SEO Research
Keyword Research Basics
Before we dive deep into the intricacies of keyword research and how to find the best keywords for your business, let’s make sure we understand the basics.
What is keyword research?
Keyword research is the process of understanding the language your target customers use when searching for your products, services, and content. It then involves analyzing, comparing, and prioritizing the best keyword opportunities for your website.
Why is keyword research important?
Keyword research is the only way to figure out what people are typing into search engines. You need to know this to avoid creating content about things that nobody is searching for. Many website owners make that mistake, and it’s likely a big part of the reason why 90.63% of pages get no traffic from Google, according to our study.
Keyword research also helps you to answer questions like:
- How hard will it be to rank for this keyword?
- How much traffic am I likely to get if I rank for this keyword?
- What kind of content should I create to rank for this keyword?
- Are people searching for this keyword likely to become my customers?
Finding the right answers to these questions will help you pick your battles wisely.
How to find keyword ideas
Keyword research starts with thinking about how potential customers might be searching for your business or website. You can then use keyword research tools to expand on those ideas and find even more keywords.
It’s a simple process, but two things need to be true to do it well:
- You need to have good knowledge of your industry.
- You need to understand how keyword research tools work and how to get the most out of them.
In this chapter, we’ll run through a few actionable ways to improve your knowledge in both those areas and discover potentially winning keywords for your website in the process.