drive unpaid traffic and conversions.  This is a comprehensive guide where you can learn how to do keyword research for SEO and place them effectively.

What is keyword research in SEO?

It is the process of identifying and searching keywords that can rank well on the search engines like Google, Bing, etc. This process is based on keyword difficulty and search volumes. There are numerous search intents based on which the content marketing funnel is created and targeted for the right audience in different stages, including informational top of the funnel (TOFU), navigational middle of the funnel (MOFU), transactional, and commercial Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU).

Types of Keyword Research in SEO

1. Long Tail keywords – This means three or more keywords mainly containing phrases. They generally have low volume but are very specific for the users to find and land on the webpage. According to a study, 70% of Searches come from long tail keywords so target them.

Example- best weekend gateways from Bangalore

2. Short-Tail Keywords – The seed keywords that contain two or fewer words. They have high volumes but are difficult to rank on search engines due to high keyword difficulty.

Example – solo trip

3. LSI Keywords – This means latent semantic indexing and contains related keywords generated from seed keywords.

Example – solo trip for girls, solo trip packages

4. Informational – These keywords are targeted at the top of the funnel to generate brand awareness or provide information related to niche-based businesses.

Example – List of Places to visit in Summer

5. Navigational – Once the brand awareness is generated users start navigating the brand name + “query” in the search engines. These keywords are targeted at the middle of the funnel, along with case studies, comparison pages, webinars, etc.

Example – Makemytrip tour packages

6. Commercial Keywords – The keywords searched by users to fulfill their buying needs along with knowing information about their shopping needs.

Example – best deals on Leh Ladakh trip

7. Transactional – These keywords are searched by users to complete the transaction.

Example – buying flight tickets

8. Local Keywords – They target local keywords such as Keyword + city, or keyword + near me

Example – travel agency near me

Step-by-Step Process of how to do Keyword Research for SEO

Step 1 – Set Clear Goals

Every business has a marketing objective and target audience to whom they can sell. Define the goals, select keywords accordingly, and create a content marketing plan.

Step 2 – Brainstorm keywords

Research keywords and consider your target audience on how they may perform the research so that you can drive traffic and more conversions. You can also consider the topic that your searchers might be interested in.

Step 3 – Adding Auto-suggest and Related Keywords

After searching the topic, you can identify the right set of keywords by typing in Google and checking the auto-suggest and related keywords. To get better details copy them all in the Excel/google sheet. You can use keyword research tools such as Ahrefs and SEMRush to get search keyword volumes and difficulty. If you are looking for the best keyword research tools for free, try Wordstream and SEO Quake for search volumes and keyword difficulty.

Auto Suggest keywords

Related Keywords

Step 4 – Analyze the SERP results

It is the best practice to check if ads are there for the selected keywords and check the “People Also Ask” list section to get better ideas. This will help you know how you get searchers to your target keyword as questions.

Step 5 – Discovering Search Intent

When publishing an article decide the search intent of the keyword and create the landing page accordingly. There may be four types of search intent in the content marketing funnel-

1. Informational
2. Navigational
3. Commercial
4. Transactional

Step 6 – Utilize Long tail Keywords

If your site is new then using long-tail keywords can be an effective practice to help you rank well in search engines and get the targeted traffic from visitors. You can target specific queries and drive targeted traffic.

Step 7 – Check Relevancy and Competency

Prioritize your keywords based on their relevance and the potential impact they can have in terms of search volume and competency. Ensure that you target the low-hanging fruits keyword. Make sure you select the keywords by performing research for seasonal or Google trends and CPC.

Step 8 – Keyword Mapping

Plan and assign the keywords to every landing page by performing the right keyword mapping. It includes customer intent, keyword intent, keyword grouping, content type, etc.

Step 9 – How to make a list of keywords

You can create an Excel sheet based on the following elements-

Step 10 – Implementing keywords

 You can add the keywords to optimize the landing page in the following ways.

1. Your target keyword in the URL once. Make sure your URL is short and clean without any stuffing.
2. Add one primary and secondary keyword in the Meta title to make it searchable in the search engines.
3. Add primary and secondary keywords in the meta description to entice clicks from users.
4. Place your target keyword in the 100-150 words of the content to make it discoverable what the topic is all about.
5. Use LSI keywords in the content to make it relevant to the users.
6. Placing long-tail keywords will help you rank higher by targeting the queries for specific keywords. You can use them in H1 or H2 heading tags.
7. Keyword density is the number of times a target keyword appears in the content to the total number of keywords. Maintain the 2-3% keyword density.
8. Remember to add keywords properly avoiding placing them too many times also called keyword stuffing. It is the black hat SEO practice that needs attention.

Step 11 – Monitoring Keyword Performance

Track the keyword rankings regularly to know how they are performing and discover ways of optimizing them if they are underrated. This will also help you know if the site is affected by any of the Google Algorithm updates so that you can plan for its recovery immediately.

Tools for tracking keyword performance

Step 12 – Best Keyword Research Tools

Dos of keyword research

1. Understand your target audience to get targeted traffic and conversions.
2. Use keyword tools effectively to get insights about search volumes and keyword difficulties.
3. Add long tail keywords to target the specific queries.
4. Analyze the competitor keywords and use them effectively.
5. Use Latent semantic understanding (LSI) keywords in the content.
6. Add alt text for the images
7. Use keyword variations throughout the content
8. Follow the search intent to get better results

 Don’ts of Keyword research

1. Relying only on high search volumes and avoiding low-hanging fruit keywords is not a best practice. Selecting them can help you rank better as it is often avoided by your competitors and a chance to reach the right audience.
2. Avoid keyword stuffing as it helps prevent the usage of the same keyword only for search engines and avoiding for humans.
3. Writing for humans and not search engines is the best practice as it provides great value to the visitors and increases user experience.
4. Ignoring the image context and not utilizing keywords in the content close to images can affect the on-page implementations.
5. Do not forget to add keywords in the metadata.
6. Avoid Canonicalization as this occurs when there are 2 different URLs for the same Content. It is mainly seen in content management systems. You must have seen certain URLs are open from http://domainname and http://www.domainname also then it is tough for search engines to distinguish and it lowers the rank. It can be redirected using 301 or add a canonical tag to prioritize the main URL.

Happy Keyword Researching!