Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is crucial to any digital marketing strategy. One of the most important components of SEO is keyword research, which involves identifying the phrases and terms that people use to search for content online. Individuals who are interested in SEO and digital marketing can enrol in SEO Training in Chennai, where you will be guided by expert trainers and offered various career opportunities.
In this beginner's guide, we will take a look at the basics of keyword research, including why it's important, how to conduct it, and how to use the data you gather to improve your website's visibility in search results. Before we jump in, let us understand what is meant by SEO keyword research.
What is Keywords Research?
Keyword research is the method of identifying and analysing the words and phrases that people use to search for information online. It is an important part of search engine optimisation (SEO) as it helps website owners understand what their target audience is searching for and enables them to optimise their content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Keyword research involves identifying seed keywords or topics relevant to your website or business, using a free keyword research tool to find related keywords and phrases, analysing search volume and competition for those keywords, and selecting target keywords to use in your website's content and meta tags. One of the goals of keyword research is to find keywords and phrases with high search volume and low competition. These keywords are known as long-tail keywords and are often easier to rank for than more generic keywords.
Why is Keyword Research Important?
Keyword research is essential for several reasons. It helps you understand the topics and themes most important to your target audience and can help you identify gaps in the market. Knowing what keywords your audience uses online and keeping track of the keywords with high search volume but low competition can help you create content that is relevant and useful to the audience. Finally, keyword research can help you optimise your website's content for search engines. Adding relevant keywords in your content and meta tags can improve your website's visibility in search results and attract more organic traffic to your site.
Let us now take a detailed look at how to conduct Keyword Research and learn more about keyword planning tools.
How to Conduct Keyword Research
Conducting effective keyword research is an essential part of any SEO or digital marketing strategy. Learn more about this topic and get practical exposure by enrolling in a Digital Marketing Course in Coimbatore. We can conduct keyword research by following these steps.
Step 1 – Identify Seed Keywords
Identifying seed keywords is the first and most important step in keyword research. Seed keywords are the main topics or themes that are relevant to your business or website. These keywords will act as the foundation of your keyword research and help you find related keywords and phrases that target the right audience.
To identify seed keywords, you should start by thinking about your business, products, and services. Consider what you offer, what problems you solve, and what your audience is looking for. Brainstorm a list of keywords relevant to your business and use those as your starting point. Look at your website and identify the main topics or themes that you cover. You can also look into your competitors' websites and see what keywords they are targeting.
Type in your seed keywords into Google and look at the suggested search terms that appear. These suggestions can give you an idea of the keywords that people are searching for in your industry. It is important to choose seed keywords that accurately represent your business. Avoid using broad or generic keywords, as these may be too competitive and difficult to rank for. Instead, focus on specific keywords that are relevant to your niche and that have a high search volume and low competition.
Step 2 - Use Keyword Research Tools
Keyword research tools that are essential for conducting effective keyword research. Once you have identified your seed keywords, you can use a free keyword research tool that can help you discover new keywords and analyse search volume and competition. By entering your seed keywords into these tools, it will generate a list of related keywords that people are searching for and help you prioritise which keywords to target based on their potential to attract traffic to your website.
Keyword analytics tools can help you refine your keyword strategy over time. It can also provide insights into user intent. This can help you expand your keyword list and adjust your strategy and focus on those that are most effective for your business. You can get hands-on experience and learn how to use various keyword tools by taking a Digital Marketing Course in Trichy.
Here are some free seo tools for keyword research:
- Google Keyword Planner: This free tool is offered by Google Ads that allows you to find keywords related to your business or website, see how often they are searched for, and estimate how competitive they are.
- SEMrush: This is a comprehensive SEO tool that includes a keyword research feature. SEMrush can help you discover new keywords and track your website's keyword performance.
- Ahrefs: This is another popular SEO tool with a keyword research feature. Ahrefs can help you find new keyword ideas, analyse search volume and competition, and track your website's ranking for target keywords.
Step 3 - Analyse Search Volume and Competition
Once you have made a list of potential keywords, it's important to analyse their search volume and competition levels. It helps you understand how often a keyword is searched for and how many other websites are competing for that keyword. Search volume denotes the number of times a specific keyword is searched for on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo each month. The search volume of a keyword is an essential metric as it indicates the potential amount of traffic a website can attract for that particular keyword.
On the other hand, competition refers to the number of websites that are already ranking for a particular keyword. When you target a keyword with high competition, it can be challenging to rank your website higher than those that have been established for longer. Therefore, by analysing both search volume and competition, you can identify keywords that have high search volume and low competition. These will have more potential to rank and attract more traffic to your website.
Identifying these keywords can give you a competitive advantage over your competitors who may not have considered these less competitive keywords. Moreover, analysing search volume and competition can help you avoid wasting resources on keywords that are too competitive or have low search volume. It also allows you to prioritise your keyword strategy. This can help you achieve your goals faster and increase your ROI.
To analyse search volume and competition, you can use various free keyword research tool like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, and more. Get hands-on training using these tools by enrolling in Digital Marketing Course in Chennai. These tools can help you choose the right keywords for your business and also provide additional metrics like keyword difficulty, estimated traffic, and more.
Step 4 - Consider Use Intent
When conducting keyword research, it's crucial to consider the intent behind each keyword. Are people searching for information or looking to purchase a product? Understanding the intent behind a keyword can help you create content that is relevant and useful to your target audience.
User intent refers to the reason behind a search query, and it can be divided into three main categories: informational, navigational, and transactional.
- When someone is searching for information, they have informational intent. They seek answers to a question, solutions to a problem, or ideas for something.
- When an individual is searching for a specific website or brand, they have navigational intent, and they use specific keywords related to that brand or website.
- When someone is looking for a product or service to buy, they have transactional intent, and they use specific keywords related to that product or service.
Understanding your users’ intent will help to increase the relevance and usefulness of your content, which can lead to higher engagement on your website. Furthermore, by aligning your content with user intent, you can improve your website's keyword search engines and attract more qualified traffic to your website.
Step 5 – Select Target Keywords
Selecting target keywords is all about finding the right balance between relevance, search volume, competition, and intent. Based on your analysis of search volume and competition, you can now choose keywords that are relevant to your website's content and that align with your overall marketing strategy. The target keywords should be relevant to your business, products, or services. The keywords should reflect what your website is about since this will help to attract the right audience to your brand.
Selecting target keywords that have low competition can help you rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Creating content that is more relevant and useful to the audience will increase your chances of ranking higher and attracting more organic traffic. You can also consider using long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are more specific and targeted and have lower competition than broader keywords. If your business targets a specific geographic location, consider using location-specific keywords. Using branded keywords can help promote your brand and increase brand awareness. For example, “FITA Academy Digital Marketing Training in Bangalore”.
Step 6 - Monitor and Refine
Keyword research is a continuous process, and it's essential to monitor and refine your keyword strategy regularly. As search trends and user behaviour change, your keyword strategy should also evolve to ensure that you are reaching your target audience effectively. Monitoring and refining your keyword strategy is essential to the success of your SEO and digital marketing strategy. Here are some reasons why it is essential to monitor and refine your keywords.
Firstly, just as user behaviour and search algorithms change over time, keywords also change. As your business or website evolves, your target audience may also change. Therefore it is important to monitor your keyword strategy to ensure that it remains relevant. Learn how to conduct keyword research to keep up with changes in your industry and target the right audience by enrolling on SEO Online Training.
Secondly, keyword research can help you identify the topics and themes that your target audience is searching for. By optimising your content for these keywords, you can create more content that is more likely to rank higher in SERPs. It helps you ensure that you are investing your time and resources into the most effective keywords. This can also aid in improving your return on investment (ROI).
Lastly, it can help you you can increase your visibility in search engine results pages, stay ahead of your competition and be up-to-date with the latest search trends and algorithm changes by identifying new keywords to optimise your content and improve your website's performance. This will help you improve your overall online presence.
Conclusion
In this article, we have taken a brief look at Keyword research and its importance to SEO. It can be concluded that keyword research is a crucial aspect of search engine optimisation (SEO) that helps website owners and marketers to understand what their target audience is looking for and how to create content that meets their needs. We have also taken an in-depth look at how to conduct keyword research.
Individuals can improve their search engine rankings and drive more traffic to their site by enrolling on FITA Avademy’s Digital Marketing Course in Salem, which provides extensive training on identifying relevant keywords and incorporating them strategically into website content.