All You Should Know About Keyword Research: A Guide for Beginners

Most beginners do not fully get the concept of Keyword Research. What this post aims to address in simple detail are:

• What is Keyword Research
• Elements of Keyword Research
• The benefits of Keyword Research
• Steps to take while researching keywords for your SEO strategy
• How to choose the appropriate keywords for your website

This promises to be a pretty long post but if you stick to the end, your questions about keywords will be answered. Without further ado, let’s get right to it!

What is Keyword Research?

Keyword Research is the process of digging for words and phrases that your target audience is using to search for answers on search engines and websites, intending to use that data for marketing, Search Engine Optimisation, or content creation purposes.

A keyword can be one or two words, a phrase, or even a question. Keyword Research helps to uncover popular questions asked by your target audience on search engines, how these questions are ranked and gives you an idea on how to use this in your SEO for your website or marketing strategy. People use keywords to search for answers online when conducting research. While using these keywords, if your content gets across to this audience when making searches then you will make progress and gain more traffic to your site.

Elements of Keyword Research

These are what you pay attention to when researching for keywords.

1. Relevance: your content must answer the user’s search intent. This means that your content will only rank for a keyword if it meets the searcher’s needs. Google ranks content for relevance, so you must make sure that your keywords are directly rated to the context in which they are used in your SEO and marketing strategy. Try to make your content the best resource out there so that your ranking on Google will be higher.
2. Supremacy: you must do all it takes to make your website a supreme source by providing informative content and promoting your content to earn backlinks and social signals. Doing all this will make Google give more weight to your site. This is why you must choose keywords without a load of heavy popular sites on them e.g Forbes because competing with these sites will lower your chances of ranking high on SERPs.
3. Volume: it is important to select keywords that will not only get you to the top of SERPs but also bring traffic to your website. Use keywords that are being searched for frequently. Volume can be measured by Monthly Search Volume (MSV). It refers to the number of times that a keyword is searched in a month across all audiences.

The Benefits of Keyword Research

Note that you don’t create content around what you want to tell people; you should create content around what people want to discover. This starts with keyword research. The benefits of keywords are numerous, but these are the most important:

• Increase in Traffic. When you find and choose the right keywords for your type of content, there will be an increase in your ranking on SERPs which will lead to an increase in traffic on your website and possibly more leads and conversions.
• Access to Marketing Trends. Keyword Research will expose you to some data-driven insights on the current marketing trends. It will help you to focus your content on what your target audience actively wants and search for.
• New Customers. Using the right keywords will expose you to more visitors to your website and more customers to your brand, especially if you meet their needs and your call to action is convincing enough to convert. Keywords will attract them to your website, and from then on to the point of purchase.
• Helps You Understand Your Target Audience/Customers. It gives you insight into your customers’ buying journey, what your target audience needs, and how to satisfy these needs. It can even give you ideas for expansion, like adding new services and products to offer.

The 4 Steps in the Keyword Research Process

1. Brainstorm: Your team must brainstorm what relevant keywords and phrases your target audience would use when searching for what your business offers online. You can also do some research on this. Make sure you stick to words and phrases normal people would use; try to avoid technical and industry jargon if you can.
2. Use a Keyword Research Tool: There is a large variety of keyword research tools to use online, both free and paid. Use the one that suits you best that will give you precise search volumes, analyze competitive URLs and analyze attribution insights.
3. Build Keyword Lists: start with keywords that encompass your brand name and broad topics related to your services or products. Then you can create a secondary keyword list that relates to a specific product or service, or a particular point in your marketing journey.
4. Set Goals, Document Your Journey: Establish your baseline by documenting your ranking position from the very beginning. Keep recording every change so that you can keep track of the growth. Set goals for keywords you have chosen and keep pushing towards those goals.

How to Choose the Appropriate Keywords for your Website

Choose quality over quantity. Avoid choosing keywords that are too general because the results will likely be too diluted. Searchers may not convert because they are looking for keywords that are more directly related to you. Less general keywords are usually more than a word or phrase.

Avoid broad single-word terms. Single-word terms are generally too competitive and broad, it is best to avoid using them if possible. Using them might bring a little traffic for you but might make conversions difficult.

Target long-tail keywords. The longer your keyword, the more specific the niche you are trying to reach and the more conversions you are likely to make. Long-tail keywords will not only specialize your content, but will also attract actively searching users who want exactly what you are offering. According to research, long-tail keywords generally have a higher volume and potential to attract more visitors than head terms.

Find a balance. While choosing your long-tail keywords, remember to do it in moderation. Make sure that it relates directly to the services or products that you offer. Build your page with the best SEO practices, and positive results will be guaranteed.

Conclusion

Keyword Research is relatively easy, especially with the availability of Keyword Research tools. All your business needs is a team of professionals (like us!) to handle it for you. Contact us here today for our services!