Below I’ll show you what keyword research is and how to do it without needing a ton of tools.
WHAT IS KEYWORD RESEARCH
Keyword research is basically about finding the searches that matter to you or your business on Google.
Let’s say you sell all kinds of beds, and you want to start ranking organically on Google. As a first step, you decide to do some research to find out how users would search for your products on Google. After a while, you realize you could rank for “beds” on Google, and you also notice you could show up for searches like “large beds,” “wooden beds,” “beds for couples,” and more. Once you’ve gathered a good list of keywords, you’ll have a solid starting point to begin optimizing. But how do you know they’re actually good keywords?
good search volume
Here I’ll introduce a factor that’s key when choosing keywords and figuring out their importance: search volume. This number tells you how often a keyword is searched. In most cases, I’d recommend going for the higher numbers since they show more interest, but this needs to be handled with A LOT of care — as with everything, more isn’t always better.
Example
If you check out Mangools (a tool for finding search volume), you can see the search volume for any keyword you want. Keep in mind the free trial only gives you about 8 searches a day.
RELEVANCE TO YOUR BUSINESS/GOALS
You need to understand the business to know which types of searches you want to show up for — otherwise you’ll be wasting your effort.
Check out this quick guide to help you understand the business before doing SEO
Example
If your business sells beds but with special specifications, then target those more specific searches. Likewise, if you have special features, factor that into your research.
low competition
These days, big companies tend to do SEO too, which is why figuring out who your competition is — along with their weak points and your strong points — lets you pick your battles.
Keep in mind that if you see a company with years of experience ranking for a keyword you’re interested in, it won’t be easy to outrank them — but it won’t be impossible either. Focus on giving users the best possible result, and trust that you’ll keep climbing.
WHAT IS IT FOR?
I’ve already hinted at this, but keyword research helps you set the benchmark you’ll measure yourself against. Once you have a solid list of keywords, you can start optimizing and climbing Google’s results. In the medium and long term, if you did your research well, you’ll see the results of your efforts.
UNSOLICITED TIPS
If you want unlimited, free search volume estimates, use Google Ads’ Keyword Planner.
Note: The only downside is it gives you search ranges rather than the exact number.
Use Google Search itself to find good related ideas. Type your main keyword into the search bar and check out Google’s suggestions — they usually have decent search volume if they show up there.
Use keyword combination tools — these let you combine your keyword with its various characteristics in different ways.
Remember, we’ll cover EVERYTHING we talked about above in the SEO COURSE
