The ultimate step-by-step guide to SEO keyword research

Since 71% to 92% of search engine users don't click beyond the first page after executing a search query, it's important to do everything possible to ensure that your pages rank according to Google's search adoption results. It may sound easier said than done, but by adopting the right search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, you can increase your rankings within 3 to 6 months.

One of the most important aspects of ranking is SEO keyword research. Specific words and phrases must be incorporated into the HTML of blog posts, video descriptions, and web pages so that the page appears at the top of users' Google Search adoption results.

So how do you ensure a successful SEO campaign? How do you choose the right keywords to target and engage the audience you want to reach the most?

We'll discuss this in this complete guide covering the basics of keyword research. Read below to learn how keywords can help take your website to new heights.

What is SEO keyword research

Even if you've never heard the word “keyword,” you already know what it refers to. When you type a query into Google or another search engine, that query becomes the keyword you're searching for.

The implementation results displayed on the screen are pages ranked by using that query as a keyword, optimized, and ranked. Companies that display pages as query implementation records are ranked by many users due to implementation records of keyword research on which terms were searched.

Keyword research is an on-page SEO strategy. This means manipulating content on a website to make it easier for users to see. This is done when users research and understand the language they use when searching for products online. This is the process of determining exactly what users type into Google when searching for services like yours.

You need to create content that is rich in keywords such as:

• Related to business, services, and products
• Relevant to buyer personas and other topics and content of interest to the target audience
• It's easy to rank, so you won't be overtaken by larger competitors.
• It is being searched by many users belonging to the target group.
• It is an accurate representation of the phrases users use in their search queries.

This is important to ensure that your page gets the right online traffic.

Why is keyword selection important?

As explained before, the majority of pages don't show up (and therefore don't click) when searching online. Choosing keywords is important. That's because doing so gives you this kind of visibility.

Google crawlers (also known as Google spiders) scour the web looking for relevant pages rich in specific keywords. Also, these pages are authorities on topics suggested by keywords, and I think they rank high in Google rankings. If you invest in off-page SEO strategies such as link building and inbound links in addition to keyword research, this trend will happen even faster and more often.

In any case, if Google's spider pushes pages with many keywords to the top of search implementation records, more people will click on them. High traffic reaffirms the correctness of crawler bots that have pushed up pages for relevance and credibility. This may help you maintain your rankings and rank even higher. Keyword research and ranking is definitely a catalytic cycle.

Choosing the right keywords is also important. Because that way, you can target the audience that matters most to you. If you choose a random keyword that isn't really relevant to your service, Google Spider will rank for this keyword. Doing so will show your page to users who aren't really looking for your services. It definitely clicks and leaves the page in less than 15 seconds.

This frustrates readers and prevents them from getting quality traffic. Users who click on your site don't get the type of traffic you want, so there are fewer opportunities to increase sales.

Also, a high bounce rate can cause Google crawlers to look away (metaphorically). They'll re-evaluate whether you're an actual authority on the topics you're ranking (and others for that matter). The algorithm determines that your page is nothing but spam, and there is a high possibility that the page will be reclassified so that it is buried in search implementation records.

How to conduct keyword research: a step-by-step guide

Now that you understand the basics of keyword research, let's take a closer look at how to conduct this research.

Before you begin, think about the search queries users might make when looking for services similar to yours. To make it easier to understand, imagine that you're a B2B marketing company selling personalized promotional products that businesses can customize and distribute.

Consider the demographics of your target audience. This can be determined logically. In other words, looking for your services means becoming a small business owner in an industry that sells products and services to consumers. They are more likely to be in the middle and upper income bracket because they have the resources and education to start their own businesses.

If you have business prospects that have expressed interest in collaborating with you to create promotional products, it's a good idea to research these prospects. You can also use Google Analytics to track which users are currently visiting the official webpage frequently. Analyze which user segments people who have shown interest in you before fall into.

Once you've decided on your target audience, create a list of keywords you think they're searching for. Make sure the keywords are relevant to your site. If you list your keywords in Excel or Word, you can make sure you don't forget them or look them up further.

Step 1: Search for potential KW on Google

While brainstorming a blog post, let's say you came up with the following list of keywords:

• Nearby promotions
• Where can I buy promotional products
• custom coffee cup
• personalized pens and pencils
• Should I get custom promotional products for my business?

The next thing we need to do is search each of these queries on Google. Start typing each one into the search engine bar and check the autofill suggestions that pop up. You may need to slightly adjust the wording of the suggested keywords to match the autofill suggestions.

An example of testing keyword suggestions using Google Autofill.

Other than analyzing the autofill options that pop up, you'll want to Google each keyword. Please check what implementation results are displayed when searching. User intent is key when conducting keyword research.

Let's say you Google all of the above phrases and find a similar business with one exception: “personalized pens and pencils.” Imagine if the top implementation results in this query relate to scented pencils for elementary school students rather than promotional products. You should remove this keyword from the list. Other keywords are highly relevant to the product.

Step 2: Analyze your competitors

There are now 4 keywords left to analyze and consider.

• Nearby promotions
• Where can I buy promotional products
• custom coffee cup
• Should I get custom promotional products for my business?

The next thing you should do is analyze the keywords your direct competitors are using. BuzzSumo is a great resource for competitive analysis that offers limited free plans. You can try out these plans before investing a lot of money to decide if it's worth the investment, but there are plenty of people who have boosted their ROI with this tool in the past.

BuzzSumo can help you identify competitors you haven't noticed yet. Type the keywords you're still considering into the tool's search bar and check out the competitors ranked by potential queries. You can then use the site to:

• Compare competitors and determine which competitors are performing best in the industry.
• Find out the average share (and other engagements) your competitors are getting by content type (video content, blog posts, general written content, etc.).
• Conduct content analysis to find out which competitor blog posts rank higher than competitors.

Read this content to see which phrases are commonly used throughout the post. If a term is used in the intro, conclusion, one header, and the rest of the article, it's likely that the term is the primary keyword (PKW). You can verify this by investing in various SEO tools. Here are a few examples at the end of this article.

If you have a track record of implementing research, and find that your competitors aren't getting traffic or aren't optimizing “should I get custom promotional products for my business”, then we recommend excluding this service from running.

Step 3: Conduct detailed KW research

At this point, it's time to conduct some real in-depth research on the following questions:

• Nearby promotions
• Where can I buy promotional products
• custom coffee cup

There are a number of free tools you can use to explore these tools. To learn more about exclusive free tools, check out the resources at the end of this blog post. However, since we use Semrush, I would definitely recommend you consider it if you intend to invest in SEO software.

Since Aspire uses Semrush, Semrush software is used in the following examples when conducting detailed keyword research. Keep in mind that a free trial is offered, so you can do in-depth keyword research without taking risks.

Use Semrush

With Semrush's keyword research tool, you'll want to type potential keywords into the search bar.

We are conducting detailed keyword research on Semrush.

Implementation results tell a lot, but the most important things for keyword research beginners are query search volume (SV) and keyword difficulty (KD). The former shows Google how many users have entered that phrase. The latter shows how difficult it is to rank for keywords.

When potential kW is entered into the SEMrush tool, the following implementation results can be obtained. Unlike the hypotheses presented so far, this is actual data on Semrush keywords.

• Promotional products near you
  • SV ⇒ 1000
  • KD ⇒ 65.73
• Where can I buy promotional products
  
  • SV ⇒ 10
  • kid ⇒ 0
• custom coffee cup
  • SV ⇒ 3,600
  • KD ⇒ 81.51

Ideally, keywords should have an SV greater than 100. If not, it's likely that users just aren't searching for that keyword often and aren't getting much traffic. The higher the SV, the better. The higher your SV score, the more people are searching for that keyword. This immediately removes “places where you can buy promotional products” from keywords.

Also, it's ideal to use phrases with a KD of less than 80. If it's higher than that, it's very difficult to rank keywords over your competitors. If possible, aim for a KD well below 80. Lower KD means more traffic opportunities. KD for “custom coffee cups” is too expensive to be used as PKW and can be excluded.

If that happens, “nearby promotional products” will remain. This is a great keyword because of the high search volume and low keyword difficulty. If you use it in blog posts, you'll see that SEO campaigns are as powerful as possible.

Step 4: Use KW frequently throughout your content

Once you've decided that a “promotional product near you” should be your PKW, it's time to start creating a blog post incorporating SEO. By frequently using this keyword throughout your content, you can increase the rank of your post.

Use PKW at least once at the beginning of your post and at least once at the end. Also, it should be included not only in the H2 or H3 header within the content, but also in the SEO title (H1).

You'll also want to distribute keywords throughout the content, but they need to be organic and meaningful within the context of the text. Don't cram it in random places or use too many free keywords throughout your post. Not only does this make the site look suspicious to readers (increasing bounce rates), but it also causes pages to be penalized by Google spiders.

PKW can also be used for content other than blog posts. Insert it into web page HTML, product descriptions, information pages, and video and image descriptions.

Also, it's a good idea to distribute a few subkeywords (SKW) throughout your blog post. These are similar but different search queries to PKW.

In addition to “nearby promotions” in PKW, consider adding SKWs such as “nearby custom products” or “Pittsburgh promotions.” Doing this may help pages rank for other keywords, but it also helps rank PKW pages without waste.

Track and monitor progress (often overlooked step 5)

Many companies think their work is done after launching content rich in keywords. They think all they need to do is wait 4 to 6 months for the SEO campaign to work. However, this is completely different from the case.

To be successful with SEO, it's important to track and monitor the success of blog posts. For example, you can check which posts have been clicked how many times, what the content's bounce rate is, and how many people bought after reading a particular post. Since many of our competitors don't monitor their own success, this is a great way to gain an edge over the competition and become an industry leader.

Use Google Analytics for blog posts

Remember when we talked about using Google Analytics to track user demographics? Let's launch this tool again, and now use it to track the performance of our blog posts.

This time, go to Actions > Site Content > All Pages. In the Google Analytics bar, enter the URL of the blog post you want to track.

A place to search for the URL of the blog post you want Google Analytics to track.

You can check how many people have clicked on your post and how many people are bouncing. Also, since you can once again track the demographics of users who clicked on your post, you can better understand your target audience.

Google Analytics also links blog posts to other data on the web page. Are users contacting you after reading posts on specific topics that target specific keywords? Do certain types of posts tend to be more responsive? You can see all the data about which posts are making users commit to your business and which posts are causing bounces.

Track prospects with cookies

Google Analytics is a great free resource, but it also has limitations. That's where tracking cookies come in handy.

Cookies track information about users visiting a website and can be used to increase prospects and optimize pages. It is completely safe for users who have received cookies. Cookies help track:

• Frequently visited pages by visitors
• Queries that users type in the search bar
• Which pages have the highest and lowest bounce rates
• Which blogs tend to stay the longest for SEO-rich blog posts, videos, and graphics users
• Queries users type into search engines to find your web page
• Inbound links or PPC ads that visitors clicked on if they couldn't find you on search engines

So how do you add tracking cookies to your website? A powerful analytics platform can not only help track the details above, but it can also “de-anonymize” users and get to know what real users are doing on the website. To do that, we recommend using HubSpot, the market leader in marketing and analytics software.

All of this information can then be monitored and analyzed by marketers. You can find out which blog posts are generating useful traffic that leads to actual conversions. This lets you know which keywords are working well, so you can optimize similar keywords in the future.

Let's ask people about themselves

Another way to find out how SEO campaigns are going is by asking people about themselves. Building a strong buyer persona can help advance this process.

You can also use forms on the website to figure this out. Have strong lead magnets ready to encourage visitors to take the time to fill out simple forms. You can also ask visitors for details, such as their name and company name, and then enter their email address to download or sign up for our mailing list. If this is the case, consider having a small box asking what you're looking for to help with your SEO strategy.

Free resources for SEO keyword research

We've talked a bit about SEMrush, which is one of the leading paid SEO tools. But if you're considering using keyword research tools that don't require you to pay money, don't worry. There are a few solid options.

These free tools may be limited compared to paid ones, but they're great for those starting to learn about keyword research and SEO.

Google trends

Google Trends is a tool that allows you to check the popularity of keywords in chronological order. When you type a keyword in the search bar, a graph showing when that keyword was searched over the past few years is displayed. For example, if you enter the search term “Christmas tree,” the graph will spike every December and level off again the rest of the year.

This helps in keyword research in a few different ways. First, you'll know if users have searched for that keyword. If the graph spikes and search volume doesn't increase, you know you need to keep looking for another PKW.

Also, you can plan your posts ahead of time. If more people search for a specific keyword during a specific time, such as when a new product is launched or when seasonal services are offered, you can schedule posts on that topic prior to that time frame. This allows for relevant posts all year round.

Google search console

Google Search Console is a free tool that helps you run a website and monitor and improve ongoing SEO campaigns. It can be used to track performance when a website appears in organic search implementation results. If you look at these implementation results, you'll see the keywords that brought the most traffic to your blog during the selected period.

It's a great way to check which keywords are already ranking and which ones you should continue to try to rank for. If you rank 3rd or 4th for a keyword, but there's a lot of traffic from that keyword (and there are 2 or 3 other pages that rank high on the SERP), then you'll want to optimize this keyword. Focus on improving rankings rather than targeting other PKWs.

Another function of the Google Search Console is tracking the “average position” and “average click through rate” for each keyword. The former shows rankings for a specific keyword, while the latter shows the click-through rate for that implementation record.

If you decide that you should optimize for a new PKW rather than a PKW that has already been ranked, you can sort the click-through rate from low to high and check which KWs are ranked even though you've never narrowed down your targets. If you actually put effort into targeting these keywords, you can significantly increase your existing traffic.

Keyword seater

I mentioned earlier that Google's autocomplete is the best tool for SEO research, but there is a tool that allows you to visualize all the suggestions Google makes in the search bar. You don't have to start typing it manually into a search engine.

Instead, you can quickly generate many keyword ideas by entering one or more seed keywords and clicking the button labeled “Sheet Keywords.” You'll then see a long list of PKWs that may be applied to the page. In fact, the tool pulls in around 1000 ideas per minute, so you'll get lots of great ideas to use in current and future articles.

Keyword seater is a very basic tool and should usually be used in combination with paid tools or the tools we've discussed before. Data and search volume trends are not shown. KD can be displayed, but otherwise it's not very helpful. This is intended to be a starting point for research other than the ultimate purpose of SEO.

Please answer to the general public

If you know what subject your blog post is targeting, but aren't sure how to express your PKW, Answer the Public might be the right tool for you. Type in a simple seed keyword, such as “Earl Grey,” and you'll see a list of questions, prepositions, comparisons, and related searches related to that term.

Examples of what is displayed include the following.

• What's in Earl Grey Tea? (question)
• Earl Grey tea with saffron (preposition)
• English Breakfast vs. Earl Grey Tea (comparison)
• Best Bergamot (related)

It's a great way to gather keyword ideas for topics you want to write about.

keyword generator

The keyword generator generates up to 150 keyword ideas for seed keywords. Type “Earl Grey” into this search bar and the estimated monthly search volume for the top queries related to that drink will be displayed.

You can also select the types of keywords you want to display. For example, when you click on the “question” option, keywords related to the question are generated. Additionally, you can check the KD for the first 10 keywords in each list.

Improve your SEO campaigns today

We're not going to lie. Finding the right keywords for blog posts and getting them to rank can be a challenge. Doing this research yourself is completely free, but it still takes quite a bit of time and effort. As such, hiring a professional may be the best option in many situations.

Aspire Marketing Group offers a range of digital marketing services, such as SEO keyword research and content creation to help increase rankings.