Did you know that 90% of pages get no organic traffic from Google? All of that hard work. All of that effort. For zero visitors.
But there’s a way to avoid this problem. You can almost guarantee that relevant people will find your content.
The answer is keyword research.
Complete SEO Guide – 7 Chapters
- How Search Engines Work
- SEO Basics
- Keyword Research
- SEO Content
- On-Page SEO
- Link Building
- Technical SEO
Keyword research is the process of discovering valuable search queries. Your target customers type these queries into search engines like Google. They look for products, services, and information.
Keywords are the foundation of SEO. If you publish a page on a topic that no one searches for, that article won’t get any traffic from Google. This is true no matter how hard you try.
Many website owners make this mistake. It’s part of the reason why 90.63% of pages on the internet get no traffic from Google.
Keyword research helps you ensure search demand exists. If your page ranks well in Google for its target keyword, you’ll enjoy a consistent stream of visitors. These visitors will be highly targeted.
Keyword research is not rocket science. You can learn most of it in about 20 minutes.
But there are important things you need to know. These will help you make better SEO decisions.
So let’s dive right in.
Contents
- Getting started with keyword research
- Types of keywords
- Keyword SEO metrics explained
- How to prioritize keywords
Part 1: Getting started with keyword research
Keyword research starts with putting yourself in your customers’ shoes. What words and phrases might they use? They want to find solutions to their problems.
Put these words into a keyword research tool. You’ll find thousands more relevant keyword ideas. This builds on what you brainstormed.
It’s a simple process. But you need two things to do it well:
- Good knowledge of your industry
- Understanding of how keyword research tools work
That’s what this chapter is all about.
Try out free keyword tools
ahref free keyword toolThere are many of free tools to help you brainstorm keyword ideas.
Every keyword research tool asks for a “seed keyword” to get started. It uses this to generate a huge list of keyword ideas.
If you already have a product or business, finding seed keywords is easy. Just think about what people type into Google. They want to find what you offer.
For example, if you sell coffee and coffee-making equipment, your seed keywords might be:
- coffee
- cappuccino
- French press
- Nespresso
When you have a few ideas, don’t obsess over them. Put them into a free ahref keyword generator tool.
For every seed keyword you enter, you’ll get back related keywords and questions. This gives you 40 keyword ideas already.
The tool also shows you how hard they’ll be to rank for. It gives you a rough sense of monthly searches too.
You can do this as many times as needed. Use all of your seed keywords.
ChatGPT can also be useful. Paste your seed keywords into ChatGPT. Add a prompt like “Suggest 10 short keyword ideas for each of the following topics.”
The downside of ChatGPT is simple. You won’t get realistic SEO metrics for your keywords. You won’t see keyword difficulty or monthly searches. But it’s useful for brainstorming tons of ideas.
Other free keyword research tools can help:
Google Keyword Planner – This tool is for people who want to run ads on Google. It can help with keyword ideas. But it only shows SEO metrics if you’re running paid ad campaigns. Learn more about Google Keyword Planner from Google’s official guide.
Google Trends – This is a cool tool for finding new and exciting topics. But it’s not very detailed. You can only see big, broad topics. You won’t get specific keyword ideas. Explore Google Trends with Google’s official documentation.
Answer the Public – This uses Google’s autocomplete data. It shows you related keywords that people search for. But you only get 3 searches each day.
When you get serious about growing your website’s search traffic, consider professional tools. These give you access to millions of keyword ideas. No free tool will let you work with such a vast number.
That may seem overwhelming. But don’t worry. You’ll learn how to narrow them down later in this guide.
See what keywords your website already ranks for
If you already have a website, you can find keywords you already rank for. This is great for brainstorming new, similar keyword ideas. You can also improve your pages to get better rankings.
Google Search Console will show some search queries your website currently ranks for. It shows queries that get clicks too. You can learn more about Google Search Console from Google’s official documentation.
The downside of the Search Console is simple. It won’t show you any SEO metrics. You might see a cool keyword sending you a few clicks every month. But you won’t know if it’s worth trying to improve your ranking.
Does that keyword get 10 searches a month? Or does it get 10,000? Is it easy for you to rank? Or is it so hard that it’s not worth the effort? Search Console won’t tell you.
But advanced SEO tools will. These tools show you all the keywords your website ranks for. They also show keyword difficulty scores and monthly search volume.
See what keywords your competitors rank for
Now you can see keywords your website ranks for. Wouldn’t it be cool to see keywords your competitors rank for?
You can do exactly that. Search Google for one of your seed keywords. See who ranks on the front page.
Find a competitor’s website that seems similar to yours. If you sell coffee-making equipment, they should do too. They aren’t a café or Starbucks.
Use a competitive intelligence tool to check their keywords. See which pages bring them the most traffic. Find out what keywords these pages target.
After repeating this process with a few competitors, you’ll have a sizable list of relevant keywords. And you’ve barely started your keyword research!
Whether these keyword ideas are informational or commercial is something you’ll determine later. For now, collect as many relevant keyword ideas as you can.
Repeat this process for as many competitors as you can. Advanced tools help you discover more competitors. They show you similar websites based on common keywords they rank for in Google.
If you’re seeing topics you’ve already covered:
If you’re doing keyword research for an established website, you may find something interesting. You’ve already covered most of your competitors’ keywords.
In this case, try using a content gap analysis. This finds keywords that one or more competitors rank for. But you don’t rank for them.
To use it, put a few competitors’ websites into the tool. Then paste your site and search for keywords.
This powerful analysis can reveal opportunities you’re missing. It’s a great way to find new content ideas.
Study your niche
Everything we’ve discussed generates almost unlimited keyword ideas. But the process keeps you “in the box.” What about finding new topics that no one else has covered?
You can solve this by going where your target audience hangs out. Look at industry forums, groups, and Q&A sites. Study their conversations.
For example, you might find interesting threads on Reddit. A quick check in a keyword tool might reveal search queries you hadn’t considered.
These searches might only get 150 searches per month. But if the topic gets lots of upvotes, people appreciate this knowledge. The content can serve as a foundation for your future piece.
Other than browsing industry forums, your existing customers are a great source of keyword ideas.
The next time you talk to them, pay attention to their language. Notice the common questions they ask. This might lead you to original keyword ideas to cover on your website.
If you need help with creating content that ranks well, consider professional blog writing services that understand keyword research and content optimization.
Part 2: Types of keywords
We’ve already talked about seed keywords. As you get further into keyword research, understand other “types” of keywords you’ll encounter.
If you put seed keywords into a keyword tool, you’ll find related keywords. There are two main types: Matching terms and Related terms.
Matching terms
These are keyword ideas that match the terms in your seed keywords. Matching terms have two modes: “Terms match” and “Phrase match.”
Terms match shows keyword ideas that contain all the words of your seed keyword. It doesn’t matter where they are or what order they’re in. If your seed keyword is “coffee machine,” you’ll get keyword ideas like:
- Coffee vending machine
- Machine Gun Kelly Coffee Shop
Phrase match only returns keyword ideas with your seed keyword words in exact order. Like:
- best coffee machine
- coffee machine with grinder
Related terms
Related terms are keyword ideas related to your seed keywords. But they don’t necessarily contain your seed keywords. It has two modes: “Also rank for” and “Also talk about.”
Also, the rank shows you search queries that top-ranking pages for your seed keyword also rank for.
Also, talk about the shows you work on, and phrases you frequently mention on top-ranking pages for your seed keywords.
Keyword clusters
By now you might have thousands of keyword ideas. You probably don’t want to create a thousand pages for all those keywords. You can use keyword clustering to simplify your list.
Let’s say you have these keywords on your list:
- whipped coffee
- whipped coffee recipe
- Algona coffee
- Algona coffee recipe
Compare the search results for “whipped coffee” with “whipped coffee recipe.” The top-ranking pages for both keywords are nearly identical. Google sees “whipped coffee recipe” as a subtopic of “whipped coffee.” You can rank for both keywords with a single page.
This process of grouping related keywords is called clustering. Advanced tools have metrics that help you group related keywords together almost instantly.
You might see 28 different keywords that are all part of the “whipped coffee recipe” cluster. There’s a good chance you could publish a single high-quality guide. This guide could rank well for all these keywords.
The big benefit of clustering is speed. It’s almost instantaneous. But there are other clustering methods too. Term clustering groups keywords by common words or phrases rather than search result similarity.
You May Read: [Keyword Research] 10 Steps to Find High Converting Keywords
Keyword intents
Keywords have different types of intent. Some keywords are searched by people ready to buy a product or service. These are called commercial or transactional keywords:
- Best instant coffee
- Cuisinart coffee maker
- coffee table with storage
Others have informational intent. They’re searched by people just looking to learn:
- how much caffeine in coffee
- coffee cake recipe
- is coffee good for you
Sometimes people just want to find a particular website or location. This is navigational intent:
- Coffee near me
- Stumptown coffee
- drive-thru coffee
Keywords can also be branded or unbranded. Think “Starbucks coffee” versus “black coffee.”
Understanding these intents helps you work out what type of content you need. It helps you prioritize whether a keyword is worth targeting.
Informational keywords will probably benefit from educational blog content. Commercial keywords might need a product landing page so visitors can buy.
You can check the intent of a keyword by looking at search results. “Home coffee roasting” has a mixture of roasting machines for sale and discussions about roasting beans at home.
Advanced keyword tools let you see intents for hundreds of keywords at once. You can filter to find keywords that match the intent you’re interested in.
For businesses looking to improve their overall search visibility, SEO services can help align keyword strategy with business goals.
Part 3: Keyword SEO metrics explained
Having access to millions of keyword ideas is great. But how do you know which ones are best? Going through them all by hand is nearly impossible.
The solution is simple. Use SEO metrics to narrow things down. Separate the wheat from the chaff before adding them to your keyword list.
Let’s explore six keyword metrics you can use to do this.
Search volume
Search volume tells you the average number of times a keyword gets searched per month. For example, “Donald Trump” has a monthly search volume of 3.1 million in the U.S. alone.
keyword volumeThere are four important things to know about search volume:
It’s the number of searches, not the number of people who searched. There are cases where someone might search for a keyword multiple times a month. Think “weather in Singapore.” All such occurrences contribute to search volume. Even though it’s the same person making searches.
It doesn’t equal how many visits it will send you if you rank for it. Even if you rank #1, your traffic from that keyword will rarely exceed 30% of its search volume. And that’s if you’re lucky.
It’s an annual average. If there are 120K searches for a keyword in December and none for the remaining 11 months, its reported monthly search volume will be 10K.
It’s country-specific. Keyword tools often display search volume for the selected country. But some also show global search volume. This is the sum of search volumes across all countries.
Almost every keyword research tool has a search volume filter. This lets you focus on keyword ideas with a specific range of popularity. It has two main uses:
Filtering out super high-volume keywords. If your site is new, you probably don’t want keywords with 10K+ monthly searches. They’re likely too competitive for you.
Filtering for lower-volume keywords. Perhaps you want uncompetitive, low-volume keywords where you can easily get traffic. These are often called “long-tail keywords.”
Long-tail keywords are overlooked in SEO. No one wants to target a keyword unless it gets at least a hundred searches per month. Let alone if it shows zero search volume.
Such “zero volume” keywords will only bring a few visitors per month if you rank for them. But they add up! If you publish a hundred articles targeting such keywords, your annual total traffic may add up to thousands of highly targeted visitors.
It’s a common rookie mistake to disregard low search volume keywords. They’re just as useful as their more popular counterparts. Often even more useful. They’re more specific and often have high commercial value.
Remember that search volumes may vary slightly from tool to tool. Each tool calculates and updates this metric in different ways.
Search volume is incredibly important in SEO. It’s worth understanding this metric thoroughly.
Traffic Potential
The U.S. search volumes of two keywords might be nearly equal. This means the amount of search traffic from targeting each should also be equal, right? Well, not quite.
Let’s take the top-ranking pages for each keyword. Compare how much search traffic they get in the U.S. You can do this by copying their URLs into an SEO tool.
It turns out that one page might get nearly 5X more search traffic than the other. How can that be?
Webpages don’t rank in Google for just a single keyword. The top-ranking page for “sales page” might rank for 55 keywords. The top-ranking page for “submit website to search engines” might rank for 406 different keywords.
Whatever search query you have in mind, different people will phrase it differently. They’re essentially looking for the same thing. Google is smart enough to understand that. It ranks the same page for all these similar search queries. You can learn more about how Google Search works from Google’s official documentation.
Studies show that the average top-ranking page also ranks for about a thousand similar keywords.
This means you shouldn’t blindly rely on the search volume of a single keyword. Don’t use it to estimate the search traffic your page will get if it ranks. Instead, examine the top-ranking pages for that keyword. See how much search traffic they get in total from all variations.
Some tools have developed a dedicated metric to address this. It’s called “Traffic Potential.” It shows how much search traffic the top-ranking page for your keyword gets.
In advanced keyword tools, Traffic Potential is located right next to search volume. This saves you lots of time. You don’t need to look up what page ranks #1 and check its total search traffic.
Both search volume and Traffic Potential metrics are country-specific. If you need to gauge worldwide search traffic, you’ll need to use tools with global data.
Keyword Difficulty
Experienced SEO professionals gauge ranking difficulty manually. They look at search results for each keyword and analyze them. They account for many different factors to judge difficulty:
- Search intent
- Content depth, relevance, freshness, authority
- Number and quality of backlinks
- Domain authority
- SERP features
This process varies from person to person. There’s no consensus on what is and isn’t important.
One person might believe domain authority is important. Another might think relevance plays more of a role.
Opinions might vary depending on the type of search query. For different queries, Google gives preference to different things.
This makes life difficult for SEO tool creators. They try to distill ranking difficulty down to a simple two-digit number.
But after talking to many professional SEOs, there’s agreement on one thing. Backlinks are very important for ranking.
Most tools base their Keyword Difficulty score on backlinks. They look at the number of unique websites linking to the top 10 ranking pages.
keywords difficultyKeyword Difficulty relates to the estimated number of linking websites your page needs to rank in the top 10. It’s not the estimated number you need to rank #1. Getting to #1 is an entirely different battle.
Many people misuse the Keyword Difficulty metric. They set the filter from 0 to 10 and focus solely on easy keywords. But avoiding high-difficulty keywords might be a mistake:
You should target high-difficulty keywords sooner, not later. You’ll need lots of backlinks to rank for high-difficulty keywords. This takes time and resources. So create your page and begin promoting it as soon as possible.
Look at high-difficulty keywords as link opportunities. Top-ranking pages for some keywords have lots of backlinks. This is a sign of a “link-worthy” topic. If you create something original on that topic, lots of people might link to you.
The bottom line is this: Keyword Difficulty isn’t there to deter you from targeting specific keywords. It’s there to help you understand what it’ll take to rank for a query. It also shows the “linkworthiness” of a topic.
Always manually assess keywords before targeting them. Don’t rely solely on any tool’s difficulty score. No single score can distill Google’s ranking algorithm complexity into a single number. Google’s algorithm updates are constantly evolving, making manual assessment crucial.
Professional ethical SEO services understand the nuances of keyword difficulty and can help develop realistic ranking strategies.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Cost Per Click shows how much advertisers pay for a click on an ad. This is for ads displayed on top of search results for a given keyword. It’s more a metric for advertisers than SEOs. But it serves as a useful proxy for a keyword’s value.
For example, “project management software” has a high CPC of $30. That’s because people searching for it seem to be looking for a product to buy.
But “project management methodologies” are different. This is an informational search query. The odds of selling project management software to these people are not as high. Hence, the much lower CPC of $6.
One important thing about CPC is that it’s much more volatile than search volume. Search demand for most keywords stays roughly the same from month to month. But CPC can change any minute as more companies display ads.
CPC values in SEO tools are merely snapshots in time. They aren’t particularly precise. If you want real-time CPC data, use advertising platforms.
Growth
Search volume is an annual average. It can often lead you astray in terms of future search demand for a search query.
Some AI tools might have a twelve-month average of 73,000 searches. But this average comes from many months with zero search volume. And a couple of months with over 400,000 searches.
In this case, the average is underestimating likely search volume in the next few months.
Or take a seasonal keyword like “black Friday.” The average search volume is 282,000. But this average comes from many months of lower search volume. And one month of much higher volume in November.
The number of searches any keyword gets changes over time. There can be real benefits to ranking for a keyword with low search volume now. But it’s already becoming popular.
You can find these trending keywords using Growth metrics in keyword tools. Add your keywords and sort by Growth column. Find topics getting more popular or less popular.
Google Trends is also a nice free tool for analyzing trending searches. There are extensive guides on how to use it effectively. Google’s official Trends help provide detailed guidance on using this tool.
Business Potential
Prioritizing your keyword list is probably the least straightforward part of keyword research. There are too many things to consider:
- What is the estimated traffic potential of this keyword?
- What’s the ranking difficulty? Who are you competing against?
- What will it take to create a perfect page?
- What’s the business value of this keyword?
That last point is particularly important. While search volume, traffic potential, and ranking difficulty are important, you also need to consider what ranking for this keyword will be worth to your business.
Many SEO professionals develop their way of determining business value. They call it “business potential.” It’s a simple score from 0 to 3. It indicates how easy it will be to pitch your product while covering a keyword.
If you sell coffee accessories, “coffee filters” would have a very high business potential score. On the other end, “Stanley thermos” would have a low score. Despite being related to coffee, it’s not something your business helps with.
As a general rule, prioritize topics that score 2 or 3 on Business Potential. These topics are most likely to bring potential customers to your website. That’s the most important goal of keyword research and SEO.
When successful companies categorize all their blog posts, 77% of them score high on Business Potential. They have almost no blog posts with zero business potential.
For local businesses, understanding local SEO services can help identify keywords with high business potential in specific geographic areas.
Part 4: How to prioritize keywords
So… which keywords should you start working on first?
Unfortunately, there’s no straightforward answer to this question. As SEOs like to say, “It depends.”
Are you working on a brand-new website or an established business?
Are you the only marketer, or do you manage a large team?
Are you responsible for actual conversions or providing new leads to the sales team?
How fast do you need to show results?
Keyword research is an act of balancing your unique circumstances with metrics and concepts. These include traffic potential, keyword difficulty, business potential, and search intent.
In some cases, your job is to get as much traffic as possible as fast as possible. This comes down to finding high-volume, low-difficulty keywords. Other times, you’ll need to focus on leads or conversions. In this case, business potential will be the most important metric.
Keyword research is not the process of finding “easy to rank for” keywords. It’s the process of finding keywords that make the most sense to your business.
You should also have short-term, medium-term, and long-term ranking goals. If you only focus on short-term goals, you’ll never rank for the most lucrative keywords. If you only focus on medium- and long-term goals, it’ll take years to get any traffic.
Start with quick wins.
If you’re just starting, look for keywords where you can get results quickly. These are usually:
- Low to medium competition keywords
- Keywords where you already have some content
- Keywords with clear business value
- Keywords that match your current website authority
Quick wins help build momentum and show early results. They also help you understand what works for your specific website and industry.
Build for the long term.
Once you have some quick wins, start targeting more competitive keywords. These take longer to rank for but can bring much more traffic and business value.
Long-term keywords are usually:
- Higher competition keywords
- Keywords with very high business potential
- Keywords that require significant content creation
- Keywords that need ongoing promotion and link-building
Balance different intent types
Your keyword portfolio should include different types of search intent:
Informational keywords help build authority and attract people early in their buying journey. They’re usually easier to rank for and help with brand awareness.
Commercial keywords target people ready to make a purchase. They’re usually more competitive but have higher conversion rates.
Navigational keywords help people find your specific brand or products. They’re important for brand protection and capturing existing demand.
Consider your resources
Your keyword prioritization should match your available resources:
If you have limited time: Focus on keywords where you can quickly improve existing content. Look for keywords where you rank on page 2 or 3 of Google.
If you have a limited budget, Target long-tail keywords with lower competition. These require less promotion and link-building.
If you have a small team: Focus on fewer keywords but create more comprehensive content for each.
If you have established authority: You can target more competitive keywords that newer sites can’t compete for.
Track and adjust
Keyword research isn’t a one-time activity. Search trends change. Your business evolves. Your website grows in authority.
Regularly review your keyword performance. Look for new opportunities. Adjust your strategy based on what’s working.
Set up tracking for your target keywords. Monitor your rankings. Track the traffic and conversions each keyword brings.
Use this data to refine your keyword strategy over time. Double down on what’s working. Adjust or abandon keywords that aren’t delivering results.
Remember that keyword research is the foundation of successful SEO. Take time to do it right. The effort you put in now will pay dividends for years to come.
Whether you’re just starting with keyword research or looking to improve your existing strategy, the key is to start with a solid foundation and build systematically over time. With the right approach, you can avoid becoming part of that 90% of pages that get no organic traffic from Google.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Keyword Research
What is keyword research?
Keyword research is finding words and phrases that people type into Google when looking for things. It helps you understand what your customers are searching for online. This makes sure your website shows up when they search for products or services you offer.
Why is keyword research important for SEO?
Keyword research helps your website get visitors from Google. Without it, your pages might visitors even if they are well-written. It helps you create content that people actually want to find.
How do I start keyword research as a beginner?
Start by thinking like your customers and write down words they might search for. Put these words into free keyword tools like Google Keyword Planner. The tools will show you more keyword ideas and how popular they are.
What are seed keywords?
Seed keywords are the basic words you start with when doing keyword research. They are simple words that describe your business or what you sell. For example, if you sell coffee, your seed keywords might be “coffee” or “cappuccino.”
How many keywords should I target on one page?
You should focus on one main keyword page, but you can rank for many related keywords too. Most top-ranking pages actually rank for about 1,000 similar keywords. This happens naturally when you create good content about one main topic.
What is keyword difficulty?
Keyword difficulty shows how hard it is to rank for a keyword in Google. It uses a number from 0 to 100, where higher numbers mean more competition. Most tools base this score on how many websites link to the top-ranking pages.
Should I only target high-volume keywords?
No, you should target both high and low-volume keywords. Low-volume keywords are often easier to rank for and can bring very targeted visitors. Many small keywords can add up to lots of traffic over time.
What is the difference between informational and commercial keywords?
Informational keywords are used when people want to learn something, like “how to make coffee.” Commercial keywords are used when people want to buy something, like “best coffee maker.” You need different types of content for each type.
How do I find keywords my competitors use?
Search Google for your main keywords and see which websites appear on the first page. Then use SEO tools to check what keywords those competitor websites rank for. This helps you find new keyword ideas you might have missed.
How often should I do keyword research?
You should do keyword research regularly, not just once. Search trends change over time and your business grows. Check your keyword performance monthly and do deeper research every few months to find new opportunities.