In implementation of SEO, Keyword Research is the most crucial step. Keyword Research is process of finding the best the keywords which are searched by users for a specific product or services. The purpose of this process is to select those keywords which has potential of generating conversions. Correct selection of keywords is extremely important for the success of the project. In this simple keyword research guide, I will provide a step by step process of research with practical examples.
Types of Keywords
Generally keywords are classified in to 3 types based on the intent of the query.
Informational Queries: The main purpose of these queries is to find information about product or service.
Navigational Queries: The queries in which a user is looking for information about a specific site or brand.
Transaction Queries: The queries in which the intentional of the searcher is to buy the product/service.
Keyword Based on Length:
Generally for new projects we start with long tail keywords and then target the short tail depending on the competition level.
Keyword Research Process
Step1: Business Analysis and Product Categorization
In this step we need to analyze the client business, target audience, target location and other key metrics. This will help us to target our campaign with the best keywords.
Few Important points to know about business.
- What is the Niche Category of the business.
- Does the client already has site, if yes we need to do a site audit.
- Who are the target audience of the site.
- What locations do the client want to rank. [Based on this we can also plan a strategy for Local SEO]
- Does the client has the content for the site.
- What is the Goal of the campaign. [Lead Generation or Brand Awareness or Online Shopping]
- Do the Product categorization.
Product Categorization: This is the most essential step in keyword research, as it help us to divide each category, sub category and products for the entire business. The benefit of this approach is we can target keyword research for each individual products without duplicating the keywords in multiple pages.
With this technique we can avoid Keyword cannibalization and focus different keywords for each page.
Example
Step 2: Brainstorming Technique
As we have divided our products in to different categories, we can focus on a specific product to brainstorm potential target keywords. We have to generate few ideas based on the intent and context of the user search.
Example – Product: iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s features
- iPhone 6s specifications
- iPhone 6s reviews
- iPhone 6s price in india
- iPhone 6s price
- buy iPhone 6s
- buy iPhone 6s online
Above are few sample keywords which our target audience may use when doing the research. We do not know the potential of the keywords and volume of the keywords and all other related queries. In next step we can dig deeper to find more relevant and volume information for keywords.
Step 3: Keyword Research Tools
In this step we want to do a detailed research and find the average volume and demand of the keywords. I would suggest using Google Keyword Planner Tool to do the research.
- Use the option “Find new keywords and get search volume data” -> Search for New Keywords
- Enter your target keyword
- Analyze the keywords based on intent, trends, location and volume.
- Use filters to eliminate the irrelevant queries
I have applied certain filters to generate very targeted keywords. Below the document.
The above keywords are very simplified and only consist of few selected keywords.
Alternative Keyword Research Tools : Keyword.io , SEMRush Tool , WordTracker
Step 4: Analyze the Competition for Keywords
In this step our goal is to understand the competition level of keywords and who are the competitors and their strengths and weakness. We can able to know the difficulty level by analyzing certain factors like Age, PR, PA, DA, Backlinks, Content Quality, Trust etc to understand the competition of the keywords. Read this article and use Moz Keyword Difficulty Checker Tool to easily analyze the keyword difficulty level.
Alternative Tools: SEMRUSH Tool
Step 5: Final Selection of the Keywords
Based on the results we get in Step 4, we can able to pick the keyword with good volume and less competition. The best way to start is target the keywords which are specific rather than generic. I would also prefer long tail keyword targeting for faster and easier ranking of the keywords.
Keyword Research Presentation
Hopefully this article for helpful for you to understand the keyword research process and provide your feedback in the comments below.