SEO is all about finding the right keywords, but that’s easier said than done.
You may think you know what your customers are looking for, but how can you be sure? And, how can you know if you’re phrasing it the same way customers are?
This is why keyword research is so vital in digital marketing. Keyword research refers to the process of finding SEO keywords for a website.
There are multiple approaches to keyword research. Some are free, and some are quite expensive. Here, we’ll cover some of the simplest and most effective methods of how to find SEO keywords for a website.
Keyword Research Concepts
SEO keyword research really has become its own discipline. Several concepts have surfaced over the years that are essential for effective keyword researched. Here are the most important:
- Keyword: as we said, this refers to the phrases that people are using Google to search for. Despite the name, a “keyword” isn’t just limited to a single word; it could be an entire phrase. For example, if you found us by searching for “Phoenix SEO company,” that entire phrase is considered a single keyword.
- User intent: why is someone searching for a specific keyword? Are they just looking for more
- information, are they considering a purchase, or are they ready to buy? User intent answers the “why” behind each search. When you know why a keyword is being searched for, you can better determine its value.
- Search Volume: The name may differ among tools, but this concept refers to an estimate of how many people are searching for a given phrase per month. This metric reveals which phrase and word choices offer the most potential traffic. However, it’s typically only available with paid tools.
- Neural Search Network: This concept builds on the growing popular (and efficacy) of pillar-based marketing. Basically, the idea (in simplistic terms) is to build a network of content that maps to the network of related keywords users are search for. In other words, what do you want to rank for, and what searches (with actual search volume) are related to that topic? We’ll discuss methods of finding related searches later in this post.
- Keyword difficulty: This may also have different names in different tools, but the idea is to ascertain how difficult it would be to rank for a specific keyword. Tools like SEMrush use the number of websites ranking for a specific phrase – and how well optimized each website is for that phrase – to determine its ranking difficulty.
Google’s Suggested Searches (free)
You’ve probably noticed Google’s suggested searches section already. It typically appears near the top or near the end of the first-page results.
These suggestions are based on the searches of other users. They offer insights into what potential customers are already actively searching for. You may easily find relevant keywords that you never would’ve considered targeting otherwise.
For example, are you trying to rank for a specific product or solution? Consumers and businesses often use Google to research a specific need or problem to find a solution. So, they may not yet know that solution actually is. These searches could be more lucrative than the product or solution you offer.
However, Google’s suggested searches sections are limited. They only show what Google’s algorithms believe are the most relevant searches for you. This means that many valuable searches are cut off. Fortunately, there’s a free way to find some of them.
Find a Network of Keywords with Answer the Public (free)
Neural search networking (described above) is all about building a network of content on your website to cover various searches around a specific topic. However, you’re wasting time if no one is actually searching a given keyword.
This is where Answer the Public comes in. It’s a free tool that allows you to enter any keyword you like. It will then show a network of related phrases that people are actually searching for.
The results are organized in different ways, including alphabetically, categorically, and by question type. They are presented as a network with various comparisons breaking down their value.
SEMrush: Keyword Research Tools (Paid)
SEMrush is a leading digital marketing platform. It’s often credited with offering the most robust keyword research tools.
Just type in a phrase, and it will return several useful metrics, including:
- volume
- keyword difficulty
- intent
- search trend
- related keywords (including questions)
SEMrush also includes filters to help refine your search.
SEMrush is valuable, but expensive. Its plans start at $120 per month and rise quickly from there.
Similar tools include:
- Ahrefs
- Moz
- SurferSEO (suggests keywords as you’re writing content)
Keyword Research Questions
What questions do you have about finding SEO keywords for your website? Is there something that we could have explained more clearly? Let us know in the comments below!
