How to Do Keyword Research For SEO

Keyword research is the process of finding & analyzing the best keywords that a website can target, learn in this guide how to do this for SEO

By Claudio Pires
SEO
Updated on February 23, 2024
How to Do Keyword Research For SEO

Keyword research is one of the central tenants of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In this article, you will learn how to do keyword research to help you improve your website’s search engine rankings for relevant search queries and a complete guide. 

Let’s get started. 

What is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is the act of analyzing the keywords that people use when searching for information via search engines. The aim of keyword research is to find keywords that can be used in search engine optimization. Moreover, for marketing purposes.

By doing keyword research you can get a good understanding of your ideal customer’s online search behavior. What terms you need to use in your marketing content, and more.

Why is Keyword Research Important?

Keyword research is essential to the success of any search engine marketing campaign. 

Whether a paid campaign via Google Ads or simply an SEO campaign. Marketers need to do keyword research in order to achieve success.

Keyword research is important because it reveals the exact search terms. That your target audience is typing into Google, Bing, or any other major search engine. 

If you know the search terms that your ideal buyer is using. Then you can create PPC ads to target them. Or you can create content targeting those specific keywords.

Why is Keyword Research Important

You don’t want to be spending time and effort creating content that no one will find because of zero to little search demand.

If there is search demand for a specific keyword and you’re able to rank for it using SEO. Or PPC ads, then you’ll increase the number of targeted traffic and leads coming to your website. 

Not only does keyword research reveal content opportunities, but it can also be used to find entirely new business opportunities. So, do keyword research for your SEO. 

If you see that there’s an interesting keyword opportunity with very little competition. Then you can even create an entire website or eCommerce store selling products related to those keywords. 

For instance, let’s imagine that you found the keyword “blue-light blocking glasses for gamers”. A few years back when there was no competition for this search term. You could have created an entire online store selling this product. Or even just a lot of content around this topic for your affiliate website. As a reualt, a great point n the guide for keyword research.

eCommerce store selling products related to those keywords

The Golden Rule of Keyword Research

The number one rule of keyword research is to find search queries. Keywords, or terms that have got a lot of search volume, but very little competition. 

The reason for this is in the keyword research guide as follows:

  • You want keywords that are backed by adequate search demand/volume. Or else you’ll end up producing content or creating a page that no one will visit.
  • You want keywords that have very little competition. This is because the higher the level of competition. The more difficult it will be to rank for the respective keyword. 

How to Do Keyword Research for SEO

Now that you know why doing keyword research is important for SEO and for you business, let’s dive deeper into the steps on how you can do keyword research. 

Get a Keyword Research Tool

The first step of doing keyword research for SEO is to find a keyword research tool that you can use to analyze different keywords. 

You can try to do keyword research without using a tool, but you won’t be able to get much insight into the search volume and keyword difficulty.

SEOptimer’s keyword research tool can be used to find monthly search volume and ranking difficulty in different regions and languages. This tool can also be used to track and monitor organic rankings for all your target keywords.

Get a Keyword Research Tool

Think of a Broad Search Term

The next step in the keyword research for the SEO process is to think of a broad search term that describes your business, product, or piece of content that you’d to create.

For example, let’s imagine that you’re planning on producing a blog post about different types of coffee beans. In this case, your broad keyword might be something like “types of coffee beans”, “types of coffee beans in the world”, etc. 

The idea is not to be too specific with this step. Just think of a general keyword that someone might type into Google to look for relevant information.

Find the Ideal Keyword

Next, we are going to find the ideal keyword based on the broad keyword that you identified above. 

Start off by plugging the broad keyword into the keyword research tool you’ve selected. Most keyword research tools will then generate a list of keywords related to the broad keyword you entered. 

Now, look for any keyword variations that you think you could create a blog article or web page about. The key is to remember the golden rule about keyword research, find a term that has got adequate search volume and low competition.

If the broad term that you identified fulfills the above requirements, then you can even use that as the main keyword for the page to do the SEO keyword research. 

With SEOptimer’s keyword research tool, you can also check which keywords your main competitors are using. Seeing as your competitors are already ranking, it means that they’re probably doing a good job at targeting the right keywords. 

Based on our example of the coffee beans, we plugged the main articles ranking for the term “types of coffee beans” and found that there’s a great keyword opportunity to target the search term “types of coffee beans”.

Find the Ideal Keyword for your site SEO strategy

Find Keyword Variations

After you’ve decided on what your main keyword will be, it’s now time to find 2 to 3 variations of the keyword you identified. 

Adding keyword variations to a page will ensure that you don’t use the same exact keyword repetitively and in a spammy manner. It also increases the odds of ranking for other related keywords instead of just the target keyword you identified. 

To find keyword variations, simply add your target keyword to the keyword research tool you selected and choose 2 or 3 related keywords that you can add all throughout your page. 

For our example on “types of coffee beans”, we can use the variations “different types of coffee beans”, “types of starbucks coffee beans”, “how many different types of coffee beans are there”, etc.

Find Keyword Variations Select features

Use in Your Content

Now that you’ve decided on the main keyword and two to three variations, you’ve got to use them in your content. 

Here are a few tips on how to your the keywords you found:

  • Always use the main target keyword in the post or page’s title.
  • Always use the main keyword in the URL of the page or post.
  • Avoid excessive usage of the main keyword. Instead spread it out all over the page, including the keyword variations you found.
  • Add the target keyword to all the heading tags in your content, granted that it makes sense and sounds natural.

Conclusion

Now you know how to do keyword research for SEO form this guide. Follow the instructions we’ve outlined in this article to find keyword opportunities that will lead to more organic traffic and leads. 

Claudio Pires

Claudio Pires is the co-founder of Visualmodo, a renowned company in web development and design. With over 15 years of experience, Claudio has honed his skills in content creation, web development support, and senior web designer. A trilingual expert fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, he brings a global perspective to his work. Beyond his professional endeavors, Claudio is an active YouTuber, sharing his insights and expertise with a broader audience. Based in Brazil, Claudio continues to push the boundaries of web design and digital content, making him a pivotal figure in the industry.