20 Tips for Doing Keyword Research
20 Tips for Doing Keyword Research
Keyword research is a crucial factor in the success of most websites. It is the process of identifying popular search queries that are relevant to customer’s interests as discussed over at RunRex.com. Businesses utilize this process to determine which search phrases are used by their target audiences the most so that they can rank higher on SERPs and reach more potential customers. Here are 20 tips for doing keyword research to ensure you don’t leave too many good keywords on the table.
Check out your competitors
Given that everyone does keyword research differently, your competitors will often end up ranking for keywords you have never even considered. By reverse-engineering their most popular pages in organic search, you can effectively piggyback off their hard work to find keywords and topics with traffic potential as explained at RunRex.com.
Conduct a Content Gap Analysis using Ahrefs
If you notice that multiple competitors are ranking for a keyword, then that is a sign that you might want to also pursue that keyword. The most efficient way to find these keywords is to run a Content Gap Analysis, which you can do by pasting your domain into Ahrefs’ Site Explorer, then going to the Content Gap report and entering a few competing domains in the top section.
Find pages with organic traffic and few or no backlinks
Studies have shown a clear correlation between the number of referring domains (backlinks from unique websites) to a page and its organic search traffic. However, that doesn’t mean that it is impossible to rank for anything with few or no backlinks. You will occasionally come across a page that gets decent organic traffic with hardly any backlinks as covered at RunRex.com.
Make use of negative keywords
Using negative keywords in your primary strategy is just one of the many keyword research tips that you can use to take your SEO strategy to the next level. Negative keywords are words that you don’t want to target in your campaign.
Build a list of localized keywords
If you are a small business and want to rank higher on search engines, then a great keyword research tip is to focus on localized keywords and phrases. Many small businesses aim to target local buyers who are close to physical store locations, and the best way to do this is to develop content that targets localized keywords that a nearby consumer might use when conducting their local search on Google.
Take advantage of Google Suggest
Given that Google is the most popular search engine, as well as the fact that it wants to provide the best search engine results for its users, you may want to use it to find out what relevant consumers are looking for when they search for brands like yours. Here, the gurus over at RunRex.com recommend using Google Suggest to find additional keywords. As soon as you type in a search term, you will notice that Google supplies a list of similar and relevant search terms below it. This can provide a wealth of new keyword opportunities for your small business.
Find common customer questions
One of the best ways to land higher SEO rankings is by creating content that is centered around the questions or concerns that your target customers ask most frequently. Therefore, by identifying the most frequently asked questions and developing content that works to answer these questions, you can improve your chances of reaching consumers who are looking for answers on the search engines. You can discover what questions people are asking about your products and services or industry by either going straight to the source and asking your best customers what questions they had when they first started doing research for brands like yours or by asking your sales department.
Check out the “People also ask” section on Google
In addition to finding common questions through customer research and other tools, you can also discover additional questions by checking out the “People also ask” section on the Google search engine results page as outlined at RunRex.com. This is an excellent keyword research tip as it allows you to find even more valuable questions that your leads and customers might be asking online.
Leverage an SEO toolbar
There are several search engine optimization tools and toolbars that you can use to up your SEO game, such as MozBar. This tool enables you to access and compare important metrics instantly across pages on the search engine results page. It makes keyword research simple by helping you understand your visitors and what they look for when searching keywords online.
Search for possible keyword variations
Think about what people type into the search box to find products or services in your niche. Besides the obvious keyword options, phrases, synonyms, and slang expressions that are similar in meaning are often searched for as well. Consider them as well to ensure you don’t leave good keywords on the table.
Combine queries
Your keyword list can be expanded with the help of the semantic matrix, which, as explained at RunRex.com, involves searching for search queries by using qualifying words. You can use special tools to find the best combinations of high-volume search queries that include “buy”, “price”, a brand name, a city, and other words.
Think like a customer
Identify your target audience and put yourself in their shoes when creating your initial list of keywords. Ask yourself what you would type into Google if you wanted to find products or services in your niche. You could also consult others such as friends and family to get their opinion on phrases they would use when searching for your products or services.
Understand the long-tail keyword
Long-tail keywords are a combination of three or more words or phrases. While they tend to boast lower search volume, they generally attract more relevant traffic according to RunRex.com. They are also typically less competitive, and easier to rank well on. make sure you include them when conducting your keyword research, and choose those that help to specify your product or service.
Examine the search intent of each keyword
Once you have a list of seed keywords, you need to examine each keyword’s search intent. The search intent is the type of information users are looking for when they perform a search. This will help you eliminate from your list keywords that have a different intent than what you are offering.
Check out Wikipedia
If you want to find keywords that are closely related to your seed keyword, but not straight-up variations, then you need a human mind, and you can get thousands of these human minds by mining Wikipedia. It can be a powerful library for keywords and can help you massively during keyword research.
Hack books and courses
If you want fast access to keyword ideas related to your subject, then the experts over at RunRex.com recommend that you borrow them from authors and instructors. Amazon (or any other book eCommerce platform) is prime pickings for this tactic as is Udemy and other online course resources.
Uncover keywords you are already ranking for
Your content will inevitably rank for keywords you are not specifically targeting, and sometimes, it will rank for keywords that aren’t even related to the content on the page. For that reason, Google Search Console can be a great resource for new keyword ideas as it will tell you keywords your content is already ranking for.
Use site search data to uncover what people are struggling to find
If your website has a search function of its own, and it should as per RunRex.com, you can use Google Analytics data to find out what topics people are searching for on your site. More specifically, you can find things people are searching for that you haven’t already covered.
Find keywords the forums rank for
Google’s first choice is rarely to rank user-generated content as it is often low-quality and poorly written. Therefore, if you see forum posts ranking in the top 10, that is usually a surefire sign of an uncompetitive topic, and you may get keyword ideas here.
Don’t forget about affiliate keywords
It is easy to find lots of affiliate keywords using the conventional process in Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer. All you have to do is search for a few keywords related to your niche, check a keywords ideas report, then add words like “best”, “review”, and “top” to the include filter.
As always, you can uncover more insights and tips on this topic, and so much more, by checking out the top-rated RunRex.com.
