What is a keyword?

• Keywords are words or phrases that describe the contents of a website, document.
• They also refer to the typed words or phrases by users to find products or services for their problems. 

 

In SEO (search engine optimization), keywords are used to help search engines understand what a website is about and how relevant it is to users. By including targeted keywords in content, webmasters can boost their pages’ rankings and visibility on search engine results pages.

Types of keywords

• Based on search query intent there are 4 types of keywords

 

1. Navigational Keywords:

These keywords help users find a specific website or webpage.

 Ex: Search query domain names (amazon.in) and brand names (Amazon).

 

2. Informational Keywords: 

These keywords are used by users who are looking for information or to learn about something; for example, search queries may include phrases such as “how to”, “what is”, “list”, “ideas”, etc. in the search query.

 

3. Commercial Keywords:

These keywords indicate that the user knows about the problem and is requesting a solution to the problem; they are in the consideration stage. For example, search queries may include words such as “Best,” “Top,” “Review,” “Rating,” etc.

 

4. Transactional Keywords:

 These keywords indicate that a user is in the Decision stage and is ready to make a purchase. For example, search queries may include words such as “buy,” “order,” specific product names, or brands..etc 

 

• Based on length of keywords

Short-tail Keyword:

• Single-word Keywords: These are keywords that consist of one word, such as “shoes” or “
• Two-word Keywords: These are keywords that consists of two words, such as “running shoes” 

 

Mid-tail Keywords:

• Three-word Keywords: These are keywords that consist of three words, such as “affordable running shoes”

 

Long-tail Keywords:

• These are keywords that consist of four or more words, such as “best affordable running shoes for men 

Aim for long-tail keywords, even though their search volume is low. For these keywords, competition will be very low and the user’s intent will also be clear. There is a greater chance of ranking high on the search engine results page.

Why is keyword research important

 

Keyword research lists all the possible important  keywords that users can type about our product or service. It helps in identifying the ideal search queries that we want people to find our website, making the page contextually relevant to the target audience.

Keywords are then analyzed for relevance, competition levels, and search volume to determine which should be used as part of an SEO strategy.

Therefore, it is important to learn keyword research and not to assume keywords; by doing so, one can avoid selecting the wrong keywords for your SEO strategy.

How to conduct keyword research

Keyword research process

1. Identify Your Audience:

Before you begin your keyword research, it’s important to identify who your target audience is and what their goals are (Target Audience Analysis). This will help you determine which keywords are most relevant to them and their needs.

2. Brainstorm Keywords:

Once you know who your audience is, start brainstorming keyword ideas that they might use. Focus on keywords related to the topics of interest and/or problems that they may be attempting to solve with a search engine query.

3. Research Related Search Terms: 

Pick some seed keywords to start your keyword research, which are related to your page, by looking into: 

• The page for which the keyword research is being done 
• Competitor pages (Competitor Analysis)
• Google auto-suggests, related queries, and People Also Ask sections of search engines.

With this list of seed keywords, we can generate many related keywords using Google Keyword Planner, Keywords Shitter, etc. These can be used to help optimize content for SEO (search engine optimization) and identify potential topics for blog posts and other types of content.

Google Keyword Planner provides a list of keywords with search volumes and competition data; other 3rd party paid tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz’s Keyword Explorer can also help to find more relevant keywords with search volume and competition informations.

4. Refine & Prioritize Keywords: 

After researching various keyword options, review them and finalize keywords based on relevance, competition level (based off competitor analysis), search volume.Here are some important factors to be considered before finalizing keywords for your SEO strategy

Important Keyword research factors

Search Volume:

The popularity of a keyword indicates how often people search that term or phrase. 

Relevance to Your Niche/Industry:

Make sure the keywords you select are relevant to your niche or industry. This will help ensure that you are targeting the right audience and improve the chances of them finding your website through organic search results. 

Competition Level

Knowing how much competition there is for a particular keyword can help you determine if it is worth targeting or not. If there are too many competitors, it may be difficult to rank well for that keyword, so choose one with lower competition instead. 

Long Tail Keywords vs Short Tail Keywords:

 Long tail keywords tend to have lower search volumes but also less competition, making them easier to rank for than short tail keywords which have higher search volumes and more competition associated with them.Ideal is to have both type of keywords in your SEO strategy

Search Intent:

Understanding what users are looking for when they type in specific searches (search intent) as well as what they want to do once they land on your site (user intent) can inform which keywords you should target.

Classify Keywords into Primary and Secondary Keywords

Primary keyword is a word or phrase that comes to mind when thinking about the page; it helps search engines understand what a page is about and gives it context.Primary keyword must have high relevance and high search volume.It should be used in important placements in On page SEO.

Primary Keyword: Remote Working

Secondary Keywords are words that support the primary keyword; they help the search engine to find the intent of the page. These keywords can become H2 and H3 tags. 

Secondary Keywords: Benefits of Working Remotely

This sorted list of keywords can be used in on-page optimization and content optimization

Keyword Research mistakes

1. Focusing solely on search volume: It is important to keep in mind that the amount of searches for a keyword doesn’t automatically mean higher rankings or the success of SEO campaigns; other factors like relevance and competition should also be taken into account when conducting keyword research.

 

2. Ignoring long-tail keywords: Long-tail keywords may have lower search volumes, but they are more easier to rank for than general terms, so include them in your keyword research efforts.

 

3. Not researching competitors’ keywords: It’s important to keep an eye on what your competitors are doing with their SEO keywords in order to ensure that you don’t miss any potentially profitable opportunities. 

 

4. Not tracking Keywords: Keyword research should be an ongoing process, so it’s important to track the results of your efforts over time in order to identify which strategies are working (and which aren’t) and make adjustments accordingly.

Advanced Keyword Research Strategies

Keyword mapping

Keyword mapping is the process of associating words or search queries with specific topics. We can also map the keywords with a customer journey funnel, as each keyword has an intent. 

By mapping each topic to relevant keywords from the start to the end of the journey, it can be used in SEO to help ensure that potential customers are able to find information, products, or services related to their search query. This can be done manually by creating associations between keywords and content. Keyword mapping also helps webmasters understand which topics are relevant for their website and where they should focus their content writing efforts.

Keyword Clustering

Keyword clustering involves organizing related keywords into distinct groups. This approach enables individuals to gain insight into the connections between different sets of words and the topics they signify, making it easier to develop effective content plans and effective SEO strategy.

Clustering can also facilitate exploration of new opportunities in keyword research and targeting that may have previously been hidden from view.

Mapout the potential sequence of search queries your customer will start till the end the end of the journey and map out the entire journey and align the keywords to the respective pages.The ideal way to rank for all the keywords is to use different types of content that suit the users’ stage of the journey.

Keyword mapping can be beneficial in a number of ways

• Facilitating the structure of the site
• Providing a better understanding of the site for both visitors and search engines
• improves SEO visibility by targeting keywords relevant to the niche
• Increasing user engagement
• Optimizing internal linking

Do not end your journey here; take the next step and learn how to use your finalized list of keywords for On-page Optimization