Unless it is your first time drafting an SEO marketing strategy, you must have heard the phrase ‘keyword research for SEO’ multiple times. This almost over-used term is a critical factor in ranking web pages. Hence, the buzz around it.
Looking back at the last decade, you will agree that the SEO world evolved tremendously. As a marketer, this is both good and bad. With Google feeding us with countless algorithm updates, it is becoming pretty difficult to keep track of relevant tricks and hacks. Consequently, keyword research strategies tend to change from time to time. Frustrating!
How do you know what works at the moment? Is your SEO strategy still yielding results? What is the new trend for keyword research for SEO? Are you doing it right?
As we proceed towards the middle of the year, it is time to reflect on our marketing strategies. It is time to declutter and rebuild. So, we compiled this guide to equip smart marketers like you with surefire strategies to perform keyword research for SEO in 2020. You’re welcome!
Is Keyword Research Important?
For beginners, especially, they may not really get the buzz about keyword research. Do you really need to spend hours on end, sieving through the web, creating a long list of keywords? Why stress yourself so much when you could pick any word and work with it?
First, we have to agree these questions are valid. I mean, if I didn’t know the essence of keyword research, I would never go through the stress. So, let’s get to it. Why do keyword research for SEO?
How do you know what works at the moment? Is your SEO strategy still yielding results? What is the new trend for keyword research for SEO? Are you doing it right?
As we proceed towards the middle of the year, it is time to reflect on our marketing strategies. It is time to declutter and rebuild. So, we compiled this guide to equip smart marketers like you with surefire strategies to perform keyword research for SEO in 2020. You’re welcome!
The answer is quite simple and straightforward – to generate traffic. The whole essence of keyword research is to ensure you are putting out the right content that your target audience is searching for. There is an audience for every brand.
As an auto dealer, it will be useless advertising to a travel audience. Although these people may have cars and require your service, the percentage of those who might need auto dealer services at that time would be very low.
This is because this particular audience came online to check travel destinations and other exciting things in the world of travel and tourism, not cars.
This is where keyword research comes in. Proper keyword research reveals what your audience is searching for, thus, helping you tailor your content to meet their needs. By putting the right content in front of the right audience, you will succeed in attracting massive traffic to your website. Of course, you know what that means. The higher the traffic, the higher the sales.
Getting Started: 4 Places to find the right keyword
Now you know what keyword research is and its importance to your marketing strategy, let’s take a deeper look at how to find the right keywords for your audience.
Note: In the next section, we cover some pro tips to implement keyword research for SEO. Read on!
Don’t Skip Google’s ‘Searches Related To’
Smart marketers know Google is one of the biggest untapped keyword goldmines on the web. In fact, Google is the first place to look if you are looking for what people are searching for.
Begin your search from the ‘People Also Ask’ section and climax at the ‘Searches Related To’ section at the bottom of the page. Both aforementioned sections contain clear ideas of what your audience is searching for.
The goal is to rank on Google’s first page, right? Don’t sleep on it!
YouTube Suggest Works Too!
Besides Google, YouTube has proven to be the second-largest organic search engine on the planet. To use this tool, try inputting a broad topic on the search bar and take note of the suggestions that pop up.
This method works in the same way as Google’s ‘Searches Related To’. The pop up contains some of the top questions your audience has been asking.
Public Forums Are the Real Deal
What better place to learn about your audience besides their favorite hangout? You can always get trending topics and keywords related to your industry from popular forums such as Reddit and Quora.
Simply type in a broad topic your audience is interested in and the forum will spit out related questions asked by members.
Wikipedia is Rich
In your search for ranking keywords, it is important to keep an eye on authority sites such as Wikipedia. As an authority site, Wiki is a good source of likely words/phrases that people are searching for. Their contents are usually in-depth, covering everything from etymology or history to benefits and whatnot.
To ease the stress, try stealing some ideas from Wiki’s content section. For a deeper view, try getting similar keywords from related articles linked to the page.
5 Proven Steps to Do Keyword Research for SEO
A simple search of how to do keyword research will produce tons of articles with different tips. Don’t get me wrong, these tips are right. However, the point is there is no one-size-fits-all in the world of SEO. Nonetheless, we carefully curated this guide to fit into just about any industry.
1. Define Your Niche
To kickstart any project, you ought to understand what your mission is and draft out a plan to help you reach your goal. The same principle applies here. The web is littered with millions of words and phrases. Of course, you do not need everything.
This is why experts advise you define your niche and understand your target audience before conducting keyword research. The details of your niche and your goals are important to help you narrow down your list.
2. Make a List of Seed Keywords
Now that you understand your niche and audience, it is time to think like your potential clients. Seed keywords are the foundation upon which you build your keyword list. These keywords are typically broad topics specific to your niche. With seed keywords, you can easily narrow your search down to relevant keyword.
Note that seed keywords are not [always] the final keywords. They are more or less generic keywords used to describe your niche. Say you sell cars, for example, your audience is probably searching for where to buy used cars, how to buy a new car, etc. From these questions, you can easily tell that the seed keywords are used cars and new cars.
3. Search for Keyword Ideas
In the previous section, we discussed four places to find the right keywords. It is time to put that into practice. Irrespective of the option you are going for, remember your seed keywords serve as a guide to the heart of your audience.
At the end of your search, you should have a long list of keywords your competitors already rank for and a host of other keywords that are already ranking high.
Pro tip: You can expedite the process with a keyword research tool, like Google Keyword Planner, or Keywords Everywhere.
4. Cut Your List With Keyword Metrics
Having curated a long list of ranking keywords, you have to separate the wheat from the chaff. Yes, not all keywords will rank for your brand.
You should be able to narrow the list down to keywords that directly match your target audience’s search intent. Be sure to evaluate metrics such as search volume, amount of potential clicks, traffic potential, keyword difficulty, and cost per click.
At the end of the day, you should be able to tell which keyword will likely generate the highest traffic.
5. Pick Less Competitive Keywords
Almost done! With your comprehensive list of high-ranking keywords, it all depends on you to choose which keyword to use and which to ignore. Typically, I advise marketers to go for less competitive keywords. This is because authority sites already use up highly competitive keywords. As a beginner, it is almost impossible to beat these authority sites. But you have a better chance with random bloggers. Stick with less competitive keywords!
Conclusion
Ranking high is not a myth. It is no magic either. You just need the right tips to bring the prize home. We hope this guide give your marketing strategy a boost. Do let us know if it worked in the comment section below.
