Hey man! Do you dream of hordes of visitors flocking to your page, eager for what you have to offer? The key to unlocking this dream isn’t some magical algorithm, it’s keyword research. If you’ve been stumbling around in the dark, throwing spaghetti at the wall hoping something sticks, it’s time to learn what actually works. This guide is going to break down how to do it like a pro, even if you’re just starting out.
The Secret Formula: VRI (Volume, Relevance, Intent)
Forget just chasing high traffic. Most people focus on relevance and volume, thinking that a high number of searches equals success. But that usually just leads to a list of high traffic keywords that you can’t realistically rank for. The secret sauce is a formula called VRI: Volume, Relevance, and Intent.
- Volume: How many people are actually searching for this keyword each month?
- Relevance: Is this keyword actually related to what you offer on your page?
- Intent: What are people really looking for when they use this keyword?
The perfect keyword combines high search volume with relevance and the best intent. It’s about reaching the perfect audience, not just the largest audience.
Keyword Lingo: Decoding the Mystery
Before diving deeper, let’s decode some common keyword terminology:
- Head Keywords: These are single-word keywords, like “SEO”.
- Body Keywords: These are phrases of two or three words, such as “keto diet tips”.
- Long-Tail Keywords: These are four or more words, like “best affordable noise-canceling headphones for travel”.
Interestingly, long-tail keywords often drive more traffic because there are so many of them. Even though the individual search volume might be lower, the cumulative traffic can be significant.
Tools of the Trade: The SEO Arsenal You Can’t Live Without
To navigate the world of keyword research, you’ll need some powerful tools:
- Rank Tracker: This helps you track how well you’re performing for your focus keywords.
- SEO Software (like SEMrush or Ahrefs): These platforms allow you to see your site’s rankings, as well as your competitors. You can type in competitor websites to see all the keywords they’re ranking for.
Don’t worry if these tools seem overwhelming, you’ll learn how to use them as you go along.
The 7-Step Keyword Research Process: From Zero to Hero in Minutes!
Here’s the meat and potatoes: a simple process that will take you from keyword newbie to a seasoned pro.
Step 1: Check Your Existing Rankings: The Low-Hanging Fruit
First things first, what keywords are you already ranking for? This is an easy way to identify where your site has potential.
- Use an SEO tool like Ahrefs.
- Go to the organic keywords tool.
- You’ll see a list of all the keywords your website currently ranks for.
- You can even filter these by URL to see what keywords are performing best on your key pages such as product pages or blog pages. For example, you can exclude “blogs” from the URL to focus on product pages or filter by “review” or “best” to target bottom-of-funnel keywords.
- This process will give you a list of keywords you are currently ranking for that actually matter.
Step 2: Identify 2-3 Competitors: The Sneaky Strategy
Next, it’s time to find out what your competitors are up to.
- Start with your own knowledge. Who are your main competitors? Ask yourself who you see as your competitors.
- Do a Google search. Search for keywords relevant to your business and see who pops up.
But it’s not just about finding similar businesses, it’s about finding similar businesses that you can realistically compete with.
- Use Ahrefs (or your SEO tool of choice).
- Look at the Domain Rating (DR) of your competitors. This is a metric that shows the authority of the domain. A domain rating (DR) is a score from 0 to 100 that measures the authority of a website.
- If the top-ranking websites for a keyword have a DR of 70 or more, that keyword will likely be very competitive.
- Look for competitors with a DR similar to your own. If your DR is 30, a competitor with a DR of 33 is a great target for analysis. If you have a DR of 30, and you are looking at competitors with a DR of 70 or more, that is not a good use of time. The goal here is to identify competitors that you can actually compete with.
- By analyzing what keywords your competitors are ranking for, you can uncover hidden opportunities.
Step 3: Check Your Competitors’ Keywords: Copy Their Success
Now that you have your competitors, it’s time to go digging for their keywords.
- Use the organic keywords tool in your SEO tool.
- Enter your competitor’s website.
- Look for keywords that are relevant to your business.
- Filter your keywords:
- Exclude irrelevant terms (like “blog”).
- Include terms like “best”, “review”, or “versus” to find valuable bottom-of-funnel keywords.
Export this data. You now have a list of keywords from your own site and your top competitors.
Step 4: Manually Research Additional Keywords: Think Like Your Customers
Sometimes, the best keywords are the ones you find by thinking like a customer.
- Use the keyword explorer tool in your SEO platform (like Ahrefs).
- Type in a keyword that you think someone would use to find your products or services. For example, if you sell gym leggings, type in “gym leggings”.
- Look at the search volume for that keyword.
- Try different variations and see what comes up. For example, you could try typing in “leggings for gym”.
- The tool will also give you recommendations, like “women’s gym leggings” or “high-waisted gym leggings”.
- This process can help you uncover new keywords and keyword variations.
Step 5: Clean Up Your Keyword List: The Art of Organization
By now you’ll have a HUGE list of keywords that may have many duplicates or may not be relevant. You need to clean this list before you start using it.
- Export all your keyword data into Google Sheets.
- Merge the data into one spreadsheet.
- Freeze the top header row.
- Sort by position column.
- Remove duplicates.
- Add filters to remove irrelevant terms like your competitor’s brand name.
- Filter by terms like “best” or “review” to find the keywords that you are looking for.
- Filter by position to find the best performing keywords or remove poorly performing keywords.
- Manually remove keywords that don’t fit your business or target audience.
You should now have a cleaned-up list of relevant keywords.
The Grand Finale: It’s Time to Map Your Keywords!
At this point, you’ve got a massive list of keywords. What do you do with them? Unfortunately, mapping your keywords and putting them to work is beyond the scope of this blog post. But, stay tuned for the next installment where you’ll learn how to map your keywords and use them to drive traffic to your site.
Conclusion
Keyword research is not a one-time task, but an ongoing process that evolves as your business grows. By understanding the basic principles and following these steps, you are now armed with the knowledge to build a website that attracts the right audience. Don’t let your website languish in the depths of the internet anymore! By using these powerful techniques, you can bring your website to the top of search results and drive real, targeted traffic.
FAQs
How Often Should I Do Keyword Research? Keyword research should be done regularly. The frequency can vary based on your business goals, but at a minimum you should review your keywords on a quarterly basis. Things can change very fast in the online world, so it’s best to stay on top of what your customers are searching for.
What if I Don’t Have Ahrefs or SEMrush? While those tools are very helpful, there are some other options. You can use Google Keyword Planner for some basic research, but tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush are more effective. You could also start by doing a lot of manual research as explained in step four of this blog post.
Can I Just Use High-Volume Keywords? It is not recommended to target just high volume keywords because they will typically have a lot of competition. It’s important to use the VRI principle (volume, relevance, and intent) when choosing keywords. You can also find success by targeting long tail keywords.