What is Keyword Research?
Keyword research is identifying potential search terms to determine the best keywords to use on a website and generate quality content that would help people find your website.
What is Keyword Research used for?
Organic search results come from the search engine’s database.
Keyword research is an essential process in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) that involves identifying and analyzing the words and phrases people use to search in the wild for information, products, or services on search engines like Google.
Performing keyword research is important before a search engine optimizer (SEO) creates or enhances content for your website.
In an eCommerce website, keyword research aims to determine which phrases will likely produce the desired response from searchers.
Keyword research is important as it helps determine what your potential customers look for, enabling you to improve your site search experience that would cater to their needs. As a result, more people are likely to stay on your website and purchase your services or products.
Examples of Keyword Research
Say, if you have an online store selling surfboards, you can do keyword research to find the most popular search terms people would use to find your online store.
These terms are keywords for your website content and product description.
You would typically target search terms related to the product you are selling. And you can categorize your keywords as the following:
SEO keywords (Keywords – Search volume – Search intent – Difficulty):
Surfboards for sale – 1,000 – Commercial/Transactional – Medium
Buy surfboards – 500 – Commercial/Transactional – Medium
Custom surfboards – 300 – Commercial/Transactional – Hard
Surfboard shop – 200 – Commercial/Transactional – Medium
Surfboard brands – 100 – Informational – Easy
Site search keywords:
Shortboard – 500 – Commercial/Transactional – Medium
Longboard – 300 – Commercial/Transactional – Medium
Beginner surfboard – 200 – Commercial/Transactional – Hard
Surfboard bag – 100 – Commercial/Transactional – Hard
Surfboard wax – 50 – Commercial/Transactional – Hard
Best Practices for Efficient Keyword Research
1. Perform keyword research as early as possible
It is best to do keyword research early on in the development of your website or even before you create content. Doing so would give you time to analyze which keywords have more potential based on the volume of searches and the related searches in the Google Adwords Keyword Tool. It also helps if you know the content that would attract your target market.
2. Use a variety of keywords and phrases
There are different ways to use keywords and phrases when creating a website, depending on what kind of site it is. For example, more visually oriented websites can use keywords like “buy xxx” or “xxx sale.” On the other hand, websites with a lot of text and images would use more contextualized keywords.
Be careful about not using certain kinds of keywords. One way to know if your keyword or phrase is appropriate is by comparing it with the related searches in Google Adwords Keyword Tool. It helps find out what other terms people have been searching for besides your main keyword or phrase.
3. Do not forget to use negative keywords
You should avoid using negative keywords on your website, which could lead to irrelevant searches. Sometimes, more general keywords are more useful than specific search terms. For example, “travel” is a broad term and would probably lead to many irrelevant searches.
It is always best to use specific keywords that would make your website more appealing to the target market you are trying to attract. For example, instead of using “travel,” you could opt for niche keywords such as “hotels in Florence” or “Singapore travel.” This way, you could narrow your audience and increase the likelihood of gaining more customers.
4. Perform keyword research regularly
You must rely on something other than keyword research before creating a website, especially if the purpose of your site is for business and the promotion of products or services.
It is best to perform keyword research to keep track of the changes in the search preferences of your target market. This way, you would know what content is needed or enhanced to better suit their needs. Once you discover that your old keywords are irrelevant, you will have a chance to research new ones.
