While Google keeps us on our toes with its latest updation now and then, one thing which is consistent for online marketers for a successful website is Keyword Research. Most online activities start with a query in search engines like google. that’s where keyword research plays its part in online marketing.
Keywords are the foundation of SEO. if nobody is searching for what you’ve written about, you won’t get any traffic no matter how hard you try. that’s why keyword research is important for your SEO success. Before you create your site’s content, you should find out what search terms your audiences are using. their search terms help you fetch the keyword and with these keywords, you can create useful, findable content for your website. Now let’s take a detailed tour of keyword research basics
Keywords are the heart of your online presence. If you want your audience to find you on the web, you must develop a strategy to help them in reaching you. that’s where keyword research comes in. Google processes over 5.5 billion queries each day. that’s a lot of keywords! but you can’t just target any keyword. you need to do your keyword research to find keywords for your business. If your content isn’t targeting the terms and topics your audience is interested in, it is essentially useless.
How to do keyword research: Step-by-Step Guide
Keyword research starts with getting into the customer’s head. what words and phrases they might use to find what you are offering. Now that you know the importance of keywords let’s check out these steps to do keyword research
Brainstorm seed keywords
The first phase of keyword research in SEO involves coming up with new keyword ideas for your business. with your vision in mind, try to get into the heads of your audience. what words will they use to search for something you offer? which of their problems that your products or services can solve? List out all the possible answers that come up in your head. you will get niche and distinctive words. these are the keywords.
Research the keywords you got
After you list all the search terms from the first step, it’s time to take a deeper dive into your keywords. Fortunately, there are many tools available online that make your keyword research a bit easier.
The most common and useful research approach is google itself. Google the keywords you have in mind and check the searches google suggests while you are typing. these are the search phrases related to your keywords. these are the tools that will provide you with all the relevant keyphrases, and synonyms. find keywords for the website and create your content around them.
Research for extended variants of keywords
Generally, when people start keyword research, they tend to concentrate on head terms. extended variants like long-tail keywords get less traffic but it has less competition too. therefore, it is easier to rank on those keywords. it also has a high conversion value as they are more focused on specific product or services.
Long-tail keywords are often longer and based on primary keywords. If your head term is in kurtas then your long-tail keywords can be: Kurta set for the summer season. using the keyword research tools mentioned in the above step, you might also find the most relevant long-tail keywords for your business.
Analyze the competition for those keywords
Finding keywords for a website largely depends on your competition. If the competition in your market is high, you will face a hard time ranking for your head terms. but if the competition is low, you will be able to top SERP with your head terms. So, it becomes essential to research the relevant head terms for your business to top the ranking.
Find keywords for a website that was researched and see who tops the page. these are your competitors with your selected head terms. it’s hard to rank when you are competing against sites with big brand names. but it won’t hear to look at their content. Look at your competitive website’s content; if they have poor content, you might have a chance to outrank the competitors.
Determine the keywords to target
Based on the data you’ve collected with research; you can determine the keyword strategy. With the previous steps, you have the information about keyphrases, head terms, long-tail keywords, and your competition and the search intent of your audience with those key phrases.
If you think your website has distinct content compared to the websites in SERP, then focus more on head terms. if not then, focus on a bunch of long-tail keywords as they can attract a lot of traffic. Once you manage to rank with long-tail keywords, aiming for head terms becomes easier.
Evaluate if your keyword strategy is working and keep improving
However, you do it, it’s always a good idea to check if your efforts are paying off by doing website keyword analysis. If you are not able to rank on the first page, try to write with more long-tail keywords. Try to make it a little bit more distinctive. and see how it goes. evaluate again. continue this till you hit the first page of the SERP.
What is the best tool for keyword research?
There are many keywords that your competitors haven’t covered yet, you can find these keywords with various keyword research tools.
Google keyword planner is a well-known keyword research tool available online. Google keyword planner is capable of generating new keyword ideas that may not include your primary keyword. You can get search volume and traffic appraisals of the keywords you are considering. You also get the list of keywords competitive websites are using to top the ranking.
Competitor Keywords Research: How to do it?
It’s important not to forget the competition while pursuing keywords from keyword research. For instance, if your keyword has a very high search volume, it can be seen as much more competitive. the easiest way to check for terms competitors rank with is google. Simply, searching the keywords you wish to target to see what is currently ranking is the best approach to knowing the competitive market.
Keyword research in SEO is an essential part of online business marketing strategy. As you go through this process, you might find keywords that are relevant to your business. create your website content on the keywords you want to be found for. and increase your online presence in SERP. So, are you ready? Start Writing!
You can also read : Top 10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs SEO in 2024
