Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing the words and phrases that users type into search engines to find what they are looking for. It is one of the most important and effective strategies to optimize your website for search engines and attract more organic traffic.
In this blog post, you will learn how to conduct effective keyword research to boost your website’s ranking on search engines. You will discover how to identify your target market, select primary keywords, and understand the types of keywords and search intent.
By the end of this post, you will have a clear and practical guide to master keyword research and improve your SEO performance.
Identify the Target Market and Niche Keywords
To kick-start effective keyword research, the first step is to identify the target market and niche keywords that align with your blog or website. This will help you find relevant and profitable keywords. Here are the steps:
- Set Goals and Vision: Begin by defining the goals and vision of your blog or website. What message do you want to convey to your readers? Who do you want to engage? What do you want to achieve with your blog or website?
- Market Research: Conduct market research to understand the needs, interests, and preferences of potential readers. Utilize surveys, interviews, observations, or online data analysis.
- Competitor Analysis: Analyze competitors with blogs or websites in the same or similar niche. Examine what they offer, how they engage readers, and their strengths and weaknesses.
- Market Segmentation: Determine market segments based on the demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral characteristics of your readers.
- Select the Target Market: Choose your target market from the segments you’ve created. The target market is the most suitable and potential group of readers for your blog or website.
- Choose Niche (Theme) Keywords: Select relevant and profitable niche (theme) keywords for your blog or website. Use keyword research tools like Ubersuggest, Google Trends, KWFinder, MOZ, or SEMrush to find suitable niche keywords. You can also gather keyword suggestions from various sources such as Google Related Search, Google Suggest, Answer The Public, Soovle, or Keyword Shitter. Use SEOCHECKFREE Keyword Suggestion Tool for researching keywords more easily.
For example, if you want to create a blog about mental health:
- Your goals and vision are to provide information, education, and inspiration about mental health to readers. You aim to help readers improve their psychological well-being and address mental health issues.
- Conduct online surveys for market research to understand the most common mental health problems experienced by readers.
- Analyze competitors who have blogs on mental health.
- Determine market segments based on your readers’ characteristics.
- Choose the most suitable target market for the mental health theme.
- Select niche keywords like “dealing with depression” or “tips for reducing anxiety.”
Focus on Long Tail Keywords in Search
It’s essential to focus on specific, long-tail keywords that reflect search intent. Here’s how to do it:
- Determine the Topic or Niche: Start by determining a topic or niche that aligns with your blog or website. For example, if you have a health blog.
- Use Keyword Research Tools: Employ tools such as Ubersuggest, Google Trends, KWFinder, MOZ, or SEMrush to find primary keywords related to your topic.
- Find Keyword Variations: From the primary keywords you’ve identified, search for more specific and longer-tail keyword variations using the keyword suggestion feature in these tools.
- Manual Search: In addition to using tools, you can manually search for long tail keywords, such as utilizing Google Related Search, Google Suggest, Answer The Public, Soovle, or Keyword Shitter.
- Evaluate and Choose Keywords: After compiling a list of long-tail keywords, evaluate and choose the keywords that align most with your goals and content, based on metrics like search volume, keyword difficulty, and keyword value.
For instance, if you choose the keyword “natural Indonesian tourist attractions,” ensure that your content reflects this specific keyword.
Determine Primary Keywords and Priority Keywords
To determine primary keywords and priority keywords, conduct an analysis based on your needs and goals. Use metrics like search volume, keyword difficulty, and keyword value to assess keyword potential.
Case Example: If you have a blog about tourism in the USA, you can search for the primary keyword “USA tourism” and examine data such as search volume, keyword difficulty, and keyword value.
From the primary keyword, find variations of keywords that are more specific and prioritize those with high potential.
For example, if “best natural tourist attractions in the USA” has a high search volume and good keyword value, make it your top priority.
Keyword Types and Search Intent
Understand the types of keywords and user search intent. There are four types of search intent: informational, navigational, transactional, and commercial. Adjust your content to match the relevant search intent.
Case Example: If you have a website selling beauty products like skincare, cosmetics, and hair care, identify user search intent.
Use keyword research tools to find primary keywords and keyword variations that reflect different search intents.
For example, if you find the keyword “best beauty products 2023” with commercial search intent, create content in the form of a review article on the best beauty products of 2023.
Use Keyword Research Tools
Leverage keyword research tools such as Ubersuggest, Google Trends, KWFinder, MOZ, and SEMrush to discover, analyze, and compare keywords. This helps improve your website’s search engine ranking.
Benefits of using keyword research tools:
- Find keywords with high search volume.
- Analyze keyword difficulty to assess how challenging it is to compete in search results.
- Determine keyword value to evaluate the potential organic traffic value.
- Monitor search trends through Google Trends.
- Analyze your competitors and identify the keywords they use.
A Keyword CPC Calculator from this blog is able to analyze the Cost Per Click (CPC) of a keyword and give you some alternative keywords to use.
Create a Keyword Placement Strategy
After identifying primary keywords and priority keywords, create an effective keyword placement strategy. Ensure that keywords are distributed naturally and are relevant throughout your content, including in titles, subheadings, paragraphs, and meta descriptions.
Keyword Analysis and Monitoring
Continuously monitor the performance of your keywords. Use tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, or the keyword research tools you used to see how your keywords are performing. Make adjustments as needed.
I provide you a free tool that makes you researching keyword ranking easily.
That concludes the comprehensive guide on how to conduct effective keyword research. By identifying your target market, focusing on long tail keywords, determining primary keywords, understanding keyword types and search intent, and using keyword research tools, you can enhance your website’s search engine ranking and reach more readers aligned with your target market.