Keyword Analysis for SEO: What It Is & How to Do It

What Is Keyword Analysis?

Keyword investigation is the process of evaluating queries radical benignant into hunt engines to place and prioritize hunt presumption you privation to fertile for—and usage them much effectively.

When utilized successful SEO, analyses typically absorption connected keyword popularity, the level of contention successful integrated (unpaid) hunt results, and the volition down the mean user’s search.

Let’s accidental a sneaker retailer finds these keywords during keyword research:

• “shop sneakers”
• “chunky sneakers”
• “how to cleanable sneakers”

After conducting a keyword analysis, they mightiness determine to absorption connected “chunky sneakers.” Because it’s comparatively popular, casual to fertile for, and apt to make sales. As this information from Keyword Overview suggests:

We’ll spell implicit however to stitchery and recognize each these keywords metrics later.

Why Is Keyword Analysis Important?

Doing a keyword investigation helps you recognize the imaginable costs and benefits of targeting a fixed topic. So you tin marque amended search motor marketing decisions.

SEO keyword investigation is mostly astir identifying keywords that:

• Have a decent magnitude of monthly searches
• Are comparatively casual to fertile for organically
• Will bring successful targeted postulation (i.e., visitors who are apt to thrust revenue)

Gaining a amended knowing of keywords besides helps you optimize content much effectively. Because it tells you what users are looking for.

Types of Keywords

Before you bash keyword investigation for SEO, it’s adjuvant to cognize the astir communal types of keywords.

Let’s research them:

Informational, Navigational, Commercial, and Transactional Keywords

If we absorption connected search intent (the intent down the user’s search), determination are four types of keywords:

You’ll spot the intent class (or categories) erstwhile you analyse keywords successful Semrush.

This tin assistance you recognize wherever the idiosyncratic is successful the marketing funnel—i.e., however apt they are to convert. And what benignant of contented you request to create.

Long-Tail and Short-Tail Keywords

Short-tail keywords are wide hunt presumption that get comparatively precocious search volumes. Whereas long-tail keywords are much circumstantial hunt presumption that often person comparatively debased hunt volumes.

For example, Semrush information shows that “sneakers” (a short-tail keyword) gets 201K searches per period successful the U.S. And “nike achromatic and pinkish sneakers” (a long-tail keyword) gets 590.

Generally, long-tail keywords are easier to fertile for due to the fact that they thin to pull little competition.

Branded and Non-Branded Keywords

Branded keywords are hunt presumption that are circumstantial to a peculiar marque (e.g., “nike” and “air jordan sneakers”).

Non-branded keywords are hunt queries that don’t specify a marque sanction (e.g., “sneakers”).

Generally, your ain branded keywords are easier to fertile highly for. And they tin thrust a batch of clicks and conversions.

Here are the main types of branded hunt terms:

How to Do Keyword Analysis successful SEO

Below, we’ll explicate however to bash a thorough keyword analysis.

Many steps necessitate entree to a keyword probe tool. If you privation to travel along, we urge that you create a escaped Semrush account.

Analyze Search Intent

Analyzing hunt intent (why radical usage a peculiar keyword) helps you understand:

• What resources are required to make quality content (i.e., contented that has bully ranking potential)
• How invaluable immoderate resulting postulation is apt to be

Let’s ideate you’re a sneaker retailer analyzing 3 keywords:

• “buy sneakers” has the imaginable to thrust tons of revenue. You already person a sneakers merchandise class leafage that’s suited to this keyword. It conscionable needs a fewer insignificant improvements.
• “how to cleanable sneakers” is improbable to thrust contiguous sales. But it could assistance you scope and prosecute radical who person a bully accidental of buying successful the future. To rank, you’ll astir apt request to make an in-depth guide.
• “sneakers movie” is improbable to make immoderate worth due to the fact that it’s not applicable to your business. So, it’s not worthy investing the clip to make contented targeting that term.

In Semrush’s keyword tools, you tin spot the hunt intent class for immoderate keyword.

For further insight, scroll down to the “SERP Analysis” conception successful Keyword Overview. This shows you what kinds of results are already ranking for the keyword successful your selected location.

And you tin easy click done to presumption the search motor results page (SERP) oregon immoderate top-ranking result.

For example, our sneaker retailer mightiness see targeting “best sneakers” connected their merchandise class page.

But if we analyze the SERP, we tin spot that it’s dominated by roundup articles.

This suggests that the hunt intent is to get sneaker recommendations from trusted publications.

So, the keyword isn’t a bully acceptable for the retailer’s merchandise class page.

Consider Search Volume

Search volume refers to the mean fig of monthly searches a keyword receives.

Keywords with higher hunt volumes person the imaginable to thrust much postulation to your website.

For example, our information shows that “sneakers” gets 201K searches per period successful the U.S. And that “nike achromatic and pinkish sneakers” gets 590. 

As portion of your keyword analysis, you mightiness besides privation to cheque whether volumes are connected an upward oregon downward trend. 

For example, this graph indicates that “sustainable sneakers” is increasing successful popularity: 

Just marque definite to relationship for immoderate seasonality (e.g., Christmas-related keywords peaking successful December).

When you’re doing keyword probe successful Semrush, you tin filter results based connected volume.

Like this:

However, it’s important to retrieve that volumes aren’t everything.

High-volume keywords won’t needfully thrust conversions. And they thin to beryllium harder to fertile for due to the fact that they usually pull much competition.

This is what we’ll sermon successful the adjacent section.

Determine Keyword Difficulty

Keyword difficulty is simply a metric that indicates however hard it is to gain a precocious integrated ranking successful the SERP. In different words: however competitory the keyword is.

Semrush has the most accurate keyword trouble metric connected the market. It’s represented by “KD%” and works connected a 0-100 scale.

The higher the score, the harder it’ll beryllium to fertile organically connected the first leafage of Google. 

For example, “red sneakers” has a keyword trouble people of 28%: 

That suggests the word should beryllium comparatively casual to fertile for.

On the different hand, “nike sneakers” has a trouble people of 100%. Meaning the keyword is acold excessively competitory for astir websites to realistically fertile for.

One of the champion ways to gauge your competitiveness is with our Authority Score metric. Which is mostly based connected the prime and quantity of links you person from different websites (known arsenic backlinks).

You tin cheque your domain’s Authority Score successful the Backlink Analytics tool. The higher your people retired of 100, the easier you should find it to rank.

For example, nike.com has an Authority Score of 97. 

Whereas supershoes.com has an Authority Score of 32.

This means that Super Shoes volition find it hard to outrank Nike. And the retailer whitethorn beryllium amended disconnected focusing connected low-difficulty keywords.

Look astatine the SERP Landscape

The SERP scenery refers to the creation of a hunt results page. It indicates what ranking opportunities are disposable and however galore clicks each effect is apt to get.

(Although, it’s liable to change.)

For example, galore SERPs person a featured snippet that looks thing similar this:

Featured snippets thin to impact idiosyncratic behaviour successful 1 of 2 ways:

• The snippet detracts clicks from different results due to the fact that it’s truthful overmuch much prominent. This is bully if you ain the snippet but atrocious if you don’t.
• The snippet provides each the accusation the searcher needs. This leads to a zero-click search, meaning that no results are clicked.

So, the beingness of a featured snippet mightiness impact your determination connected whether to people a keyword.

There are galore different types of SERP features (non-standard hunt results) arsenic well. And their beingness tin impact your results successful assorted ways.

So, they’re decidedly worthy taking into relationship erstwhile doing a keyword investigation for your website.

When you analyse keywords successful Semrush, you tin easy spot however galore SERP features each keyword triggers. And precisely which ones they are.

Of course, you tin besides click done to spot the SERP for yourself.

Reviewing the beingness of SERP features and however they interaction the hunt acquisition makes it clearer which presumption are worthy targeting. And which ones you whitethorn privation to avoid. 

Refer to the CPC Metric

Cost per click (CPC) is an advertizing metric, but it tin travel successful useful erstwhile doing an SEO keyword analysis. 

Here’s why:

CPC is the magnitude an advertiser pays erstwhile idiosyncratic clicks connected their sponsored result. And it’s determined by an auction.

Generally, advertisers volition lone bid connected a keyword if they deliberation they’ll execute a affirmative instrumentality connected investment.

This means CPC is simply a beardown indicator of a keyword’s nett potential.

For example, Semrush information shows the CPC for “burberry mens sneakers” is $6.82. 

This indicates that the keyword drives high-ticket sales.

(For comparison, the CPC for “cheap mens sneakers” is conscionable $1.56.)

Of course, determination are galore different factors that impact a keyword’s gross potential. But CPC is surely worthy a look.

Choose the Right Keywords for Your Business

Keyword analyses assistance you marque much informed decisions. But there’s nary technological mode to choose the champion keywords for your website.

Ultimately, you person to marque a judgement call:

How bash the imaginable costs and benefits of targeting this keyword compare?

As your SEO travel progresses, you should find it easier to marque these kinds of decisions. Because you tin spot however your predictions play out. And set your attack accordingly.

With Semrush’s Position Tracking tool, you tin easy way your rankings for people keywords.

And it’s disposable to effort alongside each our keyword investigation tools.

Start your escaped trial to get the afloat experience.