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

What Is Keyword Research?

Keyword probe is the process of uncovering and analyzing what applicable audiences hunt for successful hunt engines similar Google. So you tin make contented that’s much apt to fertile highly successful hunt results.

It’s a important portion of immoderate search motor optimization (SEO) strategy. And a adjuvant measurement to instrumentality whenever you’re readying caller content.

For example, a favored retailer mightiness behaviour keyword probe with Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool. And find that:

• Thousands of radical per period hunt “how overmuch nutrient should one provender my dog”
• Ranking for “royal canin canine food” is harder than ranking for “royal canin feline food”
• Most radical searching “best python books” privation books astir coding—not snakes

This benignant of accusation tin assistance you walk concern resources much effectively. And yet get much organic traffic (unpaid visits from hunt engines).

Why Is Keyword Research Important for SEO?

Keyword probe is important for SEO due to the fact that it tells you what applicable audiences are looking for and helps you prioritize ranking opportunities.

By creating contented that satisfies people users’ needs, you tin gain integrated rankings successful hunt results. Just similar the ones below. And get much invaluable postulation to your site.

Plus, utilizing keywords connected your leafage tin assistance it fertile higher successful search motor results pages (SERPs).

Google says contented relevance is 1 of the astir important factors erstwhile ranking hunt results. Adding, “The astir basal awesome that accusation is applicable is erstwhile contented contains the aforesaid keywords arsenic [the] hunt query.”

This means it’s adjuvant to cognize the nonstop wording that searchers use.

How to Find Keywords

In this section, you’ll larn however to find SEO keywords that are applicable to your site.

After that, we’ll explicate however to analyse and prioritize the keywords you find.

Check Your Existing Rankings

If you person a website, it mightiness already look for immoderate applicable keywords. Meaning you person existing rankings to physique upon.

One of the quickest ways to find retired is with Semrush’s Organic Research tool.

Enter your domain, take your people location, and click “Search.”

Then, spell to the “Positions” report.

The array shows keywords you fertile for and the highest presumption you fertile successful (as of the day astatine the top.)

If you spot an icon successful the “Position” column, it means your tract appears successful a non-standard hunt effect known arsenic a SERP feature.

For example, the crown icon means that you ain the featured snippet (the instant reply that typically appears astatine the apical of the SERP).

Like this:

Later, we’ll explicate however to place the champion opportunities to amended your rankings. 

For now, let’s larn however to find applicable keywords you aren’t ranking for yet.

Search a Keyword Database

The astir communal mode to behaviour keyword probe is to hunt a keyword database.

Semrush’s keyword database is the biggest connected the market—it contains implicit 25.7 cardinal keywords. And you tin easy hunt it with the Keyword Magic Tool.

Just participate a effect keyword (a word to basal your hunt around) and your domain.

Then, take your people determination and click “Search.”

You tin presumption 5 types of results: 

• All Keywords: Broad match, operation match, nonstop match, and related keywords
• Broad Match: Keywords that incorporate immoderate saltation of your effect word with the words successful immoderate order
• Phrase Match: Keywords that incorporate your nonstop effect word with the words successful immoderate order
• Exact Match: Keywords that incorporate your nonstop effect word with the words successful the specified order
• Related: Keywords that make akin hunt motor results to your effect keyword

Generally, it’s champion to instrumentality with “Broad Match.”

To filter your results further, see oregon exclude peculiar terms. Using the “Include keywords” and “Exclude keywords” filters.

For example, our favored retailer mightiness absorption connected “dog food” keywords that see “raw” oregon “natural.”

And fell keywords including marque names they don’t stock, similar “royal canin.”

If you request inspiration, the database successful the left-hand file shows the astir communal keyword modifiers. And you tin filter them successful oregon retired by clicking the oculus icons. 

The Keyword Magic Tool besides has a dedicated filter for question keywords. 

Later, we’ll explicate however to marque usage of each the keyword metrics you tin see.

Conduct a Keyword Gap Analysis

A keyword spread analysis reveals keywords that competitors fertile for but you don’t. It’s an effectual mode to find applicable keywords you’re missing retired on.

And you tin effort it for escaped with Semrush’s Keyword Gap tool.

Just participate your domain and up to 4 competitors’ domains. (You tin benignant successful your competitors manually oregon prime the integrated competitors the instrumentality suggests.)

Then, take your determination and click “Compare.”

Scroll down to the keywords array and prime “Missing.”

This shows you keywords that all competitors fertile for but you don’t. So, they should beryllium highly relevant.

To spot keywords that at slightest one rival ranks for but you don’t, spell to “Untapped.”

These mightiness beryllium little relevant, but you could find immoderate hidden gems.

Look astatine Search Suggestions successful Search Engines

You tin behaviour basal keyword probe by looking astatine hunt suggestions successful hunt engines.

For example, Google offers autocomplete predictions erstwhile you commencement typing. And you tin usage this arsenic a mode to place fashionable queries successful your niche.

You tin besides enactment down keywords that look successful the “Related searches” sections of applicable SERPs.

And question keywords that look successful “People besides ask” boxes.

Like this one:

But this method is time-consuming and provides a constricted fig of results.

Plus, if you privation to cod utile metrics, you’ll request to import your keywords to different tool.

That’s wherefore we urge sticking with dedicated keyword probe tools.

How to Choose Keywords

Your archetypal keyword probe tin output thousands of keyword ideas. And not each of them volition beryllium applicable oregon important to your brand.

To choose the champion keywords for SEO, you request to:

1. Gather utile metrics from SEO keyword probe tools
2. Analyze the SERPs to spot what results are shown

For the champion results, we urge moving done this checklist:

Understand Search Intent

Search intent is the crushed down a user’s search.

To recognize what a keyword tin bash for your business—and however to fertile for it—you request to cognize the hunt intent down it.

For example, radical who hunt “pedigree tiny dog” typically privation to acquisition Pedigree-branded nutrient for tiny canine breeds. So, the top-ranking results are each merchandise pages.

When you probe keywords successful Semrush, you tin spot whattype(s) of intent a keyword has.

There are 4 categories:

• Navigational: The idiosyncratic is looking for a circumstantial leafage (e.g., “pedigree foundation”)
• Informational: The idiosyncratic is looking for wide accusation connected a taxable (e.g., “can dogs devour spicy food”)
• Commercial: The idiosyncratic is researching their options earlier making the last determination connected which merchandise to bargain (e.g., “best adust canine food”)
• Transactional: The idiosyncratic is looking for a circumstantial merchandise oregon brand, with the volition to marque a acquisition (e.g., “pedigree puppy food”)

You tin get further insights into hunt intent by looking astatine the top-ranking results.

Just click the “View SERP” fastener oregon icon. Here’s what the icon looks similar successful the Keyword Magic Tool:

For example, our favored retailer mightiness deliberation to people “best canine food” connected their canine nutrient class page.

But each the apical results are roundups from manufacture publications:

This suggests that it volition beryllium hard for the favored retailer to unafraid a precocious ranking—especially with a merchandise class page.

Instead, they tin people a keyword similar “dry canine food” that has commercialized intent:

And a SERP containing mostly merchandise and class landing pages:

Look astatine Keyword Search Volumes

Search volume tells you however galore times searchers participate a peculiar keyword into Google per period (on average). 

The higher the hunt volume, the much postulation you tin get if you fertile good for that keyword. So, each other being equal, you should prioritize higher-volume keywords.

You’ll spot volumes erstwhile doing keyword probe with the Keyword Magic Tool.

And you tin filter for keywords with circumstantial volumes (e.g., implicit 100 searches per month).

You tin look up keyword volumes for circumstantial keywords utilizing the Keyword Overview tool.

This instrumentality adjacent lets you cheque hunt volumes successful circumstantial regions (e.g., cities).

And comparison hunt volumes crossed antithetic countries.

Consider Personal Keyword Difficulty

In Semrush, keyword difficulty (KD%) measures however hard it is to fertile successful Google’s apical 10 integrated results for a fixed hunt term. 

Personal keyword trouble (PKD%) measures however hard it is for your domain specifically. 

It considers factors like:

• The authorization of your domain vs. the top-ranking domains
• Your existent ranking position
• Thematic relevance betwixt your tract and the keyword (i.e., your topical authority)

The higher the people retired of 100, the harder it’ll beryllium to gain a precocious ranking. And truthful gain integrated traffic.

For example, “healthy canine food” has a 91% keyword trouble score.

• Chewy.com (an authoritative favored retailer) has a 22 PKD% for this keyword. If they make prime contented connected this topic, it should beryllium comparatively casual for them to interruption into the apical ten.
• Theurbanpet.net (a lower-authority favored retailer) has a 76 PKD% for this keyword. To realistically vie for a precocious ranking, they request to improve their website authority.
• Semrush.com (a high-authority selling tract that’s unrelated to the favored industry) has a 100 PKD% for this keyword. Because the keyword isn’t applicable to Semrush’s content.

To spot idiosyncratic keyword trouble scores successful the Keyword Magic Tool, you’ll request to supply your domain.

Like this:

The “PKD %” file contains your idiosyncratic keyword trouble people for each resulting keyword.

It’s a bully thought to absorption connected lower-difficulty keywords. So that you’re much apt to fertile highly and spot results from your SEO efforts.

Click “Personal KD %” to filter your results based connected this metric.

For example, you tin absorption connected keywords successful the 0-29% range: 

Check for SERP Features

SERP features tin contiguous some an accidental and a threat.

• Opportunity: You tin fertile organically for immoderate SERP features. This tin pb to much impressions and clicks, due to the fact that SERP features thin to basal retired and supply much information.
• Threat: Some SERP features destruct the request for users to click connected results. Or detract clicks from modular integrated results (because they drawback users’ attention).

So, their beingness whitethorn impact your keyword decisions.

For example, the apical integrated effect for “cat food” appears beauteous acold down the page:

Rather than trying to get the apical integrated result, you mightiness beryllium amended disconnected optimizing for the fashionable products SERP feature.

Or targeting different keyword altogether.

When you bash keyword probe utilizing Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool, you tin spot however galore SERP features each keyword triggers.

And hover to spot precisely which ones they are.

You tin besides click the SERP icon to presumption the results leafage for yourself. And get an thought of however overmuch visibility each effect is getting.

If you privation to debar (or pursue) keywords that trigger definite SERP features, usage the filter option.

Like so:

Do a Cost-Benefit Analysis

Keyword investigation is yet astir weighing the outgo of getting a keyword ranking against its imaginable value.

To measure costs, you request to deliberation astir time and money. So, inquire yourself:

• How agelong volition it instrumentality to make and support high-ranking content?
• Do we person the quality to make the contented in-house?
• Do we request to put successful content instauration tools?
• Who volition make the contented and what could they beryllium doing instead?

Now, let’s look astatine the benefits your optimized contented could generate:

Quantifying these benefits is tricky. But arsenic you enactment connected your contented strategy and show your results, you should make a bully instinct for what works for your brand.

For elaborate advice, cheque retired our usher to SEO forecasting.

How to Target Keywords

Once you’ve chosen your people keywords, marque definite to grounds them on with immoderate utile insights.

In Semrush, you tin usage the checkboxes and “+ Add to keyword list” fastener to prevention keywords successful the Keyword Strategy Builder.

When you’re done with that, it’s clip to make a keyword strategy and commencement creating content.

Here are our apical tips for success:

Do Keyword Mapping

Keyword mapping is the process of matching each people keyword with the leafage (or prospective page) connected your tract that satisfies its hunt intent.

It allows you to program and optimize contented much effectively.

Here’s a speedy illustration of a keyword representation successful action:

Notice that we’ve grouped keywords with overlapping hunt intent. This is called keyword clustering, and it tin assistance you get amended SEO results.

You tin streamline the process with Semrush’s Keyword Strategy Builder.

Just unfastened 1 of the keyword lists you created earlier.

Then, click “Cluster this list.” 

The instrumentality volition clump your keywords based connected topic. You should people each clump connected a antithetic leafage connected your site. 

Use these metrics to place the champion opportunities:

• Intent: A breakdown of hunt intent types
• Keywords: The fig of keywords successful the cluster
• KD %: The mean keyword trouble score
• Volume: The corporate keyword hunt volume

Click the arrow to spot each the keywords successful a cluster.

Also look astatine the top-performing pages for these keywords. And usage them arsenic inspiration.

All this accusation volition assistance you make SEO-optimized content. As you’ll observe successful the pursuing steps.

Focus connected Content Quality and Usability

Content quality is 1 of the astir important factors successful hunt motor rankings.

To make prime content, you mostly request to:

• Satisfy hunt intent
• Present your contented effectively
• Provide close and up-to-date information
• Deliver a large idiosyncratic experience
• Demonstrate Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) 

Secondly, deliberation astir however to supply added worth and basal retired among your competition. That mightiness impact doing things like:

• Covering the taxable much thoroughly
• Using a new, unsocial angle
• Providing adjuvant examples
• Adding archetypal data
• Creating archetypal media

For example, Rover’s canine feeding usher satisfies hunt intent by providing elaborate guidelines for assorted kinds of dog. 

The usher besides includes tons of related accusation and resources. Which travel from reliable sources similar veterinarian Dr. Jamie Whittenburg.

Rover uses subheadings, slug points, tables, bolding, a array of contents, and different formatting tricks to marque accusation easier to find and digest.

And adjacent provides a video for radical who similar to get accusation that way.

Use Keywords Strategically

Including keywords connected your leafage tin assistance it fertile higher. But keyword stuffing (using keywords unnaturally) tin bash much harm than good. 

Here are immoderate tips to assistance you get the equilibrium right:

• Only see keywords wherever they work naturally
• Convert keywords into their close grammatical forms (e.g., “Pedigree for tiny dogs” not “pedigree tiny dog”)
• Use your superior keyword successful the:
  • Body content—particularly the archetypal paragraph
  • Title tag: The leafage rubric that tin look successful hunt results
  • H1 tag: The on-page title, which should beryllium akin oregon identical to the rubric tag
  • Meta description: The leafage summary that tin look successful hunt results
  • URL slug: The unsocial portion of the webpage address
• Use different (secondary) keywords wrong the assemblage contented and subheading tags wherever relevant

You tin besides usage keywords strategically erstwhile linking to your page.

Search engines usage the substance utilized for links (anchor text) to recognize what linked pages are about. This means that keyword-rich anchor substance tin assistance Google recognize which pages should fertile for which keywords. 

For example, you mightiness physique an internal link from “/dog-food/” to “/dog-food/pedigree/” utilizing the anchor substance “Pedigree canine food.” So it’s wide which leafage is the astir applicable effect for this term.

Prioritize Keywords with Existing Rankings

Generally, it’s a bully thought to optimize existing contented earlier creating contented from scratch.

Why?

• It tends to beryllium quicker and easier
• You whitethorn person existing rankings to physique upon
• The beingness of poor-quality contented tin harm your site’s estimation and rankings
• Existing contented is apt to beryllium astir applicable and important to your business

If you request assistance prioritizing pages and tasks, usage Semrush’s On Page SEO Checker.

You acceptable the people keyword(s) for each URL, and the instrumentality provides:

• Optimization ideas based connected champion practices and top-ranking pages
• Priority ratings based connected the fig of ideas, keyword hunt volumes, and keyword trouble scores

Advanced Keyword Research Tips

Feeling assured with what you’ve learned truthful far? Check retired these precocious keyword probe tips:

Find and Use Semantic Keywords

Semantic keywords are words and phrases that are conceptually related to a fixed topic.

They’re not presumption that radical usage to hunt for a portion of content. They’re presumption that hunt engines and users whitethorn expect to findwithina fixed portion of content.

If they’re missing, it mightiness suggest that your contented is incomplete.

Let’s accidental you’re penning a canine feeding guide. This should astir apt see semantic keywords like:

• Healthy weight
• Portion size
• Senior dogs

One of the champion ways to find semantic keywords is with Semrush’s SEO Content Template. 

It identifies semantically related keywords by analyzing the top-ranking results for your people keywords.

For example, present are the suggestions for “how overmuch nutrient should I provender my dog”:

Anticipate Keyword Trends

To get up of your competitors, effort to expect upcoming keyword trends.

One of the champion ways to bash this is to usage Google Trends. Because it tells you which hunt presumption are gaining popularity.

For example, let’s research the taxable of “dog food” implicit the past 30 days.

In the “Related queries” section, we tin spot keywords with “the biggest summation successful hunt frequence since the past clip period.”

The percent summation is listed connected the right. (“Breakout” means that it was implicit 5,000%.)

By rapidly creating contented astir these keywords, you tin summation invaluable rankings. Before your competitors adjacent recognize the presumption are popular.

You tin besides expect keyword trends by:

• Keeping up with manufacture news
• Seeing what applicable communities speech astir connected societal media
• Speaking to oregon surveying your customers

We’ve already shared immoderate options, but let’s look astatine immoderate of the champion and astir fashionable tools for SEO keyword research:

Semrush Keyword Research Tools

Here’s a speedy summary of Semrush’s SEO keyword probe tools (many of which we’ve discussed successful this guide):

• Keyword Overview: Gather metrics for up to 100 keywords astatine once
• Organic Research: Enter a domain oregon URL to spot what keywords it ranks for 
• Keyword Magic Tool: Use a effect keyword to hunt our immense keyword database
• Keyword Gap: Compare your keyword rankings against competitors’
• Keyword Strategy Builder: Plan effectual taxable clusters to people your keywords 
• Organic Traffic Insights: Combine keyword information from Google Analytics, GSC, and Semrush

Create a escaped Semrush account (no recognition paper needed) to effort them retired close away. You’ll besides get entree to dozens of different SEO tools.

SERP Gap Analyzer

Use the SERP Gap Analyzer app to find keywords competitors fertile highly for with anemic content. Which reveals large opportunities to get ahead.

All you person to bash is participate your domain and a applicable topic. Then, hold for the app to make your report.

You’ll spot a assortment of keyword suggestions and a trouble standing for each:

Click “View details” to spot weaknesses successful the top-ranking content. 

This gives you a bully thought of what you indispensable bash to outrank your competitors.

You tin past click “Generate Content” to get an AI-generated title, contented brief, article, oregon meta statement for your keyword.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console (GSC) shows up to 1,000 of the astir fashionable keywords your tract ranks for.

After signing in, spell to “Performance” > “Search results.” And cheque each the boxes astatine the top.

Then, scroll down to the “Queries” table.

In summation to the keywords, you’ll spot the pursuing metrics for your selected day range:

• Clicks: The fig of clicks your effect was clicked
• Impressions: The fig of times your hunt effect was seen
• CTR: The click-through rate, which is the percent of impressions that make clicks
• Position: The mean ranking of your highest effect for each query

Integrate GSC with your Semrush account (along with Google Analytics) to get invaluable keyword insights successful 1 place.

Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner had agelong been a go-to escaped keyword probe instrumentality for galore marketers. But it’s go progressively hard to get nonstop hunt measurement information successful the tool.

Still, it tin beryllium a invaluable instrumentality if you’re connected a choky budget.

Just support successful caput that Keyword Planner is made for Google Ads users. It doesn’t supply immoderate accusation astir integrated ranking difficulty, hunt intent, etc.

Google Trends

Although not precisely a keyword probe tool, Google Trends tin beryllium precise useful erstwhile it comes to:

• Finding trending topics
• Comparing the popularity of 2 oregon much products/services
• Estimating the semipermanent popularity of a keyword oregon topic

Track Your Keyword Rankings and Keep Improving

One of the champion ways to measurement the occurrence of your keyword probe and optimization strategy is to track your Google rankings.

Semrush’s Position Tracking instrumentality makes it casual to spot however things are going.

Just import your keywords from Keyword Strategy Builder (or elsewhere). 

Then, ticker however your wide visibility and idiosyncratic rankings alteration implicit time.

Don’t hide to support adding caller keywords arsenic you people them.

We urge that you behaviour keyword probe each fewer months astatine a minimum. So you tin capitalize connected caller ranking opportunities and support increasing your traffic.